What Are The Ideal Fishing Conditions; Lunar, Tidal, Wind, Etc

[dino76]

hey there,

i'm a newby to fishing and i must say that i'm hooked! that being said, i'm having a terrible time catching some decent fish.

i've heard that there is a magical 'formular' consisting of lunar cycles, tidal & general weather conditions that any fool with a line and hook is guaranteed to hook big fish...

i always fish with a mate who recons just on/after sunrise is great... but i havent caught anything worth mentioning when out with him & unfortunately he is my only real fishing buddy...

any help and guidence on this subject will be greatly appreciated!

dino 'i want my first kingy' laffey

[fishermangreg]

G'day Dino,

You've started a good topic and i hope other fishraiders will contribute to your topic.

I've been fishing for 30 odd years and it still baffles me to this day. I've caught big fish in the middle of the day as well as catching them in the morning or afternoon. Windy or windless days don't seem to make a difference. Just a pain in the proverbial, or dangerous if it's windy with a big swell. Same goes with rainy days. Rainy days are good in one sense cause there's not many other people about.

Reading the moons lunar cycle is one that i've always heard about but haven't delved into that much. I could use help on this one too!!

Correct me fellow fishos if i'm wrong... i think its documented?? there's a guy named jewfish george?, that was asked to predict a 15kg+ jewfish capture on the hawkesbury. He called a three day period a couple of months in advance and within an hour of the first day he landed a 35kg specimen. As i said, correct me if i'm wrong please.

The best way i found was to learn as much about the species of fish you want to catch and then putting that all into practice. Then it comes down to the FISH being around and feeding when i'm there. A bit hit or miss but i get my fair share. There's a lot of fish out there and a lot of water between them. Finding them or bringing them to you in any conditions is half the battle won.

CHEERS MATE

[choad]

jewgaffer:

insert post here - ............................... .

better yet,

do a search on jewgaffer under member's post's. you will find some extremely informative threads on these topics from about 9 months back...

if i spent so much as half the time i spend watching this site fishing, i'd be a pro. damn you fishraider.com.au

[The Poacher]

If you are new -definantly do a few charters, they will only cost you a couple of hundred $ each and you will rapidly escalate your learning curve. All the Sydney/Hawkesbury based guides are all good from what I understand. Trust me, it is the one thing that will really make a difference for you in the sport. Its a lot harder reading posts and then applying it yourself if you are starting from a zero base.

Poacher

Dino - I forgot to mention the charters to go for are the inshore ones. There are guides who fish the Harbour itself (Fishabout or ((() and others who do Botany Bay or the Hawkesbury. Dont go on an offshore charter with 15 other guys. They are OK but you wont learn much.

Poacher

[Flightmanager]

Something I have been using to great advantage recently is Barometric Pressure. A large rise will make the fish eat very aggressively , perhaps to tide them through an approaching storm . Also , a drop in pressure will bring them on , just not as aggressively.

Rain doesnt seem to affect the species I go after ( snapper , flathead , trevally etc) , probably because they are already wet !! One of our most succcesful days fishing was in the Harbour on the Easter Long Weekend , it literally poured with rain , but the fish would come on and off the chew all day . We returned with over 15 table fish !! ( and a bilge full of rainwater !).

The more you fish a particular area , the more you will learn how time and tide , pressure affect the fish in that area . You will have a few fishless days at first , but as your knowkledge base increases , so will the size of your catch !! Keep at it , it wont happen overnight , but it will happen !! ( Hmm , thats pretty catchy , I might suggest it to an advertising agency , maybe they could flog shampoo or something with it ! )

Ross

[dino76]

gentleman,

thank you all for your assistance and insight into this new sport... for me!

well, after talking to mates around the office they said the weekend (past) was going to be a great time to fish;

lunar tide was perfect...

high tide was around 8:30 AM (for fishing 2 hours on either side the tide)...

overcast conditions for low light...

the way it turned out is that on saturday at the entrance from 2pm-6pm on a 4.5m boat i caught 5 undersize bream (2 only just short of legal) which was tossed back and 2 legal flathead that are now in my freezer. this has been my most successful session to date!

however on sunday from 5am-2pm at yarra bay (matraville) i caught one tiny little fish... dont ask me what it was. now later in the day there were some big bites, but every time we hooked something they would bite and run straight for the rocks. i had 3 big hook-ups only to lose both my hooks and sinker on each occasion .

as a foot note, both my buddy and i got royally busted by his wife and my fiance for staying out so long ! as our punishment, there is no fishing this weekend

poacher - thanks for the charter tip; i will do this... after the wedding

fishmgr & choad - i've heard a lot about these seemingly allusive jewfish and i must say that i cannot wait to hook and cook my first! i will deff look "jewgaffer" up!

flgithnmgr - thanks for that tip, i will look into Barometric Pressure as it really seems to have worked for you.

all many thanks and i look forward to your next posts and tips.

rgds,

dino

[davester28]

Correct me fellow fishos if i'm wrong... i think its documented?? there's a guy named jewfish george?, that was asked to predict a 15kg+ jewfish capture on the hawkesbury. He called a three day period a couple of months in advance and within an hour of the first day he landed a 35kg specimen.

Jewie Jim Siarakis on the Local Knowledge DVD.

[fishermangreg]

Jewie Jim Siarakis on the Local Knowledge DVD.

Thank you David. I now stand corrected.

[Flightmanager]

Dino , are you fishing landbased , or in a boat? As you would no doubt be aware , certain areas tend to hold more fish than others. The trick is to learn these spots ( hint: the reeeeely good ones are referred to as Spot X ) !

I like to fish around moored boats. Flathead like to lie under them , and wait for their meal to just drop on them. So , if you flick a tasty morsel , and drag it along in front of their noses , chances are they will attack , hopefully taking the hook !

Another thing I have learnt since being a member of this site is " Big Hooks catch Big Fish , small hooks catch ALL fish! " Perhaps you might try fishing a lighter class of line , I did , and totally fishless days are pretty few and far between ! ( Although they still do happen !). I also swear by fluorocarbon leaders , when it is in the water , it is totally invisible , all the fish sees is the bait ( must be true , I have asked several fish and they all said " I just didnt see it coming!" )

Ross

[dino76]

thanks ross. 90% of the time i'm fishing from land or rocks. this weekend my mate and i are looking to fish off the rocks at either clovelly beach or bare island...

with the hooks - yeah thanks for the tip. i usually just replicate what my mate is doing but next time i'll think twice about the hook.

i need to get my small rod relined shortly (due to rookie mistakes and not being aware of my line...) so i will definately look into the fluro lines. ps - what fish confirmed this? i'm hoping it was that allusive kingy that i'm still chasing!

dino

[Flightmanager]

Try the Gamakatsu or Owner brand of circle hooks, they are very good . Whatever brand or type of hook you use , make sure it is sharp !

Ross