Posts Tagged ‘sea’

What to expect when doing reef fishing?

reef fishing

Just because we hook a few fishes from time to time does not mean that fishes feed over clean sandy ground in codling and whiting. This is a misconception. Swimming enables the fishes to move to areas for food supplies. Clean sand does not have food and hence fishes caught over clean sand are mostly in transit from one source of food to another. These are mostly reef ground.

The reed offers protection to the fishes. During summer months, the growth of the weed in these areas gives protection from the tidal flow. The weed growth spreads and the reef offers enough protection to the fishes. But during the winters, the weed dies. Only the heavy type weed can survive the reef structure. So the protection level falls during winters. This is the time for reef fishing as the population of the fishes are on the reef and they are not protected.

Reef fishing is also called as “Bottom Bouncing”. In this the anglers use weighty 60-100lb hand line methods so that they can catch prized eating fishes such as sweet lip, coral trout, and red emperor.

The main angling targets used during reef fishing is cod and ling. Angling has an important affect on the environment too as it is eco friendly. During reef fishing, angling needs a lot of patience as well.

In shallow areas, the weed growth will be little. Look for the rough bottom gutters that are a feature of the shallow reef marks. Fishes swim in the gutter and low edges where they find water borne food. They do not swim in the shallow reef as they do during summers.

Tides have a great effect on reef fishing. During flood tides cod on shallow reefs are better. The floods in the water makes the fishes work towards the gutters which hold food. In deep water reeds, the tide will see whiting feeding on the clean ground. As the tide increases, the fishes will work over rougher ground towards the edge of the reef.

The size of the tide will have a bearing on the catch of the fishes. Cod over shallow reef will always have the maximum catch during the big tide. Fishing is the best here.

In deep reef, fishing is difficult on big tides. But this is the time for the biggest catch. No matter whether the ground is rough, untiding will give the best results for reef fishing. If the water is shallow, then discover the gullies where it is the feeding areas of the fishes.

Deep reef fishing should be done on the drift. In winters you can try baited feathers which should be true cod feathers. They need to be tied on with lugworm. White feathers are excellent for fishing.

February 13th, 2010 by admin

Choosing the Best Spot for Bass

Bass Fishing

Bass angling can be frustrating if an angler doesn’t know where to find bass. Anglers need to study bass behavior and their typical environment in order to find the best spot for bass angling. By studying the biology, hunting habits, and behaviors of bass, anglers thereby increase their ability to choose the right spot to catch bass.

As in all cold blooded creatures, the environment plays a role in the behavior of bass. Many species of bass favor and are most active in waters that are between 65 and 75 degrees and are less active in temperatures above or below their comfort zone. The reason for the decreased activity is due to their metabolism; because bass are cold blooded, their body temperature is directly affected by their environment. Consequently, a bass angler looking for the right fishing spot should look for relatively, mild waters to fish.

Bass are easily stressed; they frighten easily and require the proper balance of dissolved oxygenated water to prevent environmental-induced stress. A surefire way to determine whether or not a body of water is of desirable, dissolved oxygen content for bass is to look around for dead perch. A number of dead perch indicates Anoxia; anoxia arises when there are low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water and is brought on by environmental stressors like extremely hot weather or environmental pollutants. Since perch can handle a significantly lower level of dissolved oxygenated water than bass, if an angler discovers dead fish, also known as a fishkill, they can be certain that the waters are not suitable for bass.

Large and Smallmouth Bass are found in lakes, ponds, reservoirs, rivers, streams, and in some tailwaters. In choosing the right fishing spot, anglers should seek out weedy areas along the shore or naturally fashioned reefs where bass prefer to hide. Additionally, an angler should look around for fallen trees, rocks, and deep areas of water. Finally, a bass angler must always remember that bass tend to avoid current, inasmuch as it is possible to do so; anything in the water that obstructs the natural current can prove to be a good location for finding bass.

Anywhere that there is a convergence of objects in a body of water an angler can be sure to locate bass. For example, anywhere an angler might locate weeds near an open area of water, an area of shallow water flowing into deeper waters or any downstream area from a flowing current is an ideal spot for angling bass.

Bass like to hide in and near subaqueous objects. They tend to linger near the bottom of any body of water when they are hunting. As predators, they like to lurk in weed beds and between rocks while waiting for live prey to happen by. Bass feed on crawfish, minnows, and sculpin; therefore, if an angler locates a body of water that houses their typical prey, they are apt to find a fishing spot for bass.

February 27th, 2009 by admin