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Preparing for the Unknown

By Steve Crawley

My phone buzzed as a message illuminates the screen. It's one of my good mates messaging to a group about a fishing trip. He is off on an overnight fishing trip to a place I have never been, doing a type of fishing I have never done, targeting fish that I have never targeted.

He is asking if we want to go; like that's even a question.

So, after the logistics are sorted and commitment to the trip is made, how do I prepare? I've never been anywhere like this place, have never done this style of fishing and I have very little knowledge of the target. Where do I start?

To be honest, I quite like this scenario. It brings out an impatient eagerness, like a child counting down until Christmas. This is also a scenario I work through multiple times each year to prepare for bream tournaments on waterways I am unable to visit beforehand.

My preparation and research is never as structured as outlined below and will not always include every aspect listed. And while it is never a guarantee of success, I tend to cover off on most of the below and always feel like I have a better chance than going in blind.

Surveying the land

Maps, maps and more maps. There are a multitude of map products available for free that will give you a good view of the location and represent it in different ways.

Standard maps (like Google) can show you access points, boat ramps and parking as well as basic connecting waterways. Satellite views via Google Earth or SIX Maps (NSW) can provide an aerial view of what the area (may) look like. With the satellite images I always like to review some of the historic views because these will show different tides or reduce water surface glare to help reveal different structures. The two images included are for the exact same area of water. The default image has significant water surface glare, but by scrolling back to previous images I found a clearer view of the water and an old disused oyster rack.

The trip I am planning for is a land based trip and will involve a little hiking to the fishing spots. Because of this I am also looking at some topographical maps which show elevation with contour lines. Some of the views available through online maps like Google Earth are really good, however they may not show you the detail of the terrain off the beaten track. For this I like a map with contour lines to help me to understand how steep some of the sections will be, and to plan routes in and out.

Weather

This one is well known and well used when looking at tides and preparing for hot, cold, rain and wind. But having a look at what the weather was like leading up to the trip and the seasonal trends can help identify conditions that might mean one location is more likely than another. For example it may not have rained all week before you got there, but if the area received a lot of rain in the month leading up, it could have flooded your planned spots, moved the fish downstream or even concentrated them in an area.

The sites I often use are;

• www.bom.gov.au for short to long range forecasts and tide predictions
• www.seabreeze.com.au for short range forecasts and wind predictions
• www.weatherzone.com.au has a great almanac feature to show historic records such as the image attached

People

Social media has made it easier than ever to be in touch with people who have a lot of knowledge and experience at doing what you are planning to do; and likely in the area you are planning to do it. Get in touch and ask them for help - 90% of the time they're happy to help, and 99% of the time they will help.

A lot of people also get in touch with the local tackle shop to ask for help. This place can be a goldmine, bursting with local fishing wisdom, and I like to do this almost exclusively as a face to face exercise. Go and lean on the counter and have a chat to the people who run the place. It's easier than over the phone or email, and they can put the lures, baits or techniques that they recommend right in your hand.

Previous results

Tournament results, trip reports, old fishing magazines, YouTube videos and pictures. All of these are relatively easy to find on the internet these days and they can all provide different titbits of helpful information.

Tournament results and write ups have become more detailed over the last few years. The Hobie Fishing Tournament website has concise reports from event winners and more often than not the Facebook pages of competitors give a detailed run down of what they did, when they did it and how. Equally, the ABT moto "Who shares, Wins" materialises in exceptional tournament summaries as well as competitor interviews and livestream events on YouTube. Reading these reports next to the weather report for the area at that time helps to provide a more comprehensive view of the trip.

Fishing publications and newsletters such as www.tackletactics.com.au/Subscribe often showcase a variety of species and delve into specifics of the tackle and tactics used to catch them. Many of these publications are also free and as well as assisting you to catch your target, they're a great place to look for a new challenge. 

Local fishing clubs are also a great source of information, often publishing results of club events on their website; and giving you an idea of whose social media profile might be worth looking up.

Related magazine articles on the target species in general can be worth a look too. While the article may not be based around the specific waterway you plan to target, the information is often very transferrable. Often the same techniques will work for that type in that type of structure e.g. flathead on plastics or whiting on surface.

Pictures and videos

These are all good for inspiration, but some will give you more than you bargained for. A closeup of the fish can show you the lure / bait rig that was its undoing. An action shot of the fish before it was landed may show you the weather and conditions they were fishing in or the structure they were fishing. A profile shot of the angler might show them wearing winter gear, summer gear or raincoats.

Tackle prep

The prep that I do will usually give me enough information to have an idea of the basic gear I will need. It usually starts with a requirement to purchase 2 to 4 new rod and reel combos and a small tackle shop worth of other equipment. Then I scale it back to a reasonable list based on recommendations from the people I speak to and the information gleaned from other reports and articles.

A lot of what has been listed above are well known strategies and I have learned much of these from other people, too many to credit individually. That said, this is by no means a definitive list.

So, by now you may have noticed I have not told you where this trip is or what we are targeting; but it doesn't really matter. The weather looks great and I'm as familiar with the location as I can be. I've an idea on what people have caught them on in the past and I've a few new lures to test out which were recommended by an expert in the field that I got in touch with via Facebook... just need to buy a snake bite kit and I'm all set.

Cheers, Steve