April is one of my favorite months to fish for bass and estuary perch This the time of the year when bass and eps gather in schools to move down stream to spawn it is also a good time year to catch these fish in good numbers.
First you have to find these fish in the past we have found these fish will school up in the same areas Last year I found the fish in different area than previous years
Some times it can be a little hard to locate these fish just because you have caught fish in an area in seasons gone by does not mean the fish will be there this season but it is a good place to start. I past seasons I mainly used soft plastic and flies to catch ep. But a lot of perch last year were caught on bib less lures let sink and worked across the bottom like a soft plastic. John Bethune was fishing the Hawkesbury Bass Interclub comp in feb and was finding the fishing a little slow so he pulled out a black and purple jig that he had tied up for a trip up to Glenbawn cast it out into a back eddy and hooked six fat eps in Ten minute and at the end of day one was running second.
What makes John Bethune a cut above the rest is that he is always thinking how to fish a little different from the rest of us. Every time he goes out fishing he is mind set on catching bass and never gives up when the rest of us have thrown in towel John will be up the front of the boat casting lures, come to think about it John is always up the front of the boat maybe that’s why he catches more fish than me. That my excuse and I am sticking to it.
In the past when John starts looking for fish this time of the year we would start looking around drop off, eddies and current lines especially when near a corner or large structure that interrupts the water flow. When you find area that has some of these characteristics drop your Minn Kota down and check your sounder for any signs of fish. This is where having a good sounder can make the difference it has to be able to separate fish from all the debris have a wide angle transducer that’s why I choose to use Humminbird. Its easy to use, gives me super wide angle transducer and I have learnt form experience when it shows me fish that’s what they are.
If your find fish showing on your sounder work the area over with soft plastics and lures. If you’re successful and you catch a few note the time and tide and move on to the next likely spot and do the same. You will find that different areas will hold fish on run out and run up tides. I fish deeper for bass and perch in the colder months and have found that they hang wider than in the warmer months
Salt water
In March the fishing in the Harbour hotted up with Kingfish, bonito, Taylor, Salmon, Frigates in the main Harbour there also plenty of fish around North and South Heads
Most of these fish have been falling to 15feet Deep X raps trolled close to the washes
Middle Harbour has that much bait in it you can walk across them with out getting your feet wet. With plenty of Kings being caught on Squid and Salmon, Taylor and being caught on metals and slugos
The Bream fishing is also been fishing well around the moored boats and jetties
The best lure being bass minnows and Eco grubs fished on 1/32 jig heads.
Cast these close as you can to a Boat, post, Jetty, pontoon or any other structure, let the lure sink, watching your line for any sudden movement that might indicate a bream having a bite. Once it hits the bottom or it’s at the required depth give it a twitch with the rod tip, let it sit then work it back with a lift and fall retrieve. If you feel a bite drop the rod tips to allow fish to take the lure the lift the rod to hook up. Small crankbaits are also catching their share of bream; cast the lure past the structure so the lure can get down to
The depth as it goes past the post or structure. When the lure is near the structure pause it for a second, give it twitch before retrieving at a slow speed. Remember not to strike the fish with the rod, let the rod load and ease you rod back to set the hook.
