Townsville

Downsizing in cooler water

TOWNSVILLE

Dave

Hodge It’s that time of year again, when the nights get that crisp feeling and the humidity drops. Yep, this is the ‘swagging it’ time of year, when camping is at its best for the north. I find it really hard to sleep in the swag during summer, and the midgie mesh stops any potential breeze from cooling you down during the night.

As usual, the initial cooler

Mick Rennie with a nice barra for a drain caught on a run-in tide on a 4” Atomic Prong rigged weedless. In cooler water, lures bigger than this often get ignored. Small plastics, surface lures and hardbodies are all effective on jungle perch at one time or another. This one took a 3” Atomic Prong on a 1/6oz, 1/0 Atomic Seeker head, and was sight cast from a high bank.

The smaller mackerel species can’t resist a small metal. This one ate a 40g Outcast with about 10cm of Staybrite wire connected to the front.

weather is accompanied by windy periods, but once the weather patterns stabilise a bit, days on the water and around creeks and river banks are absolutely glorious. CREEKS AND STREAMS

The start of June was very cool, and the rain hung around a bit longer than recent years. As a result, the creeks and rivers are running well, and clearing up nicely. The jungle perch and sooty grunter anglers will definitely enjoy the rewards of the rain, with creeks running at healthy levels for longer than usual. The inconvenience of a few extra weeks of rain and stirred water will be more than made up for with more suitable water levels, and crystal clear mountain water running towards the coastal rivers.

We are lure flicking fanatics, so the chance to wander some streams and creeks in search of the sometimes elusive JPs is right up our alley. Surface lures are without a doubt the most exciting way to target these stream-dwellers, and it’s worth having a few different types on hand to experiment with, to find what’s pushing their buttons on the day. Poppers, surface stickbaits and insect imitations are the main types of surface presentation used to fool these aggressive little buggers.

Many insect imitations cost an arm and a leg, and in an overgrown environment where a wayward cast can cost you real dollars, you need a lure that flies straight and true. You don’t want to leave $20 notes hanging from the trees.

In the tight streams, aerodynamics aren’t as big of a consideration, with short, accurate casts being the norm. In these close quarters encounters, it’s important for the lure to land gently. A hard landing will spook any fish close by.

On the bigger rivers and creeks that have long, clear pools, it’s good to use a lure

that allows you to make longer casts. This is where the poppers and stickbaits come into their own.

When first approaching a longer pool, I tend to work the closest snags first and then work further up the pool with longer casts. The reason for this is simple: if I punch in a long cast to the head of a pool from the bottom of a pool and hook up, my hooked fish will spook other fish as I fight it back to the shore. Those spooked fish could have been potential lure grabbers.

Stealth is imperative, and it’s essential to wear clothes that blend in with the background if you’re to make the most of any opportunities that arise. Walk gently – no thumping or jumping on the edge of the bank, and try not to move the trees too much as you negotiate the bankside vegetation. Even a single tree branch moving against a still, silhouetted background will send the fish dashing for cover.

Obviously fish in the less hammered waters aren’t as flighty as those in harder fished areas, but no matter where you are, the quieter you are, the better you’ll do.

When it comes to gear, go as light as you dare to go. A good average is 6lb braid and 8lb leader fished on a light 3-10lb rod approximately 5’6” to 6’ long, with a small 1000-2500 sized eggbeater reel. You’ll be using tiny lures, making long casts and fishing in thick, overgrown scrub, all of which don’t go too well with baitcasters. It’s pretty much spin all the way. OFFSHORE

Mackerel are what most people with small to medium boats are interested in for the bay and offshore stuff, and there has been plenty happening in June to be excited about. The action should only get better over the next few weeks until they’re in full swing. Dredging and works on the channel markers may throw a spanner in the works for some anglers who usually need to go further for a feed of doggies or spotties. Most structure or shoal type areas near rover mouths that hold bait are great spots to start the search for them though, and there are plenty of locations around Townsville that have that, so all is not lost.

Any pilly- or blood-based berley in the water is likely to attract sharks. The pellet forms of berley with a bit of tuna oil may be a better option, and it’s pretty much a go-to mixture for experienced mackerel hunters. An unweighted small pilly, herring or whitebait on a small gang setup will usually bring most interested macks undone, and if snip-offs are a problem just add a bit of wire into the rig to protect the leader against the razors they call teeth. My favourite is either a light piece of high-tensile, pre-straightened piano type wire, or some light Staybrite wire around the 10kg mark. We also only use 6-10lb braid and 20lb leaders for the smaller species of mackerel. Given that our boat is only a small 4.1m Polycraft, Spaniards aren’t a consideration unless the weather allows us to get to the further out markers. Then it’s usually 30lb braid, 40lb leaders and slugs like the Halco Twisty, or Outcast in the larger sizes.

Longer casts and flat knacker retrieves are pretty much standard techniques. If there are any longtail tuna

poking around you may end up getting more than you bargained for, so use a reel that has reasonable line capacity.

Trolling hardbodies will remain a very successful technique for many mackerel enthusiasts, and it can be a simple and successful way to land a few. This technique usually calls for a deep diver and a shallow diver in your favourite colour, trolled around a likely spot at approximately 6 knots.

A slightly longer, softer rod than a traditional reef bottom bouncing outfit will be needed if you’re to make the best of every bite opportunity. Short, stiff rods with short leaders can rip the lure from the mouth of a Spanish, particularly if you have ‘come here you bastard’ drag settings for the strike. Personally, I use the Halco wind-on leaders in 80lb breaking strain which gives enough shock absorption and stretch to give positive hook-ups as well as a bit of leverage when the closing stages of a fight are boat-side and you don’t want to pop them off or rip the hook out. Check every hook point before the lure is put out and take the few seconds to sharpen it to a needle point if necessary, as you don’t want to risk a missed strike if they’re hard to come by.

When they’re sitting deep, a system that I’ve seen work many times is to allow a trolled bait (say, a chin-weighted gar or wolf herring) swim to the bottom in freespool. As it gets there, knock the motor in gear and swim it back up to the surface a bit quicker as you accelerate away.

CREEKS AND RIVERS

Most barra and jack fishers know the importance of downsizing their lures and baits at this time of year, and if you’re going to chase the barra through the colder months you’ll need to be prepared. For those anglers who are less familiar with cold season barra, here’s a quick rundown on the gear we usually employ to deliver the smaller offerings.

First of all, smaller 3-4” plastics are the norm for us, and lighter rods, line and leaders are needed to do this. Braids are usually between 6lb and 10lb, leaders are FC of around 20lb, but at least 2m long. A 6’6” softer actioned rod is beneficial for reducing the damage to the leader and to minimise the risk of straightening a smaller hook or pulling it free. The fight of a decent barra is much shorter than you’d expect, as they don’t have much stamina, and if you keep your steady, smooth rod work consistent boat-side, most fish will be landed.

Lure wise, it’ll be no surprise that the 3” Atomic Prongs and 4” Halco Paddle Prawns are go-to lures for us. We rig them on 1/6-1/4oz Atomic jigheads in 1-1/0 size.

Finally, the environment we focus on changes a bit from tangled snags to more deeper holes and drains with less structure. That’s because this approach is more about tiring them out, not stopping them in their tracks.

Good luck and stay safe... and warm.