Eight Day trip to Lake Glenbawn

[paul.kenny]

Hi Raiders,

Be prepared for a long one………January is generally the time of year that I try to get a good fishing trip in and this year I was due to re-visit Lake Monduran near Bundaberg to chase some of those big Barra. As it became evident early this month that the weather situation in SE QLD was getting worse rather than better myself and Bassboy decided to look at alternate options. It is quite fortunate that we made this decision as our original plan would have had us driving through Toowoomba on the day of the big flood. Our alternate plan was to fish Lake Glenbawn for the first time.

We departed Sydney am Tuesday 11 January for an eight day trip to Glenbawn. We immediately set up camp and were surprised to learn that the water at the camping area is unfit for consumption and we would need to purchase drinking water for the remainder of our stay …….a lesson for any fishraiders planning to stay at Lake Glenbawn.

Our first session was that afternoon after setting up camp and we were very surprised by the size of the Dam and the amount of water (87% capacity). That first session had us fish the afternoon along some weeded banks and an evening surface session. There were some good signs with Bassboy catching this nice 35cm Bass on a Jitterbug during our evening surface session and a number of missed strikes.

Wednesday’s plan was to explore deeper into the dam as the reports indicated that the fish were holding further up the dam due to the fishing pressure over the Christmas/New Years period. We fished for five hours in the morning for a donut….we must have cast over 500 hundred times, tried every type of lure in our tackle box and cast at sunken weedbeds, exposed points, timbered areas, lay down timber and steep drop offs for nothing, not even a strike. This morning session was typical for the remainder of the trip with nothing caught during the mornings, except for our last day. Our afternoon session did not occur due to a storm blowing through the area, which really tested our camp setup.

On Thursday morning we headed even further up the dam and found some excellent horizontal snags and expansive weedbeds on exposed points. These locations drew a blank and we eventually found a school of Bass suspended at 30ft in 42 ft of water. We tried every trick in the book to draw a strike, including blades, vibes, spinnerbaits and some bream SP techniques. We had a couple of subtle taps on our soft plastics but the hooks did not stick. We noted that the fish were schooled within 100m of an expansive weedbed and marked the location for a return visit in the afternoon session.

Thursday arvo - Bassboy was sick so I headed out by myself. I headed immediately out to the previously marked weedbed. The weedbed was in 15ft of water and the weed was up to 10ft deep. I engaged the i-pilot on my Minn Kota to hold just short of the edge of the weed bed and on my second cast the spinnerbait was monstered by a nice fish. After an aggressive fight I was able to land this well conditioned 36cm Bass.

I used the i-Pilot to continue to work around the edge of the weedbed and then on top of the weedbed for a great session. In three hours I caught another three bass including a 2 x 40cm models and a 28cm model and lost another two at the side of the boat. The bass went off the bite just before last light……it was an excellent session in very windy conditions and the lures of choice were spinnerbaits and Jackals.

Friday morning we searched for more weedbeds and fallen timber for another donut. We found the school of Bass in the same sunken creekbed but they weren’t interested in anything we threw at them. During the afternoon session we headed back to the scene of the crime from the previous arvo. Bassboy and I then commenced another memorable session with extremely calm conditions and a great Bass bite…..this time the Jackal lures were the only successful lure and five fish succumbed to their hooks.

……to be continued

[paul.kenny]

On Saturday morning we persisted with targeting the weedbeds for nothing and then tried trolling the flooded creeks for a couple of missed strikes. Despite these misses we found a couple of more new weedbeds worth a try during the arvo session.

Saturday arvo was mixed with both ecstasy and agony……. in very windy conditions I caught eight nice bass in four hours – seven via Jackal and one via Spinnerbait. During this session Bassboy caught a 32cm bass and then lost his only Jackal lure to a large Bass amongst the weeds (sad face)…..to say he was upset to lose a $27 lure was an understatement. His disappointment was reinforced by the fact he did not catch any further fish during this session.

On Sunday we decided to forgo the morning session and focus on the arvo bite. Bassboy had purchased a replacement Jackal from the local kiosk and was looking forward to catching up to me. It was another windy afternoon and we tried a couple of new weedbanks for donut. We returned to old faithful and worked hard for a 35cm Bass and a 30cm Bass by Bassboy and a couple of dropped fish for me. During this session Bassboy tested his morale by snagging his new Jackal on a sunken fence, but fortunately we were able to recover his lure.

Monday morning brought very low barometric pressure (960) and wind…..it was a tough day at the office for another morning donut. By afternoon the barometric pressure had increased very slightly to 966 but the wind remained strong. We worked a number of different weedbeds for moderate success for bassboy and I had a donut with two fish being dropped at the boat whilst we were trying to take photos.

Tuesday dawned as another windy day as we prepared for our last day fishing. We decided to shelter from the wind by working the wooded creek lines for another donut but at least we enjoyed the scenery.

As Tuesday afternoon was our last fishing session we hit old faithfull again for a slow session. We worked hard again for four bass (three for Bassboy and one for me).

Overall the eight days of fishing were very enjoyable in some trying conditions. Whilst the Bass were hard work they were in excellent condition and very aggressive during the short bite periods. Additionally, I was able to give my i-Pilot for the Minn Kota a real workout and I would not be without it. The go to lures for the trip were the Jackal TN40s and Bassman Spinnerbaits. We are certainly looking forward to our next trip to Lake Glenbawn.

Cheers Paul

[Michael Hatte]

Ripper of a Trip boys and a cracker of a post as per usual.

Barra would have been nice but it looks like you had a great time on the bronzies!!!!!!

I think a trip up to Glenbawn is on the cards next summer for sure!!!!!!!

Crongats, Mick

[Guest]

Nice trip fellas Glenbawn is a tough place to fish in the height of summer and better to concentrate your efforts around early to mid November when the water temp is a little cooler and the bass bite is always HOT at that time of year.

Cheers Stewy

[Joco]

WELL done fellas, great report....

Must have been a ripper of a fishing trip....

After seeing all these report on BASS fishing, i might have to dedicate a few days myself to catch that 50cm + bass.... Small fish, but great fighters...

Well done...

[paul.kenny]

Nice trip fellas Glenbawn is a tough place to fish in the height of summer and better to concentrate your efforts around early to mid November when the water temp is a little cooler and the bass bite is always HOT at that time of year.

Cheers Stewy

Thanks Stewy.....I would agree with timing, however November is always a busy time at work for me so I have to make do with Dec/Jan trips. I found Lake St Clair fished best in late September and October, with a really hot surface bite on Balmy November evenings. I will have to take a long weedend in late October this year to give either St Clair or Glenbawn another crack and hopefully I will be able to have a Barra trip to Monduran in early December.

cheers Paul

[pmak]

Great report Basscatcher. 8 straight days of fishing! That camp setup looks great. Would've been great father and son time too. Thanks for sharing your trip ...

[Jewhunter]

Thanks for the detailed report mate.

Congrats on nailing some of Glenbawns' beaut bass.

I'm sure you had a much better trip than if you went to Monduran. Not that you would have got there anyway.

Sounds like you had a great time.

Cheers,

Grant.