What to do when the fish aren't biting

Sometimes even if the tide, bait and everything else is looking favourable, you still may not get one.

But don't despair. If this happens, there are a few things you can try to increase fish activity and hopefully start landing a few. 

Switch it up

A lot of the time you will see fish moving in the water, but even though you have tried casting in every direction, you still aren’t getting bites.

This can be very frustrating at times and believe me, it happens to the best of us.

After finding myself in this situation more times than I would like to admit, with stacks of trial and error, I have learnt to change a few things up when struggling to attract more bites.

The most obvious is to simply change the lure or bait you are using. Live bait will always generally attract more bites than frozen bait.

If switching your bait doesn’t help, try changing the size line you are using. Some days by simply changing to a 6lb leader, you will attract significantly more bites as opposed to using 10 or 12lb.

Alter your technique

Sometimes fish can be very finicky by the way their bait is being presented.

A simple thing you can do to increase bites is by simply changing your retrieve. This can make a difference for both, bait and lures.

Often, simply altering my technique on a pitiable day's fishing can make all the difference in getting them to take the bait presented.

I have found that slow-rolling prawns, yabbies or worms over the sand flats can increase fish activity radically as opposed to just casting out and leaving the bait in one spot and waiting for a fish to find it.

Whiting and flathead will smash these baits as they’re being slowly retrieved. Why? I put it down to having a more realistic appeal in the water by slowly moving.

I also believe by stirring the sand slightly gets their attention.

If using lures such as soft plastics, just changing the colour or the way you retrieve the lure can make all the difference.

No set retrieve will work every time, so it is something you must play around with and see what is working on that given day.

Adding a few pauses whilst retrieving a lure can make a huge difference. If this isn’t working, you can add a few whips of the rod tip, which generally makes the plastic dart upwards and dive back to the bottom, requesting attention. 

Change location

If you have tried everything you possibly can and still can’t get the fish to bite, it’s a good indication you should change the location where you are fishing.

If using a boat, you can change it up completely and fish at different depths and drift as opposed to anchoring.

Sometimes simply looking for structure that may be holding fish can make the difference. Have a good look around, use your sounder and use a good pair of quality polarised sunglasses to see through the water.

Look for and fish the weed beds and drop-offs that may be holding fish that are otherwise proving difficult to catch.

Fish tend to seek shelter, so looking out for structure could make all the difference in finding them on the day.