Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Pro-Lure-Fishing-Tips » Getting the Drift

Getting the Drift

Vinnie Versfeld

Drifting to me is probably one of the easiest, yet most effective methods of fishing bottom and mid water structure, using a variety of lures. It's a technique I kind of stumbled onto during a slow bite one day on a creek, when I stopped for smoko to regroup and get my head around the day and why my aquatic foes weren't playing the game.

As I was drifting down the creek, head in hand and chewing a muesli bar, I noticed a snag pop up on the sounder with a solitary fish hovering on the lee side of it out of the tidal current. I figured I'd throw something out behind the boat and see what happened. The first rod I picked up was rigged with a ZMan 3" MinnowZ on a 3/8oz TT HeadlockZ HD jighead and as I drifted past I let it sink to the bottom, took up the slack and lifted the rod tip enough to get the tail of the plastic kicking into action. Two hop and drops later and the plastic only dropped half as far as it did on the previous drop. Half dazed by what was happening, I only realised a barra had sucked it in as I went to lift the rod again. FISH ON!

I admittedly considered it a fluke and figured smoko was over and the fish were back on the bite. I feverishly jumped on the leccy and proceeded to belt the water into a froth with all manner of plastic bait imitations with no success. After about an hour or so I went back to the drawing board and wondered if there was any merit in the drifting technique. I motored my way up to a rock bar I found on a previous trip, dropped the leccy to control my drift and dropped the same MinnowZ down to the bottom in about 3.2m of water. As the tide slowly drifted me along I was intently watching the sounder for life. Drifting and thinking about what I was doing it started to make sense. The fish were sulking, holding deeper out of the current and my bait was naturally presented by being fished at the same speed as a prawn or baitfish drifting down with the tide and boat noise was down to an absolute minimum. Whist computing all of this information I got slammed by a cracking jack! A pattern was forming...

When:

I've found this technique effective whenever the bite has been particularly slow. Seasonally it works year round and I've found it particularly effective on the likes of barra and such that shut down a bit during the colder months.

Where:

Now this is the interesting part, everywhere! I've successfully used this technique while wading streams chasing sooties to 60m of water out wide jigging the shoals. Anywhere you have a tidal run or current that can help you move the lure at the same speed as the flow is a winner.

Gear:

Gear is a bit similar to the old Holden or Ford debate. I feel match the situation and fish you are targeting. I personally prefer spinning gear and in a creek scenario a 2500 reel spooled with 12-15lb on a matching rod will see you in the game. I like slower action rods as I believe they assist with hook ups as they allow the fish to eat the lure a bit better.

Lure wise I use the entire ZMan range on matching TT jigheads; you want to fish the lightest possible jighead that's going to allow you're plastic to stay in the strike zone at the speed you are drifting. Blades are also a deadly lure choice, especially in colder water. Remember the golden rule - 'match the hatch!' If the fish are feeding on prawns or smaller bait fish, you're unlikely to get a bite on say a 6" plastic or vice versa. In saying that, downsizing is almost always a game changer on a shutdown bite.

If you experiment a bit it won't take too long to figure it out. When you do get a bite on a particular lure stick with it, chances are there was a good reason why it got eaten in the first place.

Technique:

Once you come across some likely looking structure or suspending fish, work out your drift direction first. This might take a couple of passes but the little effort spent doing this outweighs the frustration caused by not getting the drift right and then missing possible fish. I position my boat/yak far enough upstream, from my selected area, to ensure that I have enough time to get my lure into the area and working before I get to the spot. Achieving this is as simple as pulling up, waiting for the boat/yak to start drifting naturally and dropping lures on the 'downstream' side of the vessel (you don't want your line drifting in under the vessel). Once your lure hits the bottom, take up the slack and lift and drop the rod tip. Speed, etc. will be determined by the fish and what they are in the mood for on the day. I normally start with a drop, hop, hop, lift, drop, and then change it up from there. The golden rule is to always have contact with the lure on the drop, as this is when 99.99% of strikes happen.

I hope this short introduction to drift fishing gives you another possible option for those 'slow' days we all get from time to time. I find it a very effective and exciting way to fish and it is also a fantastic way to get kids and beginners hooked on luring!