Fishing Variables

Where do we start? In a barramundi lake there is a list of endless variables that affect the fishing. Anything from wind direction, air temperature, water temperature, water clarity, water flow such as current direction and intensity, rising or falling water levels, water chemistry such as oxygen levels, aquatic plant life density and condition, cloud cover, moon phase and position, barometer, sunlight intensity and so on and so on. Boating pressure and human interaction list highly as well, natural variables such as food supplies and baitfish feeding frenzies, bird life movements and here we go again on another list that will never stop. Barramundi fishing, well most kinds of fishing actually rely heavily on many variables to come together to help form successful combinations. For example- A lake full of big barra is useless if oxygen levels are low, plants are decaying, clear waters exist and water temperatures are dramatically dropping. That's a bad scenario. On the other end of the stick a lake with flourishing weed banks and oxygen rich waters, warm sunny days, darkened water clarity, constant winds and favourable currents can create ideal fishy circumstances. On their own not one variable will bring results. There needs to be an alignment of several to get things happening. "You can't bake a cake without all the main ingredients", this rings so true. Good combinations can mean success, but without one of the key variables, a combination is as useless as a bad hand in a poker game. Each day Mother Nature deals you a list of variables that align. Some are favourable, some are certainly not. You can only work with what you have, same as the card game. A good hand is a good day. As a day rolls on variables can change, and in turn so can the fishing. It can improve or sadly get worse. Cloud cover can block out the sun, winds can drop off or increase, temperatures can take a dive or a rise. A roller coaster ride, no doubt about it.

We need to deal with the fact that lakes are changing worlds and idyllic conditions basically align when they do. Some days this may be at 8-11 am, other times it might be 12-1 pm or even 3-4 am when we are sleeping, and surprisingly enough it may give us a window of opportunity that may only last twenty minutes, or less. There are no best times to fish barra lakes that can be read off a clock face or a lunar phase chart. None of those magical lunar charts take above mentioned variables into the equation. Moon phases, hours of the day, sun rises and sets and water temperature movements are all variables that over time will mesh with more variables that assist or reduce your chances. There is good and bad every day. Some variables align sweetly and the timing of these can see barra change into a feeding mode at the drop of a hat. Feed time can be stopped also by variables that change. Other days, variables align to a point where one more trigger is required. It can hang in the balance. A wind shift can make, or break you. So next time you are on the water take note of as many variables as you can and write a diary on your findings. After a long while you will discover that simple guess work on when and why is way off track and in time you will better understand what drives fish in lakes and in oceans. I bet we have all gone back to a favourite productive spot the next day and caught nothing. What changed?
I bet you can write a very long list, but only if you were paying attention to fine detail.
Johnny

Our Very Own Sensory System

Yes, yes, yes, now we are getting the gist of provoking our minds to think.
Steve B, You are onto it. It is called blending with nature, the same as what every animal and barra does- they blend with nature because they are nature- so too are we, humans.
Dick Pasfield has it in one. Some of our human instincts are being lost in lifestyles where we no longer require them, so we become less tuned to our environments.

Steve, Nath, that feeling you describe has answers for you. Maybe you could write down your experience on a note pad and recall what changed or what occurred for you to think it was 'fishy time'! I too had those experiences 8 yrs ago where I was with friends on Awoonga driving along and I stopped the boat and said, "Over there, we must be over there". They asked why? I said, "I don't know, but we just have to be there because everything looks right". But what looks right, they asked? I said "I don't know, but we must fish." We did, and we hooked lots of hungry barra.
The point is that you, as an angler should notice plenty of things that occur during any day. They may not mean a lot until you ask yourself 50 dumb questions about that topic. If you answer them to yourself you give yourself thousands more ideas and clues to work with over time.
That day that I noticed something about that piece of water was the way that it moved, and the shape of the waves, the formation of the bubble/wind lanes on the surface. At the time I never knew about sub surface currents. It was the opener for me. I've never looked back; now, almost 9 yrs on, I use sub surface current flow to identify areas where fish will be willing to feed and areas that will produce ideal circumstances for barramundi to operate at an optimum.

It is the same when you 'feel' the sensation, that a barra is going to bite, or when conditions change, or you think you know when it is going to happen. Maybe it is simple as taking off your jumper or noticing a certain environmental 'look' or a inner gut feeling about something you have experienced before but never expanded upon why,,,,,,,,until now that is!! Why do you take your jumper off, why do you put one on? What is happening to the environment at that same time you do that? I fished with a man yesterday, smart angler who catches lots of Awoonga barra. We'd fished for 30 mins. Nature threw in a trigger and I expected a barra within two minutes. It happened. I asked this man at the end of the day if he noticed when that fish bit. He said, "No". I bet he is still thinking about it now. That's all I want anglers to do more of, is to start taking more notice of their environment and of course monitoring individual anglers' actions or self behaviour. Take notes, compare results. Check your clock.
Later in the same day another trigger came into play. I said, "A barra in 4 casts". I was wrong, it took about 10 casts. More barra hook ups followed in the next ten minutes. As mentioned in a post of mine yesterday, the weather governs when and why barra feed. Dairy keeping is golden. I have been keeping diaries for over a decade on Awoonga barra. Diaries paint a far out picture that will blow your mind.
Areas to expand on include- when, where, why, how? Go and take a peek at that list of variables once again if you want questions or topics to ask yourself. Bore yourself to death now with 50 million silly questions that will give you 50 million silly answers that you can call upon to sift through to build yourself a bigger picture, but only if you want to. Silly questions are the best ones.
Johnny

Shifting the Goal Posts

No two days are ever the same in 'any' fishery. That is the hardest part for anyone who is maybe trying to get a handle on trial and error results. It takes hundreds of hours to get a fair idea on what to use and when to use it, but the sooner an angler starts experimenting the sooner they will see the bigger picture. Lakes, rivers, harbours, it is all the same. Not simple, and not easy. Basic explanations where a reader/angler has to think is as close to the mark as true. Putting your twist on things is a must.
Cheers,
Johnny

The Depth of the Subject

You are so right. Impoundment barra fishing is extremely cryptic and much deeper than can be portrayed in a short piece. The detail you wish for cannot be printed in small pages. It goes way and beyond the simplicity described. I'm working on the big picture (book) for you and anyone interested. Simple answers or responses that go unquestioned become set in stone over time. It's hard to break old habits and I'm prepared to start now to re-align certain elements of bias before Joe public gets sold more brain wash material.
My sweetwaterfishing.com.au articles are in place to keep doors wide open for anglers so they don't become lost in the closed door world. Much of what I say contrasts a lot of popular belief, and sadly popular belief is often off track, but it is there to keep anglers awake and thinking. If no thought went into our fishing, we would all become lame fishers. As a guide in business it was hard to give all clues away in writing hence why pieces that contribute to the mental side of angling were of a higher importance. The mental side needs close attention. It is my profession, but if I can help anglers think in a different perspective, it might just give some anglers the direction required to start fresh. If I jumped on everything written that was incorrect I'd be labelled as a nasty cowboy, but instead, it is worth copping a few slaps in the face so anglers get a broader spectrum on the whole barra fishing industry.

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