The guys there were really helpful and I thoroughly recommend anyone heading over that way to call in to check out what's happening on the local scene.

Among other things, I ended up purchasing one of John Bethune's Kokoda Spinner Baits. 'Gee, they must have been hungry,' I was told when mentioning I caught the bass on skirt steak. I figured that with the right gear surely I would be able to get a heap. Well, that was the logic anyway.

By the time we got back to the caravan it was nearing dusk; perfect time for the bass according to the guy at the tackle shop. So again I made the trip down to the river, this time armed with my fly rod, my new spinner bait and a little more knowledge. I figured that if I cast out to the end of the snag and work my way along the edge of the protruding branches I would have the best chance of hooking up.

Sure enough, first cast I hooked into a small bass of around 25cm. For the next half-hour before dusk I got nailed cast after cast. Not every hook-up resulted in a fish landed, but the little fellas sure did have some fight in them and constantly I found myself battling to keep them away from the threatening snags. After releasing eight or so fish, the bass appeared to go a little quiet (it was now nearing dark), so I ventured through some of the thick growth a little further up the river. I eventually came to a spot that was bound to be home for a bass or two.

A nice deep hole with a sunken tree log protruding out at forty-five degrees from the bank with some nice weed cover in close. Again the plan was to cast out near the end of the snag and work the lure back towards the bank parallel with the tree trunk, and again my plan work. Second cast I got nailed right out at the end of the snag, and a strong fight resulted in me landing my biggest bass of the trip, a fine specimen of 44cm. Next cast to exactly the same spot saw me get hit again, this time it appeared a bigger fish.