La Nina fishing thoughts

[61 crusher]

Sitting under a noisy awning that’s getting pelted by rain got me thinking about what others might do & catch during this weather. If I was keen I’d be focusing on creek & river mouths for a silver ghost or two which I’m sure a few fishermen up the coast would already have there gear & lures in readiness for when the rain starts to ease.

 
So out of curiosity what are people’s  thoughts about the season ahead for La Niña 

[GoingFishing]

My thoughts are f$#! this crap. 14 weeks of lockdown and it was sunny and low winds. As soon as lockdown ended its been raining for practically 4 weeks straight !

I dont mind getting wet whilst fishing as long as its warm. But the problem is the wind and the swell. I fish exclusively offshore unless i take the kids out for a fish in which case ill fish inside the bay.

Hopefully there are a few days with light rain and low wind/swell so we can at least get out there and chase some pelagics this summer

[Restyle]

I agree with what the post above has said. I dont care if I get wet, as long as it isn't 12c and windy

[Rebel]

According to the expert this weather is here till the end of January 2022.

Cheers.

[Green Hornet]

Jewfish and blackfish concentrated down to the rivermouth.

Bring it on!

[Green Hornet]

7 minutes ago, Rebel said:

According to the expert this weather is here till the end of January 2022.

Cheers.

At least we'll get some well deserved respite after last summers bushfires.

Edited November 26, 2021 by Green Hornet

[Rebel]

We don't need the bush fires.

[Ganguddy Goodoo]

My take on it. I suspect it will start warming up in the next week or two. Less likely to get 40 degree plus days though. My local rivers will probably run higher than normal but hopefully still be fishable at least some of the time. If the rivers are out I'll still have a crack floating around in lakes and estuaries in the yak. One thing to be careful of is if you are fishing remote areas the fire trails might be a bit slick at times.

[Little_Flatty]

If it’s raining when I have a leave pass for a fish, then I’m getting wet…that’s always been the way for me.

The only time I pull the plug when I have a leave pass to go fishing is when I have a concern (even slight) that it might be unsafe. Keen as I am, I don’t want to get struck by lightning, or washed/blown into the drink.

I’m going to keep on going with my pursuit of a jewie on a lure, mixed in with bream and flatties when I can find them. If it’s raining on my days off, I might fish some spots in the harbour that are often too busy to accomodate me. For instance, I haven’t been to Clifton Gardens for a while…always enjoy a fish there, in spite of limited success.

[Little_Flatty]

2 hours ago, maccapacca said:

What can you even catch there

Squid, Kings, Trevs, Bream and Jackets, amongst others. I haven’t fished there in ages as I have been focused on areas closer to home using lures, but I like the spot.

1 hour ago, maccapacca said:

Reckon I’ll catch one if I chuck a running sinker rig and a cubed pilchard on

Sure, that will be fine. Prawns should work too.

[XD351]

Buy a raincoat and soldier on !

Think about how the fresh will affect fish that were  going up into the canals and sand flats and how it affects the food they eat . Look for drains ( man made and natural ) that drop into deeper water, channels and drop offs  as the fresh will float over the top of the salt and predators will be sitting there in the drop off waiting for a feed . I can handle rain but I hate  strong wind , a breeze that puts a ripple on the water can be your best friend especially if you can get it at your Back or as a straight headwind  ( for casting etc ) as it can make the fish less timid in shallow water - cross winds just make life difficult as they cause a bow in your line but can still be fished if you are dedicated enough or smart enough to use it to your advantage .

One of course has to be more wary heading out to sea in these conditions as  the open sea is a totally different animal to the estuary and things can go from good to real bad very quickly .

[Pickles]

Hi 61Crusher,

I reckon we are in for a bumper year of fishing -  Although a (retired) teacher and farmer and First Nation man (Gundungurra mob), I’ve been “on the land” and fishing for over 50 years and my experience is “when it’s good for farming (the garden), it’s good for fishing”.

You don’t melt in the rain and the fish are already wet and long as you can stay warm and out of the wind a wet season is a good thing.

the other thing that I reckon will make this coming 12 months good for fishing is the fact that we’ve had dust storms 6 months ago and the red dust (ferrous / iron) rich came from west to east coast and dumped at sea, where it adds considerable nutrient for zooplankton, phytoplankton and microbes at the base of the food chain. This means krill, small fish to feed bigger aquatic life forms and so on.

God made a great creation for us to enjoy - get out and get amongst it.

 

[lastworm]

Was looking forward to bass season this season more than ever. All this water is going to make it tough for fish to get into the upper reaches after spawning. Waiting for the rain to stop, but even then we’ll need a week or two for the rivers to settle and clear again.

Not looking good, might be better off learning to fly fish and prep for trout season the way things are going.

[61 crusher]

14 hours ago, maccapacca said:

What can you even catch there? Went kayaking around there and there were atleast 30 people on a Saturday with massive 12 foot beach rods, and they weren’t casting far at all.I was thinking it might be some sort of a prized fish they were chasing because there are a lot nicer and productive spots in the harbour for bread and butter and other species.

There’s good deep water close by & as the water warms up the kings & bonito cruise past, not far from there when we had good warm EA current running down the coast warmer than usual water made into the harbour & I saw & lost a good long tail on light line, also new of guys who caught spotted mackerel near middle head, that same year black marlin were seen & hooked at the mouth of the harbour 

The same year my two girls caught heaps of small dolphin fish all I had to do was throw out a couple of lures at the heads & start trolling, hooked up from 500 meters off the heads to as far as you wanted to troll 

Hopefully this event creates a bumper season to come

[XD351]

32 minutes ago, lastworm said:

Was looking forward to bass season this season more than ever. All this water is going to make it tough for fish to get into the upper reaches after spawning. Waiting for the rain to stop, but even then we’ll need a week or two for the rivers to settle and clear again.

Not looking good, might be better off learning to fly fish and prep for trout season the way things are going.

When the river floods the Bass come right up over the flooded areas looking for a feed , I was watching a YouTube channel I like ( Windsor bait and tackle )  last night and he was fishing an area that was usually part of a paddock and high and dry .

[61 crusher]

43 minutes ago, Pickles said:

reckon we are in for a bumper year of fishing

My thoughts to Bob 

 

48 minutes ago, Pickles said:

the other thing that I reckon will make this coming 12 months good for fishing is the fact that we’ve had dust storms 6 months ago and the red dust (ferrous / iron) rich came from west to east coast and dumped at sea, where it adds considerable nutrient for zooplankton, phytoplankton and microbes at the base of the food chain. This means krill, small fish to feed bigger aquatic life forms and so on.

It all started with the dust storm & the last lot of good rain that caused Warragamba dam to spill over, I’ve been chatting with a few blokes in the know & they’re likening it to the mid seventies floods (one in 50 years) & predicted that the yellowfin would come in close. I’ve heard of some being hooked up off the stones & one guy I chatted to had a school go past him in 40m of water about a month ago around the same time 7 or 8 fin to 1.5m swam past my feet while spinning for salmon

Looking forward to the season ahead it’s shaping up to be a ripper 👍👍

[kingie chaser]

Well I think whether we are in a La Nina or El Nino weather effect the only way your going to catch fish is if your on the water & if you just keep casting.

Thanks goodness lockdown is over because I dont really care which one is in play atm but just want to get out as much as possible & the weather permits.....................which is the problem with La Nina.

In saying that it would interesting to be able to collect data on how the 2 effect fishing.

Being a La Nina at the moment, you can imaging water current being warmer & therefor fish that might be caught further out coming closer to shore??

Still all the rain would have to have an affect on the water quality, both estuary & to a degree outside within a certain distance.

 

I think Australia's last major La Nina effect actually lasted nearly 3 years & caused a lot of damage to crop production & infrastructure so be careful for what you wish for 😬

[kingie chaser]

29 minutes ago, maccapacca said:

Wonder if somehow through fish raider  we can compare reports this year and the next or whenever about La niña and how it fishing is with it.

because I to agree looking at the change in conditions and fishing would be intresting

At the end of the day we are mostly just casual recreational fisho's & its probably something more to be explored by the scientific community

 

Still, in saying that we could personally possibly note certain things like water temp to catch rates 

Then gets tricky when you start to throw in factors like barometric pressure, moon phase etc.

 

There are already theories on this but then add Nina & Nino??

 

But if I didnt watch the news then I would have no idea if this was an La Nina effect period...................who keeps track?

 

In the end if the sun if shining, the wind is not blowing & your not busy working then there just go fishing & roll the dice I say.

Better for your than sitting on the couch watching Netflix!

Edited November 27, 2021 by kingie chaser

[kingie chaser]

19 minutes ago, motiondave said:

You can afford Netflix???? 

Just get a mate with NF to give you his password & then sling him $5 a month or buy him a coffee every now & then 😉

 

Works for me 🙂

[Volitan]

Back to your original question, what does La Niña mean. Well the answer in theory is that La Niña generally brings improved estuary fishing, but probably not This season but rather next season and perhaps the one after.

La Niña brings lots of rain, hence lots of runoff, hence lots of algae growth, hence lots of baitfish growth, hence lots of predatory fish.

Especially true in estuaries, close to the sources of runoff. A bit less true coastally, and less so offshore.

effectively it supercharges the system. the more inputs you put into a system the more outputs you get. The estuary is the system, inputs are runoff from the land to the sea, the outputs are fish.

australia is a flat, hot dry continent. Thus the nearshore marine resources are sparse compared to well-watered countries with plentiful large rivers - like NZ or East Coast America. Australian marine resources are a very thin veneer - a statement which often annoys Local fishos who don’t like to hear anything Australian being denigrated but its true nonetheless. La Niña brings much needed fertility to the system. El Niño takes it away.

So if the La Niña plays out as promised expect some good fishing late this season and especially next.

some of you may remember the double El Niña of 1998 1999 (i think, i don’t remember the exact year) and the impact that had on fishing. The amount of baitfish in the water in 1999 and 2000 was exceptional to the point that it even made the TV news and the SMH. Many of us started fly fishing at that time because it was just so easy to catch bonito, kings Mac tuna etc. I foolishly thought it was normal and would go on forever but 2001 and 2002 showed how wrong we were - very lean years for our chosen method.

sorry if I have my years mixed up. Brain fade.

 

[James Clain]

Negatives:

Can't get out fishing as much due to poor conditions, murky brown water, fast flowing and flooding in rivers and estuaries, salt water getting diluted further upstream in estuaries.

Positives:

Lots of nutrients being washed down kickstarting the food chain for later on (feeding algae and then off it goes), strong EAC bringing down northern species, more water flowing through streams that have become dry due to droughts.

 

Obviously a few more positives and negatives that could be listed. In the end you cant catch anything if you don't have a line in the water so when you get the chance just get out there and give it a shot. 

[little fisho]

On 11/27/2021 at 8:43 AM, 61 crusher said:

There’s good deep water close by & as the water warms up the kings & bonito cruise past, not far from there when we had good warm EA current running down the coast warmer than usual water made into the harbour & I saw & lost a good long tail on light line, also new of guys who caught spotted mackerel near middle head, that same year black marlin were seen & hooked at the mouth of the harbour 

The same year my two girls caught heaps of small dolphin fish all I had to do was throw out a couple of lures at the heads & start trolling, hooked up from 500 meters off the heads to as far as you wanted to troll 

Hopefully this event creates a bumper season to come

there were lots of spotted mackerel caught there a few weeks ago... my mate got spooled by something midwater with big headshakes and bigger runs

[61 crusher]

@Volitan very broad & concise information you’ve shared which helps give a good understanding of what these weather events can create for us fishos. Thanks for sharing 👍