Welcome to EP232 of The Lure Fishing Project — and our first dedicated Australian bass episode.
There probably couldn’t be a better guest to kick it off.
Steve Morgan joins me fresh from an incredible run, winning back-to-back ABT Bass qualifiers at Somerset and Wivenhoe — around 20 years after his first ABT Bass qualifier victory.
This conversation goes well beyond those two tournaments.
Steve takes us right back through the evolution of Australian tournament bass fishing, from the early days of spinnerbaits, Sliders, ice jigs, Fireline and basic sounders through to the modern era of forward-facing sonar, strolling and targeting individual fish.
We dig into what Steve learned at Somerset and Wivenhoe and why two neighbouring fisheries required very different approaches.
Steve explains how he finds roaming bass with live sonar, how he positions the lure above the fish, what he watches for when a fish reacts and why sometimes the best thing you can do is actually move the lure away from the fish rather than toward it.
We also cover Steve’s incredible Wivenhoe pre-fish session, matching lure size to the available bait, hook positioning in soft plastics, winter bass behaviour, finding fish without forward-facing sonar and the importance of being prepared to fail while learning something new.
There are plenty of numbers in this one too — including a Somerset winning bag of around 23.8 kg for ten bass, a 3.35 kg fish, and Steve’s remarkable turnaround at Wivenhoe from one small fish the previous year to 19.4 kg for ten fish this time around.
Perhaps the biggest lesson is that buying the technology isn't the same as learning how to use it. Steve has spent a huge amount of time watching fish, experimenting and understanding how bass respond to a lure.
STEVE MORGAN’S LIVE-SONAR COURSE
If you want to take the forward-facing sonar side of this episode further, Steve’s Live-Sonar Masterclass is available through My Fishing Coach:
https://www.myfishingcoach.com/courses/live-sonar-masterclass/
Use the code LFP10 for 10% off.
Using the code also helps support The Lure Fishing Project.
JOIN THE LURE FISHING PROJECT COLLECTIVE
Join the Collective for member content, Zoom catch-ups, fishing challenges, access to the Vault and the LFP community:
https://lurefishingproject.supercast.com
Thanks for listening to our first Australian bass episode.
Andrew
The Lure Fishing Project
