Let’s face it, serious boaters are out in the fish’s environment on a regular basis — they may as well catch their evening meal or enjoy battling a bruiser and then let it swim away. It’s all about adding value to your boating experience.

I associate with a lot of sailors and general boaters. Many seem to think there are mystical powers required to catch fish. Yet, just a bit of steering in the right direction, a splash of shared knowledge and these novices are on their way to being top-shelf fishos. After all, with so much aquatic experience, they have a great start to understanding a fish’s environment.

So the objective of this column is to build a bank of basic fishing knowledge. Once these building blocks are in place, a little practice will see you learning in no time — and you’ll soon be the local guru. Well, that’s the concept.

Understanding your quarry is a powerful asset that will go a long way to improving your success rate. Knowing movement, feeding times and the sorts of environments you will find a particular fish in is invaluable. It’s also an interesting part of fishing. If you love boating on the ocean or in estuaries, you will undoubtedly find working these ecosystems and their inhabitants a rewarding learning experience.

NO NEED TO GET IN A KNOT

Introducing the trustworthy ‘uni knot’.
Just one simple and reliable knot, plus a general understanding of today’s fishing lines, is a basic but very important starting point.

WHICH LINE?

Before delving into the knot, we need to understand the two major types of lines commonly used, because a slight variation in the knot is sometimes required from one line type to another.

Most folk are well aware of the conventional nylon lines that come in a range of colours and strengths and have been around for many years. Often referred to as ‘monofilament’ lines because they are constructed from a single filament of nylon, these lines have an inherent and significant amount of stretch. While fine for many applications, over the last decade , a low-stretch multifilament line has been available with benefits over monofilament in certain exercises.

Gel-spun polyethylene, Dyneema, and super braid are some of the names and terminology given to the new-age multi-strand lines, which we will refer to as ‘braided’ lines.
Braided lines have almost no stretch and, as a result, offer more ‘feel’ than nylon monofilament. They are also a finer diameter than similar strength nylon line. As a result, braided lines are, in general, better for lure fishing. The finer diameter also means less water resistance — great for deep water fishing.

The few downsides to braided lines include higher visibility (generally counteracted by monofilament leaders or traces) and that with less stretch, thrashing fish are more likely to dislodge hooks (this is compensated for by longer, softer-tipped rods). Most serious anglers have more than half of their rod and reel outfits rigged with braided lines.
Braided lines also tend to allow many common fishing knots to slip more than monofilament. So, as a rule of thumb, it is best to increase the amount of ‘wraps’ in a knot.

KNOT ON MY WATCH

The essence of a good knot is in the ease of tying it (you may have to tie it in little or no light) and the volume of original strength that it retains.
Pictured is a uni knot. It is one of the simplest to tie and retains virtually 100 per cent of the breaking strain. Due to a greater tendency to slip, with braided line it is often better to do a few extra loops. Like all well-tied knots, the uni knot should be wetted with saliva and pulled down evenly to form a neat and snug knot.

With minimal practice this knot can be tied in the dark. There are a number of variations on the uni knot which apply to a wide range of fishing tasks. We’ll no doubt touch on them in future columns.

Until then, please practice and perfect the uni knot.

THINK LIKE A FISH

Learning to see things from the fish’s perspective is important to becoming a good fisho. Perfecting a simple knot is a huge start. You’d be amazed how many quality fish are lost to knot failure. Looking at the physical characteristics of a fish will give you valuable information about how it lives and feeds.

Let’s take the humble flathead (picture), for instance. They might have a head only a mother could love, but they are a great example of how fish have adapted for specific environments and feeding methods. Their longitudinally compressed bodies are perfect for helping them shuffle into the sand and mud.

Add their ability to vary their colouration and you’ve got perfect camouflage. Slightly protruding eyes allow them full vision, ensuring that any fish or the like that ventures too close will disappear in a puff of sand. Flatties aren’t built for long-distance travel but they can cover a few metres at lightning speed.

So anglers can deduct many things from the characteristics of this particular fish. We know that we need to present a bait or lure on or near the bottom and close to the fish in order to entice a bite. It becomes obvious that a moving bait or lure is more likely to elicit a strike due to the ambush tactics of flatties.

It is also obvious why successful flathead anglers will regularly change location in order to find fish. Some fish species are more prone to foraging and roaming but, with the sedentary flathead, you need to go looking in order to catch more than one or two from a confined area.

"Knowing peak movement, feeding times, and the sorts of environments you are most likely to find a particular fish species in is invaluable"


A look at the dentistry of a fish will indicate the hardware anglers need to catch them. The flathead has rasp-like teeth that, while not truly made for cutting, can still cause abrasion to a line. While a wire trace is not necessary, if main line of less than five or 6kg is being used (which is often the case), a short length of 8 to 10kg abrasion resistant nylon or fluorocarbon monofilament line should be employed as a trace.

We know flathead aren’t marathon battlers, so a medium to light-weight rod (three to 6kg) and reel outfit is more than adequate for targeting them. Excessive line weights restrict baits and lures, and don’t present them in a natural manner the way lighter lines will. These lines are also more visible. So while 15kg line might be fine for tuna, it is restrictively heavy for small to medium estuary species such as bream, flathead and whiting.

So there we have it folks. Start to think like a fish, keep mainline thicknesses down, and your fish captures will improve significantly.