Radical Fishing - Hooked on rhythm of life

Kinda sneaks up on you doesn't it?
One minute we're in the midst of darkest winter, next day spring has sprung.
And the change in fishing fortunes promised by the arrival of spring is immense.
While autumn is generally reckoned to provide the most consistent fishing, for my book, the sheer excitement of spring fishing beats it hands down.
Mind you, this past autumn was a pretty fair one and with some pretty fair weather right through I have found the fishing opportunities presented by this past winter to be quite outstanding.
The promise of spring is built on the rhythm of nature that season presents. Not only are the birds and bees at work passing on their genes, but so, too, are the fish and the crustaceans.
And to succeed in that process, two behaviour patterns render the ocean's pantry especially attractive.
The first is that species engaged in this climactic event put on condition. The energy expended in the process of successfully passing on their genes requires that the critters involved get into top shape.
I suppose it's a bit like skinny farm animals being less likely to conceive than their well-conditioned counterparts.
The second behaviour pattern that makes spring fishing so attractive is the tendency for mobile species to aggregate into large schools. In the case of our region's favourite recreational catch, the ubiquitous snapper, I have heard reliable reports that those schools can contain more than 1000 tonnes of fish and be several kilometres long.
So the big deal for those who like to raid this marine pantry is that most species are in prime condition and seem actually to taste better for it.
Even a hoary old snapper can be quite a delicacy at this time of the year.
And the local mussel and scallop populations get very noticeably richer, better coloured and fatter.
Because of the habit of congregating into large schools, spawning fish are also relatively easier to find and to catch. Once found. they are easier to target because they feed more aggressively during the spawning cycle and are less likely to pass by the chance of a feed.
To add a few challenges to this fisher's eldorado, a downside is that spawning schools, particularly of the snapper variety, tend to be very mobile while they may feed at almost any time. It depends more on hunger than the usual stage of tide or light condition.
So, when all is said and done, there's little wonder that local fishos get a bit wound up about spring. And count me among those enthusiasts.
Remember to make sure your tackle is up to scratch after what may well have been a long, lean winter. Especially check for corrosion on any metal components.
And make sure to sort out those old lines that have passed their use-by dates. There's nothing worse than losing the fish of a lifetime due to gear failure.