The Art of Observation

It seems to me that all the consistent anglers – those that regularly catch fish – have one major thing in common. They are observant and swiftly take action on conclusions they have made from what they have seen.

I was out fishing with a mate just last week. It was a great morning, nice and still, and we were fishing the snags along a section of river bank. The fish however were very quiet. I was just concentrating on landing my lure close to the snags without actually ending up in them – you know how that can be!

My mate said something about a small bait-fish jumping twice, some distance up ahead. He just happened to have a long casting lure set up on his spare rod. Before his words had sunk in, the lure had already landed in that spot and his reel was clicking into gear!

Long story short – he caught a mangrove jack on a lure not specifically designed for them in an area the fish had no right to be! Lucky? No. Observant, yes!

Look for things that are out of the ordinary and check them out with a few exploratory casts. Could be nothing, might be the best fish of the day!

Look for nervous baitfish, rippling water on a glassy surface, floating sticks and leaves (often bait can be sheltering underneath), eddies, wind-lanes and changes in water colour. It is all worth a cast.

Check out this short clip that I managed to capture of The Rewards of Being Observant.

Gear used, Okuma Altera 4 reel teamed with an Okuma Ceymar 6-14lb Spin Rod, Line: 12lb, using a Jackson Pintail 20 lure.

Good luck and all the best,

C.A.G