Living without Electronics
(Please do not confuse with…Living Without Electricity..That is a really dark tale that one!)
Imagine if you launched out into the big blue Ocean and when you got behind the backline your GPS Fish Finder packed up…Damn you can’t fish now!! But could you? What did we do before we had GPS units? Wow can you imagine. It’s like trying to find your way around your home in the dark.…….Oh wait, yeah we know about that one!
Don’t get me wrong I can’t live without my trusty Fishfinder but I do feel that anyone starting out new is missing out on so much more by not looking around, as well as looking at a screen. The two do go hand in hand, and complement each other, yes, but let’s just assume that we were going to fish for a day without our Lowrance underwater eyes. Years gone by you wouldn’t need GPS marks. You would just use land marks by working off triangulation points. We’ve all heard experienced anglers talking about lining up this tower with a certain house, and paddling one hundred strokes or heading towards the sun etc. I was actually amazed at how some of these guys can put their vessels right on a reef, time after time. Try it one day. Fish your favourite mark and try to get back there without the GPS , and see how close you are. You never know when your newly acquired skill will come in useful. Then, there is the art of looking with your own eyes. Water craft I would call it. That magical mystical power of spotting a swirl, and knowing what the fish is. Seeing bait jumping and knowing exactly what type of bait fish it is. Knowing where you should be at a certain time when the fish go crazy. It takes lots of practice, and the more you fish the better you get.
There’s so much to look for when you are out in the open Ocean. Birds have the best view, and a bird flying quickly in one direction is without a doubt heading towards either bait fish, or game fish smashing the bait fish. A feeding frenzy is instantly spotted by birds. Birds are masters of finding fish and they have a great view! Make sure you watch very closely what they are doing. If they start diving in one spot or flying in a straight line and regularly diving, that’s the place to fish.
So where else can we find fish in the open Ocean? What about colour lines? These colour lines can be either brown coloured water from rivers gushing into the Ocean after a sudden downpour on land, meeting with green, off coloured water from a recent upwelling, creating a safe haven for bait fish which will be closely followed by game fish. Sometimes the colour lines are beautiful warm water which comes to a sudden halt when it merges with brown or green water. This phenomenon look’s like it is two separate bodies of water that have been photo shopped together. When the tide pushes to low or high tide, you can put one hand in blue water, and one hand in green, or brown water. A slow troll with a carefully presented live or dead bait behind you, or a fast troll with a Halco or Rapala will usually be followed by a screaming reel.
As I have often said before, the Ocean is like the desert. Find the Oasis and watering holes, and you will find the fish. A pinnacle or reef structure that changes the formation of the bottom topography will cause the current to rise, and speed up the water flow near to the surface. This is another place where you will find bait fish and the game fish won’t be too far away. Most activity normally occurs at the head of the reef, or structure so one day it might be better fishing at one end of a reef, and the next day the current changes direction so the fish move to the other end of the reef. Some fish like Fusiliers are a sure sign that there are game fish about, or they will arrive at some point in time.
In Summer especially, the rivers will wash down trees and grass which will be washed out into the Ocean. Sometimes these cover a large area. This is what I would dream about when the water is warm as you can guarantee a few Dorado, or Wahoo have found the floating structure before you, and it’s a simple matter of throwing a Dead Bait, Live Bait, Popper or Spoon and hold on tight. I have even caught a few Dorado around a floating plastic Supermarket packet. After catching a few Dorado I again found the packet and when I went up to it I found a little eco system of tiny little fish and various sizes of fish. This is of course what attracts the game fish. Especially Dorado. So if you find a Supermarket packet floating in the Ocean catch a few fish, and then remove it from the Ocean and take it home and chuck it away!
Another great area to fish is current lines where two bodies of water are moving at different speeds and a very distinct pattern is created in the water. Again this is a great area to hold bait fish and for the hungry game fish to prowl looking for an easy meal.
As said right at the beginning I couldn’t be without my trusty Lowrance, but if you don’t already now is the time to start looking around you.
Enjoy your fishing and keep your eyes open. You never know what know what you might be missing!
Tight Lines
Codfather
