Science Behind Bite Sessions?

[Poodroo]

Hi everyone, whilst sitting here I was was thinking about tides and best times to catch fish but thought "is there such a thing as a best time to be out catching fish?" I know in most cases it is the luck of the draw when fishing as to whether or not you will come home with a feed. How many times have we got up at the crack of dawn and come home with nothing and other times we have headed out and bagged out by not long after sunrise? Is fishing really a science or is it just that some days are better than others with no real reason behind it? Will we ever understand why some days there can be no fish showing on the sounder and all of a sudden the screen turns black with fish and you are in the best bite session of all time and as quickly as they come on the chew they vanish? I have often wondered why this happens and it mystifies me. Why do fish tend to come on the chew at the turn of the tide? What is the science behind it? If anyone can shed some light on this phenomena please feel free to enlighten me.

Regards,

Poodroo

[jtpython]

I know where your coming from mate
We have kept diaries just on our fishing trips and use them alot then something will happen and blow all our thories and practical preformances to hell then we start to think to be there on the right day at the right times half the time LOL
But thats the main enjoyment of fishing i suppose if it was simple we would all be kept in fish
Cheers but top topic thou
JT

[Freeeedom]

I've always tried to think of the bite sessions in terms of fish behaviour, rather than just the physical conditions. For example, when fishing for bream in the estuaries during the winter the best bite period is the first part of the run-out tide around the full and new moons, when the tides are big.
I personally think that this is due to
- the fish being concentrated in the area for the spawning run
- the fish needing to build up food reserves for egg and milt production, therefore they are 'on the chew'
- the fish resting up out of the main tidal run so as not to expend a lot of energy
in finding food and wasting stored food reserves
- the fish spreading out as the tidal run eases looking for an easy meal, which is why berley works so well in this situation
- night is best because in winter the water is often clear and the fish are easily spooked

So by 'thinking like a fish' you can put yourself in the right place at the right time to score. I try to do this whenever I go out - thinking 'What will the target species be doing and why? ' then trying to vary my techniques to take advantage of the fish's behaviour.

That doesn't help with the seasonal variations we see. Last year, during the drought, the mackerel were great, the bream were great, the sand crabs were great, the bay snapper were great, the flathead were not so good, the whiting (summer and winter) were pretty ordinary and the tailor were patchy at best.
Now that we've had some rain over the summer the sand crabs have been almost non-existent, the flathead have picked up, the bay snapper appear to have eased off, a few more reports of summer whiting are starting to appear. It will be interesting to see what the winter is like for bream, tailor and luderick. Variations of this kind can probably be explained by changing water temperatures, water quality (due to freshwater run-off and pollution) and fishing pressure. It's quite possible that fish populations in Moreton Bay have increased this summer due to the constant windy weather keeping many fishos at home. Just my thoughts
Cheers Freeeedom

[SunnyCoastMark]

C,mon Poo - there is no science to fish bite times. Everyone knows that the best time for a fish bite is when you are stuck at work,it's blowing 2-3 knots and all your mates are out there!

That's the great thing abut Ausfish - then you get to read their report afterwards

And occasionally - the planets line up in just the right way and you'll start catching fish.

Seriously though - there are a few other factors which are pretty general

1) Tide time - ie Big Flatties waiting in Ambush on a ledge waiting for bait fish to come past on the ingoing/outgoing tide.

2)We all know the approximate time of year that fish turn up and so when to start targeting them. i.e it's no good targeting Mackerel in SEQ in July- because they aren't around.

3) Water Temp. i.e. Snapper will feed shallower (closer inshore) in winter due to cooler temps.

4)Time of day. - One of my local spots - Murphy's reef - most people know that it fires just on Sunset - almost always. Dring the day you usaully only get pickers.
After 8.00pm you don't even get those. And then just when you thought you had it all sussed you'll fish there urng the middle of the day - and catch everything!


I think unpredictabilitiy is one of the most enjoyable/frustrating things about fishing.

regards,

Mark

[Poodroo]

It's what I enjoy about this website so much, the fact that you can get so many different angles of approach to a question. I can relate to thinking like a fish. Have scored some nice flathead and whiting over the years by checking out little backwash areas behind sandbanks. Have often talked to my brother saying things like "If I were a fish I would sit in that little eddy!" and then produced a nice fish from that spot. But it still bewilders me when you can be drifting in the bay and pass over a section and the sounder is black with fish and you have a great session and then they all vanish. Thanks guys for your input.

Poodroo

[seamaid]

Hi Fellows
Just purchase 2008 Anglers Almanac, predictions of best fishing times for Fresh water & Salt water $4.95.
It has worked well over the years ive been using it, of course failure dose occur
Best times are all ways shown when the weather at its worst.
Cheers Ged

[destorman]

My $0.02 for what its worth ...

I've lived near the ocean my whole life and had come to the conclusion that there was some interaction between tides, moon phases, weather patterns and the best surfing / fishing times.

I had not been able to put my finger exactly on it until I did some research.

Now, FYI, mod's I'm not related, affiliated or otherwise with the site I'm about to post, and for all readers, take it for what you want ...

Check out this site:

http://www.profishermen.com/solunar_theory.htm

And, see there little computer program (it calc's the peak times like these printed in the anglers almanac but you can get it for an exact location) at:

http://www.profishermen.com/fishintime.htm

To take a very basic example ... look at how the tide heights vary around a full moon, and king tides are around easter every year, and it generally rains at about the same time too!

Happy fishing ...

[the gecko]

I think theres a lot of science behind it, but theres not enough research been done yet to understand it. Perhaps one day we will know more. Maybe its got to do with hectopascels and the swim bladder , more than solunar theory?

I dont place much faith in moons , tides and solunar theory tho.

I think science will show that its different theories for different species. We seem to know a bit about the way flattys and bream feed cos they are more common catches. Try working out when a snappa, kingy, coral trout or jack will be on the chew, and thats a different story. But thoeries that do apply to flattys, dont apply to other fish IMHO.

Im intrigued by comments by guys thats have kept logs for many years, and the common thread is that they cant see any pattern......Ive heard this many times from old timers. Some jew experts reckon their logs show no correlation with new or full moons, and actual evidence turns moon theories upside down!

As long as its not high up on the grant list for research, we'll be resorting to anecdotal evidence like ausfish!

maybe oneday, someone will crack the code, but i dont see it happening in our lifetimes. Still, if fishing was easy.......it would be no fun.

cheers
Andrew

[ifishcq1]

I just graphed my 30 year fishing diary last month and the only constants are that within half hour each side of the rising or setting of the sun or moon on any day is usually good ..... maori charts, solar charts, almanacs all have a place.... but nothing works all the time... pot luck, time available and time spent mean the most

[destorman]

... and the only constants are that within half hour each side of the rising or setting of the sun or moon on any day is usually good ...

That's interesting ...

Similar to the theory per the website link in my previous post.

HOWEVER ... I must add that I do believe ...

A bad days fishing (or surfing or camping or ... ) is much much much better than a good day at work!

[richieboy]

Still trying to work it out. Just when I think I got em pegged they do something totally non descript and all my theories go out the window. When I found out I'll PM ya Poo.

Richie