IN the past, I’ve always been one to be out there on the water before the sun came up but as I’ve gotten older, those early morning starts have become less attractive. I started recounting all of the trips that started very early and realised that many of our best fish were hooked, not at sunrise, but often an hour or two into the session. I seriously believe that tides play a more important timing role than being on the water at dawn. These days a lot of my fishing revolves around tides and tide changes rather than just getting up early and heading out.
Snapper for instance. I’ve spent countless early mornings up before sunrise in the pursuit of snapper on bait and plastics. On the odd occasion I’ve been rewarded with an early morning bite but looking back over the past decade, most of our snapper have come around mid-morning. So, are early morning starts really necessary to catch many species? Let’s look at a few species and whether those early starts help or are even required.
I do a lot of rock fishing for luderick and drummer. In the past I’d usually be on the rocks at day break for drummer and would often catch them straight away. But I also caught a lot of drummer with the sun on the water and during a particular tide stage. These days I concentrate on those tides and that may mean a midday or even an afternoon session. I’m catching just as many and sometimes even more, drummer and luderick by fishing particular tides than just blindly heading out at 5am and hoping for the best. Afternoon sessions fit in well because they allow me to have a sleep in, do a bit of work around the house and go fishing.
Sometimes, starting a session mid-morning is essential. When I was fly fishing the Hervey Bay flats it was a complete waste of time being on the water before about 9am. You really need the sun up and on the water to effectively polaroid and flats fish. I also use the same plan of attack when chasing the local whiting on stickbaits or polaroiding Snowy Mountains trout. Being on the water before the sun is up and on the water makes it very difficult to polaroid fish and present a lure or fly. A lack of cloud cover also helps immensely when polaroiding trout or the flats. The sun is your friend in cases such as this and being on the water before sunrise is a complete waste of time.
One very handy factor with digital photos is that they all tell you when any particular photo was taken. I looked at many photos that I’d taken over the past twelve months while researching this column and despite many early starts, all of our best snapper on plastics were caught after 8am. That’s not just a coincidence I have to point out. Nearly all of those trips involved early morning starts, some in the dark, but the best results almost always came after the sun was well above the horizon. From the above I’ve concluded that being on the water before the sun is up isn’t necessarily a recipe for success. As fishermen we all have this subconscious belief that hitting the water as early as possible is the best option. Maybe that’s somewhat of a fallacy.
There are, however, some instances when being in the water early is a very distinct advantage. When I game fished, it was often an early start that caught bait on the bait grounds and being out wide before the summer north easterly winds picked up made the 20 mile run a little more comfortable. Being out early can often mean getting a good location before the crowds arrive and even getting some fishing time before boat traffic. We’ll often put in early for those very reasons. Sunrise is the best time of the day in my opinion and being on the water early is a very special experience. If it means hitting some unfished water before boat traffic and wind then I’ll take it every time. If we’re on the water at 5 and catch our first fish at 7 then I’m still happy.
Just before I submitted this column I enjoyed a morning on St. George’s Basin with Mark Fisher who used to write the Rod Building column for Fisho. Mark loves his early starts so we put the Bonito 560 in on first light. The target was some top water with stickbaits and I thought the early start wasn’t really warranted. How wrong I was. We were onto some nice bream and even a solid flathead within 10 minutes. The action lasted for an hour then slackened off when the sun got up. If we’d put in at 7am we’d have gone home with a doughnut and never have known about that early morning topwater bite.
So, are early starts really necessary? I guess it depends on the target species and the circumstances in each case. Being on the water before the sun comes up isn’t critical in some cases but it’s a nice time to be out there enjoying nature and it has the added advantage on putting you amongst the action when things may happen and even give you an hour’s fishing without the crowds and boat noise. That’s a huge benefit to gain just by missing out on a few hours sleep as far as I’m concerned.
