* DECIDING WHERE AND WHEN TO FISH

image from : tonysystem.wordpress.com

You probably know where the best catches can be taken in your area. However, here are a few points to pay attention to:

Birds
Birds often fly in flocks and follow schools of small fish near the surface (Figure 27). Quite often large fish also follow the small fish in midwater and near the bottom to feed on them.
Figure 27. Look for flocks of birds near the water surface


Mammals
Schools of dolphins or porpoises or even a single whale often indicate the same as flocks of birds, and often where mammals are feeding there are birds too (Figure 28).
Figure 28. Look for dolphins, porpoises or whales




Floating objects
All floating or drifting objects in the open sea become a kind of fish aggregation device (FAO). You can learn all about this in another FAO Training Series booklet called How to make and set FADs. If you see an old tree or branches of trees floating on the surface, try your luck nearby, as very often small fish take shelter there and then the big fish come to feed on the small fish (Figure 29). You should try fishing at various depths, not only near the surface, because the bigger fish tend to swim deeper.
Figure 29. Look for a floating object


Ripples or change of colour on the surface
Look out for changes in the colour of the sea and ripples on the surface indicating merging currents or changes in current; these often indicate areas where small fish and plankton are abundant and where large fish are actively feeding. For example, look at Figure 30. The tide current that passes around a small island or reef meets again on the other side and forms a kind of turbulence in the water. This can be seen as a disturbance or ripples on top of the water. Always watch and check the flow of the current.

Bottom material
Using a sinker as shown in Figure 7, and regularly check the material of the bottom where you fish. You will soon learn that certain fish species prefer a rocky uneven bottom, others a sandy or muddy bottom and still others a bottom with coral or seaweed.
You will also learn that some species that prefer a rocky or coral type bottom may move from this area for an hour or so on every slack tide for feeding (Figure 31). This is because some aquatic animals living in an area with a sandy or muddy bottom become active and visible only during the slack tide, and the fish move to feed on them.

Moon and sun
Always pay attention to the moon and the relation between the moon and the strength of the current. The stronger the current, the nearer to full or new moon.
As a general rule, the best times for handlining are early in the morning and late in the evening.
Figure 30. Current flow around a small island



Figure 31. Fish moving from a rocky area to a sandy or muddy area for feeding during the slack tide



Source
Originated by: Fisheries and Aquaculture Department
http://www.fao.org/

Text: B. A. Bjarnason
Illustrations: M. Carlesi

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

David Lubin Memorial Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Bjarnason. B.A.
Handlining and squid jigging
(FAO Training Series, no. 23 )
ISBN 92-5-103100-2