Scare Tactics for Barra

[chewy01]

On a similar line i think the same theory will hold you in good stead whatever type of fishing.The quietness of my poly in the water was 1 of the major factors in buying it.Especially in hard fished waters stealth in my opinion should be your number one priority.I fish for summer whiting in the shallows of the sandy straights and cannot believe the number of ppl that go to the effoft of going in the middle of a winter night,dig blood worms only to pull up in 30/40cms water with thepetrol motor launch out the anchor then stomp around the bottom of the tinnie.its shallow,the fish are flighty and once you scare them they wont come back that tide.i believe barra are similar though they may move back into the area wen it settles down i think most times they are surely more wary.Like has been said once in a while you may get one bit in my opinion its more of a reaction/instinct when the lure happens to land on them.Just my opinion.I like to take the time to travel a bit further/get into hard to get at spots to hopefully limit the chance some noisy bloke has already spooked the fish.And lets face it i need all the help i can get.Even at mackay,at a little creek i no doesnt get fished much if you take the time to walk in through the cane we always do a lot better.We caught 10 barra off one rock ledge(released)in a bit over an hour and it only took a dropped rod /reel banging on the rock to put the fish off.Again only 3 ft of water.Coincidence?maybe but ill always try to be as quite as i can in the hope of putting a bend in the rod.Sorry bout tehe long winded post but its amazing the amount of ppl that dont factor it into their fishing strategy.
chewy.........

[NAGG]

I noticed something tonight that surprised me I took the boat out this arvo to do a little breamin>
As it got dark .... I found my self in glassed out conditions ( shallow water @ 4-5 feets around oyster racks) ...... I had dozens of tailing bream feeding over the racksAttachment 27857 ......... As I was slowly drifting towards them with the tide I stepped off the front casting deck to grab a popper ....... & in doing so , my movement sent off a percussion wave around the boat , which immediately spooked these bream. ... scattered like someone fired a gun!

I didn't feel that I made much noise at all ........ but it just shows how sound does resonate through water (specially in ultra calm conditions)

Cheers

Nagg

[Tropicaltrout]

when I am stalking cruising fish its a wonder they don't nick off straight away, cause my hearts beating out off my chest.

Yeah I have found many different thing can change the relative spookyness of fish and fish across the board will react much the same I have seen some hot bites on barra, tuna, and trout etc and water temp and weather can change the need for a fish to hold positio, I drove up on a school of tuna and they swam all round the boat like know one was home it was humid over cast and slightly raining and I have done the same in great conditions and they simply dissapear? Barra can be on in a area of a hundred boats and not be spooked and attack lures like a frenzed struggle for food like it was in febuary after the rain. and yet you can spook a fish from moving position in your boat up in the sticks? I have almost ran into Toga in the shallows and they move of so casual but most times they are easy spooked, trout now I have had some ripper time wading the shores of tassie lakes some fish you cam position your self and lay the cast out just right and they shoot off like you through a rock, and others are straight up to see what just landed.

It seems it can all depend on the fish's will at the time to eat and many of the other things that make the fish that bit more switched on.

Cheers nath

[SQUIDDA]

When fishing points etc, he has discarded his anchor and has melted down lead into the shape of a dome which he uses as an anchor as he recons the lead makes a lot less noise when it hits the bottom. He also only uses rope and no chain to eliminate as much noise as possible. He drifts in on the point from a distance before dropping the lead and slowly lets out rope to minimise noise. [/quote]
Stainless steel bowls from $2 shops make excellent molds for lead anchors.A eye bolt for something to tie off too.9kg of lead is enough to hold most small boats.No chain like you say Black Sheep and you have yourself a STEALTH anchor.Sorry if this is a bit off track but stealth is a big thing when it comes to lake barras.Any barras!

[NAGG]

When fishing points etc, he has discarded his anchor and has melted down lead into the shape of a dome which he uses as an anchor as he recons the lead makes a lot less noise when it hits the bottom. He also only uses rope and no chain to eliminate as much noise as possible. He drifts in on the point from a distance before dropping the lead and slowly lets out rope to minimise noise.

Stainless steel bowls from $2 shops make excellent molds for lead anchors.A eye bolt for something to tie off too.9kg of lead is enough to hold most small boats.No chain like you say Black Sheep and you have yourself a STEALTH anchor.Sorry if this is a bit off track but stealth is a big thing when it comes to lake barras.Any barras![/quote]

Thanks Squidda

We were actually talking about making one of these too ........ We were just unsure of how heavy it needed to be _ _ _ Specially fishing a place like Awoonga in 30knt SEs ( we actually dragged a sand anchor with 5 M of chain in those conditions .... 4.8M hornet)

Cheers

Nagg

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

Nagg,
I use two anchors when anchoring in Awoonga when there is substantial wind to deal with. Both anchors have their own line but they eventually join about 15 metres up the line and the boat hangs off just one rope. Even though both of my anchors have chain attachments they are deployed indivudually and 'lowered' not dropped to the bottom. The rope is then held taught until the boat moves off from above the anchor and the chain is gently and quietly lowered to the bottom so it does not clang and bang on the anchor. Two sand anchors hold pretty well. The lead weight that SQUIDDA talks about is an ideal option. The lead weight I used for years weighed 13kilos and was a useful, quiet tool. The shape is important to get best effect.
Anchoring off and staying well clear of your fishing location is essential. Drifting onto a patch of stationary fish and having to drive back out and re anchor will often kill a spot. Overkill with anchors is super important, another stealth and silent approach that needs to be factored into the equation.
Johnny Mitchell

[black_sheep]

Nagg, my mate users a 10kg weight for pull up his 4.35 wide body quinny. He is fishing Tinaroo. Reckon 13-15kgs should do the job for Awoonga.


Thanks for the tip squidda.

[NAGG]

Nagg, my mate users a 10kg weight for pull up his 4.35 wide body quinny. He is fishing Tinaroo. Reckon 13-15kgs should do the job for Awoonga.


Thanks for the tip squidda.

Now .... I just need to track down 13-15kgs of lead

Nagg

[Roo]

Have a look around on your neighbours roof. they used to put it up there for weather flashing, but he probably wont need it..........unless it rains.

[NAGG]

Have a look around on your neighbours roof. they used to put it up there for weather flashing, but he probably wont need it..........unless it rains.

Shhhh ..... dont tell them

Nagg

PS ..... Its now raining down here

[Roo]

you can find a bit of lead at the metal recyclers but they will want your first born for it.
Option B: Again at the metal recyclers, look for big, chunky Iron offcuts, big nuts, washers and bolts that will fit into one of the Metal mixing bowls from the $2 shop. Buy about 7kg of that if it is cheaper than lead, take it home and arrange in mixing bowl. pour in enough "wet" concrete to cover as much of the metal as possible, aiming to avoid bits protruding out the top apart from 1 bolt (eye type) or bit of sturdy wire bent to form a loop. when it is set, turn it out and give any bits of steel showing a coat of concrete slurry to seal it up and your done.
Too easy. should end up about 12-15kg.
Cheers Roo.

[SQUIDDA]

Old car batterys are full of lead.A bit hard to extract but alot cheaper than buying it.Most Auto Electricians will sell old batterys cheap.

[Little grey men]

you can find a bit of lead at the metal recyclers but they will want your first born for it.
Option B: Again at the metal recyclers, look for big, chunky Iron offcuts, big nuts, washers and bolts that will fit into one of the Metal mixing bowls from the $2 shop. Buy about 7kg of that if it is cheaper than lead, take it home and arrange in mixing bowl. pour in enough "wet" concrete to cover as much of the metal as possible, aiming to avoid bits protruding out the top apart from 1 bolt (eye type) or bit of sturdy wire bent to form a loop. when it is set, turn it out and give any bits of steel showing a coat of concrete slurry to seal it up and your done.
Too easy. should end up about 12-15kg.
Cheers Roo.

Hey Roo...the above recipe can also be found in the Mafiosa hand book, under "sinking shoes for slimey snitches"

[Roo]

where do ya think i got it!!!!
remember, don't ever mess with the family LGM.