Catching little fishes.

Your home if you fish from anything that isn't floating.
Post Reply
Pecheur
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 2139
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2009 9:50 pm
Location: Darwin
Contact:

Catching little fishes.

Post by Pecheur »

Hi there,

I hadn't fished in a long time, and decided to give it a go, as I was starting to show some serious fishing withdrawal signs...

So to an easy and close to home spot I went, East Point was the chosen location.
It was much later in the day than the time I usually fish there, and thus wasn't sure that I would be able to catch anything. Yet the idea to spend a few hours under the sun on the water edge was enough to get me there.

I first went to a spot where I have caught reasonably nice Barramundi in the past...
And it was not the spot to shine on this day.
Still, I quickly got a small Cod:

Image
First Rock Cod of the day.

This made me happy, as I honestly thought that it was just going to be a day walking along the water.
It was a rather small fish, so in the water it went back, like all the fish I was going to get on the day.
From there, it didn't take very long to catch another of these little Cods:

Image
Second Cod of the day.

Both fish at this location were caught using weedless soft plastic lures. The place is full of mangrove roots, and it has shown me in the past how a good fishing lure cemetery it can be. So now, I prefer to diminish my hook-up rate, instead of offering lure after lure to the mangrove gods, hence the use of weedless lures at this spot.

But the bite slowed to a crushing halt, things went very quite, and for the first time of the year I had a feeling that the dry season was either upon us or not very far.
And the Dragonfly seemed to think alike:

Image
Dragonfly at rest on my fishing rod.

Obviously that one could not have found a more suitable, calm spot to rest...
I took a sip from my water bottle to give it a bit of time, then gently shook the rod to signify that I was ready for action again.
The dragonfly went it's way, and I started to wonder if I shouldn't do the same?
And the same I did.
I decided to try a spot I had often been told about but had never tried: the gun turret.
Got there, and found two other anglers who had gotten the same idea.
One was fishing with live bait, the other one with lures.
The live baiter wasn't catching anything, the lure guy seemed to catch a few.
Beauty! I told myself, I might get a fish or two.
First fishing on their right for absolutely no love, I decided to walk pass them an go further on the left.
Once there, I waded in ankle deep water to what seemed to me a good spot.
Where I was able to perch myself on a rock that was coming out of the sea.
And this is when I saw just a bit further on the left, the bait being absolutely smashed by what seemed to be a few Barramundi!
Quick! I told myself get yourself over there and flick your lure at them!
Trying to be fast on unknown terrain can sometimes be a stupid thing...
And it was...
I put my right foot in a drop, and suddenly wasn't ankle deep in water anymore...
I lost balance and fell face first. It wasn't that deep, but enough to get myself and all my gear wet.
I told myself: "common boy don't be overtly sensitive, it is just a bit of water and fishing gear are made to be wet"...
Well yes kind of...
Anyway, I pulled myself back up, had a laugh and got myself, slower where I wanted to be.
And that was the spot!
I first got another little Cod:

Image
Third and last Cod of the day.

Still happy to have caught this little fella, but slightly disappointed as I was really hopping for a Barramundi, because of the way the bait had been harassed just a few minutes before.
Any way, perched on another rock, it all become right...
I could now see them little Barramundi, swimming in the water not very far from me, eating small baits.
It was like going on a boat on the flat doing some sight casting, except that it was land based, and that the fish were smaller.
But the kick from it was the same, the excitement of seeing them was great.
This is how I got my first little Barramundi, the first one in about a month.
Not big, but mine mine mine!

Image
First little Barramundi of the day.

Yes, to me being mostly land based, even small fish are sweet, and this one made me really happy.
I got another one in no time at all, but as it was at my feet and I got the camera ready, it managed to spit the lure and swim away. This one was a funny one, it was the first time I saw that, it kept boofing with the lure in its mouth, to try to dislodge it. (Which worked good for him). It was really fun to see this little fish going Boof, turning around and going Boof! Boof! Again.
Well it was amusing util it spat the lure, little bugger!
Still it showed me something I had never seen and was a good experience.

I moved to the next rock, and got my third Barra for the day:

Image
Third Barramundi of the day.

This even if small, was going to be the best one of the day.
As they were obviously all too small to keep, I tried to photograph them all in the water, to minimise any arm.
That is all except the last one...
Because it was what I believe might be the smallest Barramundi I ever caught:

Image
Smallest Barramundi ever on my lure.

It was fun to see such small fish get so greedy in their attack on the lure. And already displaying all the qualities of their biggest brothers and sisters: boofing, jumping and all.

By then I could walk all the way onto the turret, which I had never done before.
Once there, I decided to take a photo, but with my phone instead of my camera...
And this is when I remembered/realised, that my phone was in my pants pocket when I fell in the water.
Now mobile phone and salt water are generally not the perfect match.
And when I saw my phone, I immediately decided to go back home and try to save this wet phone...
Will it work again?
Only time will tell...

So all in all it had been a great morning, with 3 little cods and 4 of the smallish Barramundi I ever caught. But some people say that size doesn't matter, so let be honest, I had great fun catching them.
I know most people would not post such little fishes, yet I had a really good time, and to me this is still fishing.
And for now that's all.

Have a good day,
Pecheur


jeffish
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 3716
Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2011 8:25 am
Location: Darwin

Re: Catching little fishes.

Post by jeffish »

Sounds like a great relaxing time mate, had many a small fish session there .
Still gets the heart pumping every strike and I'm always thinking next cast for sure :catch: :mrgreen:

I often chill out when it's slow fishing and find myself a nice little pool to sit in and cool down but I usually
leave the fishing gear up on a dry ledge :mrgreen: :rofl:

Nice pics mate ,,,cheers
Tap'n'Zap
Seadog
Seadog
Posts: 295
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:13 am

Re: Catching little fishes.

Post by Tap'n'Zap »

No matter how big or small the fish are, the strike still gets my heart racing. Well done mate.
User avatar
Agent86
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 2275
Joined: Thu Jan 20, 2011 12:11 pm
Location: Humpty Doo NT

Re: Catching little fishes.

Post by Agent86 »

Great day out with some fun times
Well done Pech, great story

I have done the misjudge face plant in water not too far from there as well
All you can do is smile :)
If there is water and it holds fish, then it is fun trying to fool them into eating what you offer!!

Especially when you can see them!
slamminsam
Gold Member
Gold Member
Posts: 96
Joined: Wed Aug 28, 2013 9:06 pm

Re: Catching little fishes.

Post by slamminsam »

Great read. Thanks mate
User avatar
Edo
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 569
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2015 1:47 pm

Re: Catching little fishes.

Post by Edo »

Nice work Pech
User avatar
Melv
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 671
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2007 5:35 pm
Location: is everything

Re: Catching little fishes.

Post by Melv »

Another great read, thanks Pecheur :mrgreen:

:cheers:
Melv
jeffish
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 3716
Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2011 8:25 am
Location: Darwin

Re: Catching little fishes.

Post by jeffish »

:?
nomad
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 5770
Joined: Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:29 pm
Location: PALMERSTON
Contact:

Re: Catching little fishes.

Post by nomad »

Good one Regis

By the way, you are starting to sound more Aussie in your posts everyday :) 8)
User avatar
ozdodge
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 1084
Joined: Mon May 14, 2007 5:04 pm
Contact:

Re: Catching little fishes.

Post by ozdodge »

Thanks Pech, you made me check the tides!

Cheers
ozdodge

Don't crowd me - I'm likely to bite!
User avatar
joesgotone
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
Posts: 125
Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2016 7:59 pm
Location: Darwin

Re: Catching little fishes.

Post by joesgotone »

There are lots of little barra moving around the rocks at the moment. Saw more last week than I ever have. At one point had 6 little barra under a rock in plain sight within 4 m of me. Did spot 2 legal size cruise by but no interest in my lure. I did manage a nice trev though on the barra gear.
20170501_122845.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
how many is enough lures, rods and reels. Is there a magic number, considering you usually only catch 1 fish on a single lure on the one rod and reel your casting with.
User avatar
ozdodge
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 1084
Joined: Mon May 14, 2007 5:04 pm
Contact:

Re: Catching little fishes.

Post by ozdodge »

And the tides were good, so I dragged my teenager off his computer and we hit the rocks for some fun times!

Thanks for the inspiration Pech!

cheers
IMG_6798.JPG
IMG_6793.JPG
IMG_6795.JPG
IMG_6803.JPG
IMG_6797.JPG
IMG_6800.JPG
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
ozdodge

Don't crowd me - I'm likely to bite!
Pecheur
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 2139
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2009 9:50 pm
Location: Darwin
Contact:

Re: Catching little fishes.

Post by Pecheur »

Hi there,

Thanks for the replies, and yes one can only laugh when falling face first in the water.
:wink:
ozdodge wrote:And the tides were good, so I dragged my teenager off his computer and we hit the rocks for some fun times!
And you did well!
How good is that, are we lucky to be able to find that this close to town or what?

Have a good day,
Pecheur
User avatar
Matt Flynn
Site Administrator
Site Administrator
Posts: 16187
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 9:30 am
Location: Somewhat Southerly
Contact:

Re: Catching little fishes.

Post by Matt Flynn »

Great pix, love it.

Let me know if you fellas need my GI Joe for future photos :mrgreen:
Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Landbased”