Lake MacDonald delivered some quality bass as we moved into the winter swing of things. Trollers were doing it tough but we discovered in the last BASS Electric round that Gardens Reach has been the place to be.

Departing from the Hatchery boat ramp all you need to do is run straight across the lake and fish the area adjacent to the runway. From the Botanic Gardens ramp immediately head to starboard and you’ll be there in two minutes. Bibless rattlers have been the gun tools with soft plastics also getting in on the action.

Further up the lake Three Ways and the weedbeds outside Bass Bay have produced a few good fish. If casting at the weedbeds doesn’t deliver the result you are looking for then try casting parallel to the weed margins. This can be frustrating with continual foul-ups on weed, however it can be worth the effort. Be prepared for brutish fish to charge deep into the cabomba forest where they are all but impossible to get back out.

Borumba has slowed a little, particularly as far as saratoga are concerned. There are still bass on the chew with dawn runs the most productive. Any bay is worth casting, particularly if there is standing timber in it. At the top of the main body there is heaps of timber and often lots of fish. After prospecting around these areas it can pay to follow either the Kingham Arm or the Yabba Arm and look for water a few degrees warmer than the main basin.

Baroon Pocket has also been fishing well although the average size of the fish has remained quite small. Al Dolan was catching 50cm bass there five years ago and these days they all seem to be around 35cm. Recent sessions have involved fishing the schools with deep running minnows.