Stuff we've learnt, Think like a fish- fishing techniques

Different lures catch fish with different “personalities”

A study has just been published in PLOS one looking at whether certain angling techniques catch fish with different behavioural traits, or more colloquially, “personalities”. The study angled 100 rock and largemouth bass using two separate techniques, actively fished flashy lipless crankbaits or passively fished artificial worm lures and then tested in the lab whether the fish caught using each…

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Stuff we've learnt, Sustainability

What does good recreational fisheries management look like?

What started out as me looking at fish stockings has slowly mutated into a series of posts rambling on about recreational fisheries and conservation. So, down the rabbit hole we go once again. This time looking at what “good” recreational fisheries management should look like? To start with, the management of all our fisheries, recreational or commercial or “mixed” should…

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Stuff we've learnt, Sustainability

Fishers vs environmentalists: is it time we found common ground?

I haven’t been able to get out fishing much over the last month. So instead I find myself thinking and writing about fishing instead. One thing that I have been thinking about for a long time is the seeming antagonism and lack of cooperation between some recreational fishers and conservationists in Australia. I have to admit, it doesn’t make much…

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Fly & Tenkara, Freshwater, Stuff we've learnt, Think like a fish- fishing techniques, Trout

Will there be an evening rise? Listen to the birds.

I was talking to Brett recently and he made an interesting observation. If you want to know if there is going to be a good evening rise, listen to the birds. Brett lives out in Creswick, meaning he is lucky enough to live close to some of Victorias best trout lakes. Hepburn, Newlynns, Deans. Great Victorian trout fisheries. It also…

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Fishing stories, Fly & Tenkara, Stuff we've learnt, Think like a fish- fishing techniques

How to become a better fisherman: learn to fail.

The biggest factor in me becoming a better angler over the last three years has been learning to fail. When I started fly fishing three years ago I sucked. I could barely casts 30ft, I spent most of my time with my flies tangled in trees and stream-side vegetation. Generally it was a disaster for the first few months. If…

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Fly & Tenkara, Freshwater, Stuff we've learnt, Trout

The generalist: a fly fishing manifesto

Some fly fishermen specialise. They focus on one species. They learn every subtlety in behaviour. They develop an deep almost spiritual understanding with their quarry of choice. They become truly excellent fly fishers. For most fly fishermen (but not all), the quarry of choice are trout. This makes sense. If god exists, trout were designed by him/her to give pleasure…

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