When it Rains, it Pours

By Dan Trotter on July 3, 2018 in Sport

A northern bluefin (or longtail) tuna, always a delight to any angler.

When it rains, it pours – isn’t that the old adage? We all hate a drought, whether it’s in real terms or more metaphorical ones, like love, business, sex or even fishing. We all know that feeling when you just can’t turn a trick, win a project or land that fish.
Then there are the times when you just can’t miss. Those are the times to capitalise on. When you feel that streak begin, get on the front foot, make the hard phone calls, ask the big questions and go fishing much more often. As a friend advised me recently, when you get a piece of good news, use the energy and ‘vibe’ it gives you to build and create other ‘good news stories’ and keep that stone rolling.
The first three or four months of this year were plagued by a perfect storm of challenging fronts in most areas of my life. But with age and experience comes the knowledge that we just have to stand fast, shoulder to the wind, mindset solid, with the belief that sooner or later the storm will pass and the sun will once again shine its light on our backs and on the path forward.
Fishing has not been exempt from this ‘perfect storm’, but I’ve come to know that when this happens, the more I fish the sooner my time will come for a fish on every cast, so fish more I must.
In last month’s article I talked of getting up the coast for a fish with friends, so on my own advice I did just that for a long weekend in May. While the fishing wasn’t red hot, we caught plenty of solid snapper, spotted mackerel, a few small longtail tuna, a solo yellowfin tuna and a few tasty pearl perch and Venus tuskfish. Most importantly, we laughed a lot, got out amongst the elements, told tall tales and forgot about work and the other parts of our lives for at least a few hours every day. It was so good we’ve planned another weekend away for late July!
For boat anglers, July in Sydney should be focussed on snapper, John Dory, deep-water kingfish and wide ocean yellowfin tuna.
For those locked to the land there’s plenty to smile about with blackfish and drummer in the ocean washes, and tailor and Australian salmon ready for the taking just a decent cast off many of the ocean rocks along the coastline. Calm days when there’s just a sprinkling of suds close to the stones are the safe ones to fish and usually produce better catches anyway. Don’t risk your life fishing when it’s rough, and make sure you know the rules for rock fishing and the catch and size limits for the fish you’re targeting.
If it’s too cold for you to venture out and wash away life’s woes with some fresh, wind-blown saltwater, then perhaps tinkering in the garage with your tackle from the summery months is a better way to spend your time. After all, thinking about trips to come for the avid angler is part of the joy of being a fisherman.
Tight lines to you all; keep your fingers crossed for good fishing and your shoulder to the wind.