A RECENT trip to Wyangala Dam, in the central
west of NSW, revealed some interesting aspects of
fish behaviour. Myself and regular fishing mate Ken
Smith were working a rocky bank when a gusty
westerly front blasted through. As soon as it hit, the
fish turned on. In less than three minutes we each
hooked and landed Murray cod. Ken actually
caught the fish of the trip, an 86cm beauty that
inhaled his black Edgecrusher spinnerbait.
Prior to the front hitting us, the fishing was
remarkable only for its slowness. As soon as the
front passed through, the fish again went into
lockjaw. How and why fish respond to changing
environmental conditions has always been a mystery
to me. It was obvious that the westerly front did
something to “switch” the fish on and then off
again. Why? Who knows. It was probably some sort
of spike in the barometer. But why would that affect
fish 30 or 40 feet down in the water? Why would
these changes suddenly make fish bite lures when
we’d been casting those same lures for hours
previously for little or no result?
Until we manage to tap into a fish’s brain,
I doubt we’ll ever really know how or why they react
to various environmental stimuli. It’s obvious that
fish are inf luenced by a variety of outside factors.
These include tides, weather, light intensity,
temperature, solunar activity, breeding patterns and
so on. It’s equally obvious that we as fishermen need
to understand – at least to some extent – how this
all works. We then need to apply that knowledge to
species and situations in order to stand the best
possible chance of success. As we have minimal
control over the weather or atmospheric conditions,
this is obviously easier said than done ...
To cause further confusion, it seems different
species of fish react in different ways. While the
conditions at Wyangala during our trip made cod
fishing challenging, the carp that infest this
waterway were extremely active. Ken and I spent a
fair bit of time walking the banks with f ly rods,
spotting numerous carp hunting in the shallows.
Unlike the cod, the carp were really “switched on”
and had no hesitation swimming considerable
distances to suck down a f ly.
I couldn’t help wondering why one species was
doggo when another species in the same waterway
was on a feeding rampage. If anyone can provide an
answer – or even a theory – as to why this might be,
I’d be extremely interested to hear about it.Same goes with marlin when it comes to tides.
I can understand why bream respond to tide
changes in an estuary but why the hell does a big
fish swimming in 1000 fathoms need to worry
about tides? Yet they obviously do. The amount of
marlin bites you get on a tide change proves
beyond a doubt that these fish are greatly
inf luenced by the tidal cycle.
Again, why? Is it like a dinner bell? Maybe tide
changes are a sort of clock that fish like marlin use
to regulate their feeding behaviour. Like most
other animals, fish don’t feed all the time. Perhaps
the tide changes are periods when they’re most
likely to eat, like us with breakfast, lunch and
dinner. That said, if someone waved a hot pie
under my nose at, say, 11am, I reckon I’d probably
eat it. This may explain those random strikes you
get while in the middle of nowhere. Your lure
might be the same to the fish as a mid morning pie
is to me. It’s not really the “right” time to eat but
it’s there so you might as well eat it.
Who knows? I just wish those bloody cod were
easier to catch ... For more on the unique
frustrations associated with these finicky native
fish, check out Greeny’s article on page 54.
Meanwhile, I hope the “fish switch” is on next
time you hit the water. See you out there.The Fish Switch
Jim Harnwell
Editor – Fishing WorldKen Smith with a nice Wyangala cod caught on an
Edgecrusher spinnerbait as a front blew through.BY JIM HARNWELLhttp://www.fishingworld.com.au
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EDITORIAL
fishingworld.com.au | March 2015 | 13