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How to Fish Canals After Rain
By Jacob Iedema
Manmade canals are scattered throughout the country, including my home waters of South East Queensland and are a favoured habitat and hunting ground for many predatory species. Cracking the code for each system can take time, nevertheless the results can be well worth the effort. Each body of water is different, from the way that tides influence the behaviours and feeding habits of certain fish species, to the impact that rainfall can have on the system.
Canals are frequently affected by rainfall as they often contain large drains or creek systems that flow into them. Fishing canals after rain though can provide some of the most productive sessions in these urban environments. When fishing after rain it is important to consider the factors that act upon each system, as well as the species you'll be targeting and the best lures to use when the water is murky.
Factors to Consider
While rain can boost an ecosystem and provide some epic fishing, there are a few factors that will determine how well a system will fish after rain.
The first variable is how much freshwater is flowing into the system. This is determined by the amount of rainfall over a period of time and how much fresh water is entering the canal through small creeks and drains. Canals built into larger river systems may be more heavily impacted by rainfall in the long term and especially if the system floods.
Getting the right amount of rain is important as it can either improve the fishing or in some cases reduce the productivity of a system. For example, too little rain won't have much of an impact on a system, while too much rain on the other hand will push too much fresh water into the system, driving out many species that can't tolerate the influx of fresh water. Nevertheless, when that big rain event hits, nothing is lost... and this brings us to the second major factor of fishing after rain.
When canal systems get flushed out completely it often fires up the fishing, however they often recover at different rates, some quicker than others. This is often determined by their size and tidal influences, as tides can often have more influence on larger systems and the water will clear up faster. So, the time that you have fishing after rain is generally dictated by the system that you're fishing. Larger systems will often clear up quicker than smaller ones following flooding, however this can see smaller systems providing some of the best fishing, with a much longer clear up period.
The Clear Up Period
After heavy rains fishing can be slow, especially if a system is flooded or flushed out completely. This occurs when too much rain falls in a short period of time, however all is well, wait a week or so and the fishing can really fire up. The period when the rain stops and the water begins to clear up can provide some incredible fishing for numerous species. The injection of nutrients into the system can attract baitfish and prawns, attracting and firing up the fish that are returning to the structure and snags of the canal system. Some species can better tolerate the fresh and may feed throughout the rain period or flooding, while other species will return as the water clarity and salinity increase, or follow the bait that is drawn back into the system.
Bream
Bream can withstand a surprising amount of freshwater and are often still crunching on oysters and smashing prawns off the surface, even after the heaviest rains. After rain is often when the big, wary bream come out to play in the canals as the water is murky and bream will often feed without hesitation. I recently had a canal bream session, after half a week of torrential rain, landing 12 bream in total, including four over 36cm and the biggest measuring 42cm.
Flathead
Flathead are another species that can endure high levels of freshwater and are not an uncommon sight when fishing canals after rain. Flathead make the most of the dirty water and will feed on the abundant prawns, small mullet, crabs and anything else getting around in the murky water. When the water has just begun clearing up is an especially good time to target a few bigger flathead around the canals. They are often regarded as by-catch to other species, however it shouldn't come as a surprise if a few 60cm+ flathead are caught in the clear up period.
Trevally
Trevally often file into the canals in plague proportions after rain and especially giant trevally as they chase the poddy mullet that are drawn into the canals by the influx of nutrients. Trevally are a great sportfish and it can be a lot of fun chasing them around the canals after rain.
Mangrove Jack
Mangrove Jack regularly move around the canals after heavy rain events and when matched with a hot humid day, jacks will become extremely aggressive. Jacks love a bit of rain and favour the murkier conditions for hunting and ambushing prey.
Lure Choice
Fish can't depend on sight as their key hunting sense as much in murky conditions, although certain lure colours do stand out better in the dirty water. Instead fish will rely more on their other senses and will hone in on vibrations they detect through their lateral line as well as detecting prey with smell and taste.
This suggests that a lure that produces more vibration will be successful in dirty water and the TT Lures Switchblade metal vibration blade has proven a great option after rain. After rain it is also vital to add a quality scent to your lure as fish cannot see your lure as clearly. If a lure smells like food, then it will have a greater chance of getting eaten than a lure that smells like plastic, so a bit of Pro-Cure Super Gel goes a long way to getting the bites. By considering the fish's senses of sight, feel, taste and smell, we maximise our chances of attracting their attention and triggering a strike.
Soft plastics are a personal favourite of mine to fish after rain as they are so versatile in terms of how you can rig and fish them. Everyone should carry some dirty water plastics options in their kit, including plastics that create a lot of vibration in the murky water, such as paddle tail and curl tail style plastics.
Colour selection plays a crucial role in these murky water conditions as some colours will be more visible to fish. Even if fish don't hunt with sight as much in dirty water, that doesn't mean they don't use sight at all, so we need to consider this when selecting colours.
The two types of colours that I find most successful after rain are dark, solid colours, that create a more solid silhouette in the water and vibrant, high visibility colours that reflect the most available light that is penetrating into the water. Whites / Pearls are among the best dirty water colours as they will reflect any available light and stand out from the stained water.
When it comes to selecting a favourite ZMan colour to fish following rain, my personal favourite dark colours would include Motor Oil, Midnight Oil, Gold Rush, Mood Ring and Calico Candy, while my personal favourite brighter colours would include Pearl, New Penny (with its glitter flash) and Blue Glimmer. Go-to models would include GrubZ, Slim SwimZ, MinnowZ, StreakZ Curly TailZ and EZ ShrimpZ.
Next time the skies open and the rain pours, don't discount your local canal systems as a worthy location to fish. Get to know how different volumes of rainfall impact your local systems and how long they take to recover following rain, so that you can tap into those post rain hot bites.
Cheers, Jacob
Gearing Up:
Pro-Cure Super Gel Scent
TT Lures HeadlockZ HD Jigheads
TT Lures HeadlockZ Finesse Jigheads
ZMan 2.5" GrubZ
ZMan 3.5" GrubZ
ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ
ZMan 3" Slim SwimZ
ZMan 3" MinnowZ
ZMan 4" StreakZ Curly TailZ
ZMan 3.5" EZ ShrimpZ