Cam Fishing - On the surface

by Adam Ford.

If you’ve ever fished for Australia Bass with surface lures, you’ll know what I’m talking about when I say “exhilaration”, however many anglers are only aware of the standard fizzer or paddler type baits that have frequented our tackle boxes for several decades. Lures that include the Jitterbugs, Crazy Crawler and Heddon Torpedo’s are reliable bass catchers but there are whole worlds of great alternatives that excel in varying conditions.

Stickbaits like the Lucky Craft “Sammy”, Heddon “Zarra Spook” and the soft sided Mann’s “Goblin” and “Ghost” work best on a slack line using short sharp twitches to make the lure “walk the Dog” along the edges of lilly pads or weed beds. The Mann’s “Goblin” is one of my personal favorite’s as it is ideal for working through heavy weeded cover as its hooks are positioned along the side of the soft body giving it great weed less fishing capabilities.

Next on the list are the range of fizzer or propeller type lures that include the Gilmore Jumper from Cori-Co, Heddon Torpedo’s and the Australian made Bill’s Bugs “Fuzz Bug”. These lures offer a great chirping type noise that kicks up water and gets the fish interested quickly. My personal favorite colours are black and the popular frog pattern. They can be worked around a wide variety of cover and are great early morning as a search type lure around weed beds or heavy timbered areas.

For the angler who wants to simplify things even further there are the walking type baits that include the Arbogast Jitterbug, and the tough Halco Night Walker with lumo' bib that excels on big natives like murray cod and bass. This lure pattern has a built in wobble that drives fish crazy and it is extremely versatile in all cover situations. The slow moving Halco Night Walker is great when then the fish are a little timid, as the slow sideways action of these lures is sure to tempt even the shyest bass from there bank side hide out.

The final must have surface lure I use regularly are surface flies. Most people think that fly-fishing is for the trout fishermen, but these days fly-casting for Bass is one of the fastest growing and easiest forms of fly fishing one could encounter. For surface fly-fishing, you can’t go past small bass and panfish’ poppers, available through the USA or you can make a few of your own using small pieces of cork or soft foam. These are best tied using a size 2 or 8 hook, depending on your preferred fly size and finished off with a few splayed hack feathers near the tail to add a little extra movement during the pause and retrieve.

So there you have it, just a few of the surface lures/flies that keep me on the fish throughout summer. Tight lines and good fishing.