Finding consistency for a fish

Well, it’s December already… time has absolutely flown by.

For me, this year has definitely been one of the toughest, particularly when it comes to weather and health issues.

We haven’t been able to put in a lot of time on the water at all.

One thing I will say is, bring on next year – hopefully it will be a little better.

I think the biggest problem has been finding consistency for a fish.

Unfortunately, it was more that things didn’t align rather than the fishing being slow.

It was absolutely terrible, though when everything did cooperate, the fishing was fabulous.

We do tend to talk more about the good sessions, while for the bad or difficult outings, we’re inclined to close the door and lock them away.

 

Running a fishing charter, it’s amazing to watch these less-appealing scenarios unfold.

And I’ve had a few this year.

Bear with me while I talk about some of these.

I try to encourage my customers to book the better days of the month for catching fish but, due to their circumstances, some people have only a particular day they can go out.

Plus, weather comes into it.

It’s unfortunate, but some charters don’t fall on days when everything lines up and is perfect – it’s just the way it is.

Though I do try to avoid the tougher days for my clients.

These sessions are very noticeable when I’ve had a few charters in one week.

 

The first couple can be tough days on the water, then for the next, everything lines up perfectly.

The fish decide to chew their heads off even though you haven’t done anything differently to the initial sessions.

You go to the same spots, you use the same techniques and they’re on, yet two days before, they showed no interest in what was presented to them.

For me, this is the tough thing about fishing.

If you go out only once a month, or once every few months, and you hit tough fishing days, you can be left feeling as though there’re no fish at all swimming in southern Moreton Bay.

But I can tell you there’re definitely fish in this body of water, it’s simply that they’re not out there waiting to jump on our hooks.

Believe me, when I go out fishing, I’m like everybody else.

I want to catch as many fish as possible and have the best day on the water that can possibly be achieved.

 

Yet after 15 years of doing this as a job, it doesn’t work that way.

When things aren’t aligned – tides, moon phase, water clarity, barometric pressure, weather and such – it makes fishing difficult.

Made very apparent when I went out three days in a row – the first two days were tough, really tough.

We had to work very hard to get a few ‘reasonable’ fish.

Fish I call ‘reasonable’ include 30cm bream, 50cm flathead, 40cm squire and such.

Now, when it’s tough, I’m the same as everybody else, I tend to stay out there longer, which can be challenging for both myself and my customers, particularly if it’s hot or the weather is not quite playing the game.

Staying out longer is draining, and you don’t catch any more fish.

As I’m writing, I can picture a few of you reading this and nodding your heads.

 

Back to my story…

On the third day, I knew there were fish in these spots, so I went back.

I worked the same areas with the same techniques – I didn’t change anything because I know that what I’m doing works.

So, my clients started casting at the spot we’d fished two days prior for not a lot of reward.

Third cast in, whack!

A solid 50cm plus flathead.

As usual, a few photos were taken, then the clients had their lures back in the water.

Three or four casts later, whack!

Another nice 50cm plus flatty.

Hit repeat.

A few casts later, a decent 40cm squire.

Happy days.

 

Everything was going well, when a few casts later, a very nice 69cm lizard was in the net and in the boat.

This all took about an hour or so – from an area that didn’t produce any fish two days prior.

The tide moved too far in for this particular area, so we left.

We visited a few other spots where we caught a couple more fish, nothing particularly big yet enough to keep us happy.

The tide was then good to fish an area I’d found quite difficult a few days previous.

I could see fish on the sounder, though that had happened earlier too, so we had a little drift for squire.

We caught a few undersized fish, then bang, a client was on.

After a fairly solid ordeal – we were fishing on very light gear, 2-4kg rod and 4lb line – a solid 70cm golden trevally was in the net.

Obviously after some pics, the goldie was released to fight another day, as were a few flatties, though we kept a couple for the clients to take home.

So, what does this tell us?

 

While you’re going out and not getting the results you want, getting frustrated in the process, just because an area didn’t produce one day, the next day or the third, it can turn on some remarkable fish for keen anglers.

There is a wealth of knowledge out there.

Read the articles in these magazines, particularly if they’re about fishing your area, see what you can learn from them.

Nowadays, there’s also social media – Instagram, YouTube, Facebook – the amount of knowledge available is staggering.

However, if you think you’re going to go out there, land on fish and get to take home a quality feed because you saw someone on YouTube do it, perhaps a rethink is in order.

If you want consistent results, you need to put in the time on the water and get as much information as you can from various sources.

Some of it will be good, some of it not so much.

 

But by doing this, you’ll give yourself a much better chance of success.

That’s it from me for 2024.

And I’m quite happy to see the end of it.

I can’t wait for 2025, hopefully it’s an easier year.

For those who used to buy ‘Gobbly Goop’ fish attractant from me, it’s now back in stock under the name ‘Fish Goop’.

If you’re interested in purchasing some, my information is below.

As we all know, with our jobs and lives we are time poor, so if you can learn more to optimise your time on the water, why not – remember knowledge is key.

Until next month, stay safe on the water and, if you’re interested in our fishing tuition or want to do a fishing charter, give me a call on 0432 386 307, send an email to seanconlonsfishing@hotmail.com or check out the Facebook page Seano’s Inshore Fishing Charters and Tuition.