Fishing Wisdom

[NewToFishing]

Hi all,

Hope everyone is doing well!

As a new fisherman, I always like to learn new things from those who have experienced it before me.

I thought I would ask you all, what's your best fishing knowledge/wisdom gained over the years? 

I'm sure we could all learn from each other here 

Thanks!

[big Neil]

Welcome to the forum mate. You've already done a couple of good things to get you started on your fishing journey.

Firstly you have joined the best forum in the world, secondly you are asking questions.

There are some brilliant anglers on this site. Most are only too pleased to help others out. Each of us who have been fishing for a long time can recall how we started and the experiences we gained along the way. The best way to learn then was to fish with others and each learn from each other.

Today, with the information highway you can learn the theory behind fishing without leaving your lounge room. But that doesn't make us good anglers, we have to get out there and put it all into practice. You are very fortunate to be living in a place where there are stacks of opportunities to get out and attempt to catch fish.

So, in answer to your question "what's your best fishing knowledge/wisdom gained over the years? "  Being on this forum, being ACTIVE on this forum, never being afraid to ask for help, and taking the opportunity to meet some of the other anglers on the forum."

Give it a go. I will enjoy watching your journey.

Cheers, bn

Edited January 16 by big Neil
inverted commas

[NewToFishing]

55 minutes ago, big Neil said:

Welcome to the forum mate. You've already done a couple of good things to get you started on your fishing journey.

Firstly you have joined the best forum in the world, secondly you are asking questions.

There are some brilliant anglers on this site. Most are only too pleased to help others out. Each of us who have been fishing for a long time can recall how we started and the experiences we gained along the way. The best way to learn then was to fish with others and each learn from each other.

Today, with the information highway you can learn the theory behind fishing without leaving your lounge room. But that doesn't make us good anglers, we have to get out there and put it all into practice. You are very fortunate to be living in a place where there are stacks of opportunities to get out and attempt to catch fish.

So, in answer to your question "what's your best fishing knowledge/wisdom gained over the years? "  Being on this forum, being ACTIVE on this forum, never being afraid to ask for help, and taking the opportunity to meet some of the other anglers on the forum.

Give it a go. I will enjoy watching your journey.

Cheers, bn

Cheers @big Neil, definitely a wealth of knowledge on this forum. I have realised as you said that the theory is already there, with YouTube teaching me a ton of skills. However getting out there is what makes the difference. Just waiting on some better weather 🌡️

[Max Power]

There’s some great advice from big Neil!

A piece of advice that has really improved my fishing success (still a long way to go though 😁), is to target a particular species instead of just “chucking and chancing it”. By doing this you not only tailor your rig, bait and location to the particular species, but you also get into the right frame of mind imo. 
Im sure you will get much better advice from those far more experienced than myself but hope it helps and good luck on your piscatorial journey.

[noelm]

Something that comes after years of fishing, the most fish is not necessarily what it’s all about, keeping enough for a feed or to give to someone who doesn’t fish is perfectly fine, but, keeping everything you catch, then tossing a lot away because you caught something better, is not (to me) why I go fishing. Sunrise on a beach, a perfect cast, a laugh with mates, showing a kid how to fish, seeing “things” others don’t is what fishing is to me now, sometimes the simplest thing can make a life long memory, sure a trophy fish is the goal, but to me, fishing is a “long game” a single fish along the way tops it off.

[noelm]

I was just mulling this over….during my (too many) decades of fishing, I have caught some very memorable fish, but, some of the best times are the funny things that happen along the way (members like FrankS will know what I mean) just to relate an example, way back in the wild days of fishing “the Banks” my mate and I were setting up to anchor, I was the “anchor boy” at the time, up front and looking forward to direct him where I wanted to go. I was pointing and yelling “left….left” but he wasn’t turning, I started shouting, but we were just veering off course, I turned around to give him a mouthful, but he wasn’t there…….he was a dot off the stern, drifting with the raging current. Turns out, he leaned over to wash his hands and went in head first, boat still in gear, I pooped my pants and got to the controls as fast as I could and went to pick him up! Now it’s one of our best memories, the 39KG Kingfish in my profile was caught on that day, but….its him falling overboard that stole the show! The biggest Kingfish I have ever caught doesn’t even rate a mention when we talk about that day.

[Little_Flatty]

Agree with all of the above. Enjoy the journey to fishing success, not just the destination.

As you progress, you will seek new ways to target the same fish, sometimes increasing the challenge level and other times discovering more effective ways of targeting them. Surface lures and fly fishing are examples of how you can do this, as is what you are aspiring to do with drones, but even going back to 'basics' with handline fishing can help you mix it up. You'd be surprised at how effective and fun handline fishing can be.

On a practical front, use the lightest line and sinkers you can, in order to achieve your aim, and the freshest or live bait you can when bait fishing. This applies across almost all fishing targets and environs. 

[JustJames]

A dry line never caught a fish.

 

Everything else is detail, and half of what you will be told won't work for you.  The fun lies in working out which bits of fishing lore are accurate, which bits are just plain wrong, and which bits are right for specific circumstances, but shouldn't be generalised.

[Little_Flatty]

6 minutes ago, JustJames said:

A dry line never caught a fish.

In the same vein, stop wondering if method xyz will work or not, it's ALWAYS much better just to get out there and actually try it. And when you try something, give it a red hot go, not just try for a few casts then give up.

6 minutes ago, JustJames said:

Everything else is detail, and half of what you will be told won't work for you.  The fun lies in working out which bits of fishing lore are accurate, which bits are just plain wrong, and which bits are right for specific circumstances, but shouldn't be generalised.

A real example of this is that you will notice that most elite anglers will hop plastics with the rod tip pointing up. I always felt it worked better rod down.

Decades later, I discovered @DerekD does the same thing. The reason? I'm landbased and I'm ABOVE the water. Most of the elite anglers are in boats on water level.

There are times that I fish rod tip up for optimal line management, depending on what the wind and current are doing, but they are outnumbered about five to one.

[nutsaboutfishing]

Derek D!!!

[DerekD]

Hi @NewToFishing

Interesting topic and I like the responses that others have put. In particular:

@big Neil : Essentially know when to ask for help. I respect people who try to work something out for themselves but when you hit a wall in your growth then reach out. Sometimes one little piece of advice is enough to inspire you to work in directions you hadn't considered.

@Max Power : Start targeting specific species. Being a bit melodramatic here but the Sun Tzu the author of the art of war stated "If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt.". While the fish are not exactly our enemy the more you learn about their behavior and eating patterns the better you can exploit this to your advantage.

@JustJames : Get out there and fish and don't take fishing lore as set in stone.

@Little_Flatty : Give something a genuine attempt. Casting a lure 4 times and coming to the conclusion that it doesn't work is not a genuine attempt.

I agree with everything the others have said and now my own additional thoughts on the topic.

• Learning to ask why and then really thinking about the response is a good way of sorting out the wheat from the chaff.
• Learn to mix things up. You might be doing everything right but it is not the right day. How can you change it.
• Think. This is the one of the biggest things for me in fishing. The people who seem to do the best and are also the people I look up to are those that become the thinking fisherman/fisherwoman. This is so important to me that I did a whole article on this topic. It will take a bit to read through and probably be even harder to get what I mean as we are heading into the realms of fishing philosophy but this can potentially change the way you fish

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96633-article-the-mental-game-of-fishing-or-how-to-catch-more-fish-on-lures-or-bait/

 

[NewToFishing]

On 1/14/2024 at 3:20 PM, Max Power said:

There’s some great advice from big Neil!

A piece of advice that has really improved my fishing success (still a long way to go though 😁), is to target a particular species instead of just “chucking and chancing it”. By doing this you not only tailor your rig, bait and location to the particular species, but you also get into the right frame of mind imo. 
Im sure you will get much better advice from those far more experienced than myself but hope it helps and good luck on your piscatorial journey.

Absolutely makes sense mate, I have been trying to target big game fish off the rocks, so have packed heavy duty tackle mostly. Have one rod and reel for live bait only and other lighter one for use while the live bait one is in the water, makes things much easier when you know what you are going for.

[NewToFishing]

On 1/14/2024 at 3:44 PM, noelm said:

Something that comes after years of fishing, the most fish is not necessarily what it’s all about, keeping enough for a feed or to give to someone who doesn’t fish is perfectly fine, but, keeping everything you catch, then tossing a lot away because you caught something better, is not (to me) why I go fishing. Sunrise on a beach, a perfect cast, a laugh with mates, showing a kid how to fish, seeing “things” others don’t is what fishing is to me now, sometimes the simplest thing can make a life long memory, sure a trophy fish is the goal, but to me, fishing is a “long game” a single fish along the way tops it off.

Yea I am coming to realise the beauty of fishing and it's very therapeutic mate, even just sitting alone and enjoying the view is amazing for mental health. There is also a "zone" which I seem to get into, you forget about everything else in life at those moments and just focus on the fish, that to me is priceless and very meditative.

[NewToFishing]

On 1/14/2024 at 6:32 PM, noelm said:

I was just mulling this over….during my (too many) decades of fishing, I have caught some very memorable fish, but, some of the best times are the funny things that happen along the way (members like FrankS will know what I mean) just to relate an example, way back in the wild days of fishing “the Banks” my mate and I were setting up to anchor, I was the “anchor boy” at the time, up front and looking forward to direct him where I wanted to go. I was pointing and yelling “left….left” but he wasn’t turning, I started shouting, but we were just veering off course, I turned around to give him a mouthful, but he wasn’t there…….he was a dot off the stern, drifting with the raging current. Turns out, he leaned over to wash his hands and went in head first, boat still in gear, I pooped my pants and got to the controls as fast as I could and went to pick him up! Now it’s one of our best memories, the 39KG Kingfish in my profile was caught on that day, but….its him falling overboard that stole the show! The biggest Kingfish I have ever caught doesn’t even rate a mention when we talk about that day.

Bloody awesome kingfish there mate, I didn't know they could grow that big! Hoping to catch one even half the size of that in time. If you remember, how long was the fight? I'm assuming it was on live bait?

[NewToFishing]

On 1/14/2024 at 6:38 PM, Little_Flatty said:

Agree with all of the above. Enjoy the journey to fishing success, not just the destination.

As you progress, you will seek new ways to target the same fish, sometimes increasing the challenge level and other times discovering more effective ways of targeting them. Surface lures and fly fishing are examples of how you can do this, as is what you are aspiring to do with drones, but even going back to 'basics' with handline fishing can help you mix it up. You'd be surprised at how effective and fun handline fishing can be.

On a practical front, use the lightest line and sinkers you can, in order to achieve your aim, and the freshest or live bait you can when bait fishing. This applies across almost all fishing targets and environs. 

Thanks for that mate, yea it makes sense about the lightest tackle, as some fish could be line shy and not go for it if they see anything odd. About the fresh bait, how much of a difference does it make? For example if I buy a pack of pilchards and they thaw out and then I put them back in the freezer and use them a week later, does that really affect my chances of a fish hitting it? Just wondering in your experience how it affects it.

[noelm]

Just now, NewToFishing said:

Bloody awesome kingfish there mate, I didn't know they could grow that big! Hoping to catch one even half the size of that in time. If you remember, how long was the fight? I'm assuming it was on live bait?

Yep, live Slimy, 15KG line, Kingfish don’t fight for a long time, they are very tough, but not long distance, Yellowfin on the other hand can (and do) take hours for a big one, that one was 39KG cleaned, so intact well over 40, (it had lots of guts) possibly even the magic 45 to make the old 100 pound mark?

[NewToFishing]

On 1/15/2024 at 8:38 AM, JustJames said:

A dry line never caught a fish.

 

Everything else is detail, and half of what you will be told won't work for you.  The fun lies in working out which bits of fishing lore are accurate, which bits are just plain wrong, and which bits are right for specific circumstances, but shouldn't be generalised.

Very true mate, I've been waiting patiently on this weather to clear up so I can go again hahah... Dry lines at the moment.

Yea weeding out what works and what doesn't is part of the fun I reckon, no one was ever born good at something, we all make mistakes and learn from them.

 

[NewToFishing]

1 minute ago, noelm said:

Yep, live Slimy, 15KG line, Kingfish don’t fight for a long time, they are very tough, but not long distance, Yellowfin on the other hand can (and do) take hours for a big one, that one was 39KG cleaned, so intact well over 40, (it had lots of guts) possibly even the magic 45 to make the old 100 pound mark?

Bloody oath mate, I could imagine your feeling when you landed it, unforgettable, and those live slimy are amazing even though I've only used them once haha. May I ask what knot you prefer for game fishing, I mean the knot for the hook, I usually use a uni knot for that. I've seen some people use crimping but not sure if that's needed.

[Green Hornet]

@NewToFishing, seeing your new to rock fishing, the old saying that was drilled into most of us as newbies, is never turn your back on the ocean and always keep one eye on the swell. 
Along with this, be extra cautious if the rocks near the edge are wet and if fishing a new spot, always have an escape plan should you be washed in. Sometimes you may be able to swim to a beach or possibly a protected bay to get out yourself, but remember to take any current into account as you’ll have difficulty swimming against it, particularly when wearing a life jacket. 
Use the search function here on Raider/Deckee to seek out more rock fishing safety tips.

[NewToFishing]

17 hours ago, DerekD said:

Hi @NewToFishing

Interesting topic and I like the responses that others have put. In particular:

@big Neil : Essentially know when to ask for help. I respect people who try to work something out for themselves but when you hit a wall in your growth then reach out. Sometimes one little piece of advice is enough to inspire you to work in directions you hadn't considered.

@Max Power : Start targeting specific species. Being a bit melodramatic here but the Sun Tzu the author of the art of war stated "If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt.". While the fish are not exactly our enemy the more you learn about their behavior and eating patterns the better you can exploit this to your advantage.

@JustJames : Get out there and fish and don't take fishing lore as set in stone.

@Little_Flatty : Give something a genuine attempt. Casting a lure 4 times and coming to the conclusion that it doesn't work is not a genuine attempt.

I agree with everything the others have said and now my own additional thoughts on the topic.

• Learning to ask why and then really thinking about the response is a good way of sorting out the wheat from the chaff.
• Learn to mix things up. You might be doing everything right but it is not the right day. How can you change it.
• Think. This is the one of the biggest things for me in fishing. The people who seem to do the best and are also the people I look up to are those that become the thinking fisherman/fisherwoman. This is so important to me that I did a whole article on this topic. It will take a bit to read through and probably be even harder to get what I mean as we are heading into the realms of fishing philosophy but this can potentially change the way you fish

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96633-article-the-mental-game-of-fishing-or-how-to-catch-more-fish-on-lures-or-bait/

 

Far out mate, I had a read of that article and it's truly gold and what I was looking for. You are 100 percent on point in that we need to be thinking always. I will have to read it a dozen times to soak it all in and reflect more on it. 

On soft plastics, Im also one of those guys who thought they wouldn't work as well as normal bait, but after reading that article I will give it a go for sure. I'm guilty of using a lure a few times and not getting a bite and dismissing it haha. There is just so much to soak in, it's wonderful and having that knowledge from someone who has been there and done that and also mentored others to be successful is priceless. Much appreciated mate.

[NewToFishing]

1 minute ago, Green Hornet said:

@NewToFishing, seeing your new to rock fishing, the old saying that was drilled into most of us as newbies, is never turn your back on the ocean and always keep one eye on the swell. 
Along with this, be extra cautious if the rocks near the edge are wet and if fishing a new spot, always have an escape plan should you be washed in. Sometimes you may be able to swim to a beach or possibly a protected bay to get out yourself, but remember to take any current into account as you’ll have difficulty swimming against it, particularly when wearing a life jacket. 
Use the search function here on Raider/Deckee to seek out more rock fishing safety tips.

Definitely mate, safety is paramount which is why I took some swimming lessons and still learning also. Fully agreed on the escape plan, I didn't think of that to be honest but now will always evaluate before I start on a ledge. Thank you

[noelm]

13 minutes ago, NewToFishing said:

Bloody oath mate, I could imagine your feeling when you landed it, unforgettable, and those live slimy are amazing even though I've only used them once haha. May I ask what knot you prefer for game fishing, I mean the knot for the hook, I usually use a uni knot for that. I've seen some people use crimping but not sure if that's needed.

Always used the uni knot, been doing so for decades, if tied properly it’s fine. Most of my leaders are only small diameter, so crimping is not needed, my usual Kingfish line is just 24KG straight to the hook, or a swivel and sinker above if there is a need to “force” the down deeper.

[Pickles]

If what you’re doing isn’t working, try something different. If what you’re doing is working - don’t change.

Edited January 16 by Pickles

[Little_Flatty]

7 hours ago, NewToFishing said:

Thanks for that mate, yea it makes sense about the lightest tackle, as some fish could be line shy and not go for it if they see anything odd. About the fresh bait, how much of a difference does it make? For example if I buy a pack of pilchards and they thaw out and then I put them back in the freezer and use them a week later, does that really affect my chances of a fish hitting it? Just wondering in your experience how it affects it.

If you were to do that, I’d be inclined to salt the pilchards in the fridge for a few days before repackaging/putting them in the freezer. That would increase their longevity. Plenty of resources for doing that, I think there’s an article on salting bait on here somewhere…if someone doesn’t beat me to it I’ll dig it up for you later.

Apart from the pichards going bad, they also go soft, and salting helps with that, as well as preserving them somewhat.

Plenty of great fish have been caught on manky old servo prawns that have gone black in the sun, but having fresh bait improves your chances. Even fresh bread as opposed to stale bread fishes differently for bream and trevs.

It’s no accident that some of the most successful and consistent anglers on this community fish with live or very fresh bait that they caught/collected themselves. @Yowie and @jenno64 are two who come to mind.

[Fab1]

For me it’s just being out there mate having a crack when you can enjoying your family and friends having a laugh.Life flies by and today could be the  last time you see that friend or family member.

If you tried and come home with a feed great, if not it’s not the end of the world and you still have that quality memorable day spent with loved ones to reflect on.