There is an old saying that goes “time and tide wait for no man”. Well, it’s not man that waits for the tides, it’s fish.
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Fish live by the tides, they feed when the tides are running, either a flow or an ebb, tide, they are governed by the movement of the water. What are tides? They can be best described as a single large wave, they are pulled along by mainly the gravitational pull of the moon.
Over a 24-hour period there are two high tides and two low tides, all of a six-hour period.
So this is where snapper fishing comes into the story.
Rod Lawn from Adamas Fishing Charters at Queenscliff times his charters to suit the tides.
He likes to be in position just as the low tide turns and begins to flow to be the high tide. That gives him six hours of peak fishing.
This is one of the earliest forms of applying technology to fishing. By learning the tides, anglers can predict the best times to catch fish, and from there we can see the development of more devices to help catch fish.
The use of sonar or fish finders can be used to pinpoint schools of fish. From the early days of bamboo fishing rods to fibreglass, and now graphite, fishing lines have developed from animal gut, to mono filament and now braided materials.
From a bent pin to a self-setting circle hook, then there are lures that are used to attract fish.
Hard-body diving lures, soft plastics, artificial fly, and the like, all are used to catch fish, both in freshwater and saltwater. All of this technology is now a multi-billion-dollar recreational industry and it all began when someone worked out that fish would bite best at a certain time of day, when it suited the tide.
Having said that, Rod Lawn has been busy fishing off the heads.
He said it was still hard work catching snapper, as they were still about a month from moving back into the region.
Rod said there were resident fish to be found, but the big breeders were still to return.
In the meantime he was fishing for wrasse, better known as parrot fish, flat head, silver trevally and occasionally whiting.
He said squidward were also on the bite. He fished for them between the ferry terminal and Point Lonsdale
Last week Rod reported tuna was biting off Bells Beach.
This week at Port McDonald anglers had bluefin tuna over 100kg in weight. That is a monster fish in anyone’s language.
North of the border at Narooma, Graham Cowley said his son Nicholas landed a 65kg yellowfin tuna during the week using a surface lure and a snapper rod, which was quite a feat.
Graham said the past week at Narooma had been on the quiet side with even the flathead being scarce.
He said the recent hot spot had affected the water temperatures, making the fish move to cooler deeper water south of Narooma.
At Eden, John Liddell said the boys from Freedom Charters were still catching roey fish in shore but it was becoming hard work.
John said heading south to green caps was worthwhile to get the best results.
Around our neck of the woods, while we are also affected by tides in the large areas of water, it is to a much less degree, so fishing the tides is not an issue, although some anglers disagree.
I did notice that the Goulburn River is flowing higher than it normally would at this time of year. I can only surmise that there has been water released from Eildon. The flow has had an effect on the fishing, and yellowbelly are starting to slow down after their early spring biting frenzy. Despite that, fish the slow-flowing backwater for the best results.
I have not heard a lot from Eildon this week, but I would expect that given the warm weather, trout would slow down but the redfin would pick up. Fish the tree lines, and keep moving from tree to tree until fish are found.
Casting jackall lures to the banks is also worth trying for yellowbelly, and surface lures in the river arms for cod, best at dusk and early mornings. The dart is best fished during early mornings but then go deeper during the day.
Last week I mentioned that snakes are starting to become active as the weather heats up, unfortunately we live in a country that has more venomous snakes than any other.
So do take extreme care. If you go into the bush, carry a snake bite kit, a large elastic bandage, and if bitten do not wash the bite area, immobilize the affected limb and seek help.
So safe fishing and tight lines.