Post by Sicklids on Sept 2, 2012 2:56:21 GMT -5
Australian Bass (Macquaria novemaculeata) are a small to medium sized, primarily freshwater (but estuarine spawning) native fish found in coastal rivers and streams along the east coast of Australia.
They are a member of the Percichthyidae family and, currently, the Macquaria genus.
Australian Bass are an iconic, highly predatory native fish.
They are an important member of the native fish faunas found in east coast river systems and an extremely popular angling species.
Australian Bass (Macquaria novemaculeata) are closely related and very similar in appearance to Estuary Perch (Macquaria colonorum).
Estuary Perch however tend to remain in the estuarine reaches or (occasionally) the extreme lower freshwater reaches.
Description and Size
Australian Bass have a moderately deep, elongated body that is laterally compressed.
They have a forked caudal (“tail”) fin and angular anal and soft dorsal fins.
Their spiny dorsal fin is of medium height, strong and sharp.
They have a medium sized mouth and relatively large eyes than can appear dark in low light or red in bright light.
The opercula or gill covers on Australian Bass carry extremely sharp flat spines that can cut fishermens’ fingers deeply.
Australian Bass vary in colour from gold in clear sandy streams to the more usual bronze or bronze-green colouration in streams with darker substrates and/or some tannin staining to the water.
Australian Bass are, overall, a smallish-sized species, averaging in most waters around 0.4–0.5 kg and 20–30 cm. A fish of 1 kg or larger is a good specimen.
Maximum size appears to be around 2.5 kg and 55 cm in southern waters, and around 3.0 kg and 60–65 cm in northern waters.
Typically, Australian Bass stocked in man-made impoundments (where they cannot breed) show greater average and maximum sizes than wild river fish.
Range
Australian Bass are found in coastal rivers and streams from Wilsons Promontory in Victoria east and north along the eastern seaboard to the rivers and creeks of the Bundaberg region in central Queensland.
Australian Bass are not found in the Murray-Darling system because although the system is extensive, it has only one variable entrance to the Southern Ocean, a feature that appears to be incompatible with the estuarine breeding habits of Australian Bass and other aspects of their life cycle
Australian Bass are primarily a freshwater riverine species, but must breed in estuarine waters. Consequently, Australian bass reside in the freshwater reaches of coastal rivers for the warmer half of the year or slightly more and the estuarine reaches in winter, and are highly migratory in general.
A general description of the migratory pattern for adult Australian Bass would be:
September: re-enter lower freshwater reaches after spawning
October–November: movement through middle freshwater reaches
December–February: maximum penetration into negotiable upper freshwater reaches
March–April: slow movement back down through freshwater reaches in anticipation of spawning run
May: strong spawning run to estuarine reaches
June–July–August: aggregation and spawning in estuarine reaches
Obviously the timing of these migratory movements varies slightly from the south to the north of their range. The timing of these migratory movements are also dependent on river flows, particularly freshes and floods that drown out and make larger rapids and cascades passable.
Summary of freshwater fishing rules for Australian Bass
NOTE: Both the Australian Bass and the Estuary Perch share the same regulations.
Details as per D.P.I. NSW
Minimum Legal Length:
Daily Limit – 2 (one or more species) only 1 over 35cm in rivers
Possession Limit – 4(one or more species) only 1 over 35cm in rivers
Open Fishing Season – September to May in rivers below freshwater impoundments. All year in freshwater impoundments and rivers above freshwater impoundments.
Angling Methods:
Fishing for Australian bass is a summertime affair, undertaken during the warmer months in the freshwater reaches of the rivers they inhabitat. Australian bass are keenly fished for as they are an outstanding sportsfish, extraordinarily fast and powerful for their size. Their extraordinary speed and power is probably due to their significant, strenuous annual migrations for spawning and a life-style that is migratory in general. Australian bass in their natural river habitats are not to be underestimated; they head straight for the nearest snags (sunken timber) when hooked and light but powerful tackle and stiff drag settings are needed to stop them.
As mentioned above, during the day Australian bass generally remain close to or in cover (e.g. snags, overhanging trees), and small plug lures and flies cast close to such cover are used. In recent years fly fishing for Australian bass using surface flies imitating cicadas has proven to be extremely effective. At night Australian bass are a roaming pelagic feeder and surface lures (which waddle or fizz across the surface of the water) are used. The large and sudden explosion a good Australian bass makes when taking a surface lure is guaranteed to the give the fisherman a fright!
Some of the best Australian bass fishing is coastal rivers and tributaries where access is difficult. Fishing these more remote locations can be extremely rewarding both for the fishing and the scenery. Fishing the more remote bass water is therefore usually the domain of the hardened backpacking fisherman or the dedicated kayak fisherman willing to drag his kayak over numerous logs and other obstacles.
It pays for fishermen to remember that wild Australian bass are still a highly migratory when in the freshwater reaches of rivers, and can also be an extremely wary fish in these habitats, much more so than exotic trout species.
Australian bass fishermen almost exclusively practice catch and release, which is necessary for the preservation of wild Australian bass stocks. The use of barbless hooks (which can be created by crushing the barbs flat with a pair of needle-nosed pliers) is essential as Australian bass hit lures with great ferocity and are consequently almost impossible to unhook on barbed hooks. Conversely, Australian bass are swiftly and easily released if barbless hooks are used.
Responsible fishermen now avoid fishing for wild Australian bass in estuaries in winter, so that this increasingly pressured native fish can spawn in peace. In late July 2007 the NSW Fisheries Department announced a new closed season for Australian bass and estuary perch, from 1 June to 31 August.
The majority of Bass Anglers now practice only catch and release fishing when targeting bass in its native streams. In stocked dams, however, bass fishing for the table within the legal bag and size limits is supported and encouraged.
Most bass specialist use small to medium sized cast floating lures, although trolling is effective at times. Surface lures are especially effective on bass, although a degree of finesse is usually required. With all lures, when fishing for bass, it is usually best to allow the lure to float on the surface for some time before beginning the retrieve. Occasionally pausing during the retrieve is also often effective.
Information:
Wikipedia
Private experience
They are a member of the Percichthyidae family and, currently, the Macquaria genus.
Australian Bass are an iconic, highly predatory native fish.
They are an important member of the native fish faunas found in east coast river systems and an extremely popular angling species.
Australian Bass (Macquaria novemaculeata) are closely related and very similar in appearance to Estuary Perch (Macquaria colonorum).
Estuary Perch however tend to remain in the estuarine reaches or (occasionally) the extreme lower freshwater reaches.
Description and Size
Australian Bass have a moderately deep, elongated body that is laterally compressed.
They have a forked caudal (“tail”) fin and angular anal and soft dorsal fins.
Their spiny dorsal fin is of medium height, strong and sharp.
They have a medium sized mouth and relatively large eyes than can appear dark in low light or red in bright light.
The opercula or gill covers on Australian Bass carry extremely sharp flat spines that can cut fishermens’ fingers deeply.
Australian Bass vary in colour from gold in clear sandy streams to the more usual bronze or bronze-green colouration in streams with darker substrates and/or some tannin staining to the water.
Australian Bass are, overall, a smallish-sized species, averaging in most waters around 0.4–0.5 kg and 20–30 cm. A fish of 1 kg or larger is a good specimen.
Maximum size appears to be around 2.5 kg and 55 cm in southern waters, and around 3.0 kg and 60–65 cm in northern waters.
Typically, Australian Bass stocked in man-made impoundments (where they cannot breed) show greater average and maximum sizes than wild river fish.
Range
Australian Bass are found in coastal rivers and streams from Wilsons Promontory in Victoria east and north along the eastern seaboard to the rivers and creeks of the Bundaberg region in central Queensland.
Australian Bass are not found in the Murray-Darling system because although the system is extensive, it has only one variable entrance to the Southern Ocean, a feature that appears to be incompatible with the estuarine breeding habits of Australian Bass and other aspects of their life cycle
Australian Bass are primarily a freshwater riverine species, but must breed in estuarine waters. Consequently, Australian bass reside in the freshwater reaches of coastal rivers for the warmer half of the year or slightly more and the estuarine reaches in winter, and are highly migratory in general.
A general description of the migratory pattern for adult Australian Bass would be:
September: re-enter lower freshwater reaches after spawning
October–November: movement through middle freshwater reaches
December–February: maximum penetration into negotiable upper freshwater reaches
March–April: slow movement back down through freshwater reaches in anticipation of spawning run
May: strong spawning run to estuarine reaches
June–July–August: aggregation and spawning in estuarine reaches
Obviously the timing of these migratory movements varies slightly from the south to the north of their range. The timing of these migratory movements are also dependent on river flows, particularly freshes and floods that drown out and make larger rapids and cascades passable.
Summary of freshwater fishing rules for Australian Bass
NOTE: Both the Australian Bass and the Estuary Perch share the same regulations.
Details as per D.P.I. NSW
Minimum Legal Length:
Daily Limit – 2 (one or more species) only 1 over 35cm in rivers
Possession Limit – 4(one or more species) only 1 over 35cm in rivers
Open Fishing Season – September to May in rivers below freshwater impoundments. All year in freshwater impoundments and rivers above freshwater impoundments.
Angling Methods:
Fishing for Australian bass is a summertime affair, undertaken during the warmer months in the freshwater reaches of the rivers they inhabitat. Australian bass are keenly fished for as they are an outstanding sportsfish, extraordinarily fast and powerful for their size. Their extraordinary speed and power is probably due to their significant, strenuous annual migrations for spawning and a life-style that is migratory in general. Australian bass in their natural river habitats are not to be underestimated; they head straight for the nearest snags (sunken timber) when hooked and light but powerful tackle and stiff drag settings are needed to stop them.
As mentioned above, during the day Australian bass generally remain close to or in cover (e.g. snags, overhanging trees), and small plug lures and flies cast close to such cover are used. In recent years fly fishing for Australian bass using surface flies imitating cicadas has proven to be extremely effective. At night Australian bass are a roaming pelagic feeder and surface lures (which waddle or fizz across the surface of the water) are used. The large and sudden explosion a good Australian bass makes when taking a surface lure is guaranteed to the give the fisherman a fright!
Some of the best Australian bass fishing is coastal rivers and tributaries where access is difficult. Fishing these more remote locations can be extremely rewarding both for the fishing and the scenery. Fishing the more remote bass water is therefore usually the domain of the hardened backpacking fisherman or the dedicated kayak fisherman willing to drag his kayak over numerous logs and other obstacles.
It pays for fishermen to remember that wild Australian bass are still a highly migratory when in the freshwater reaches of rivers, and can also be an extremely wary fish in these habitats, much more so than exotic trout species.
Australian bass fishermen almost exclusively practice catch and release, which is necessary for the preservation of wild Australian bass stocks. The use of barbless hooks (which can be created by crushing the barbs flat with a pair of needle-nosed pliers) is essential as Australian bass hit lures with great ferocity and are consequently almost impossible to unhook on barbed hooks. Conversely, Australian bass are swiftly and easily released if barbless hooks are used.
Responsible fishermen now avoid fishing for wild Australian bass in estuaries in winter, so that this increasingly pressured native fish can spawn in peace. In late July 2007 the NSW Fisheries Department announced a new closed season for Australian bass and estuary perch, from 1 June to 31 August.
The majority of Bass Anglers now practice only catch and release fishing when targeting bass in its native streams. In stocked dams, however, bass fishing for the table within the legal bag and size limits is supported and encouraged.
Most bass specialist use small to medium sized cast floating lures, although trolling is effective at times. Surface lures are especially effective on bass, although a degree of finesse is usually required. With all lures, when fishing for bass, it is usually best to allow the lure to float on the surface for some time before beginning the retrieve. Occasionally pausing during the retrieve is also often effective.
Information:
Wikipedia
Private experience