Bankside musings for surface fishing

[nipsta]

if yours is a C+ mine must be a F

[3Macks]

Sh*t, are we gonna be graded on reports now?

Pete, just keep doing what you are doing, and we'll all keep reading your reports and wonder how you catch snaps on silly string.

[Plasticin]

Some good observations mate, I really like the part on stealth. Makes you think how some of us have got lazy with spot lock and the like...

[nagg]

Very informative Steve ...... good read & thanks for sharing your thoughts and observations .

the light leader for barra makes for an interesting subject in its own right

Chris

[Peter4]

I consider myself a 'thinking' fisherman but with nowhere near the same depth of thought and observation as you, Steve...

You have given me cause to rethink a lot of the things I do and I thank you for that. My approach to many fishing situations will change dramatically.

I also agree with Scott on the stealth issue. Last time I was snapper fishing in 1.5m of water during a hot bite period, I pulled the hooks on a fish close to the boat. The lure slammed into the hull with a loud 'bang' and I didn't get another touch for around 20 minutes. I figured I spooked every fish in the immediate vicinity and they only came back after a period of continued stealth...

Cheers

Pete

[AustralianFish]

Great to read such a good report from an observant, thinking fisherman. Well done mate, posts like this are why we read these forums at the end of the day. Hopefully I can provide 50% of that detail someday, great post!

[Schulzy]

Awesome report great observation! Just makes you realise a little bit of a look and then a little bit of a go can make a huge difference. Being stealthy is a huge thing in a heavily fished areas especially a+

[Apollo]

I consider myself a 'thinking' fisherman but with nowhere near the same depth of thought and observation as you, Steve...

You have given me cause to rethink a lot of the things I do and I thank you for that. My approach to many fishing situations will change dramatically.

I also agree with Scott on the stealth issue. Last time I was snapper fishing in 1.5m of water during a hot bite period, I pulled the hooks on a fish close to the boat. The lure slammed into the hull with a loud 'bang' and I didn't get another touch for around 20 minutes. I figured I spooked every fish in the immediate vicinity and they only came back after a period of continued stealth...

Cheers

Pete

Thanks guys for the kind words (and the grades!)

Pete. to tell you the truth, I knew I was in for an extended stint on a regular basis away from the family and the novety of working away wears off real quick, so I needed a 'project' whilst I was away to give me something to think/write about at night, so i just kept my fishing diary up to date. Knowing also that I was in for the long haul, I was able to experiement around a fair bit instead of reverting to my 'go to' lures, gear, spots, techniques because I had to make every post a winner due to time. In reality, the stuff written above is probably already known to all of you by just instinct/experience, so I thought hard and long about actually writing it up as I didn't want to sound like a tosser, especially given the very high quality of fishos on this site that beyond belief better than I will ever be, but I have passion for silly stick surface fishing and tapped away hoping that there might be atleast a little in there for someone.

Once again, thanks.

Cheers
Steve

[Snodger]

I got a lot out of it Steve. I will be trying a few things from your experiences at Mondy in a few weeks. Thanks mate. Yer B+. You woulda got an A except you left out about making a phone call to bring them on the bite .
Steve

[Apollo]

Funny conversation wasn't it? Blah, blah, had a great session, about to go, blah, blah, BOOF, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzz, can you hear that?, yes, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, call you back, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz