Pre Spring and Spring tactics.
- Thread starter Skuimkop
- Start date
For me, we are going into the best time of year for cats within a week or two. I fished a short session last weekend and got 4, could probably have gotten a few more but damn, at 2am I took my rods out as I was a bit tired from the passing week.
So none of them were something to write home about but I am glad that I got some this early in the season.
So this is what I saw, water was 16 degrees in the afternoon and dropped to 12 degrees in the morning. This resulted in very slow takes and they were toying around with the baits a lot. I put out two muddy heads and a carp head. Got three of them on muddy head and last one on carp head.
What I think my plan would be for this coming session is smaller baits as Skuim said. I personally would never fish for barbel with baits as small as Skuim mentioned ( crickets, dayolds, platties etc.) as I have no desire to catch them kindergarden cats. Now, that being said, I know there is big fish coming out on those small baits but for me it feels like a waist of time, no offence to anyone, just my personal preference.
So by smaller bait I mean cutting the heads a bit smaller so that there is no flesh attatched, just the head.
The thing with the smaller baits is, the fish (not being very active yet) don't have to go through so much effort to get the bait in it`s belly. With the bigger baits this time of year, you often get a run but the problem is you miss the fish as it takes longer to get the bait down deep enough.
I will still put a big 2kg+ bait out as well, just in case that big one swims past.
So for me this time it is smaller muddy and carp heads on hair rigged circles with weight inside bait. And then that one rod with the big bait.
Within a week or two, they should start getting more active here by us and then it is back to big 2-4kg baits all the way.
So none of them were something to write home about but I am glad that I got some this early in the season.
So this is what I saw, water was 16 degrees in the afternoon and dropped to 12 degrees in the morning. This resulted in very slow takes and they were toying around with the baits a lot. I put out two muddy heads and a carp head. Got three of them on muddy head and last one on carp head.
What I think my plan would be for this coming session is smaller baits as Skuim said. I personally would never fish for barbel with baits as small as Skuim mentioned ( crickets, dayolds, platties etc.) as I have no desire to catch them kindergarden cats. Now, that being said, I know there is big fish coming out on those small baits but for me it feels like a waist of time, no offence to anyone, just my personal preference.
So by smaller bait I mean cutting the heads a bit smaller so that there is no flesh attatched, just the head.
The thing with the smaller baits is, the fish (not being very active yet) don't have to go through so much effort to get the bait in it`s belly. With the bigger baits this time of year, you often get a run but the problem is you miss the fish as it takes longer to get the bait down deep enough.
I will still put a big 2kg+ bait out as well, just in case that big one swims past.
So for me this time it is smaller muddy and carp heads on hair rigged circles with weight inside bait. And then that one rod with the big bait.
Within a week or two, they should start getting more active here by us and then it is back to big 2-4kg baits all the way.
Agree with your dorsal. But it will depend how well guys know there water. If i used those sized baits in natal id never catch anything over 3 kgs. Ive been out almost every weekend for the last month. Bank and boat sessions. The fish are, as you said, lazy on the bite. Ive had short shapr runs, but squat all committed to the take. Ive caught around 4 to 6 fish all under 8kgs. The fish are very active, not in the spawning grounds yet, so in theory they should be feeding for the spawn. I believe our water needs a bit more heat for them to get into that pre spawn mode. We are around 15 to 16 degrees now and this will rise this month. Ive had no takes on fish heads, fillets have seen some action. But baby chickens have been the only thing to produce a fish. The scent on the chicken is just stronger and inducing the bite. Ill be at nagel dam on the bank some time this weekend. I expect to start getting the plus 8kg fish there. But baits will be my usual smmer baits.
I only fish with lures when im collecting bait. So any barbel i catch is an off catch. Still fun tho 
This one was caught on a plattie. We had other fish come out, but all in the 2kg range. Also on plattie and under a float. A still kicking bait is working more than still dead bait. The fish aren't into there full eating yet, so something with movement is getting a stronger response. May go out again tomorrow and see what i can find.
This one was caught on a plattie. We had other fish come out, but all in the 2kg range. Also on plattie and under a float. A still kicking bait is working more than still dead bait. The fish aren't into there full eating yet, so something with movement is getting a stronger response. May go out again tomorrow and see what i can find.Bass rattles. Little glass ones. Try em when its chilli . The plattie kicks it lekker.. this is one of my drift traces. 6/0 circle with 50 lbs fluero carbon leader and hook link. Beads for a rattle and to protect knots. A 29 gram sinker that slightly slides and most importantly the odd looking tube in front of the lead is a piece of a bass worm that I threaded onto the line using a bait needle in front of the lead. It grips the line nicely and acts as a gummi stop. But its true importance is the glass bass rattle pushed inside iit
