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Fishing Saltwater After Rain
By Justin Willmer
After recent heavy rains in the local systems that I fish in South East Queensland, I began making a plan for some upcoming fishing sessions and how I would approach these sessions following the influx of fresh and the dirtier water. Different systems will be impacted differently, based on size, catchment areas, depth, tide heights and other variables, however over time I have picked up some tips from other anglers, and from fishing these post rain conditions, that have definitely put more fish in the boat. Here's a handful of tips for fishing the saltwater rivers and estuaries following heavy rain.
1. Find Clean Water
Some may laugh at this first one, however depending on the size of the system you are fishing, even after heavy rains there may be sections of the system that have cleaner water than others. Likewise this clean water may become available at different stages of the tide. For example the water may clean up quicker on banks that are not windblown, areas that are out of the flow of incoming fresh and the incoming tide may bring with it a push of cleaner water.
This cleaner water is often preferred by many species, while also offering better visibility to anglers and also to feeding fish. When fishing dirtier water you may need to slow your presentations down and present a lure with more action and vibration, such as a ZMan paddle or cur tail plastic or a TT Lures Switchblade metal vibration blade.
2. Colour Changes
Colour changes in the water have long been a favourite for anglers as fish will hunt along the colour changes, using them as an ambush point to attack unsuspecting bait. Colour changes also often indicate a depth change, current line, or other change in the water or environment that can concentrate and funnel food to both bait and in turn predatory species. Colour changes can appear almost anywhere in the system as the environment changes, so keep an eye out and give them a few casts.
3. River Mouths
The mouths of systems such as creeks, rivers and estuaries can often be extremely productive after rain, due to the reasons above and more. The river, for example, concentrates the flow of the freshwater runoff and then once the influx of water reaches the mouth and has more area to spread out the pressure eases, depositing a lot of the sediment and food that was carried in the flow. This can create a rich environment for bait and larger predators, where this flow eases, while also creating plenty of eddies, current lines and often colour changes.
Back inside the river mouth, where the flow is more extreme, you may find more powerful apex predators such as trevally and mulloway hunting. Here they use the flow to carry bait to them and minimise its ability to escape, while also making the most of available structure, eddies, current lines and colour changes as ambush points. Each incoming tide can also bring an influx of clean water and bait to recharge these river mouths and fire up the bite.
4. Lure Colour
Lure colour has often proven important for me when fishing dirtier water following rain. Pearl is a classic favourite that is productive in most water colours, appearing very natural as it takes on the tint of the water, and so it is also a favourite when fishing dirty water. Other colours that excel are darker colours that provide a darker silhouette in the dirty water, making them more visible to fish. Colours such as Gold Rush, Motor Oil, Midnight Oil, Red Shad, New Penny, Pumpkin, Houdini and Redbone are all popular selections when fishing dirty water.
5. Water Depth
One technique that has proven a winner after an influx of fresh into the system is to target deeper sections of the system. The fresh water will sit on top of the salt, with many species preferring to avoid the fresher water, heading out of the rivers and estuaries or holding in the deeper sections. Fishing deeper structure, ledges and holes will often produce the bite, so you may need to change up your techniques, increase your jghead weights and focus on these deeper sections of the system.
Remember that as the tide pushes in the cleaner salt water will also push back into the system under the fresh, so although the water may appear fresh and dirty on top, an incoming tide may be pushing clean salt water in beneath this. This again is why the mouths of rivers are often so productive after rain, as even though the fresh is flowing out over the top, the salt is pushing in underneath with the tide.
6. Weed
Weed can also be a saviour when the system is full of fresh, especially in systems that don't offer a lot of deep water. Areas of weed retain salt longer, attracting bait and predators. Following rain I will often focus my attention on large expanses of weed beds, either rolling soft plastics over the top of the weed or picking the sandy pockets in the weed. Target species include bream, flathead and grunter, with favourite presentations including the ZMan 2.5" and 3" Slim SwimZ, along with the ZMan 3" MinnowZ when rolling over the top and ZMan 2.5" TRD CrawZ and 2.75" TRD BugZ when picking the pockets and mimicking a crustacean.
Weedless rigging is also an option for targeting weed and other structure with minimal chance of snagging and fouling in the weed. The TT Lures ChinlockZ SWS, SnakelockZ and NedlockZ EWG are my go-to weedless jigheads, utilising the ChinlockZ SWS and SnakelockZ when rolling plastics or picking pockets and the NedlockZ EWG for focusing on the pockets.
7. Drains
There are some species, including bream, that don't mind the influx of fresh in some systems and they can actually be found feeding around any stormwater drains and natural drains that are injecting rain water and in turn food into the system. Bream are often the first species in to make the most of a feeding opportunity and I've had sessions after rain when the fishing is tough, until we started targeting the drains and it became a bream frenzy. Larger systems, such as the waterways and canals of the Gold Coast, are loaded with drains that will produce bream, however a drain or two in your local small systems can also be a fishing jackpot.
8. Target Species
The conditions you are confronted with can also dictate the species that are on offer at times, so it's worth carrying a few different lure presentations in case your main target species isn't playing the game. I have had times when the local system has been full of fresh and silt, seeing the flathead moving on or not wanting to bite. Instead of grinding out the whole session trying to get flathead to bite, changing tactics to chase a few bream has led to a great session on bream, grunter, tarpon and trevally.
It can be as simple as downsizing or upsizing the presentation, changing the structure you're fishing, or switching up retrieve techniques until you key in on a bite. If the conditions are against you and you keep doing the same thing, you will often get the same results, which isn't ideal if you can't get them to bite. Try mixing things up and if you're fishing with others try different presentations and techniques to work together to crack your post rain pattern. By mixing things up you will also increase your chances of keying into a species that may not be on your initial target list.
9. Scent
Personally I always add Pro-Cure scent to my lures as it masks foreign odours and also attracts fish and triggers strikes. Some prefer to fish without scent and then add scent if the bite is tough. Following heavy rain, when the water is dirty, I believe that scent is even more important as fish rely on senses other than just sight to hunt their prey. Firstly I select a soft plastic with more action, such as a paddle or curl tail, to assist the fish in feeling and locating the lure, then by adding scent I also increase the chances of them locating and eating the lure.
10. Go Freshwater Fishing
If you find the salt completely shut down and just can't get the bite, it's worth checking out the available freshwater fishing options in your area. Water flowing in the creeks will often congregate and fire up species such as bass, so you can have some great sessions exploring your local creeks and rivers. Always remember safety first and stay safe if fishing the runoff in local creeks and rivers.
Water flowing into impoundments and freshly covered vegetation can also trigger a bite in the fresh, so local lakes and dams may be worth some Googling and exploring. The bulk of my fishing has been in the salt, which is where I grew up fishing, however I have had some great sessions fishing the fresh for bass, sooty grunter, saratoga, barramundi and more, including some hot bites during and after rain.
So don't pack the rods away if you've had heavy rain and the system is dirty, instead try applying some of these techniques, mix things up and even giving the fresh a crack. Who knows, you may discover some new areas to fish, deadly new techniques, or even a new favourite species to target. Fish on!
See you on the water...
Justin Willmer