Fly Fishing Family
Stoked to be out on the water with my cousin Ben today. So good to have you visit cuz. š¤ Made some good memories today.
Found a bunch of fish today sitting at 4 to 5m deep in 10m of water. The 7wt Q- Series Combo fromĀ @looptackle_ausnzĀ fished with a full sink line and the ever faithful bass vampire getting the eats.
Keen for Clarrie
Despite constant showers, a stiff wind and an early start, Talya and Campbell showed up bright eyed and ready for adventure! The Sydney couple had chosen to spend Christmas/New Year in the Northern Rivers and were keen to learn as much about Bass fishing as they could.
We started the session with some fly casting lessons on the grass before heading in the boat. Out on the lake we explored techniques using soft plastics, skirted jigs and crank baits. As their new found skills increased it was only a matter of time before the first fish was boated. Campbells rod was the first to buckle over as a chunky Bass made a bid for it’s freedom.
It’s so great to see such appreciation and passion for life. Good times when you can catch fish like this your first time Bass fishing! Thanks for a great day on the water Talya and Campbell. Such a pleasure to guide enthusiastic folks like you two š
Fly Boys
Mark and Andrew making the trip from Brisbane today and tangling with some of Clarrie Hall’s finest. The biggest 2 Bass nudging 46cm. The Gamechanger fly from Flymen Fishing Co. and the Bass Vampire getting the nibbles.
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Despite all the rain the water is clear and the Clarrie Bass are getting bigger and bigger. We still have some availability for charters over the holiday period. Message/call us to secure a booking 0409 760 380 š
Book Your Fishing Trip Today
We are now taking bookings for November and the Christmas/New Year period. To book you freshwater fishing trip in Northern NSW call/msg Simon on 0409 760 380
Golden Bonefish
Mulberry Madness
Each spring Carp line up under the mulberry trees waiting for the fruit to fall. The European Carp gorge themselves on mulberries at this time of year so fly choice is easy. Today I ‘matched the hatch’ with a mulberry fly which simply consisted of black deer hair tied on a #2 hook. These fish can be a challenging target, they grow big and fight pretty hard. They are also ace fun when sight fished with a surface fly. Stalking them and getting the eat isn’t easy. More than a dozen rejections today but managed to get 3 fish to commit to my freshly tied mulberry flies.
The Wilson River is teaming with carp. Carp 70cm+ are not uncommon. Gear of choice today was a floating line on a Loop Q 7wt combo from Loop Tackle.
The Compleat Clouser Minnow
Grabbed an old DVD copy of the Compleat Clouser Minnow just to see if I was tying them the way Bob intended. So I followed along with the video and spun up a couple of red & gold ones. Out on the lake, the lead eye Clouser sinks nicely to where the bass are usually holding. Fished with an intermediate sink line I can strip the fly through the top of the weeds. I find this the best way to triggering a response. The Clouser is such a versatile fly. If I could only have one fly this would probably be it.
NDIS Fly Fishing
Winter Brawlers
This chunky winter bass snatched my bass vampire and bricked me in the weed licketty split! The fly line then wrapped around the propeller which was on spot lock, then wrapped around the transducer pole on the Garmin. When did fishing get so complicated š
Winter Nibbles
The bass have schooled up at Clarrie but they have other things on their minds. But there’s always a few around the edges looking for a feed.
An Introduction to Fly Fishing
Fly fishing is great for the mind, body & spirit so no wonder more & more folks are giving it a go! The shores of Clarrie Hall Dam offer the perfect platform to learn to cast a fly and the scenery makes for a pretty special day.
Gisella & Clayton joined us today to learn the art of fly casting. After a bit of practice waving the ‘wand’ it wasn’t long before they were casting tight loops into the winter air. With their new skills in hand, we headed out onto the lake in the boat. We soon found some nice weed beds where the sun had warmed the water. The sounder lit up with bass milling around the edges of the weed.
The couple took turns on the casting platform and were successful in presenting the fly to a number of cruising bass. A twitch in the line indicated that a fish took a liking to Gisella’s fly, but the fish spat the hook before the strike set home. Clarrie bass can be challenging at the best of times when using conventional fishing gear, but with fly gear the challenges are multiplied.
Anyone can catch fish by drowning a bunch of worms or a pilchard, but lure and fly fishing adds a challenge to the hunt that makes the rewards much more special. Especially when you’re fishing in the beautiful Northern Rivers. Although the fish eluded us today, a great day was had by all.
If you would like to learn the art of fly fishing, contact Simon on 0409 760 380
A New Year for New England
Despite low water levels there is still some great fishing in the New England area. Today Harry guided his good mate David onto his first native fish on fly! The boys encountered a number of healthy green and gold nuggets. A great start to the new year boys!
“Just got my first native on fly. ThanksĀ Peter ListerĀ for the fly and your encouragement.Ā Harry Thomas was todays guide, champion.” – David Harris
Time to OzFish
OzFish Tweed River Chapter members Tom, Jake and Simon spent some quality time on the water today chasing bass. The fish are growing noticeably bigger and fatter in the dam which is a great sign there is ample resources for the fish. We encountered two 45cm bass today which were as big as any I have seen in these waters. Happy days.
Fly vs Lure at Clarrie Hall Dam
In years gone by, whenever I went fishing I would always bring a fly rod. But more often than not it would stay stashed away in it’s tube and instead I would fish all day with spin gear. Why, because I simply had more confidence in catching fish with lures. After all, a fish can feel the vibration of a lure from a much greater distance than a fly right? But as I grow older the tables have turned. I now find myself reaching for the fly rod for the majority of my fishing. Initially it was because I love the challenge, but to my surprise I seem to be catching more fish on the feather & fluff.
It would be nonsensical to say a fly will out fish a lure every time. Or visa versa. Every situation in fishing is different. But at Clarrie Hall I am definitely noticing a pattern. Many times I have witnessed lures being fished from the same boat as fly. Being fished in the same location, at the same time and in a similar way. But the fly often catches more bass than lures. And I have a theory why.
The fishing at Clarrie Hall can often be challenging. I often hear folks say they never catch anything there or theyĀ only get one or 2. Their reasoning is that Clarrie is perhaps under stocked and Fisheries should put more bass in the dam. But I am not so sure. My theory is that there is literally millions of bass in Clarrie Hall. Some days you can see hundreds schooling up on the sounder, but this is during winter when they leave the protection of the lily pads and head out into open water. The rest of the year they are happy to spend most of their time under the lilies. After all this is where their food source is, their oxygen is and their shelter is. For the most part, these fish are inaccessible to fisherman.
Firetail gudgeon
But first thing in the morning the bass will move to the edge of the lilies in search of food. This is the window of opportunity. It is likely that all these bass have seen lures of all types swimming past. Indeed many have been caught and released which perhaps makes them weary of lures. But for the most part, the bass at Clarrie probably have enough baitfish to feed on without having to risk attacking a large vibrating food item. There are literally billions of Firetail gudgeon that live under the lilies, which is the likely food source for the bass.
Flies on the other hand are much more subtle in their presentation. They can more closely resemble the size and action of a smaller baitfish like the gudgeons. I think this makes a fly generally more appealing than a lure to a Clarrie Hall bass. My theory is further supported by the idea that a lure is much more likely to get noticed by a greater number of fish, compared to a fly. A fly makes very little vibration (if at all) and no sound. Where as a lure simply cannot be missed. Diving lures, crank baits, blades, spinnerbaits etc all leave a sonic and visual signature in the water that would be very hard for a fish to go unnoticed. Yet the fly often gets more hits.
My other theory is that perhaps the bass are attracted to the fly line. Bass are a bit like cats, they are inquisitive. Often you will see them on the sounder just sitting under the boat. Perhaps the fly line is a curiosity to them. They follow it and watch it go past. Then low and behold there is a small baitfish (the fly) following the line too. Well that must be breakfast!
October 27 Report
Another typical start to the day out on the water with a misty haze providing low light conditions needed to give the fish the confidence to move out from the cover of the lilies. There were plenty of bass milling around the points and I landed 4 fish up to 42cm before the sun burnt through the fog and pushed the bass back to the safety of their homes.
The water in Clarrie remains nice and clear despite the recent deluge of rain. However the top end of the dam is now choked with the dreaded weed Slavinia molesta which must have been washed out from the lily pads and into the open water. To avoid the weed I simply headed out towards the down stream end of the dam.
Book you charter today and hook up with a piece of the action at Clarrie Hall Dam.
Starlo Goes Northern Rivers Sportfishing
Perhaps it was Rex Hunts Fishing World where Steve ‘Starlo’ Starling first made his TV appearance and became a well known fishing identity. Since then he has written countless articles, blogs and books and appeared on any number of fishing and outdoor adventure shows, both in Australia and overseas. For more than 30 years now Starlo has been one of Australia’s most respected recreational anglers. So when he first contacted me to go fishing I was more than a little excited.
The plan was to film 3 fishing stories for 3 episodes of the Offroad Adventure Show. As a fishing guide I often feel the pressure to deliver to my clients, but this time the pressure was really on! However I had a few things on my side. First I knew that the scenery of the Northern Rivers would no doubt provide enough natural beauty for the cameras. Second, I knew that if anyone was going to catch a fish it would be Starlo. Boy was I right.
On the first day of filming Starlo, his lovely wife Jo, Shaun the producer and myself headed straight for Clarrie Hall Dam. As always Clarrie strutted her stuff for the cameras and put on a stunning display of misty mountains, blue skies and lush green lily pads. Jo Starling is an accomplished angler in her own right too and turns out she is an avid fly fisher woman. We hit it off immediately. The idea was to get Jo her first Australian bass on fly. It wasn’t long before Jo’s rod buckled over as she skillfully arm wrestled a solid bass away from the weed. Moments later she was holding up her first bass on fly for the camera.
Meanwhile Starlo worked the lakes margins from the Slayer 10 Propel kayak. Steve is no stranger to the Native Watercraft as he owns a few of these boats too. He commented how this type of kayak is ideal for Clarrie Hall because once hooked up he could just start pedaling in reverse and pull the bass away from the weed. When the first bass for the day snatched his offering, Starlo demonstrated just that. He too was amazed at the pulling power of these Clarrie bass. The day was off to a great start.
By 10:30am the sun had climbed above the mountains and burnt off the mist. The bite had slowed and so we headed for the river. I took us to a part of the river where I had caught bass the day before. Starlo and I fished the run out tide from the Slayer kayaks. But do you think I could land a fish? But that was no problem, because Starlo caught enough for both of us. By 2pm Steve had tallied 2 fat bass, 3 flathead and a bream. All of us had smiles from ear to ear. It was only mid afternoon on the first day and we already had our 3 stories!
Day 2 we returned to Clarrie for more action. Starlo hooked up to 2 cracking pocket rockets but they jumped off at the side of the boat. After getting her first taste of bass on fly the day before, Jo decided she wanted more……so more it was. Jo did a fantastic job teasing out the bass from edges of the lilies with her bass vampire fly. She experienced several hits and by mornings end she had scored another 2 or 3 beautiful Northern Rivers bass.
Over the brief 2 day period the Starlings visited Murwillumbah, mother nature really turned it on for us. The bird life and the fish, the water dragons and goannas all came out to greet us. And at the end of the day we drank cold beer and sat watching lightening crack over cane fields and we laughed and said that this is Australia.
– Simon Fitzpatrick , Northern Rivers Sportfishing
Dutton Trout Hatchery
I recently visitedĀ the Dutton Trout Hatchery in Ebor NSW.Ā Perched among some magnificent country side, EborĀ sits about 1,350m above sea level, providing a cool climate all year round that is suitable for trout. The hatchery produces many thousands of brown and rainbow trout each year, all for the purpose of recreational fishing. All trout produced are stocked in rivers and damsĀ across the state. A big thanks to Paul and the crew for showing us around and being the perfect hosts. A special thanks for letting us wet a line in the ponds which are not always open to the public.
Simon Fitzpatrick
The Pink Thing Fly
The pink thing is probably the most famous and successful barramundi fly. But it is also very effective on a host of other species such as pelagics and even Australian bass. For the most part this fly is tied in the original way its inventor Graham White first tied it, with the exception of the Fish Mask head and weedless wire. Graham recognized that by building a thick body of buck tail and a thick pink ‘webby’ collar, the fly will ‘push water.’ This means that fish can better locate the fly in discolored water. Grahams’ pink thing was tied with bead chain eyes but tying with modern materials such as the Fish Mask will surely add more ‘push’ than ever. The wire weed guard means it can be fished right in among the mangrove roots.
Simon Fitzpatrick
Tweed River Charter, October 17, 2017
Patrick and I arrived at the river at 6am just in time to see the first rays of sunlight hit a very coffee coloured looking Tweed River. As is often the case, after a period of 12 weeks without rain the heavens opened up just a few days prior to the trip. The much needed rain had certainly stirred things up and visibility must have been 6 inches at best. Undeterred Patrick worked his fly at all likely looking snags and eventually found a hungry bass that took a liking to his Donny Brasco fly.
Judging by the colour of the water and the amount of rain we received it may take anotherĀ couple of weeks before things clear up.
Simon
Tying The Donnie Brasco Fly
If you love fly fishing for Australian native fish and are looking for a good fly this spring, look no further than the Donnie Brasco Fly. This is a great all rounder fly for species such as golden perch that school up in our impoundments over springtime. Also with bass season now open, this fly is bound to tempt a bass or two.
This fly can be tied in a variety of sizes. A good starting point for bass and golden perch would be to tie on a 1/0 hook. Larger hooks up to 4/0 would be ideal for Murray cod when summer rolls around. Both the body and tail of the Donnie Brasco Fly consist of rabbit fur. This material is well known for its fish enticing action. When retrieving the fly with short sharp strips, rabbit fur tends to pulsate in the water, closely resembling the movement of a fishes fins.
Black and purple are proven colours when it comes to attracting Australian native fish. By tying on a purple tail and a black body you have a very versatile fly for both clear and turbid water. More often that not I tie in a weed guard too. By tying a double loop weed guard you can work the fly right in among the structure without snagging up too often. The weed guard shown in the video offers good snag resistance whilst collapsing easily when a fish bites.
Tight lines
Simon Fitzpatrick
Clarrie Hall and Tweed River Update
It has now beenĀ 4 months since the floods in March and Clarrie Hall Dam is still undergoing some change. The water is still coffee coloured but this will likely have a positive effect on the lake. It could be said that impoundments are in a constant cycle consisting of boom and bust phases. Clarrie Hall is probably in the latter phase now. My theory is that theĀ elevated water levels and turbidity during the floods has cut off the cabomba weeds light source. Subsequently there has been a major die back of this invasive weed. The die off of the weed probably led to more turbidity which in turn caused more weeds to die. A kind of positive feedback loop. Hence 4 months later the dam is still turbid.
The good news is that much of the cabomba weed is now dead. ThisĀ has exposed the edge of the lily pads making lure fishing a much easier proposition. The die back of the cabomba has also made access easier in a number of places including the boat ramp area which was previously choked with weed. The lily pads have had a bit of a shake up too and now there are gaps between the pads where anglers can swim a bait.
The Tweed River has also undergone some change. There has been some extensive erosion on the river bank where riparian vegetation has been removed for farming…..no surprises there. (River bank planting in these areas is desperately needed to stop erosion and siltation of the river.) However I was very pleased to see numerous new snags in the river. Some of these snags are absolute rippers and will no doubt hold good numbers of bass. On a charter yesterday Dan had some success fishing these snags with a Donny Brasco fly. On a number of occasions the bass appeared to be only sideswiping the fly but Dan managed to connect with a couple of nice fish. When the bass return from their spawning run in September there should be plenty of action to look forward too around these new snags!
Barbless Hooks
I headed to the Tweed River today for a solo ‘bass fishin mission.’Ā One of my all time favorite lures are the smaller size ‘finesse’ diving minnowsĀ that dive to about 2m. I believe the smaller models around the 40-55mm length are less intimidating to a bass than theĀ larger ones. Therefore they are more likely to be snaffled by even the most finicky fish. Most smallĀ diving minnows-baits come with twoĀ very small treble hooks. These hooks do a brilliant job in hooking bass first time, every time. The fine gauge wire ensures the hooks penetrate the bass’ skin, even if the bass is just side swiping the lure to drive it away from its territory. These hooks tend to stick to anything that comes near them. This is great for hooking fish, but unhooking them can be a real issue.
Some species such as bream tend to have a tough mouths for dealing with shells and crustaceans. However the bass’ mouth contains some very fine membrane. This thin almost transparent layer of skin is often where the hook ends up. As the fish kicks and struggles either in the water or in the boat, the membrane can be pierced several times and thus becomes entangled in these tiny trebles. Ā Major tears in this membrane can result when the angler tries to unhook the bass. These tears can be so severeĀ that the outer edge (maxillary) of the upper jaw can come free. I have even caught bass that wereĀ missing their maxillary on one side completely. I can only imaging this is from a previous capture and release where the angler struggled to unhook the fish.
The eyes are another vulnerable part of a bass’ anatomy that can be pierced by these small trebles. With one treble firmly lodged in the mouth, the other treble can end up in the eye. This has happened to me on an occasion where the bass was kicking in the net and landed eye first on the hook. This is a particularly troublingĀ thing to witness. When fishing in waters that are heavily pressured by anglers I have caught bass with one ‘milky’ eye. I suspect these milky eyes are fromĀ hook injuries. These kind of eye an mouth injuries mouth injuries would obviously hinder the fishes ability to find and eat food. The good news is that you can make a few simple modifications to lower the risk of injury to our native fish.
Firstly, ‘de-barb’ all the hooks. Simply take some pliers and flatten the barb on all hooks on each treble. This ensures that any hook piercing can easily be removed. This significantly reduces any potential damage from occurring to any fish you plan on releasing. UsingĀ barbless hooks doesn’t necessarily mean a reducedĀ hook up rate either. As long as you keep a ‘tight line’ when playing the fish (which you should anyway) there is no reason why the fish could spit the hook.
The second thing I like to do is cut off one hook on each treble, so you now effectively have 2 doubles (not trebles). Again this reduces the chance of injury to the bass whilst not compromising your hook up rate. Sometimes I go one step further and replace the trebles with a single lure hook. But I think modifying the trebles already provided with the lure is cheaper, easier and takes advantage of these small sticky hooks. Both these modifications can be made with a simple set of pliers.
With all my hooks now modifiedĀ I had a trouble free day on the water today. I managed to landĀ 9 bass averaging about 36cm long. All the strikes from the fish I caught today were converted into landed fish. My customized hooks worked brilliantly.
Simon Fitzpatrick
Easter 2016 Fly Fishing at Clarrie Hall Dam
Have you noticed that bass seem to like low light conditions? Whether your fishing in the shade under a tree, at dawn or dusk or on overcast days, the bass appear to be more active in these situations. My theory is that predators such as birds of prey can see a fish better on a bright sunny day, because the light penetrates deep into the water column. But low light condition appear to give bass the extra confidence to move closer to the surface to feed. Perhaps evolution has played its hand here and any sun bathing fish have been quickly dispatched from history. The wiser more cautious bass have lived to pass on their genes to the bass we see today.
With a thick coverage of clouds my fly of choice was always going to be a surface fly. Twitched in amongst the cabomba weed it was only a matter of time before my frog imitation drew a response. Ā After landing one fish and dropping another, the heavens opened. As the rain poured down I noticed I could no longer hear the popping sound of bass inhaling the gudgeon against the surface of the lake. Perhaps the rain had scared the baitfish down deeper and the bass may have followed. I quickly switched to a deeper presentation.
A lead eye clouserĀ is such a versatile little fly that can be worked at a variety of depths. Retrieving the fly along the edges of the weed resulted in a couple of feisty bass attacking the tasty looking morsel. After some perseverance another fat bass was in the live well. By now I was soaked to the bone, so I released the bass and made a hasty retreat for home. But rain hail or shine Clarrie Hall Dam always offers up some gold.
A Stripping Basket for the Kayak
For me the biggest challenge when fly fishing from a kayak is line management. During the retrieval of the fly, the line must be stripped into a pile somewhere. Once the fly is retrieved and a subsequent cast is made the line inevitably becomes tangled around any conceivable nook, cranny or edge that the line can find. This can be very frustrating. So letās look at some options.
My first preference is to strip the line into a clear space. But with a pile of tackle, rod holders do hickies and gizmos that I like to take fishing, this is usually not an option. My second preference is to use a towel. A simple towel can easily be draped across any rod holders, sounders, pliers etc preventing your line from becoming snagged. In addition a towel serves a number of other purposes when canoe/kayak fishing. It can be used as a rudimentary bailer, mopping up every last drop of intruding water. It is amazing how much water even a standard bath towel can hold. On long sunny day trips I often use the same towel to keep the sun off my legs.
A more familiar choice for fly anglers is the stripping basket. This can be any container that simply collects you line as you retrieve. I have seen fisherman using everything from their hats to a washing basket. However if you are fishing from a kayak with very limited space such as a pedal kayak, you canāt go past a personal stripping basket.
I recently tried out a new basket from South Pacific. 
The basket is easily fastened around the waist using the plastic buckle. When in the standing position the basket sits nicely around the hips. When in the seated position you can just slide the basket up your torso a little and collect the line just above your lap. At first it took a little practice to deliver the line into the basket, but it became second nature after a short while. Ā I must say I was very impressed with this bit of gear and will be sure to bring it with me on all Fly Fishing Charters in theĀ Native Watercraft.
My First Murray Cod on Fly
If I had a bucket list, somewhere near the top of that list would be to catch Murray cod on fly. Well last weekend I made that dream come true, although it took some doing. During the week leading up to the trip the conditions couldnāt have been worse. Easterly winds and a low barometer were forecast. To top it off the recent rains had dirtied almost every river in the area. All accept one. The Severn River.
After the long drive I met up with Nick and we hit the Severn. The river looked great. It was running clear and warm. But the low pressure system and easterly winds Heralded that the cod fishing would be tough. As tough as it was, we patiently probed our flies into the depths of every fishy looking snag. Nick was first of the mark with a solid little cod of about 50cm. I encountered a few bumps and follows before I had my first hit. There is little question when a cod hits your fly. They tend to hit it hard. Whether fishing with a fly or a lure, that familiar strike delivered from a codsā powerful jaws always puts a smile on the dial.
With the first strike, I simply failed to set the hook hard enough and the fish swam away. But I didnāt make the same mistake twice. When the next strike came I lifted the rod sharply and drove the hooks home. I was very happy to feel weight at the end of my line and shortly after had my first Murray cod on fly in the net. He wasn’t going to break any records but I was stoked. My First Murray cod on fly!!!!
My First Murray Cod on Fly
The next day we tried a different section of the river. The easterly wind fired up and again it appeared the fishing would be tough. As we worked the pools and runs from our kick boats no strikes or follows were forthcoming. I decided it was a good time to replace my leader. The very next cast I let the fly sink deep across the face of a snag under a willow tree. To my amazement the fly was smashed hard and I immediately set the hook. I gave the fish no line as I knew it would bust me off if it headed back into the sticks. Suddenly the line went slack and the tell tale boil of a large tail fin surfaced. Upon closer inspection the uni-knot in the leader had pulled. It was definitely my bad. I have tied hundreds of uni-knots before but not in 30-40lb fluorocarbon line. Iām not exactly sure what went wrong but from then on I vowed to leave longer tag ends and set the knot really tight. Loosing that fish was a bitter pill to swallow. Not only did it feel like a very big fish, but the knot failure was my fault and to top it off the fly I lost was a ripper.
Still, the day was young and we continued floating on downstream. Then to our delight, the wind died down and the day started to really warm up. From then on the fishing vastly improved. We both worked hard and by the end of the day I managed about 4 cod averaging approx 50cm. Nick, being the local must have landed closer to a dozen cod, at least 4 of which were more respectable fish of around 60+cm.Ā I watched him closely and tried to learn from his example. He had fly fished these rivers for many years with great success.
Severn River Murray Cod on Fly
For the most part, the tactics used in fly fishing for Murray cod are similar to any type of lure fishing for Australian natives. Cast the fly/lure as close as possible to any likely fish holding structure and retrieve the fly with plenty of action, pausing occasionally to tempt a strike. Trying a variety of retrieves to see what works best on any given day is the key. Triggering a āreaction strikeā that day involved beginning our retrieve the moment the fly hit the water, with shorts sharp strips that would cause the fly to āpulse.ā Ā I have seen this style of retrieve work with bass on certain days too. Other days they like the fly to just sit there motionless.
What surprised me more than anything was the type of habitat that we caught fish in. Of course the cod were found in the usual places around the best looking snags, but most of the fish came from sunny positions. When fishing for bass I only ever focus on the shaded areas as most often the fish are found under the trees. However it would appear that day the cod actually preferred more sunny positions. What surprised me even more was the depth of the water Nick was targeting. He had no hesitation in fishing snags that were in no more that 1ft of water!
The other surprising thing was how close Nick would manoeuvre his kick boat to the snag he intended to fish. What appeared to be paramount was getting that fly right up into ātiger countryā and if you need to be 3 meters away to do just that, the cod didnāt seem to mind. Nor did they appear to be put off by repeated casts, with the fly slapping the water, probing for a closer position to the snag. In fact if anything I think the cod were actually turned on by all the commotion. I clearly had some old habits to break.
We caught cod on a number of different flies that day but the pink ones were the flavour of the day. With the sun now fast retreating I excitedly gave a purple surface popper a swim, but it drew no response. As we made the long hike back to the car I reflected on what an awesome day it had been. A dream come true and hopefully the first of many more to come.
Fitzy
