Smaller lures and lighter gear work well in winter

Dave Hodge

Up here in the north, the air temperatures and water temperatures have been dropping. One week the mercury fell by 6°C, which is a lot to drop such a short space of time.

It’s just the seasons doing what they do, though a little later this year than the last few.

I’m sure the same scenario will play out as it always does: we get a cold snap, the fishing gets a bit tougher, then after a few weeks we get a warmer stretch and the fish chew their heads off. Many people believe that the are sometimes as light as 20lb, but 25lb would be an average and 30lb reserved for when the bigger fish’s raspy jawline needs to be taken into account. barra aren’t worth chasing in the winter months, but the truth is you can still catch these great sportfish if you change tactics.

Clear, crisp mornings are prime time to be chasing winter jacks. They’re often found on the shallows up underneath those dark pockets, hunting prawns.

Our rods and reels resemble more whiting type gear, with 7’ long spin rods in the 3-8lb or 6-12lb ratings, and 2500-sized reels. This isn’t just for casting the tiny lures, but fighting the fish once hooked. Longer, softer rods are shock absorbers and help to reduce the amount of scuffing the leader takes, and drag settings are reduced so as to be able to release line smoothly without popping a barra off.

Fingermark are frequent lure grabbers during winter. This fish took an Atomic Semi Hardz 50mm.

We downsize our lures when it gets cooler, whether it be plastics, hardbodies, vibes or whatever – smaller works better in winter. Little vibes and blades (as small as 40mm) can catch quite a few fish in the deeper holes, while 3-4” plastics work well in the drains and flats. It’s strange that a fish with a big mouth you can fit your fist in would bother eating a tiny prawn imitation, but it’s definitely the case. The 4” Halco Paddle Prawn in raw prawn colour has worked well for us, along with the Atomic 3” Prong. Depending on the depth of water being fished, the jighead could be as light as 1/16oz with a number 2 hook.

Obviously, we can’t fish the smallest of lures on our heavier 20lb outfits, so we often go down to around 8-10lb braid in order to be able to cast and sink our lures where needed. Leaders

Not being big on stamina, quite big barra can be subdued with relative ease, and the more they run, the more tired they become, making netting easy. The last few metres of the fight is when most people get a bit overzealous and put the brakes on a fish that is just seconds away from being netted, and either straighten a hook or pop a leader. Calm, smooth rod work is the key to landing them, although you will get the odd one that just heads for the sticks and there’s nothing you can do then. challenge, there are plenty of other winter options for land-based tucker hunts. The same sorts of outfits that I mentioned earlier can be used for hunting whiting, bream and flathead on the flats and around creek mouths with baits or lures. The humble old peeled prawn will undoubtedly catch you doggie mackerel have stayed around for the whole year. This would explain why the Spanish haven’t gone anywhere either, as a doggie is a nice-sized snack for a Spanish. Remember that the new possession limits of one Spanish per angler and two per boat will be introduced from 1 July. I’m not sure as to

With reduced heat and humidity during the cooler months, JPs and sooties are fun species to chase through the scrub.

Chasing flatties on the flats can be productive during the cooler months. This one ate a 4” prawn imitation

BYCATCH

A plus at this time of year is the amount of varied species you’ll encounter while chasing the barra and jacks. Grunter, fingermark, bream and more all become more prevalent when you start throwing smaller lures, and this adds to the unexpected thrill of wondering what’s next. Big queenfish love a small prawn imitation, and the GTs and tarpon can almost get annoying they can be that thick, but it’s all fun when that rod bends.

CREEKS

If you aren’t wanting to take on the winter barra a feed of whiting etc, but if you have a yabby pump your chances are even better.

Other species you can expect to encounter when bait fishing the creek mouths and flats are golden trevally, longtom, permit, flounder and a lot more unexpected stuff as well. Lighter leaders in the 4-6kg class will serve you best. Number 4 or 6 long-shank hooks are the go, and you want them to be sticky sharp and easier to remove from smaller fish that are to be returned to the water.

OFFSHORE

For some reason the the wisdom of this bag limit reduction, but it is what it is.

Anglers chasing trout, nannygai and so on are still going to be battling the sharks, and this is the reason for so many electric combos being sold nowadays. When it comes to using electric reels, I’ve heard the argument “that’s not fishing”, but honestly, the way we have to fight a fish offshore these days with conventional tackle isn’t the way we used to be able to fish either. Cranked-up drags and straight cranking, only pumping and winding if absolutely necessary on the bigger fish at breakneck speed, isn’t what I call enjoyable either. It’s all about putting what you hook in the esky instead of down a shark’s throat. This is the reality of the modern offshore angler’s plight.

Sometimes you can get lucky and find a patch that’s not flanked by big numbers of sharks, but that’s usually pretty rare. Finding lesserknown locations instead of the marks that everyone knows is key to not being hounded by sharks so badly, but when you lose that first fish you might as well bail. Otherwise, you’re just teaching the sharks that if they hang around a boat they’ll get a free feed.

I have a string of shows coming up so I won’t be on the water as much as usual, but if you wish to see what’s happening up around the Townsville area jump on our little YouTube channel and look up Hodgie the Barefoot Fisherman. There will be regular videos put up to help those who aren’t sure about what to chase or how to chase them.