Habitat
In the freshwater reaches of coastal rivers in the warmer months, Australian bass require reasonable quality, unsilted habitats with adequate native riparian vegetation and in-stream cover/habitat. Australian bass generally sit in cover during the day. However, they are fairly flexible about the type of cover used. Sunken timber (“snags”), undercut banks, boulders, shade under trees and bushes overhanging the water and thick weedbeds are all used as cover. Such cover does not need to be in deep water to be used; Australian bass are happy to use cover in water as shallow as 1 metre in depth.
Australian bass are strong swimmers at all sizes and can easily traverse rapids and fast-flowing water. However, they generally avoid sitting directly in currents to conserve energy.
At night Australian bass display pelagic (“near-surface”) behaviour and actively hunt prey in shallow water and at the water's surface.
When aggregated for spawning in the broad reaches of estuaries in winter, Australian bass are less cover oriented, and generally sit in deeper water.
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