Papuan Black Bass Trip

[chewie]

For 20 years I have read and wondered about the infamous Papuan Black Bass and for the last 3 days I have had the opportunity to finally fish for them.

I was in PNG for work and managed to organize 3 days fishing on the Aora river about 90 minutes out of Port Moresby.

Well what can I say… This type of fishing is tough with a lot of variables and frustrations.

The rivers are very dynamic, always changing and from what I have learnt you need to be quite lucky for conditions to be suitable enough to catch fish.

Water clarity, temperature, depth, log jams, snags and current all come into play and Landing a fish after hooking one is another thing entirely!

There were 2 of us fishing hard for the three days adopting techniques like those used when fishing for barra in the top end. The tackle used was super heavy, not unlike jigging tackle,stiff rods and reels with a heavy drag capacity 50lb braid 80lb leader was the minimum.

We cast at likely snags and trolled using various lures similar to Halco scorpions in the 125 size. And on the final day tried live baiting with Tilapia on heavier tackle again.

For the period I fished, the conditions were tough. We covered a lot of ground experimenting with different techniques fishing snags, eddys and where rivers joined creating colour breaks. Often one river would be clear green water whilst another was a murky Flat white brown colour.

Although primarily fishing for Black bass day one resulted in 6 barra all about a nice 65 – 70cm eating size.

Day 2 I managed 3 catfish while the guy I was fishing with landed 2 bass, the largest going 14lb.

I should mention these fish have been caught to 45lbs and an average fish is around 20lbs.

Day 3 was my last day and by lunchtime I had fished hard for not one single hit. I was fearing my time was running out.. Finally whilst trolling my lure got smashed and I brought the lure in with the back trebles totally ripped out of the lure. Lets just say I was very quiet for the next little while and really disappointed at the tackle failure. 3 days fishing for one 2 second hit (they have been called 2 second fish for this reason) Lure selection is so important as you need to use only really well constructed lures with the lure eye to back treble all connected with wire. Having the lure eye on the bib will not cut it as these bass smash like freight trains straight in to the snags and it really is quite unbelievable how they have the capacity to break lures.

Well, I was not beat, I re rigged and got another hit. It really does seem like they hit your lure on the way into a snag. You literally feel the hit and then you feel the fish pulling you through the timber and rainforest junk that has washed down the river.

I was stoked with my first bass landed, although no monster, I was so happy to land one after fearing the worst. It went 42.5 cm

(possible fishraider record)

I had another big bass bust off pot-holeing snags with live tilapea. But again it hit and was buried in the snags by the time the rod loaded up.

Landing these fish really has so much to do with luck. If you hook them in open water you stand a chance but often there is nothing you can do. The snags are not like your traditional barra snags more like the tops of tree with vines, leaves and branches so you get heaps of snags with this style of fishing.

It is quite a frustrating style of fishing. The heavy tackle makes super accurate casts difficult and the matted rainforest hanging over the top only adds to this. Lures are constantly fouled by debris from the rainforest floating in the river

I fished hard for three days for 4 possible bass hits. Most lasting under 2 seconds. The conditions were not the best and I feel we did well to catch the Bass we did.

The area really is frontier fishing. In the 3 days there was no one else fishing the river and we rarely saw another person.

I should also mention that the guy who I was fishing with had landed a 61lb barra a 26lb GT and a 23lb bass in an area not far from the river we fished in the 10 days he got to fish. So there are definitely some massive fish to be caught in this region.

I hope I get the chance to fish for them again, next time I would love to be holding a 40 pounder! there is definately alot of mystery surrounding this fish.

Cheers,

chewie

[taloyoak]

Thanks for the report mate- I have literally dreamed of going to PNG to chase these rod destroyers after reading that Lefty Kreh said they are the hardest pulling fish he has ever chased.

Thanks for the motivation!

[sanger]

Awsome stuff mate....

after seeing no no no's trip there i've been tempted to go myself!

[musty]

Beautiful lookin fish mate well done!

They look evry much like a mangrove jack with different colours i think.

Look tasty as well!!!

Musty

[GregL]

Awesome stuff. Man they look chunky, no wonder they pull so much string!

A species on the list for sure.

G

[Hodgey]

VERY envious mate. These fish have been on my 'must catch' list since watching Rod Harrison chasing them 15 years ago. No other fish has held my fascination like these buggers! Congratulations on a terrific fish and a very worthy Record.

Cheers

Hodgey

[The Iceman]

Tough fish and a must do for me

Get your record in quick Gerg is over there at the moment chasing them as well

[mgj]

VERY envious mate. These fish have been on my 'must catch' list since watching Rod Harrison chasing them 15 years ago. No other fish has held my fascination like these buggers! Congratulations on a terrific fish and a very worthy Record.

Cheers

Hodgey

I went to New Britain a few years ago and landed a few on fly-they are serious beasts!

Mark

[Moro Mou]

Great report and they are certainly on my bucket list.

[DANDRE]

awesome report mate. PNG has some of the greatest fishing in the world in my opinion. if your into saltwater try hook up with the guys at the yacht club next time your their.

[eastwood1980]

Are those fish related to mangrove jacks?

[hottyscotty]

yes they are. part of the lutjanidae family

[outfisher]

Always wanted to go myself its one on the cards

Great fishing mate well done on the bass

cheers

j

[Spanker]

Thanks for your report mate, I could feel your pain lol but also your sense of wonder for the amazing terrain. We had the frustration of bringing in numerous salmon and school jew at a rockwall recently with large swell and just weren't able to land them, everything got lost at the base of the rocks. Ah well I guess it is experiences like this which make the victories oh so sweet when they happend.

Spanker