Mitch Petty
Favorite Species/ technique /style of fishing:
As much as I love catching all different species in both fresh and saltwater, Australian Bass would have to be my favorite out of them all. I love how aggressive they are and the wide range of lures that can be used to target them. One technique that I use a lot when targeting bass would be using hard bodied crank baits. Using the electric motor on the front of the boat makes it so easy to cover water when crank baiting for bass to find either resident fish or a good concentration of schooling fish.
Favorite fishing location?
It is very hard to narrow it down as I have fished in numerous locations in Queensland and NSW. However, one place that I always keep coming back to is Somerset Dam located 1 and a half hours North West of Brisbane. This place never used to be a favorite of mine as when I first started there, I had countless trips with not eve catching one fish. As time went by, I got to learn from the fishless days and met some really talented anglers that helped me start catching Bass there. Somerset Dam has some of the biggest Australian Bass in the country with 50cm fish being a regular occurrence on a good day. I always get excited fishing there because you are always within a good chance of landing a fish of a lifetime there.
How did you get into fishing?
My dad first took me fishing when I was a really young fella before I started school to our farm dam where he had stocked it with silver perch and yellowbelly. We would dig up earthworms in our moms’ gardens to fill up an ice cream container with a good number of worms before heading down. I used to love watching the red and white bobber and my eyes would be glued to it waiting for it to go under. I spent a lot of time fishing when I was growing up on the farm dam and as years went by I started to explore new waterways and different techniques to catch various species around my local area in South East Queensland.
Why you love fishing?
There are so many factors that I love about fishing and is really hard to narrow it down to a specific reason. However, one of my favorite reasons I love fishing so much is learning about each fish species that I target because majority of them are very different. When being out on the water there are so many variables that need to be considered when making the right decision on where to fish as well what to using to catch them. I find it really enjoyable having to learn and understand what the fish are doing. Each fish that I catch is another piece to the puzzle of getting to understand them a little better. Like all anglers can agree you think you start to crack a pattern then it gets proven wrong and have to start again. It makes you think a lot when out on the water which I like and I’m used to always thinking about stuff on a regular basis.
Greatest fishing memory?
One memory that sticks to the me the most was when I caught my first ever 50cm Australian Bass fishing my first ever fishing tournament with my dad. Dad and myself thought it would be great to fish the Sports Tuition Moogerah classic back in 2016. I had never fished any sort of tournament before and was very nervous leading into the event. I had fished Moogerah a fair bit before the comp and thought fishing a tournament on the dam where I cut my teeth learning to catch bass on lures in the impoundments would be a good idea. I was very absolutely stoked to take out the Biggest Bass of the tournament landing a 53.6cm fish and will never forget that morning of landing it just how much I was shaking because of the excitement.
Favorite Rapala Product?
The DT® (Dives-To) series crankbaits are without a doubt up there as one of my go lures for catching Aussie freshwater natives particular Australian Bass. I really enjoy fishing with the DT Range as it covers me from fishing the edges targeting resident fish holding near timber and rocks, all the way to fishing open flats chasing bass out in the schools in 20ft of water. Plus, I also love fishing for Bass with crankbaits because of how hard they hit the lure on the retrieve is just insane.
Have you fished any Tournaments?
After doing my first fishing tournament back in 2016 I was excited to start participating in more tournaments. So, I did my first Australian Bass Tournament event as a non-boater at Boondooma dam in 2018 and that was by far the best thing I had ever done. I had learnt so much by fishing it as a non-boater getting the opportunity to fish along side some of the best Bass anglers in Australia. Doing that for 3 years I managed some top 10 finishes and even getting runner up at the 2019 grand final down at Lake St Clair. Then in 2021 at the ABT QLD open I stepped up becoming a boater and fishing the 2022 season as a boater as well. I definitely struggled throughout the season for a good result but was wrapped to finish the year off to take out Big Bass in the 2022 Australian Open held at Somerset dam.
