It is often said that 10% of Anglers catch 90% of the fish, and whilst I’m not here to argue these statistics I’m happy and proud to say that I’ve spent years trying to achieve a position amongst those 10%’s and thus increase my catches and I’ve got some way to go. The purpose of this article is to share with you a few observations that I’ve made that should increase your success so that you can join that elusive group.
Firstly, all of the very successful fishermen that I have ever known keep a diary, some are meticulous with every detail added whilst others simply use an excercise book to record the date, the location and the species captured. I for one have changed the format I use a few times and have settled with a very simple hard bound excercise book with more pages than I ever hope to fill. I record the date, the approx water temp, the location and the size and species captured, sometimes I will make mention of the air pressure, however for the most part this is not something you can plan for. I have stopped recording the tide times and moon phase as I am a firm believer in concentrating my fishing efforts around the top and the bottom of tide. Whilst where ever possible I try and organise my outings between 4 days before and after the new or full moon.
Secondly, all the old salts I’ve ever had the pleasure to spend time on the water with have an action plan for their trips. In planning each trip they refer to the old faithful diary, the tide charts the weather forecast and of course the ‘the fishing line’ that circle of mates who share the fishing affliction. Making a ‘game plan’ instead just going for ‘a fish’ is a fundamental element in increasing your catch rate. Pick a target species, think through the gear you will need, the habitats you will need to fish, the baits and or lures that will work best, which tide works best in the chosen location, consider a pre-dawn start or a mid afternoon start if wishing to fish dusk. My usual fishing outing starts a few days ahead of time, first I check the weather forecast to decide weather its an offshore or estuary mission, secondly I refer to my diary (it is truly amazing the patterns of migration that become apparent after even a few years of writing down the fishing trip info), then I get on the ‘phone around’ to get the low-down on who’s been catching what where, which way the currents running (offshore and how strong), the water temp, water quality etc and then I hatch my plan. In making a plan you will also need to be somewhat flexible and adaptable and take into consideration the factors/conditions that present themselves.
The third factor which I believe really dictates success is preparedness. Watch an experienced angler on any given outing and they have thought ahead on what might happen, leaders are tied on, lures and/or hooks also at the ready and as soon as fishing time actually starts they have a lure or baited hook in the water faster than everyone else can rig up. In some instances these anglers will have a fish in the boat before others on board have a bait in the water. You might even notice that they change a rig or lure as the conditions/locations change so that in the even that an opportunity presents itself they can take full advantage.
This next factor is one I’m still struggling to make a permanent repertoire in my fishing skills and that is to always fish as light as possible for any given situation. I love fishing with heavy tackle that you can really pull on, however time and time again I have been witness to being steadily outfished by a few mates who love to fish light. This does not only mean lighter weights, but lighter line, leader rods, reels smaller hooks and so on. Obviously there are times when this approach comes undone but by selecting for the lightest gear you are giving yourself a better chance of at least hooking a fish staying connected well that’s up to you!!
The second last factor I’d like to mention is awareness – ‘Awareness of the indicators all around you’ unfortunately this cannot be taught it can only be observed and learnt from. However what can be taught is attentiveness to the slightest differences in environmental factors each and everytime you are on the water. I have a distant fishing acquaintance who belongs too and could almost be the president of the 10%ers club, there is hardly an outing when he comes home fishless and if he comes back to the ramp empty handed its a pretty good guarantee that everyone else will too. Observing this magician at sea places one in a conundrum, there is so much going on that he observes that trying to keep up with these observations through conversation almost becomes futile. From the moment the ignition kicks over his eyes and ears are darting all over the place. When asked what he’s looking for the simple answer is everything, upon closer quizzing he allows a little more out of the bag. I’m watching for the wave height and direction, the clouds in the sky tell me how long and hard the wind has and will blow from its current direction, I’m watching the water quality and looking for changes in colour, I’m watching the direction and type of the sea birds and in which general direction they are traveling, I watch the way the currents behave on certain key reef structures. I know when the moon was last full and what time of year we are in, I know from my diary at this time of year these fish should be around. I’m watching for what minute organisms are on and in the water, bluebottles, tell me one thing, certain jellyfish another and that brown green algae another. He went onto say that really what he was looking for was a collection of environmental factors which he had seen before and had on those given days had success at one location and none at another. From memory he said something like this, ‘there are those successful days on the water when everything goes your way, notice the little things about those days and store them up here (pointing to his head), next time your on the water if you see them again chances are its worth fishing the same spot again.’ So open your eyes and ears to everything on the water and look for things you’ve not noticed before…. Ohh yeah and always take your rubbish with you.
The last point to be made is probably the simplest one, stated to me by a younger fishing mate who’s pretty much joined the 10%ers club already. One afternoon when I was tooing and froing about whether to go fishing in a few days time, he said
“Mate if in doubt just go fishing – you can’t catch anything with out a line and hook in the water, get out there!” And that’s the truth of it, like anything in life the more you do it the better you get at it….
Cheers
Dan and Dan
