Reply With QuoteI think some words from my FISHAWOONGA DVD stated that "the lake scene will never be fully understood because it will forever be under gradual evolution"...............or words close to that affect.
Cheers
JM
Awoonga barramundi certainly apply more instinctive and thorough thought processes than any other barra I have fished for. It is an art to boat ten fish per daytime session , 2008, in a lake stocked with over 3 million fingerlings. I can catch salties with triple the ease; lake barra require much more angler intuition, intervention and creativity to trick a cunning fish that has derived to this point from years of interaction with humans.
I say they are smart, not smart as in to write a book or to bank their money, but smart as in the way in which the barra reads the situation, and adresses the confrontation. Most fish don't strike, they know what's what. It seems even the best anglers on lakes work their butts off to consistently catch metre fish. I have heard the words from many locals over the years that all the metre fish have been caught out, yet mysteriously in months that forthcome those same blokes eventually 'tune in' to what it is that is required to catch an Awoonga metery and the smiles and hapiness returns until............................... the fish changes once again. I don't class myself as the world's smartest person, but I certainly stress my brain each year keeping up with a wisened fish.
Johnny
I think some words from my FISHAWOONGA DVD stated that "the lake scene will never be fully understood because it will forever be under gradual evolution"...............or words close to that affect.
Cheers
JM
Chewy, yeah thats the plan....only problem is (and this is the hard part) catching smaller fish! (50-70cm) they seem to be quite elusive around these parts. As soon as I get one, I will change it over. Agreed, the little ones react better to the tank enviroment.Originally Posted by chewy01
steve
Dick, Very true mate.
Darryl, I think this is a terminology issue, same word different meanings to different people, you get that, we may have to agree to disagreeDick, I said "There are few fish more stupid". I stand by that. The mythology of Barra is so strong that they're held up by lots of people to be many things they're not..
Having said that, and in keeping with the thread of what makes barras hard or easy to catch, certainly environmental constraints are a big factor.
I’ve seen a sooty track a lure in mid flight and move to intercept it at its touchdown point. Smart or dumb? 99 times out of a 100 it would have been a bug crashlanding, the sooty got there with in front of half a dozen archer fish, seemed a smart move to me, though people could consider it a dumb thing to do.
You can sit on one snag and pull in up to 10 fingermark before they wake up, maybe dumb but when you see the clouds of fish that follow the first couple up you come to realise food is a bit of a premium down there.
Pods of sailfish swimming up to a boat dragging a heap of teasers, why on earth if you were a sailfish would you want and go and do that!!!???? Once again they have to do an awful lot of eating to survive.
So is a barramundi more intelligent than these other species of fish and if so how? It sounds like impoundment barra are much the same as resident barra around towns in a wild river situation, they become used to fishing pressure and take that into consideration when feeding, the bigger fish have the greater experience and therefore are more cautious.
My personal gauge of fish smarts is put them into a situation where they are under stress and see how they react. You do that every time you hook one. What pleases me about barras is their different strategies at different stages of the fight and the fact they have more than one strategy (maybe an opportunity for another thread), they appear to be able to think on the run and when something is not working go to the next plan, although still somewhat predictable it’s far better then muscling up to a fish that only knows one way.
To me that makes them smart enough to quickly adapt to a given situation and become cautious. However, a hungry belly (something we've all but forgotten about) is a major override to caution.
Yes Dick I think it's semantics. It's always difficult to hold a reasoned conversation via keyboard. This discussion needs several cold beers and a boat and some serious field research.
I agree with what you're saying re the things you've observed. Jungle Perch are another that will track things in flight, I'd class that as well adapted to their environment and food sources.
I fish around 10-20 hours a week, all of it lure casting. Jacks and Barra make up 90% of my catch, the difference between the species is obvious to all but so is the difference in "smarts".
Who cares as long as they're still around.
Darryl
Thanks Trev, I will pass that onto "Mr B', hopefully he is smart enough to figure out the magic word starts with a big Shhh.....
Nagg,
After the responses, it shows how much is involved in staying focused and getting results in your favour. When I have two charter clients fishing, one usually outfishes the other. Firstly, different lures are tried to find the best option. Usually, one angler catches one or two fish before the other, and a bit of time elapses before I discover what lure swap needs to be undertaken. By this stage, one angler is pumped, the other is edgey. This usually carries on, as the confident angler often gets a third fish before the other fisher gets the first. Our minds are powerful tools.
Secondly, once we lay all variables together, fish confidently, fish smartly, swap rods with friends and so on, we discover how useless some outfits really are. Don't overlook the fact on this very topic, as I have done charters where a female client's own rod landed nothing in 4.5 hrs whilst I watched barra feed all around us. I was stumped as to why it was happening, but when I clicked as to what was occuring, we swapped her rod for one of mine laying idle on deck and the first two casts produced two fish over a metre and she hooked 7 more in the next hour. I have dozens of stories like this, and it would blow your mind. I have even fished with bad combos to try to make the end results better but fail to even come close to matching the results of a well tuned rod, reel, lure, line and so on.
But, here it gets deeper,,,,,,,,,,,,,the next time you fish a lake, the conditions may just change enough to make a different combo of lure, line, rod and reel produce better than the next. I've many examples written in my advanced book to keep you occupied and thinking. Ever wondered why some anglers prefer a different lure sized soft lure like a 110mm lure versus a 140mm lure, or vice versa? Ever wondered why anglers have favourite rods for certain jobs? I also ask myself why I use the rods and lines on my boat, and why not something else,,,,,,,,answer- because they work so well. I have a few rods downstairs leaning on the wall, doing nothing, because they are hopeless for lake lure fishing.
Wierd, but true.
JM
Johnny ...... What you have said just cannot be dismissed & I too tie certain lures onto certain combos ( usually I fish 3).......... In basic terms , If I can feel the lure / plastic working through the rod tip ........ I feel I'm half way there.
I also know that I've downsized line diameter to fish plastics ....... better action & feel obtained!
Yes ...... there could be many variables between what OLD MATE was doing & myself ............ But hey that's impoundment fishing & its from these experiences that we learn & develop
Cheers
Chris
Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
Teach him how to fish
& he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
TEAM MOJIKO
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