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

[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' .

[fghjkl]

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

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!

[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 .

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.