"There is more than one way to skin a cat"

I love that saying,I grew up with that saying it was only in later years when I met people who love cats and found out it actually went down like a lead brick but then again I didn't like cats too much.

Sorry I pushed you in

Why the hunt becomes so important

                                     

To a ten year old when asking the "old man" should we drift the fly down the rapids on the Big Badja River to catch those frisky rainbows he explained on the way home we can get some for dinner we were there to find a fish by seeing it and then present the fly, he also said you will probably get the fish you want because you chose to try and catch it

                                               Sitting on a cliff you see all sorts of fish

In my ensuring years of varying hobbies and pursuits that was always in mind,years of hunting Foxes,many years spearfishing the southern NSW coast  I hunted by choosing the target.

Makes sense to me, when you hunt rabbits you dont fire shots all over the paddock then walk around to see what you got,same spearfishing I didn't shoot into every crevasse hoping for the best.

                                                 One of our greatest sight fished targets

Fortuitously when I came to Darwin in 1986 there were a number  of lazy days at Barra Base, I would sit on the corner of a creek or drain and really not knowing tropical fish habits I wanted to see what swam past, " everything did" suddenly I had "my choices" too big,too small,wandering mud crabs,trevally Queenfish, Thready's on and on.

                                           Right under the tree its a size worthy of the hunt

Take drains for example if you wait 5 mins Barra's evolutionary inquisitiveness will have them suddenly looking at you or they will do a short hop out and back in If you watch long enough you can choose, if its too small wait a bit they are gregarious and often in numbers.

                                This fish was with 2 others fortunately it was the smallest

I always make the spooking point but sometimes people who fish with me think that your not fishing unless your casting, thats ok too but that should not extend to shallows that obviously do not have anything in them for 35 metres, casting does nothing for hunting bigger fish  Barra especially have very alert eyes over distance and I often watch seeing the familiar pressure waves leaving up ahead.

                                             Probably a Muddie! dont use a weed guard

In my world its not unusual to suddenly have a fish appears 5 metres away (or closer) and your line is is out speculating at 15 metres, getting a shorter cast in vary rarely works without spooking them
some of the biggest Barra I have seen went begging primarily because the person didn't see them coming !

                                           I saw it, I cast, It turned and ate, I struck, I wish.

When it came to have a name on my Charter business it was simple  "Insight" thats my choice and how i wanted to approach it.I also soon learned that you can not marginalise your guiding for other's, fair enough you can find a balance casting into likely spots up along drains,colour changes etc and they produce and as a guide imperative to your survival, but for me out with Dotty or friends I spend 95% of the time observing the target not generally speculating the habitat.

                                The right boat was a dream in 1986 its a reality in 2016


            In a nutshell,you will get bigger and better fish on tropical flats by first finding them.

Cheers Graeme