What is your approach to unlocking the secrets of a "new estuary"?

[Chas & Clarry]

You know how it is, you are going to a new place that you haven'/t fished before; so what is your approach?

Obviously being in Yamba (a "new" estuary to us) has us thinking about this, but it is an issue that has come up for us many times before and hopefully will come up many times in the future too as we explore more estuaries.

We do the standard things before hitting the water:

Search Ausfish and the web generally for info in advance
Look at Google Earth and NearMaps
Talk to the local tackle shop
Chat to locals (if it sin't pouring and there are any around ::))


BUT what else do you do, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY what do you do when you are on the water?

Do you try to cover a fair bit of territory first; checking the various places that look likely?
Do you focus on the reputed or hypothesised "best spots"?
Do you just chuck a line in, put your feet up and relax?

We'd be interested to know how people go about unlocking the secrets of a "new" estuary.

[Funchy]

Searching for the likely fish holding areas would be my 1st port of call once on the water. Looking for drop offs, weed beds, rocks and eddys etc. You got a FF on that new rig of yours Timbo?

Good luck to you both, hope the weather clears.

[Camhawk88]

Step 1: launch boat
Step 2: Motor slowly towards the mouth of the estuary
Step 3: Once at the mouth gun the motor and head towards the horison
Step 4: Return with eskies overflowing with prime reds, macks and trout and look disdainfully upon the poor souls stuck in the estuary fishing for bream.:P

[Bronson]

I find covering ground where I no fish should be holding to be quite successfull. I find out where the fish are just by going fishing day after day in the same spot you tend to crack a pattern.In my opinion if theres no bait around there won't be many fish feeding in that area Find the Bait and you'll find the fish usually. The more the water is flowing the better the fishing.

thanks bron

[sleepygreg]

OBSERVATION - That is my keyword. If you know the species of fish that are likely to be in the estuary, and know their feeding habits, look for the structures/formations that are likely to attract them. Most of the 'rules' can be applied to most of the estuary species. Weed beds bordering drop offs and channels, rock walls with run off over them, deep holes in river bends, drains from mangrove flats, break walls near river entrances............the basics apply no matter where you are in this great land.....be it FNQ, SEQ, Mid north coast NSW, Sapphire coast NSW, Gippsland Vic, Derwent or Tamar in Tas. Really the only difference is the species present.....all the principles are the same.

[MudRiverDan]

Depends what yr after.

Flatties look for bait action and nice holes and channels.
Jew look for some rain and throw some live baits over..
Whiting look for sand bars.
Bream, don't bother with em.

Some surface action is good or some sign of bait movement in the daytime may mean decent fishing at night.


eh, ask your local fisho a bit of info on what tides are good.

Cheers

[Freeeedom]

Explore as much of the estuary as you can at low tide. This allows you to see a lot of the structure that you'll then fish later on. Note the channels and where they make sharp turns that will produce back-eddys in the tidal run. Look for reefs, gravel beds, snags, mud clumps and banks, weed patches and rocks walls as they will all hold fish when they are submerged. If you don't know the river you might have to do this slowly as there might be shallow areas or rocks on which you can bottom out, but once you've found these areas you can travel with a lot more confidence.
Cheers Freeeedom

[finga]

I don't do what most people do.
I do not find someone fishing and then anchor 30cm off their gunnel.
Another thing I don't do is change spots every 38 seconds. Things take time.

But I do look at google earth to get the lay of the system and see how the currents flow (back washes and eddy's etc) and what structure is there.
Then I sit and watch a while to see what I can see. Pelicans, seagulls, birds of any description??
And then I chuck a prawn on a line in and hope for the best.
If no luck then I look for a spot to pump a yabbi or 20 and then I go and catch some fish.
It doesn't really matter where you throw a line into some briney with a fresh yabbi on your hook you'll always catch a fish.

But one thing I always do is to sit back and enjoy the surroundings. There's some nice water down Yamba, Iluka way and in both places wetting a line in the boat harbours is not a wast of time. In those sorts of places I always seem to drop a line where the trawlers sit.

Cheers then
Scott :)

[tunaticer]

Read the water in the last two hours of run out and first two run in at a likely area. Once the tide floods, keep an eye out for areas that flood beyond the river banks, as the tide drops the large amounts of fish beyond the banks will be dropping back to the channels. If you were a top level predator, where would you be looking for a feed?

[bundylundy]

One good tip is checkout it out at low tide, this will show where you will find sandbars, weed beds, deep holes, channels, high tide snags, rock bars etc. Make yourself a map so as can remember where those points of interest are to assist you later on. Then it is a matter of trail and error but using the information you have gathered to make more informed decisons where to fish.

Jeff.

[MangroveZac]

I always do a bit of research on google earth and suss out the area. I have one or two target species in mind, but still remain flexible with the baits and gear that i take. Once on the water i will usually run crab pots first (in central queensland, not Yamba but this is just what i do). This gives me a good oppertunity to explore the system, noting any potential fish holding structure at a leasurly pace while still not feeling like i'm waisting any time. Move around and try different things until you find the fish, if you have no luck then at least maybe you'll have a crab or two at the end of the day. Good luck

[gruntahunta]

LOg LOG and LOG..... Every trip if you keep a log of where, what and when..You will know eventually when and how and with what you will catch fish.

[PinHead]

Oh..if going somewhere new I find somewhere that may look good..drop the pick..sit back and relax and wait for some suicidal fish to come along. Certainly relaxing that way.

[GABBA110360]

A lot use usefull info in a few of the replys on this thread CHAS & CLARRY.
A lucky few will throw a bait and come up with a world beater from time t o time but if your gunna get a feed most times you go
your for want of a better expression think FISH.
where will i get a easy feed
what works for me is if i'm not in danger of loosing gear i'm probably not going to catch anything descent.
one quote back a bit saying about hard run current being great doesn't work much where i fish .
an hour either side of high or low water seems to put fish on my table
have fun while your doin it
ken

[TheRealAndy]

Explore as much of the estuary as you can at low tide. This allows you to see a lot of the structure that you'll then fish later on. Note the channels and where they make sharp turns that will produce back-eddys in the tidal run. Look for reefs, gravel beds, snags, mud clumps and banks, weed patches and rocks walls as they will all hold fish when they are submerged. If you don't know the river you might have to do this slowly as there might be shallow areas or rocks on which you can bottom out, but once you've found these areas you can travel with a lot more confidence.
Cheers Freeeedom

This, plus drop waypoints on the channels.

[Chas & Clarry]

Thanks for all of the replies everyone! The answers are full of great advice, we are very glad to have started this thread & hope that it is of use to others too.

Quite a few of the things mentioned here we already do, but there are also some new ideas for us.

It has been great to have the chart plotter for this trip. It is so easy to drop a waypoint at any good looking spots for fishing later.

Thanks
Tim and Trace

[tunaticer]

I also try and time my exploratory trips around the new moon, bait fish hold tighter and do not spread all over the place. Find the bait fish around dawn and you will find the best fish around. Sometimes the bait fish hold in unlikely places, there is always a reason for them to be there though.

[Lucky Loz]

I have learnt a bit about the Clarence by drifting with the current/tide. Somedays you can go for miles. If you pay attention you will discover various holes ,weed beds , live bait areas, flathead run off zones and hot spots. You will also enjoy yourself immensly. Though the fishing was much better in days gone bye. Sand crab pots are a good idea too. Good hunting Loz.

[Noelm]

I think along the same lines as sleepygreg, makes no difference where you are, fish are fish, and where you find them in one area, you will find them in another area 500ks away, I never use google earth or anything else (even though these tools might be useful) half the fun of a new spot is it being new, maybe a quick call to the local baitshop might give you a head start, but for me I look for a species that is available in the area at the time I am there and concentrate on them, whether it be Flathead or Barra. Use uality bait and decent and tackle, or correct technique with lures and you will get results, the travelling fisho who turns up at lunch time with na packet of black prawns from the servo, a Kmart combo with 20KG line and a bag of snapper leads is going to be very lucky to score consistantly.