All alone!

When searching for places to fish with lures, many successful anglers try to target ‘fish holding features’ where fish like to frequently rest and feed. These features come in many forms, but they are all places that fish like to be close by to. Casting to these features is obviously a good idea as the zone of water around the area usually has a high chance of having fish in it.

One type of feature that seems to attract fish very well is isolated structure and cover. These isolated features attract many different fish species in the saltwater as well as the freshwater impoundments.

Isolated barramundi features

In the barramundi impoundments, these isolated features can be small exposed islands which are surrounded by deep water. Depending on the layout of the banks, barramundi will often hold around the edges of exposed islands where aquatic weed lines the shallows.

Isolated underwater rises, where the earth rises out of the deep and comes up to within 3m to 1m depths are also likely barramundi holding/ feeding grounds. If the shallows have cover such as laydown timber or weed growth, there is an even greater chance of fish life in the area. These types of features are fairly rare to find in barramundi impoundments but if located they can be dynamite fishing zones.

There is some great underwater rises in the impoundments where the water level needs to be at a particular height to hold fish. For example, you might find a submerged underwater rise on your sounder and catch some nice barramundi from the location. Then, 3 months later you return and it is a dry island which sticks well out of the water. With the changes in water levels, the fish holding features in the lake also transform.

Isolated saltwater zones

In the saltwater, these isolated features can hold some great fish. One example of these features includes any isolated rocky outcrops, which rise out of deep, open water. Giant Trevally love these types of areas and will frequently feed in the fast-flowing currents which rip past the structure.

Another excellent isolated feature is any shipwreck which lies on a featureless bottom in the deep sea. These wrecks can attract a mind-boggling amount and variety of fish, with anything from big cobia to large jewfish and even bill fish.

Isolated fish holding features don’t have to be in the middle of nowhere to hold large amounts of fish. A big, deep jetty on a long, sandy, featureless coastline has the potential to hold big fish as it’s the largest piece of cover for a long area.

This usually brings in fish such as big queenfish, bream, flathead, fingermark and mangrove jack from long distances to seek cover around the pylons and other jetty structure. The cover also brings large amounts of baitfish to the area which they use as protection from predators and a place to escape the strong current flows.

Where there are no fish holding features nearby, an area of cover or structure can be a magnet for fish life. In the saltwater and the fresh – these spots are prime places to go fishing.