Recent Grunter

My first Grunter on a mud flat.  In the Breede river you have to wade shallow water on the low tide and cast directly on the fish's tails as they pitch down to blow into a prawn hole.  Its a small window of opportunity and requires a deadly accurate split second cast.

This one was tailing next to another fish in about 50cm of water.  I dropped the cast as his tail protruded and three strips in he hit it twice hard.  It was a spirited fight.

I had previously overlooked something critical in my fly design that led to about 9 unsuccessful sorties on the flats..  Out of 90 or so perfect presentations on the Mud this was my first success.  I changed to a new design and on my third presentation I got this one.  Unfortunately it was right at the end of the session so I didnt get time to test it a second time around.

Spotted Grunter on Fly

Deer Hair Prawn

Segmented JAM fly

Segmented JAM fly

Busy Grunter....

Fly fishing the mud isnt my favourite.  Its difficult wading and not traditional sight fishing as you cant track the fish moving as they tail.  There are however more fish over the mud flats so its a tricky trade off.  Having caught on both id say Im definitely a sand man though... Much more visual.