Reel life | Fishing smarter, not harder

Apart from a little hanging space, the rest of the room and shelves were taken up by a stand of hand-crafted Bob Darley fishing rods, tackle boxes and a collection of reels.

I even found an old “7” shirt and a pair of fishing shoes!

Does this say something about my lifestyle, or not?

Well, maybe it’s time to rethink my wardrobe — and buy more fishing rods?

No!

I’m only kidding.

Besides, since Bob passed away, I’ve lost the desire to buy any more rods.

In the early days of my involvement with angling, I was like most keen anglers: I was hooked on looks.

In other words, I was as bad as a fish bought on what it looked like, not what it did.

If a lure looked good, I bought it.

If a rod looked good, I bought it.

It was as simple as that.

It wasn’t until I sat around with Bob over morning cups of coffee that I really learned how to match fishing gear to what I was fishing for.

That applied to rods, reels, bait, lures, even line.

What I did learn was just how inexpert I really was.

I’m not saying I started catching more fish, but I definitely learned to enjoy fishing more.

That’s why all my gear is now species-targeted trout gear for trout, cod gear for cod, etc.

The next point I’d like to talk about is breaking strain. That’s the point at which the weight of the fish exceeds the strength of the line.

The pulling power of a fish can be managed using the drag system on your reel.

The drag setting is crucial: if it’s too tight, the line can snap; if it’s too loose, the fish can run wild.

As a general rule, I usually set the drag at two-thirds of the rated breaking strain of the line.

How many times has a big fish broken free just because the drag was set too tight?

Another common escape point is when you get the fish to the boat, and in a moment of over-eagerness, you lift the head of the fish out of the water.

This often triggers a last-ditch effort by the fish and it escapes.

Be patient.

The selection of rod and line combination will depend on the size and type of fish you’re hunting, but the golden rules always apply and here’s one of the most vital.

Never give the fish any slack line.

Always keep tension on the fish. In other words, keep a bend in the rod.

The moment you allow any slack line, 99 times out of a hundred, you’ll lose that fish.

These rules are the same whether you’re fishing in freshwater or saltwater, and regardless of species.

There are other rules, of course but you’ll pick those up the more you go fishing.

Now to look at fishing in our region.

Both the Goulburn and Murray rivers have been producing good results for cod anglers mainly small juvenile cod, but every now and then, a keeper is landed.

Most fish have been caught on bait worms, grubs, yabbies, shrimp, as well as chicken and cheese.

At this time of year, you’d expect Dartmouth Dam to start becoming more active as the trout begin feeding up for winter and the upcoming breeding season.

Most of the action will be early in the morning from first light until mid-morning and then again at dusk into the darker hours.

The same goes for all trout waters, so keep that in mind when fishing for trout at the moment.

Saltwater fishing is going well, according to Rod Lawn from Adamas Fishing Charters, based at Queenscliff.

Rod reported good hauls of snapper, flathead, salmon, whiting and some kingfish, with signs of tuna starting to show up as well.

Rod said it was a similar story in Western Port Bay around Hastings, as well as inshore at Portland.

At Eden, John Liddell reported that the boys from Freedom Charters were catching snapper in the mornings and flathead inshore.

Graham Cowley from Narooma up the coast said it was much the same.

Down south at Flinders Island, James Luddington was bagging gummy sharks, flathead, snapper and whiting.