PETER MORRIS shares the secrets to successfully fish Borumba’s backwaters.

Whether you refer to them as ‘dams’ or ‘stocked impoundments’, one can’t deny that our man-made waterways can have you fooled at times. As you weave amongst dead timber, cast towards banks thick in vegetation or look upwards to mountainous surrounding rainforest, it can be all too easy to forget where it is you really are.
Sure, certain dams lack the scenery and spectacular surrounds but one example that makes anglers feel as though they’re in a more remote part of Papua New Guinea or Australia’s top end, is South East Queensland’s Lake Borumba. To silently stalk freshwater opponents among this luscious and rather tight country will have many anglers feeling as though they are close to heaven.
AT A GLANCE
Built across Yabba Creek, a tributary of the Mary River, Lake Borumba was originally constructed in 1964 and is a rock filled embankment dam. The skinny and winding road set among dense forest leading to the dam is a stretch that carries much anticipation.
With a main basin surrounded by mountains there is not one part of Lake Borumba you would label as ‘dull’, and as you begin to push higher into the three tributaries known as the Kingham, Borumba and Yabba arms, the more remote you begin to feel. High up into this back country the water narrows and reveals a mass of timber that anglers will quickly recognise as dream habitat for structure-orientated fish. While the lake is home to golden perch, silver perch and the endangered Mary River cod, the drawcards and real trophies of the dam continue to be high flying saratoga and hard hitting Australian bass.

Snags line the upper reaches of Lake Borumba and are the true home of saratoga and Australian bass.

YOUR SEARCH
Arrival at Lake Borumba will have you launching at the only boat ramp which is in close proximity to the engineering masterpiece that is the dam wall. With ample car and trailer parking, the one lane boat ramp is sufficient; although it could be improved with an additional lane which is much needed during peak holiday periods.
Travelling out from here will see you quickly heading up the main basin and past the ‘ski run’ area where a left hand turn will have you entering the ‘Borumba Creek’ arm. This arm is the smallest of the three and while this area can certainly provide some excellent action, the stretch itself does lack the more serious timber structure that features higher up in the neighbouring arms.
Further travel will see you arrive at three yellow markers that signal underwater hazards are a strong possibility beyond their location. Dead standing timber will now be staring back at you and as the yellow cans strongly advise, proceeding with caution is always your best approach. The possibility of a dead tree stump just below the water’s surface strongly exists and this is not something anyone desires, especially when travelling at speed. It is here you will have the option of heading left into the Yabba arm or veering to the right to explore the Kingham arm. To try and pick which is best is akin to tossing a coin and to be honest, both arms are excellent and there is simply no shortage of snag-lined country in the upper reaches.
LURE CASTING THE TIMBER
Casting in and around heavy timber structure does not come without its challenges. There are, as you would expect, many hidden snags that are more than happy to hang up a lure which often leads to a level of angler frustration. There are however very easy ways to beat and near eliminate this problem while using a variety of lures. Surface lures, soft plastics (rigged as weedless presentations), spinnerbaits and shallower running hardbodied lures are all excellent choices that should feature highly in luring kits destined for Lake Borumba.

Surface lures
For a constantly growing number of anglers, casting surface lures is the absolute pinnacle in terms of enjoyment and Lake Borumba will not disappoint when it comes to surface action. Saratoga and Australian bass are two very aggressive species of fish that will happily annihilate a surface lure. With their upward facing eyes and streamlined body shape (with the absence of a dorsal fin), saratoga in particular are a fish that are very purposefully designed to hunt the surface.
Surface walking stickbaits, small poppers and frog type presentations all share in success with hook up rates varying considerably. My personal favourites have long been surface stickbaits and the silent walk across the surface can often be the undoing of those fish that may have been more wary of other approaches.
When it comes to saratoga, hook penetration is often difficult as these fish feature a very hard and rather bony mouth. Over the many years, I have played with both trebles and single hooks and still do not have a clear preference. In most instances my lure of choice will be the Owner Cultiva Zip N Ziggy or 3B 68 mm Scum Dog where I commonly run a treble on the belly and a single hook from the tail end. Here you have the best of both worlds and if the single hook does manage to find its mark, it will make for a very secure hook up.
As always, the name of the game with surface lures is to get your lure tight up against the snags where shade may also be present thanks to the overhanging branches. It is also seriously worth mentioning that the actual ‘fall’ of your lure is an important phase and an angler should always allow the lure to simply ‘sit’ momentarily before beginning the actual retrieval. Fish often respond to the fall and will wait for the smallest of movements before committing to that brutal surface explosion. If this does not come quickly then all that is required is a slow walk or ‘bloop’ with a surface popper while incorporating several ‘pause’ phases. The pause phases are another trigger that will often help contribute toward that all important surface hit.
Weedless soft plastics
While these may sound complicated to the unfamiliar, weedless soft plastics are among the most simple to set up and easy to throw. Beginning with a ‘worm style’ hook, the first step is to insert the hook point into the head of the plastic and back out through the chin area. Once done correctly you then have the ability to align the hook up alongside the body and take note of where the hook needs to be inserted through the belly to finally emerge into position along the back of your chosen plastic.
With a hook point now sitting flush or very lightly pinned into the back itself, a weedless presentation such as this allows the lure to literally be thrown anywhere and hard up among thick timber snags and heavy vegetation. Plastics rigged in this manner are an absolute godsend for the more novice anglers as they can cast away without the fear of hanging up on low down snags or doing battle higher up in neighbouring trees.
Weedless soft plastics are incredibly effective when twitched around timber and both bass and saratoga will annihilate most offerings. With so many grub and fish profile plastics on the market today, selection can be difficult, but on the flip side, anglers are seriously spoilt for choice. My personal preference are for plastics that either have generous tail beats (via a paddle tail), or wriggler type tails that create a very realistic look through the water.
Spinnerbaits and shallow divers
A luring kit for both saratoga and Australian bass would almost seem incomplete without the inclusion of a few spinnerbaits and shallow running divers. While I personally spend far less time throwing either style these days (as I have a much stronger preference for surface lures and plastics), their effectiveness cannot be questioned.
Spinnerbaits have an almost magnetic ability to fool fish and the combination of flash offered by the blades with the little bit of added noise can work well. In particular, a combination of red to black with a gold coloured blade seems to be a real winner throughout Lake Borumba. Another great idea is to run an additional ‘stinger’ hook which can be achieved by inserting the hook point (of the original hook), through the eye of an additional hook. A small rubber bead or tubing can then be pushed through your additional hook point and slid down along the gape which will then hold the hook into position. The inclusion of a second hook is seriously beneficial with a species such as saratoga.
Shallow running hardbodied profiles are lures that will see much attention and bass particularly hit these with ferocity. What I dislike about many though (and this is not commonly a problem with bass), is the small and often weak trebles fitted as stock. As mentioned, saratoga are a difficult fish to get the hooks into and the small gape offered on smaller trebles is often useless when it comes to these fish. The smart option is to use slightly larger profiles which will feature larger trebles but regardless of this, hook ups can remain challenging.
Spinnerbaits and divers often see attention when the sun is higher and anglers can probe varying levels of the water column, but once again, you do need to remain vigilant of hidden trees and logs beneath the water’s surface.
KEEPING GEAR SELECTION SIMPLE
Targeting bass and saratoga throughout the upper reaches of Lake Borumba need not be a complicated affair. There is no reason why you could not head to the dam with only one rod; however I suggest two is the smarter way to go. When it comes to light lure casting these days it is hard to argue against the versatility that a light spinning set up offers and it gives you the immediate ability to cast and present lighter presentations such as weedless soft plastics. A light graphite rod with a rating of 2 to 4 kg in combination with a 2000 size reel is an excellent all-round set up where you can run the likes of 6 to 8 lb braid.
For the slightly more experienced angler there is always the option to drop down further still to say a 1 to 3 kg rod and run 4 to 6 lb braid. What it always comes down to is how confident you may be, how much of a sporting challenge you desire and in some cases how ‘lucky’ you feel in and around heavy timber country. There are also the instances where you may be casting very expensive lures around which forces you (mentally) to fish heavier so it really comes down to personal preferences.
Moving away from spinning set ups, some anglers much prefer the accuracy and ease of bait casting combos. What these offer is superior casting (when using slightly heavier lures) for those that are experienced and if you enjoy placing dead accurate casts at your chosen timber targets, then Lake Borumba will certainly be to your liking.
AIM HIGH
As you would expect, there is a bit of extra travel involved to reach the upper reaches and back country of Lake Borumba, but it’s well worth the expedition as it truly is angling paradise up there. When dam levels permit these upper reaches can open up further still and your travels can lead into some serious creek country. So, with all of this in mind, what are you waiting for?

Born in Sydney, Peter has spent 15 years fishing the coast of NSW targeting everything from whiting to marlin. Now resides in Queensland and has fished many tropical locations throughout the top end, the Coral Sea, Fiji and Vanuatu. Peter enjoys all forms of fishing from heavy GT popping, land based spinning for big pelagics, soft plastic work for snapper and luring the local estuaries for hard running trevally and mangrove jack. Peter began freelancing in 2009 is currently a pro angler with Purefishing Australia and Tonic Eyewear.