What do you do when the Fishing gets tuff??????

[Plastic_Magic]

Hi all,

As all of you know already when the fishing gets tuff “IT GETS TUFF" especially in the Impoundment Barra scene. I’ve always been a bit of a sook when it comes to the crunch and the going gets tuff. I usually cut of the lure and head home but times have changed.

In the last 6 Months I have struck more than a few hard sessions out at Awoonga. What do I do??

I try new things, it’s no point to me sticking the basic method when the fish aren’t playing the game, to me it’s a good time to start thinking outside the box. More than most times after trying a new tactic I soon get a reaction from a barra. Not a hook-up or a landed fish but some action (which keeps it interesting).

With my last session at Awoonga ending up the big 0, the fishing was tuff and many knowledgeable anglers around were having the same problem. It wasn’t all as bad as it sounded. It was a time to trial a few new things, After casting my arm off for a couple hours at 1 snag it was time to get a bit of interest. I eyed off a couple of little (50-60cm) barra fining the surface. I pulled out a 130mm Roosta Popper and tied it on. First cast had created some interested from the little fellas. I knew that Hook-ups would have been farfetched with such a lure compared to the size of the fish but it generated interest.

So what do you guys do??

Cheers PM

[rc@hinze]

Hi PM. Like you now I keep on fishing but stop first and have a think about things. Open all my lure boxes and relook at them and think about which ones might work, try different casts, retreives etc. Also bring out my scents and try them. Look at the weather and reevaluate where I am fishing. Last trip on the house boat we put on one JM's video's and get re-inspired and back into again with new motivation. You cant catch a fish unless your line is in the water! - cheers RC

[BR65]

When the going gets tuff mate, the tuff get going. After just finishing 2 and a half hard slog days fishing, and only dropping a fish across the mat in the last 1/2 hour of the trip, its about haveing faith, maintaing concentration, and not giveing up - ever.

[eotbmg]

Pm.
Mate your in a funny predicament. You live so close to the Dams that the easy option when the fishing is tough is to up stumps and high tail it outta there. For the travelling angler who has shelled out the hard earned to get there and to provide accomadation and time off work..blah blah blah. THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION keep on fishing, cast cast cast, get up earlier, try later, look at moon rises as well as sun rises, try the other side of the dam, flip the thinking and try the excact opposite of what you THINK you know. As my ol mate Paul Big Ren said..No one has ever interviewed a barra! so no one knows. They have to eat, maybe twice a day, maybe only for 1 or 2 minutes.. If your lure is in the garage it will only catch garages!!!!!!
Ben

[Big_Ren]

Hey PM, Ben is right......we can't afford to give up in our situation, not ever.

We have stuck out rain squalls, wind, to come back out after a free shower and catch fish. Nothing more educational than time spent on the water.

Get the hours up and the barra gods keep handing over little pieces of that jig saw puzzle, one bit at a time.

Cheers
Paul

[Jeremy87]

my patience last for about 3 days after that i swap dams. In doing this i have always scored at least 1 fish per person. Then again i haven't done enough trips to really give myself a good chance of a doughnut. I think whats important when your not catching fish is to try and determine what is different to this situation to when you have caught fish.

[phatty]

hay lach,

have had the same problem over the past few months.
and i can easily say that my wallet has been feeling it abit too.
not giving in helps.. but sometimes when it gets dark.. and that wind coming across that lake seems to drop 5 degrees in 5 miniutes you begin to think to yourself "arhh is it really worth staying that extra half hour?" when hometime seems like a pretty good idea, (you know what im talking about ;) ) it can make all the difference. the times when ive been doing it tough and thought there was no hope.. have really surprized me and has made it worth the while.

when it comes down to tactics... ive done some pretty unorthodox things.
down sizing helped out sometimes.. i went through a phase of using nothing over 100mm.. jack lures... flathead plastics... even got one on a silent jackell a few weeks back.


matt.

[NAGG]

Perseverance & patience .......
Fish hard!!! ...... sunrise & sunset ...... moon rise , moonset
Be flexible in your methods ........ mix it up ! ( try different things) ....... down size or up size ........ fish lighter ( go down in leader size .... ie , 80lb - 50lb)
Slow things down ..... & think about what you are doing - & why!
Look for signs ...... bait activity & birds

If you feel confident about an area holding fish ....... work it hard!

But most importantly ..... have fun doing it :)

Chris

[Cammy]

I sit there and have a big sook..... Nah i usually take pics,have a sleep, talk to a mate, or talk to me self lol.

Cam

[pontificator]

look around and see what is working for others.

Try something different.

Go ashore and look for lures.

Go back to the cabin and have a beer:-)

[spears]

Go home get drunk,do a servo,joy ride a car,rip out a ATM while I’m in still a good mood.
Helps to take my mind of a bad day fishing.

[Awoonga]

Lach Good post....In the last ten months l have spent nearly every day on Awoonga a least a few hours.. Rain, Wind ,Cold...Lots of Donuts too ! Why ? to try and understand this lake better As the posts above say ....Try something different...Things like.. park your boat on the weed bed and cast out.. Rooster popper yea they work as do half a prawn....Go fishing without your rod Yes without it.... look ....explore...You will discover heaps...Because you live here you can afford to do this...it will make you a better fisherman..

[nuggstar]

iv got no ider about impounment barra but when the wild ones would shut down in the creeks up north, we'd go chase something elce like trevs and queenies, till the tide was right or we'd stop at the likely spot where we new the barra sulked like at the mouth of feeder creeks or ankered up over a rock bar and ither put out a livie out or we'd cast every lure in the tackle box untill ya get the bite, some times it worked other time we were wasting out time, but we did get em on most trips. one of my old skippers when i was working on a barra netting boats would allways start with a 6inch nillsmaster on in his lucky mullet colour, this was his fav lure and usually allways got skoffed and he'd work the place over for about an hour or two and if the lucky nillsy did not get a hit, he'd allways change to a bright green nillsy spear head and most of the time that would work strait way but again if they were still shut down he'd change to of all things the old halco barra spoons and thay never seemed to fail for him. if there shut down, change lure and try something different but make sure ya work the crap out of ya fav lure first as the other guys have said, they can just click and start biteing the heads off for no reason at all. just keep casting, ya cant catch a barra with out a lure in the water.

[Whitto]

Hi all,

As all of you know already when the fishing gets tuff “IT GETS TUFF" especially in the Impoundment Barra scene. I’ve always been a bit of a sook when it comes to the crunch and the going gets tuff. I usually cut of the lure and head home but times have changed.

In the last 6 Months I have struck more than a few hard sessions out at Awoonga. What do I do??

I try new things, it’s no point to me sticking the basic method when the fish aren’t playing the game, to me it’s a good time to start thinking outside the box. More than most times after trying a new tactic I soon get a reaction from a barra. Not a hook-up or a landed fish but some action (which keeps it interesting).

With my last session at Awoonga ending up the big 0, the fishing was tuff and many knowledgeable anglers around were having the same problem. It wasn’t all as bad as it sounded. It was a time to trial a few new things, After casting my arm off for a couple hours at 1 snag it was time to get a bit of interest. I eyed off a couple of little (50-60cm) barra fining the surface. I pulled out a 130mm Roosta Popper and tied it on. First cast had created some interested from the little fellas. I knew that Hook-ups would have been farfetched with such a lure compared to the size of the fish but it generated interest.

So what do you guys do??

Cheers PM The aged old $64 million dollar question PM.....In away u have answered your own question by changing your tactics by casting a popper creating some interest...don't think for a moment you have undergunned with that lure...Trev (Awoonga) has caught Barra with a Jackal.....just look at the ABT tours where Bass are the priority target (Barra are caught as a by product species)...personally a good tactic is too present somethink different (out of the ordinary)....as a living legend has said, find the Barra put the lure on their noses and hope they want or need to eat at the time.....I always enjoy the occasion and for me catching a Barra is a bonus (Have fun if u become frustrated time to go home).....Your a young man PM u have so much time to work it out and when u do alot of blokes on here will want to know how u did it......some of the posts on here you would think Barra have Uni Degrees....remember they are a simple creature that we all love.....Just my thoughts.....Cheers Whitto

[Tropicaltrout]

Most of us that make the trip to the dams in-search of barra are so excited about the trip, the fishing , the camping, and all the things that go with it. The only thing not on our side is time, with all the secret spots or locations on the dam they are never likly to produce like they did the time you hit when it was on fire.

We must persist to cast, slow down our drift, tie off and work eack likley spot harder with different retrives, I dont care about the not catching just know that every cast is in the water is enough with the antisapation running high...

After all when you are one the water casting into barra country why would you go in, wether it be Mondy or Faust in the sticks, Awoonga or teemburra on the weed edges, The feeling is all one in the same.

Just keep casting if they turn on to feed your in with a chance....

Nath

[SQUIDDA]

Go fishing without your rod Yes without it.... look ....explore...You will discover heaps...Because you live here you can afford to do this...it will make you a better fisherman..[/quote]

Days spent searching are sometimes worth more than days spent catching.If you can afford to.When things are hard go looking.Draw some lines and marks on the GPS.Look for some submerged structure.(creeks,timber,edges,weed,fish,whatever? )Take a break.Think about things and try again.

[black_sheep]

Even when it gets hard, you never know when that next hit or PB is coming. If I put my rod down and take a break, Vin (my bro) may catch that fish of a lifetime (and usually does)>:( ! so for us it's more about sel'fish'ness and greed and making sure your big bro doesn't out do you;) .

GO HARD OR GO HOME!!!!

As Uncle Benny says 'u can sleep when you dead';D .

[fghjkl]

When the going gets tuff...... GULP! IT.;D

Cheers,
Joel

[2manylures]

Hi all,

As all of you know already when the fishing gets tuff “IT GETS TUFF" especially in the Impoundment Barra scene. I’ve always been a bit of a sook when it comes to the crunch and the going gets tuff. I usually cut of the lure and head home but times have changed.

In the last 6 Months I have struck more than a few hard sessions out at Awoonga. What do I do??

I try new things, it’s no point to me sticking the basic method when the fish aren’t playing the game, to me it’s a good time to start thinking outside the box. More than most times after trying a new tactic I soon get a reaction from a barra. Not a hook-up or a landed fish but some action (which keeps it interesting).

With my last session at Awoonga ending up the big 0, the fishing was tuff and many knowledgeable anglers around were having the same problem. It wasn’t all as bad as it sounded. It was a time to trial a few new things, After casting my arm off for a couple hours at 1 snag it was time to get a bit of interest. I eyed off a couple of little (50-60cm) barra fining the surface. I pulled out a 130mm Roosta Popper and tied it on. First cast had created some interested from the little fellas. I knew that Hook-ups would have been farfetched with such a lure compared to the size of the fish but it generated interest.

So what do you guys do??

Cheers PM

Each trip or outing is an entirely new experience for me & I treat it as though I’m fishing a particular waterway for the very 1st time even when I’ve fished there hundreds of times previously

Although I’ve never fished for them, I don’t think barra would be much different to any other freshwater species. They all need to feed, they all move whether it be great distances or from snag to snag in close proximity. Finding the food source is an excellent starting point to finding fish, structure is another good start for ambush predators. I never fish a new water without sounding it out 1st. Many times on known waters I’ll do the same. Better to know than think you know. Thinking like a fish & not an angler trying to catch them is a good way to avoid tough times on the water.

On windy days we so often see a majority of anglers fishing the calm water, WHY, because it’s more comfortable for them on a personal level. From my personal experience {many may disagree} fish tend to go with the best oxygen level hence I fish the rough water & in close to the bank. It’s uncomfortable & hard yakka but it does produce the goods when the calm water doesn’t for most.

Fishing the bays at boat ramps is another good spot I’ve found. I’ve never seen the need to power to other sides of lakes when there’s fish at the doorstep. For example on my last trip to Lake Eucumbene we met & got friendly with some Sydneysiders, 6 blokes with 2 boats who fished for 8 days and went fishless yet spent an absolute fortune on fuel. Whilst having a morning coffee or two we would hear the majority of boats powering to various areas. Once launched & in deep enough water out would go the lures & 90% of the time one or more fish would be caught in the little bay at the ramp. Places like this are overlooked by many yet the fish will congregate there.

Another perfect example of this is Lake Bullen Merri in Victorias Western district. The main food source here is Galaxia. Every man & his dog put there bait traps in at the boat ramp’s jetty yet you hardly see anyone fish around this structure. The tucker is there so why wouldn’t the predators be. We often see anglers throwing cast nets catching bait yet once they have enough they power on to a different location. They’re at the food source & if the fish aren’t there already I would seem to think they wouldn’t be too far away.

I feel many bring the tough conditions on themselves. These are just my thoughts from observations made over 40 plus years of doing what I’m so passionate about. Evaluating a body of water whether it be a Trout lake, Barra impoundment or the Mighty Murray River prior to grabbing the bull by the horns is generally more productive than doing what many have become so complacent about.

Take the time to evaluate the situation. Sure you have to have a lure in the water to catch fish, more importantly, you have to have fish in the water where your lure is.
If you treat every outing as an entire new experience & do it properly you should have more success, it works for me.

[poddy mullet]

I like to try a few different techniques when its slow...Have a tinnie..... Tell Jokes...and my favourite is to play "Fish Hits" with my mates in the boat. Its a simple game where entrants need to change the words of a song so that it has a fishing theme...
For example.. AC/DC Its a long way to the top, might be changed to.. "Its a long way to the ramp, so were gunna f@$king Troll"
and so on..
Lame but fun as when you get on a roll! We p#ss ourselves!;D

[Colo77]

[quote=2manylures;925744]
On windy days we so often see a majority of anglers fishing the calm water, WHY, because it’s more comfortable for them on a personal level. From my personal experience {many may disagree} fish tend to go with the best oxygen level hence I fish the rough water & in close to the bank. It’s uncomfortable & hard yakka but it does produce the goods when the calm water doesn’t for most.

I've become a believer of this theory also of recent times.With 3 boys under 4 I don't get much time away to fish either. Normally when the going gets tuff I'll change lures frequently & try spots that have produced in the past, usually to no avail.

On My last trip to Teemburra it was blowing about 25 knots & alot cooler than recent days. Now I go fishless alot but this time I thought bugger it, something has to change. I started off in a secluded arm of a creek, well protected from the wind for about 1.5 hours, comfy, looked fishy....0:( So I scooted around to the side of the dam the wind was blowing onto. Apparently the wind blows all the warmer surface water to the wind blown side. I found a weed bed in approx 2.5 metres of water, tied up to a tree in what seemed to be the most open uncomfortable spot to be, 2nd cast & bang 75-80 cm of barra grabbed my plastic, ran, jumped & spat me. I didn't land it but still got the rush I went there looking for;D .

The water was at least a degree warmer over there. Fishing the wind blown side aint as crazy as it sounds. Someone suggested parking on the weed bed. Might give it a go next time.

Colo

[poddy mullet]

Mate, parking on the weedbed works! I often do it in the yak on the edge of the fastwater to hold my position and fire a few casts off.