RAISON D'ETRE (THE REASON I AM HERE)

If you're like me, the reason I'm here is to hunt and see the fish I wish to catch. In July 2013 I penned a post called the "Game Plan" (Click on for link), as far as I am concerned there are 12 days in any given month that are optimum in Bynoe Harbour, the waxing of the moons or for the layman neap making to spring, last week was one.

In search of the" lost tide"

I recently heard someone say the tide was out too far and the run in tide had got back under the trees all dirty and looking like coffee.

Yesterday Dotty joined long time visitor and friend Craig Wilson from Sydney to fish "Anniversary Flat" ( DON'T ASK) long accurate casts were needed here to be in any contention, Craig with his new 9 wt Sage One showed his own unique accuracy and nailed quite a number of  Barra with one spot on 70cms.

I suddenly realised I needed to vacate with 30cms of water under the transducer and avoid the staring at each other for hours so pulled up my electric, Craig wound up when Dotty spotted a Barra a long way out. By the time she popped a quick cast in at 50ft, gained a  load and placed her fly 75ft out.  Two feet to the right of its head, one strip and she had it, going 74cms.

Probably one of the best open water casts I have seen in years and the reason Dotty in my eyes is one of the most accurate casters to have ever stood on my boat, Craig just said his classic "old Jewish comment" and shook his head!

We moved on to another likely area a bit less heart stopping and caught numerous smaller fish up to 60cms when Dotty again tied into another Barra.This time rapping her knuckles and putting her into the backing, she fought it all the way to the boat and unfortunately fly and fish parted as I went for the net. No photo but believe me it was up in the high 80's.

Because the tide is way out a lot of Barra and Threadfin will sit in skinny drains or open water till it returns, you need to make fast, long and accurate casts to get them. Simple! You only need to learn how to do that and that is certainly possible.

The second comment being that the tide on the run up is dirty and back under the trees is correct, it doesn't mean they're not there. Barramundi in there natural pedantic or as some say lazy state will access the tidal margins as a matter of course, dirty water or not they are there, trick is how do I find them, well you can cast under every bush and tree and probably turn up the odd fish, but that's not seeing them and a bit like firing bullets all over the paddock and walking around to see what you got, look at it from there point of view.  Feeding is over, relaxing and sleeping is part of their life so what do they do, they hang motionless next to trees in bushes or open areas head down, arse up making like a small bunch of leaves.

While at this stage most people rightly go off looking for pelagics, if you want Barra like me you will go in after them regardless of the dirty water, the same way Crocodiles look like logs, Barra look like bushes and submerged branches as these photos below show.

Barra is dead centre 1.5 metres from the tree

                                            

Craig nailed the fish in the above photo which went 67cms

                                  

Nose up against a tree is a classic resting position for sleeping barramundi

  

This was the above fish when I got a quick cast in.

Sleepers habitat, good eyes and good weed guards look for tails wafting slowly and drop it right on their nose

As I said I'm a sight fisher my inner instincts have been centred around that for nearly 3 decades to me I need to see them its a choice made years ago. I can respect and understand there are other ways more speculative that also produce results but nothing beats the aggression and explosive strike of a visible fish.

Dotty pulled this fish sitting down on the back of the boat as Craig zoomed in for a shot

   

 Look who else feel safe eating crabs of bushes

                                    

That's it with every rise of a metre of tide the there are thousands of areas of endless possibilities, what this means is the Barramundi sightfishing isn't over because of traditional dirty water or too high scenarios.

How did Bynoe fish last week, everyday was close to double figures on sighted fish, we avoided the pelagic fishing by choice, obviously we lost plenty some very reasonable fish from breakoff and general structure obstacles but they are there and in good numbers.

Cheers Graeme