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Freshwater Exploring and Fishing

By Bryce Francis

The past summer I spent many days, walking 100’s of kilometres and putting in the hours to properly hone my remote freshwater fishing skills. Driving as close as I could to a possible location, then setting off for the day, with a mate or two, in the hope of finding some freshwater natives, such as saratoga, Australian bass and sooty grunter. I am fascinated by nature and everything surrounding it, so it’s the whole journey of being out there in the rainforests, sandy clear rivers, or the rocky headwaters, walking through waterfalls and cascades, that I enjoy. In this article I’ll explain what I’ve learnt and the techniques that I use to catch fish in these remote locations.

Locating Fish

The single most important component of locating fish is learning how to read the water that you are fishing, allowing you to pinpoint where to cast. When fishing flowing water, the fish will generally sit in the back eddies. Look for sections of the water with least resistance, while also ensuring that these areas are still in the main flow. Fishing fallen trees and logs is often the most productive and it’s about getting your lure into small pockets behind them and slowly working it back out.

Often the riskiest casts are the most productive in terms of attracting and hooking fish, however you’ll end up swimming if you don’t lock up and get the fish out of the structure quickly enough. This is also why it pays to use a form of weedless / snagless hook, with my most used being a TT ChinlockZ or ChinlockZ Finesse, if fishing smaller plastics.

Another effective tactic that I like, when finding ground to fish, is locating and fishing shallow and fast flowing water. Rapids and shallow water are often overlooked; however, it makes it easier to pinpoint where fish will be hiding. Back eddies around the edges of banks, just off the edge of the fast-flowing water, will hold numbers of fish. This is more so bass and sooty grunter, however saratoga can be found in the larger open pools that form midway along the rapids.

Locating small pockets in the banks of the river, that have been eaten out by erosion, and making an accurate skip cast into the pocket, will often result in a fish. Sometimes these pockets will form behind a snag on the bank in the fast-flowing water as well. Snags in shallow, fast flowing water out in the open can also fish great. Just make sure you’re fishing the downside of them, where the snag is providing a current break for the fish.

It can be hard to get a nice slow retrieve in the faster water, so more casts per snag / pocket may be required. A lot of the time you’re walking the river will likely consist of long straight sections of deeper water, where a lot of it looks the same, making it hard to know where to fish. For me, the type of walking that I have been doing is in very rugged terrain. This includes steep cliff banks, that need careful navigation to get up or down, thick rainforest, lantana, grass taller than you can see over, and the worst environment being soft marsh floodplain.

This harsh country dictates that I will generally fish anywhere that is accessible to get a cast in. Sometimes this means going as far as climbing a tree overhanging the riverbank, just to get that perfect cast at a fishy looking snag. I’ve seen my mates go as far as wading out to their necks in the water, just to get a few good casts. Despite what people will tell you, the fish generally don’t spook if you’re casting up current from where you’re standing. This leads me to my next point, learning different casting styles. When you’re surrounded by vines, sticks and grass, a typical cast isn’t going to cut it, but the good thing is that the fish will usually only be at your feet or very close to you along the bank anyway.

Lures

As I mentioned previously, it’s almost essential to use a snagless hook system. A variety of ChinlockZ and ChinlockZ Finesse jigheads, matched correctly to your ZMan plastics, is my top pick. The weighted ChinlockZ SWS is worth including as well, however it is rare that I use them for the way that I fish, as I rig and fish them unweighted in these shallower waterways and pockets. Almost any ZMan plastic will work and don’t let fishing larger plastics scare you either as these are hungry, aggressive fish, that will give anything a go. Here’s a rundown on my top five lures and a short guide to how I fish them.

ZMan 3” MinnowZ

This is definitely my favourite, rigged on a 3/0 TT ChinlockZ jighead. It is, in my opinion, the most versatile lure for the application, not to mention the easiest to use. MinnowZ cast well, skip in under snags well and have a perfect, super slow and natural sink rate on the 3/0 ChinlockZ. Colour choice I don’t believe matters for this style of fishing, so I like to use any colour that is easy enough to see in the water when retrieving. Lately I’ve had luck on Chartreuse Silver, Shrimp and Beer Run.

Mix up your retrieves, depending on water flow and depth, however, as a general retrieve, I will get my cast into a good spot, allow the MinnowZ to sink for a few seconds (keeping in mind these sink super, super, slow), then 1-3 small twitches of the rod tip, to get that tail to paddle and the plastic to flick sideways a bit, then another sink and repeat. Once’s you’re out of the strike zone, a slow to medium wind back in will be fine.

ZMan 5” StreakZ

This is an interesting one, but a very entertaining one to use. Rigged on a 3/0 TT ChinlockZ, I usually fish a faster retrieve with these. It can take a bit of practice, so watch the lure as you bring it in, and you want to create a wide side to side action out of the lure. This is achieved by flicking the rod tip, with a quick pause in between each flick of the rod. You can work it slow or fast. I’ll usually bring it in fast, with a pause every now and then. Alternatively, you can keep the rod tip high, and with a fast action, get the StreakZ to walk across the surface imitating a snake or lizard. This technique also works with ZMan 4” Scented Jerk ShadZ. Colour wise, I like Bubble Gum or Pearl in the 5” StreakZ or Atomic Sunrise in the 4” Scented Jerk ShadZ.

ZMan 2.75” Finesse FrogZ or ZMan 4” Hard Leg FrogZ

Low light periods are the times when I bring the FrogZ out. The 4” Hard Leg FrogZ I love because they cast well, have an awesome action, and attract such explosive strikes. The downside of the larger FrogZ is that you’ll miss a lot of hook ups from smaller fish, however it makes up for it with the trophy size bass that seem to always appear when throwing these big FrogZ.

I’ll rig the big FrogZ on a 5/0 TT ChinlockZ jighead and the smaller 2.75” Finesse FrogZ on a #1 ChinlockZ Finesse. You can either use a fast burn retrieve, with pauses in between, or a slow paddle that is just enough to get the legs to kick. Another great retrieve is just a gradual twitch, mixed with a slow roll and heaps of pauses. Pause next to the snags and when at rest the weight on the chin of the ChinlockZ pulls the front of the frog down and the legs stay up, which also provides a better hook up when eaten on the pause. Colours wise I use either Watermelon Chartreuse or White.

ZMan 2.5” GrubZ and a Size 3 TT Jig Spinner

This combo I’ll only really bring out when the bite is slow. If you’re struggling, or wanting to mix it up a bit, using a Jig Spinner to create flash and vibration will often attract a reaction bite. The retrieve is pretty, just make a cast and commence a slow wind. Your retrieve speed will pretty much set the depth that the Jig Spinner rigged plastic will run at, so I’ll usually wind at a medium speed with the rod tip high.

I’d probably only recommend using this presentation in more open areas as it doesn’t skip cast well. This presentation is quite good at not getting snagged, however every so often it will get stuck, so more care is needed when selecting casts. I usually use the brass (gold colour) Jig Spinner in a size 3, paired with a 1/12oz size 1 HeadlockZ jighead, rigged with a Copper Penny or Bubble Gum coloured ZMan 2.5” GrubZ.

ZMan 9” GrubZ

This is probably as big as it gets fishing for bass. A huge lure, worked slow across the surface. The action that you can achieve with this set up is unreal. The huge curly tail consistently moving, while applying small twitches and pauses to get the plastic to walk just under or across the surface. A 1/8oz 6/0 TT ChinlockZ SWS jighead is needed as the large plastic requires this additional small amount of weight to pull it around with the correct action. I’ve only ever used Pearl coloured GrubZ in this combo, but again I believe colour isn’t as important as everything else. Pearl is great as it is easy for you to see, allowing you to get the action of the lure spot on.

Rod & Reel Combo

The set up that I use consists of a 7’, 1-3kg TT Black Mamba spin rod and Okuma ITX-1000 reel, loaded with 8lb Platypus Pulse X8 Braid in White. Choosing a leader is more about whatever you’re comfortable using. The heavier the structure, the heavier the leader. Generally, around 15lb is what I use, however 12-20lb is fine. Make sure it’s a quality leader, with high abrasion resistance, such as the Platypus Hard Amour Tough Leader. You’re going to get run into sunken trees and sticks by fish a lot, not to mention constantly dragging lures through trees and sticks on dodgy casts.

At the end of the day, it’s a harsh environment to navigate, let alone fish in. However, this is what makes it so exciting and rewarding and catching fish in these beautiful locations is just a bonus. We are so lucky to have 100’s of creeks and headwaters available to us, just waiting to be explored. The best pieces of advice that I can give you are to put in the time to learn and to walk the distance to find fish.

Generally, if it’s easy to get to, it gets fished often. The best part of this style of fishing is that you could even be the first person to fish a location. Jump onto Google Maps, scan out and pre-plan an adventure in an area close to you and start walking. Obviously, it’s all about safety first, so always carry plenty of water, some form or first aid gear and only take on what you are comfortable with. A lot of the time you’ll arrive at a location that looked good on maps, to find it might not be accessible, is private property, or has other barriers to access, so it pays to have a few back up plans in terms of areas to investigate when you head out. Remember to enjoy adventuring in the amazing environments that we have around us and hopefully you’ll catch a few as a bonus.

Cheers, Bryce