Sports Tuition

It's hard to believe we're approaching the school holidays again, it doesn't seem that long ago that the kids were battling it out at Hinze Dam on the April School Holiday Survivor Camp. Together with the holiday camp, and father & son fishing weekends Sports Tuition has recently hosted, there has been plenty of action at Hinze Dam.

The weather has played a key role in the catch rates for these events. The kids on the Survivor Camp had perfect weather for their three day camp, and as usual, they loved driving the Quintrex boats which are powered by Minn Kota motors to fish the dam. There were plenty of other adventure activities on camp which kept them busy as well. A special thank you to L. Wilson & Co and McDonald's for providing all the prizes for the school holiday camp. The kids are always very enthusiastic to play for the prizes and be crowned the Ultimate Survivor.

A couple of weeks after this camp, in late April, there was a change in the weather. We experienced a cold snap which affected not only the catch rate, but the size of the catch as well. This change in weather coincided with a father & son weekend. During this weekend, the catch rate comprised of a lot of smaller bass and plenty of banded grunter. It was actually the worst we've seen the grunter, they were just smashing everything and it was hard to escape them. The group was using live shrimp as bait and the shrimp was merely seconds in the water before being hit. The bigger bass seemed to go into the deeper water and off the radar. One thing is for sure, bass don't like sudden changes. There was only one bass over 40cm caught on this weekend, which is quite unusual for Hinze.

If weather conditions have been constant leading up to a fishing session on Hinze, you know you'll go okay, even if the temperature is cool. It's amazing what a couple of weeks of stable conditions can do and this is what we had leading up to the next group, which happened to be another father & son group. The group fished on the full moon, and over the years it's been noted that this also fires up the bass. This father and son weekend was an exclusive weekend to the boys in Grades 3 & 4 of Brisbane Boys' College (BBC). BBC is a boys' school which has been preparing young men for the challenges of life since 1902. The school aims to develop the boys through a balanced involvement of academic, spiritual, sporting and cultural life of the College. Deputy Head of the Junior School, Mark Griffith, was the driving force behind the school getting involved in its first weekend with Sports Tuition. Fathers are often challenged to find quality father & son time, and Hinze Dam proved to be the magical setting for a weekend on the water which created some memories that will last for a long time. We also had a grandfather attend the weekend, and I must admit, I just love it when it when that happens. The young boys just learn so much off their granddad; it really is quality time at its best.

The BBC crew embraced the favourable conditions and some great fish were caught, but they were definitely on the afternoon bite. Motoring up the far upper reaches of the western arm mid-morning only produced a few good bass, but after a break for a BBQ lunch, the focal points became Ian's Island, and the inlets between the island and Bass Bay. These inlets have seen Saratoga actively feeding of late. Saratoga have been hooked on red spinner baits cast to the edges and some have been caught on live shrimp as well. All Saratoga caught are always returned to the water after a quick photo. The ones caught recently gave the anglers a great thrill with their theatrics of jumping out of the water in an attempt to dislodge the hook, but they are simply a sports fish and are full of bones, so they're not a table fish. Saratoga are one of the few fish that can breed in freshwater, so all toga caught should be returned to the water.

It was bass and yellowbelly the BBC boys were after for the table. They knew they had plenty of potatoes to peel back at the campsite, but it was their job to go out and catch some fish for dinner as well. For young boys only 8-9 years old, it's not as easy as it sounds, but the BBC boys had no trouble at all. Some great bass up to 45cm and some even bigger yellowbelly were caught and their fish for dinner came together quite quickly after the lunch break. After the fish was filleted, the boys also did a great job breadcrumbing the fillets. A brief shower of rain didn't even dampen the spirits of the boys and they quickly set about building a couple of awesome fires that they could toast their marshmallows on.
Winter is always a great time to sit around a camp fire and it's also a great time to target trophy sized bass in Hinze. It's at this time of year they start to fill with roe, so some big, fat bass are always on the cards. As the weather starts to cool down and the water temperature drops, the bass will suspend a little deeper and go down to a depth of 11-12m. The best time to target bass in winter is between 10am-3pm when they use the heat of the day to feed.



Kyle picked up this great Saratoga during a recent father & son fishing weekend.


Alex, fishing with his dad, Mario, caught some hard fighting bass in the far upper reaches of the western arm.


Carter caught this awesome yellowbelly during the BBC weekend. Their boat happened to enjoy a mixed bag of quality fish.


Scott & Carter landed this Saratoga on live shrimp. They did a great job to land the fish, as it was jumping out of the water trying to spit their hook.


Louie picked up this nice bass during the BBC father & son fishing weekend.


After BBC's day's fishing on the dam ended, it was down to preparing the catch for dinner. Under the watchful eye of a couple of dads, the boys went through the process of flour, eggs and breadcrumbs...and they did a great job.


Willow, 9, with an Australian bass caught on the April School Holiday Survivor Camp.