Korea bass fishing report - Nakdong River, Busan/Yangsan area - 2020, July 1 & 2

[Bassinkorea]

The last 2 days of June we had a lot of rain. I was out on the river on July 1st & 2nd and the river was a mess. Before the rain water clarity was at least 5-6 foot, now it is down to 1 foot visibility.
They have the sea gates open down south and that has the current moving a lot. There is a lot of under currents and back currents, so the water is really messed up.
The bass have pushed up tight to shoreline cover like trees and bushes where there is less current, and they are more reluctant to bite.

I did lose a nicer 3lb+ bass in a laydown when it broke of my Nutech jig at the knot (totally my fault for not retying)

Air temps = Low to mid 80's
Water temps = 81*
Sunny/partly cloudy

[Donald Garner]

Steve tks for sharing the trip and report with us.

[Nardecchiad]

The last 2 days of June we had a lot of rain. I was out on the river on July 1st & 2nd and the river was a mess. Before the rain water clarity was at least 5-6 foot, now it is down to 1 foot visibility.
They have the sea gates open down south and that has the current moving a lot. There is a lot of under currents and back currents, so the water is really messed up.
The bass have pushed up tight to shoreline cover like trees and bushes where there is less current, and they are more reluctant to bite.

I did lose a nicer 3lb+ bass in a laydown when it broke of my Nutech jig at the knot (totally my fault for not retying)

Air temps = Low to mid 80's
Water temps = 81*
Sunny/partly cloudy

Good to see you got out! I haven't been out much lately either. They hung some sort of a no fishing sign across the road at Hapcheon last time I was out so I couldn't fish. The Korean Pro who owns the tackle shop I go to in Daegu said there is no fishing there on the weekdays. I may try to get out there again this weekend if all the rain there forecasting doesn't mess up those plans.

[Capt. BassinLou]

Thank you for sharing BK, sorry to hear you broke off a nice one, hate it when that happens.

[Bassinkorea]

Good to see you got out! I haven't been out much lately either. They hung some sort of a no fishing sign across the road at Hapcheon last time I was out so I couldn't fish. The Korean Pro who owns the tackle shop I go to in Daegu said there is no fishing there on the weekdays. I may try to get out there again this weekend if all the rain there forecasting doesn't mess up those plans.

Was that the Lureman Shop?
Yeah, Hapcheon is only open for boat fishing on weekends, I didn't realise that included belly boats / float tubes as well. It sure is a strange ole country we chose to live in, lol

[Bassinkorea]

Thank you for sharing BK, sorry to hear you broke off a nice one, hate it when that happens.

Thanks Lou, that lost one sure would have helped my IBG cause 

[Capt. BassinLou]

Thanks Lou, that lost one sure would have helped my IBG cause 

It sure would have. Is the average length of a 3lb bass in your part of the world, 18 plus inches?

[coldfront]

steve,
I am still struggling with fishing 'big rivers', but some things I'm starting to 'think' (figure out is a stretch).

1.  there's a key current flow that really concentrates the bait/predators into smaller areas and they're usually 'on the feed'.
2.  current breaks (rocks, trees, docks, etc) with eddie pools are where I concentrate.  some topwater, but smaller bodied medium depth crankbaits (diggers, rapala DTs, norman DLNs) with some brighter colors get bit.  they keep moving.
3.  river fish in current don't get the luxury to study their food.  they either hit it or it's gone/by them.

I like fishing lighter weights, usually 1/8 to 3/16...but in heavy current here (40K cubic feet per second) I'm up to 3/8 - 1/2 and pegging it.  for the flip/pitch.

also, look at that KVD 1/5 in yellow with black back.  in heavy flow, there are a lot of fish tight to shoreline

lastly:  don't overlook jerkbaits now.  and am assuming you have a 3.25 inch swimbait tied on 'a lot'?

so there's some free ideas that are probably worth exactly what you paid for them.

[Bassinkorea]

It sure would have. Is the average length of a 3lb bass in your part of the world, 18 plus inches?

Probably around the 17-18" range I would say. Northern strain bass.

[Bassinkorea]

Kurt, I appreciate your detailed reply.

1.  there's a key current flow that really concentrates the bait/predators into smaller areas and they're usually 'on the feed'.
2.  current breaks (rocks, trees, docks, etc) with eddie pools are where I concentrate.  some topwater, but smaller bodied medium depth crankbaits (diggers, rapala DTs, norman DLNs) with some brighter colors get bit.  they keep moving.
3.  river fish in current don't get the luxury to study their food.  they either hit it or it's gone/by them.

This river I'm fishing has sea gates where it meets the sea / estuary, which are located about 15 miles south of where I launch. Unless there's a heavy rain the gates are closed and this river is more like a lake / reservoir and has little to no current at all, so when they open the gates and the current runs it seems to mess the whole river up including the bass.
On these days I did find a couple of small bass on offshore ledges holding behind large boulders, but the majority of the bass were pushed up to shoreline cover.

[Nardecchiad]

Was that the Lureman Shop?
Yeah, Hapcheon is only open for boat fishing on weekends, I didn't realise that included belly boats / float tubes as well. It sure is a strange ole country we chose to live in, lol

Yes it was the lureman shop. He is good people. We talked for awhile and he gave me some good info. His store is loaded with pretty much all you would need and the prices are fair compared to other tackle stores I've been to, especially for tungsten.

[Bassinkorea]

The last time I visited his shop was in 2011, but I see him every few months at Andong.