BLOG: Yesterday's Hero

I'VE never been a fan of chasing yesterday's fish - a slow day following a hot bite can bring on a rapid onset of depression...

Nothing brings you down harder than high expectations and an uneventful session, especially when you bump into someone who smugly utters those fateful words..."you should've been here yesterday".

Chasing yesterday's fish can be a catch-22; if the fish were there recently then there is a high likelihood they will be there under similar conditions the following day. Any adverse deviation from the plan, however, seems to bring with it frustration and post success depression.

I've enjoyed many successful back to back sessions on the water although a couple of recent trips have reaffirmed the lack of predictability associated with fishing; fish can be fickle creatures and no matter how good you think you are, the unfortunate route of hero to zero is one that we all occasionally encounter.

A short while back I enjoyed a great morning chasing a few jewies in the river. After accounting for tidal movements I figured I could replicate success the following day - let's just say that the follow up mission was more of a harbour cruise than a fishing bonanza and while conditions seemed identical, a switch had been flicked and I would probably have struggled to buy a fish from the markets.

A fishing trip last weekend also reminded me what humble pie tastes like. I met up with good mate Alex for an afternoon chasing the local blackfish population and enjoyed some of the best blackfish fishing we had both encountered in a while in numbers of fish caught and quality. Armed with my blackfish gear, camera equipment, a fly rod, weed flies, bait, berley and other paraphernalia, we set off again the following afternoon but didn't even managed a down. The lack of activity had us both baffled - were the fish that sensitive to a subtle variation in tide or air pressure? Was there some other sinister process going on that we missed? We lamented the lack of activity and were baffled - what happened and how could the fish shut down so dramatically.

A post mortem of the two days showed Saturday characterised by a depressed barometer and a stiff wind blowing from the south. The Sunday, however, featured an elevated barometer and more gentle northerly winds. The time of day and stage of tide was similar while a cormorant was lingering around the periphery on Sunday and didn't seem to be upsetting the status quo. Was it the barometer? Our baits were the same, only a day older - had some form of decomposition occurred overnight that made the cabbage unpalatable to our finned friends? Maybe one of the fish released gave us the "evil eye"?

I thought long and hard and put it down to a combination of that menacing bird paddling around or diving, along with the weather effect, given the marked change in barometer (gloomy, dark skies on sat, blue skies on sun). Irrespective of the actual cause, the lack of action was a bitter pill to swallow given our prior success. Had we failed the day before a subsequently slow day would have been much easier to stomach, however, post success depression hit us hard.

Why do you think fish suddenly shut down? How many times have you enjoyed stellar fishing and excitedly talked up the prospects of fish galore the following day only to be made to eat your words and experience that sinking hero to zero feeling.

I have a few thoughts on why the fishing can quickly shut down even if the bait and currents are similar on the following day, however, I'm interested to hear of any other ideas, thoughts, stories (and excuses) you might have!