Fish Behaviour During Flooding/HighWater

[qnut]

Hey all -

I come posing a question and am very interested in your thoughts about fish behaviour during and immediatley after a flood event. I've googled articles done by the DPI and have only come up with irrelivant 'levi & fish-flap' studies which don't shed any light on 'un-controlled' estuarys.

Case In Hand:

My local creek & lake area - After this weeks rain event coupled with the one last month there has been a huge amount of water dumped into tuggerah lakes along with heavy sediment/muddy water flows.
I attempted to check the creek out yesterday during the first break in the weather and it wasnt preety - The Water is up by about 1 1/2ft, running dangerously fast and boiling up. visibility & quality have gone.Its a mud-pit. No bites in any of the usual spots and even in the eddies created by the escaping water (Using bright plastics and the usual bloodworm with the tails dipped for highlights, Topwater Hardbodies & crankbaits.)

During the week before the downpour I was having GREAT success with bream & Perch on poppers and very light plastics in all my usual spots both Land & Boat.

Well Raiders - What are you thoughts / Experiences with fishing after a large rain and subsequent outflow in your *saltwater* fishing areas? How do the fish behave? I've heard everything from "They go with the flow and fishing is useless" to "fish generally school in and around eddies as resist the currents to stay in their current habitat" to "Fish flush out until they are clear of the fresh"

[rjc123]

Hey all -

I come posing a question and am very interested in your thoughts about fish behaviour during and immediatley after a flood event. I've googled articles done by the DPI and have only come up with irrelivant 'levi & fish-flap' studies which don't shed any light on 'un-controlled' estuarys.

Case In Hand:

My local creek & lake area - After this weeks rain event coupled with the one last month there has been a huge amount of water dumped into tuggerah lakes along with heavy sediment/muddy water flows.

I attempted to check the creek out yesterday during the first break in the weather and it wasnt preety - The Water is up by about 1 1/2ft, running dangerously fast and boiling up. visibility & quality have gone.Its a mud-pit. No bites in any of the usual spots and even in the eddies created by the escaping water (Using bright plastics and the usual bloodworm with the tails dipped for highlights, Topwater Hardbodies & crankbaits.)

During the week before the downpour I was having GREAT success with bream & Perch on poppers and very light plastics in all my usual spots both Land & Boat.

Well Raiders - What are you thoughts / Experiences with fishing after a large rain and subsequent outflow in your *saltwater* fishing areas? How do the fish behave? I've heard everything from "They go with the flow and fishing is useless" to "fish generally school in and around eddies as resist the currents to stay in their current habitat" to "Fish flush out until they are clear of the fresh"

Usually i find it shuts down. Every now and again you'll have a good session when the waters up but debris can make it frustrating. Definitely wouldn't say its not worth fishing though.

Cheers, Tom

Edited February 25, 2013 by mulloway man

[qnut]

Im really hoping for a quick clean up and settlement.... I fish just about every morning before work on my street using a bike to get to several land based spots. But im fearing this double dumping in the past month will shut it down for a long time.

I've busted the boat out and tried the upper stretches - no good. Over weirs into bass - hit and miss. Out to the mouth of the river - Hopeless.

Hoping the raiders can guide me a little more as im leaning towards topwater fishing (poppers & shallow divers) being useless due to low vis.

[tasksta]

Im also keen but can share experience from this morning.

Im at the basin and its like coffee here, even silver fox wrigglers can only be seen for two inches.

one undersize flatty for three hours work aint promising for a consistent performer like the basin.

Will keep you posted im here all week.

[Day's Fishin]

Fish move out with the flood waters. If your fishing fresh water than go to where the water is saline and that's where you will find there gone and then as the salt starts coming back up they also move back to where they were.

If fishing salt water go to where the rivers are slowing the down and you will find fish waiting for all the food being flushed out of the inland areas.

Jeff

[qnut]

even silver fox wrigglers can only be seen for two inches.

I was using Silver Fox - Tail tipped Pink. No luck. Shame about the basin as I used to fish there alot.

I was surprised how quickly the river bounced back from the previous highwater but Im having doubts about this 'double whammy' , I'll be giving the local land spots a bash today to see if there's been any improvment now the water current has subsided and report back this arvo.