born to fly fish

New concept

2012-02-14T09:09:00.002+02:00

Grunter Break Through

2012-01-31T21:27:00.002+02:00

This weekend I had possibly the biggest single break through in Grunter fly fishing to date. I managed to entice 3 strikes out of cruising fish. A correctly sized and keeled fly would have meant 3 hook ups. I cant tell you how, but its a combination of stripping technique and an innovation in fly tying thats only been used in Steelhead fishing to date.

It changes everything. It means anyone with a fly rod and this fly will have a shot.

Henkie Altena

2012-01-31T20:52:00.003+02:00

Henkie Altena is one of the Grunter masters and an incredible fly tier. He is also the only person guiding for Grunter that actually catches them. He's South Africas David Westby.

http://www.flydotfish.com/

Atlantic Bonito in Mossel Bay

2012-01-31T20:41:00.001+02:00

Awesome. Video to follow.

6.5 lber - biggest of the day

First Fish

The guide - Henkie Altena (flydotfish)

The highlight of the trip was spotting massive Garrick on the hunt for these guys. And having a few shots at hammerheads. Beautiful fish.

Recent Grunter

2012-01-26T00:11:00.000+02:00

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

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.

The art of Nic Jooste

2012-01-17T14:53:00.000+02:00

Im not sure if he's related to Con Jooste but have a look at these incredible sculptures:

Nic Jooste fish sculpture

http://www.metalfish.com.au

1 Swordfish, 1 Marlin, 1 Sailfish - 1 Day.

2012-01-17T13:51:00.001+02:00

The Man: Con Jooste
The Boat: Eclare (Kingfisher Fleet)
The Place: South Mlima, Kenya

Con Jooste - Broadbill Swordfish on Fly

Con Jooste - Striped Marlin on Fly

Con Jooste - Sailfish on Fly

Farquhar December 2011

2012-01-05T10:07:00.005+02:00

The Trip There:

Day 1:

Getting to know the Bones and Gt's

Not knowing where to fish we decided to start on some Bonefish on the lagoon side flat at the Manahar gaps. It didnt take us long to see groups of 5 to 10 fish cruising around. The water depth was a little over waist deep and it took some time for the guys to put on flies heavy enough to get down to the fish. I quickly pinned 3 and then we decided to check the coral flats on the outer edge of the reef. Fred and I walked right of the gaps and we quickly spotted some big solitary bonefish and triggers. I worked my way quite deep into the surf and after a few minutes spotted a big GT on the back of a ray. I had a tan leftys deceiver on and dropped a cast ahead of the fish. Unfortunately it spotted me struggling to get a foothold in the waves and spooked. We were only about 2 hours in to our first session and I'd already seen Bumheads, Triggers, Bones, GT's and numerous sharks. Fred and I then concentrated on casting in the holes in the reef for other species. Eventually we decided to turn back to find the others. Next we headed to Goulette to look for more GT's and on arrival we heard the "GEEETS GEEETS GEEETS" cry. We looked to the right and a shoal of fish was hugging the beach looking for baitfish. About 5 guys peeled off trying to strip line to get a cast in, unfortunately we made enough commotion to scare a small whale and the shoal vanished into the blue. Fred and I searched the Northen flat and found nothing but a shoal of tiny Milkfish. We tuyrned and decided to fish the lagoon side channel and while trying my luck on a few Humpheads I heard the trademark Davis "ON ON ON!" call. Fred was in to a good fish. It must have taken 100 meters on the first run but Fred managed to turn it before it found reed. On seeing the fish our hearts dropped. We both saw a cloud of blood come out the gills. It was hooked deep. Fred immediately got the hook out by going through the gills and after a few photos it swam away strong.

First bonefish of the trip

Fred into the first Giant Trevally

Feathers out the gills

Goulette Giant Trevally

day 2:

We woke up to absolutely perfect conditions. Not a breath of wind. I wanted to look for Permit on the grass flats so Fred Davis, Nick Filmater and I boarded the skiff with Cedric. En route we came accross a shoal of GT's and Fred was quickly in. The monster of a fish must have taken 150 meters in the first run and showed no signs of slowing. It found reef and eventually popped. I was immediately in as well and decided that I was going to take my chances on a straight pull. As I cleared my fly line I locked the drag to full and palmed my Gulfstream. My 12wt xi2 bent double and I almost fell off my feet as the fish summersoulted in the water trying to get traction with his tail. We moved to deeper water and a yellowfin tuna esque battle began. Except I didnt give it an inch of line. Every time the fish ran I just used the backbone of the rod as a shock absorber and then every time It slowed before a run I would pull back as hard as i could. As strong as GT's are they lose heart quickly after being pulled backwards. The fish circled time and time again around the boat and eventually we had it along side. There was a tense moment as the fish slipped from the Boga but we got it back into the boat. Insane.

-The flats.

Standing on the bow we did our best to locate a decent looking flat. Ive never fished true turtle grass but every bit of water in Rarquhar is so fertile. We started on the northern most tip and after seriously confusing Cedric he agreed to let me stand on the back and pole. We quickly saw some tails on the bow and stopped the boat. In front of us were 4 or 5 different groups of Humphead parrotfish. Shoals of 10 to 20 fish feeding in between small coral outcrops. I decided to jump off and try on foot. It quite something to get used to these fish. Their size (and the size of those beaks) is intimidating at first and your heart skips a beat when they first head your way. I tried fly after fly and must have presented perfectly over 30 times. None of the fish showed the slight bit of interest. I even found one seriously tame fish who I dropped cast after cast in front of. At one point he even sat over the fly and turned on his side to inspect it closely. His eye must have been about 20cm away at its closest. He did that with a white, tan and brown crab.

Back to the drawing board. He hopped back on the boat and decided to do some bommie bashing. The technique was pretty straight forward. I would pole up to a bommie and then we'd pick which fish to cast at. First time round Nick dropped a cast at a coral trout that was pretending to be a parrotfish. They are the oddest fish. Theyll sit stationary on the bottom like a grouper if surrounded by groupers. Or they'll swim around like parrots if surrounded by parrots. This one was acting parrot when he spotted Nicks brush fly. He accelerated and attacked the fly. Now we all wanted one. Eventually we came across a sand bar on the outside edge of the grass flat. Triggers and Rays everywhere. The water looked shallow so again I jumped off. It was deeper than it looked. I managed to find a spot to stand and then tried a few triggers out. And so my Triggerfish education began. Interestingly they are very spooky in deep water. I think it has to with them being aware of your presence. I presented to three separate fish that all spooked. Then I found two pesky stingrays who seemed to take a liking to me. Not knowing these rays I wasnt too happy with them circling me in armpit deep water and jumped back on the boat. Polling again we found a GT patrolling the fringes and Fred dropped a cast a full line away from him but still a good two full lines away from the fish. The fish spotted the fly instantly and tore accross the flat. It picked up the fly still heading towards the boat and left Fred with no tension to set the hook. We also began to realise that this was the way to pick up the GT's. Presentations well ahead of the fish.

We spent the rest of the time entertaining ourselves in the gin clear 15m deep water. Watching Snapper, Coral Trout and Grouper chase our flies. The funny thing in the deep water is that once a Coral Trout or Snapper has seen the boat they dont want the fly to move. Much like a shark chase they want you to strip and then as the fish is on you just stop. They suck it in like an oyster. We had one pesky Snapper sit in front of the boat and eat each of our flies. Each of us pinned him and lost him. And he didnt go anywhere afterwartds. He just sat there looking at us. There was also a big barracuda who sat under the boat but wasnt interested in flies.

Holding him

Putting a bend in the Sage

Stoked

The American Eagle

Perfect conditions at Manahar

Poling for Coral Trout

Spot the Trout

The Chase

The Take

The Fight

The Fish

Stalking one of four shoals of Humpheads

One of a million presentations at the non crab eating Humpheads

Day 3:

The Boneyard and the Flats Slam.

For day 3 I teamed up with the two young guns- Jean and Francois Malherbe. They both fly fish for the national team and are worth a good few laughs as well. We headed to the Airport flat and were slightly despondent when we saw the conditions. It was overcast and the tide was pulling sand across the coral. It was murky, dark, deep and fast. Jean and I being slightly more cautious started in the shallow areas and Francois decided to take his chances up to his neck in murky surf. Eventually we decided a change of tactics was in order. We walked the length of the runway and then found the only section of the coral flat that the sun was shining on. We waded out and quickly saw thousands and thousands of some sort of neon blue fish. They were around our feet when I asked Jean "what the hell are these things? Greenspots? Mackerel?" It didnt make sense. All these big bluish fish. Just then Jean dropped a cast and the fly didnt even hit the bottom before something picked it up and decided to take it accross the flat. After a few minutes we had it at our feet. I couldnt believe my eyes. It was a bonefish. A big bonefish. And the spot inherited its name - The Boneyard. You could throw a spear into the shoal and get two on a point. We entertained ourselves for a few minutes and then I saw my nemises Humpheads riding the waves and tailing. I tied two Conch shell flies the night before and tried one on them. Nothing. Nothing about 5 times. these guys were trickier. Moving fast back and forth accross the flat. By now im doing some serious head scratching. Eventually I got distracted by some triggers and parrots and more bones.

We went back for lunch and by now I only had one thing on my mind. Permit. I hadnt seen a single fish. Everyone that Id asked about it hadnt seen any either and Id been told by the guides Id asked that I would be extremelly lucky to see one and I would need to present to at least 4 or 5 to get some interest. So things were looking bleak.

We got dropped off on the extensive grass flat the borders the lagoon west of Manahar and began a slow wade to the west. And then Jean began out spotting me. I was focusing on the bottom of the flat which is a serious rookie error. Jean was focused on surface disturbance and about 300m into the wade he began shouting "TAILS TAILS TAILS PERMIT? YES PERMIT!". I hauled ass across the flat and then didnt know what I was looking at. 3 massive sets of sickle tails working accross the flat at pace. The top half of the tails where protruding about 30cm out of the water. I just didnt understand the size or the behaviour. And then they turned in front of me. Massive, Massive, MASSIVE, Milkfish. Probably five and a half feet. 50lbs plus. I had no Milikfish flies and even If I did i dont think i would have managed to break myself out of the hypnotic trance I was in. Ive never seen anything like it. These werent pretty schooly deepwater milks. These were old battle scarred fish. With bent, sunburnt massive sickle tails. like a yellowfin tuna spawned with a bonefish and created a supersonic flats fish.

About 100m after Jean and I were still discussing the Milks when he shouted again, "ORANGE TAILS ORANGE TAILS!". My brain interpreted that as "PERMIT PERMIT PERMIT" and off I went. It wasnt a permit but a Trigger. A purple and burnt orange trigger with a swallow tail. I lost sight of it at close range and we began walking further. We looked back and there it was again. I told Jean I needed a shot and began stalking it. I got about 15m away and went down on my knees as he tailed in the shin deep water. I didnt know when to take the shot. The Trigger would tail for a few seconds and then move and tail again. Eventually it worked to the edge of the flat and began tailing on a grass clump just aft of a perfectly round sand section. I dropped a cast on the fishes nose as it tailed. A lucky cast. The fish turned, attacked the fly and then turned to start tailing again. It didnt know it had been hooked and then felt the line pressure for the first time. It look off about 50 meters to the deep water and I managed to turn it. When we got it in Jean and I couldnt believe the size. This was a GT size Trigger. Even in all my dives and Snorkelling Ive never seen one this size. We were both pretty nervous of how to hold it having never picked up a trigger before. Jean was holding it while I was getting my camera ready and then next thing it bit through the leader, spat the fly and wriggled loose of Jeans hold and fell back into the water. I was shell shocked watching it swim away. Jean didnt know what to say. I had no words. The massive fish was a burnt orange to yellow swallow tail, it was lumo purple accross its flanks and had orange cheeks with black stripes on its head. It was my first Trigger, the biggest one ill likely ever see and we didnt get a picture. We would eventually name him Big Red, he saw him once or twice again and Jean and I were hooked on targeting these fish. Its so visual its insane. It takes delicate presentation but these clowns of fish get so excited when they see the fly you can almost see the expressions change on their faces. The best part is the take. they dont have good vision under their noses and when they first bite they get excited to feel the hook point. Its confirmation to them that the crab is real and theyll take it time and time again until you hook them. its forgiving but incredibly exciting. They do a strong first run but concede after it. They will still try to jump into holes in the flat though.

For the next few hundred meters Jean and I didnt talk much. I was ready to turn back but Jean convinced me to walk on. Things were pretty tense. And then about 10 minutes later something appeared in the surf. A Permit. A massive Permit. i dont think I even got the word out to Jean when I dropped my 12wt, took the Crab out the first eye and leader off around the reel and lead the fish. I stripped through and then presented ahead of the fish again. this time it went into the blue and then turned. Eyes locked on the crab at my feet. I dropped to hide myself and stripped again. The fish accelerated and almost beached itself taking the crab with its shoulders out the water- leader in the rod. My heart must have been beating at about 250 a minute and all I could think about was the 14 reef sharks we'd just counted. I ran into the water in an attempt to scare off anything in the vicinity. I cant remember how long the figh was but it was horrible. Every run, every second, I feared for a break off or shark attack. Eventually i had him at my feet and the permit tango began. I could see he wasnt hooked too well. I pleaded with Jean to grab its tail with both hands the second he could get a grip. He went for it and time stood still. The second he had the tail I shouted "RUUUNNN FOR THE BEAAAACCCHHH!!!". I didnt want this one to drop. Jean put it on the beach and I ran up to the fish and then collapsed next to it. I lost all strength. This is the only fish ive wanted to catch since I started fly fishing an watched Flip Pallot chasing them in the Keys. That was almost 16 years ago. Ive been tying Permit flies for years not knowing when Id have a shot. And I got one. One of the beautiful ones, the Golden Yellow Indo Pacific ones. And one of the biggest ones Ive seen come out in the Seychelles. I honestly couldnt believe my luck.

A bonefish on the bircks, a trigger on the grass and a Permit on the beach. What a day.

The Boneyard - That blue shape off my left shoulder is a school of a few thousand fish.

First Run

The Turn

What it feels like to catch your first Permit

A dream come true

Off my feet again - admiring her

Thanking Jean for convincing me to go on.

YES.

Day 4:

I decided that as Jean guided me on to a Trigger and was the reason I spotted the Permit I owed him a service. So the goal was to fish the same flat we saw Big Red on and to get Jean a Trigger.

But by now the tides were tricky with only one fishable low in the afternoon so we began at 4am by hiking out to the airport to fish the boneyard for sunrise. As we got there Jean tied on a flipper and picked up a baby Geet. Then, while I was deep into conversation with all three of us standing side by side blind casting I noticed a tap on my line and turned to see a massive swell. The fish I missed attacked Francois' fly further down the beach and took off for the horizon. Francois was shell shocked and even with his drag full and his palming his Abel Super 12W he couldnt slow or turn the fish. By now he was just laughing as the fish reefed him well over a 100m away from us. That was the sunrise session.

We decided to fish the morning drop at the South Point Island. Conditions were difficult and at first the shallowest spots we could find were chest deep. It was also pretty murky so we began just standing on the fringes casting for bones. Again not long until all of us were in to fish. We got sick of the bones and eventually went on the look for Permit and GT's. We didnt spot much in the high water until Jean and I walked around to the vast sand banks. As we passed the whale carcass and neared the point we spotted something. "Stingrays!" I said to Jean and started wading to have a look. As we got closer Jean added "Nope, Sharks" and then I got a fright. Two monsterous GT's. The biggest Ive seen yet just sitting motionless on the flat. As we got close they started moving slowly and I instructed Jean to take a shot. He didnt manage to clear line quick enough so I stripped off and dropped a terrible cast way too far in front of the fish. They both went to inspect and followed slowly right behind the fly. The fish closest to me followed all the way in and then when I had the leader in my rod tip he just stopped in front of me. The girth on this guy was frightening. He was so wide that his eyes were almost on the front of his face. His two pectorals protruding over a foot out each end. I didnt know what to do and coudlnt strip so I just lifted the fly and jiggled it in front of him. He went a bit forward and, looking at me straight in the eyes opened his mouth and focused on the fly. I had no room to strip and watched the 13cm fly go in his mouth like a little bass bug. I saw the sand of the flat through his gills as he almost swallowed the fly. I then set the hook and he took off at pace. I knew I didnt stand a chance. I saw the teeth in his mouth and realized the leader would be rubbing back and forth with such a deep hook set. As he started his first run I said to Jean that there wasnt a chance this would last, and, a few seconds later the leader popped. That was it for the morning session.

We left South Point and headed for the Trigger grass. Jean and I began as we head the previous day with the slow wade across the flat. Conditions were much trickier with a wind giving substantial swell and muddying the water but Francois managed a Trigger on the Northern edges. After witnessing the previous days events he tucked the fish like a rugby ball with total disregard for its sharp bits and carried it to the beach for pictures. Jean and I continued on the beach and then I saws him drop and signal for me. When I got there I could see a Permit feeding almost completely out of the water on a sand bar. We shoudlnt have dropped a cast and after some time I couldnt restrain myself anymore and presented a fly. I tried pattern after pattern and after about 7 presentations and 20 minutes I gave up not wanting to spook anything else. We spotted another fish and Jean dropped a few more good casts. We followed the fish into deep water and eventually it followed a spawning shrimp in. But no commitment.

A South Point Bonefish

Francois Malherbe found this little guy on the flat

Francois Malherbe with his Trigger

day 5:

The search for Jeans Trigger continued and we decided to head back to the Trigger flat again. This time conditions were slightly easier and I managed to get Jean shots at three fish. Unfortunately it was one of those days when the ball just bounces the wrong way. The first fish moved off before Jean managed a shot. The second was keen and followed Jeans presentation all the way in but before it could commit it spotted both of us and spooked. The third fish also moved off before it could be presented to. After feeling like we worked the flat properly we began working the beach. I was trying to get a big Lemon Shark to eat when I heard Jean scream. He was in to a massive Bluefin. As Jean was fighting the fish I heard him shout "GEETS COMING DOWN THE BEACH!" and there they were. A shoal of about 30 fish cruising right against the beach. We actually have GoPro footage of the fish swimming around Jean. Aware of how spooky they can be to a cast I dropped a cast with them a good 100m away. I lay on the beach and waited for them to pass Jean how was 30m to my right. I twitched the fly and a beautiful silver fish shot ahead of the shoal and engulfed the fly. I didnt get a good look at the fishes size but my thinking was that so close to the beach it must have been pretty small. With that in mind I locked the drag and stopped the run completely. The fish sumersoulted twice before it began circling. I landed it in about 4 minutes and way shocked to see it was actually quite a decent fish. By now Jean had landed his and i couldnt believe the girth of it. Unfortunately the man is massive and makes the fish look a lot smaller than it is in photos but its by far the fattest bluefin ive seen. When it was on its side on the sand I shouted at Jean "Thats not a Bluefin! No ways. Its too wide and too sliver". When I got to it I was amazed. We took a few photos and released both fish simultaneosly.

I had also begun to figure the Milkfish out better. I found the channel that they access the grass through, and, although I didnt get a cast in I was suddenly feeling a bit more confident about targeting them.

In the afternoon Jean and I teamed up with our most experienced offshore angler- JD. We put out a spread of a Purple Kona on the right, a Tan/Yellow Kona on the left and a daisy chain in the middle. JD was up first and before we knew it we were in to a bait ball. Birds all around and struggling to keep fish from pulling our teasers off. I peaked over to see a giant Amberjack right next to the motor, tailed by about 15 GT's. JD struggled to get a cast out and before we knew it they were gone.

Now it was my shot. Line stripped in the basket, Rod in Hand. Standing ready. It was only a few minutes and JD screamed. The teazers were still coming out when I dropped a cast behind the fish. "Saily!" JD screamed, "No! Two!". Then tragedy. Cedric, unsure of what we wanted cut the engine completely and both fish dropped their sails and turned from that brilliant blue to almost pitch black. The larger fish went over to my fly and began knocking it with its bill. On the second cast it eventually got it in its mouth but as I set the hook I felt nothing. The fish both turned off and vanished.

Next, Jeans shot. He had a flashy profile rigged with wire for Wahoo. As I chugged the teazer I spotted the fish right on it. I pulled it clean from the water and Jean dropped a cast but the fish was nowhere. We began trolling again and watched another grab the Purple Kona and clear about 8 feet in the air with the lure in its mouth. All this a few boat lengths behind us. We soon raised another sail and this time didnt cut the motors. The fish chased and chased and at one point JD had the fish eating the teazer right at the motor. Jean dorpped cast after cast and the fish must have ate the fly about 7 times. With no trailing hook the fish just didnt manage toi get stuck and showed about as much frustration as us.

School Fees.

Jean Malherbe with his bus Bluefin

Spot the Geets

Sailfish!

Two Sails in the spread!

Hook Set!..... and off.

Day 6

Second last day and the pressure was mounting. Even though I got my Trigger I still didnt have a picture with one. And thats all I wanted. The tides were now at their worst as well. The other groups had good success with GT's the previous day at "Rats and Mice"- Three small islands in the middle of an immense grass flat. So this is where we decided to start. Jean and I had gone off the GT's a bit and decided to fish the deep water from the boat. We managed some good Coral Trout and then went to pick up the others. We decided to fish the afternoon on the massive grass flats hunting for Triggers.

I went to the edge of the flat looking for Triggers in the surf but only managed to spot a GT cruising the surf. I turned back and frantically walked up and down looking for fish. But nothing. Eventually I saw Nick get into something and worked my way towards him. He had presented at a Trigger and spooked it but I saw this as a good sign that he was in an area where he at least spotting them. I quickly saw three fish but they vanished before I could get a shot. Once they are aware of anglers in the area they become impossible to catch.

I worked my way to the fringe areas as it seemed to me most of the Triggers were in areas where there were sand holes in the flats. Unfortunately the water was now waist deep and the fish I spotted spooked. A few hours passed without much success until eventually the water had dropped to shin depth. Jean and I spotted two Triggers and we each took shots. Both fish spooked on sighting. Mine on the fly as well. Then we started seeing orange fins working around us. We first thought them to be Permit but the fins were wrong. Jean lead a fish and landed a nice Emporer. As far as fight goes there isnt much that can take a Emporer on. A 5 kilo class fish must be an incredible fight. After taking some pictures of Jeans fish we both spotted two Golden Trevally but didnt manage shots. Then, I heard a fish coming towards me. I turned and saw it about 12m off coming in fast. I dropped a back cast right on its nose and tailed aggressively on the fly. Sickle tail right out the water. I think i was shocked at the sight and didnt manage to even set the hook as half way into its first run the hook pulled. By now Im not enjoying myself. I eventually kept myself entertained casting at the shoals of swallow tailed parrots tailing from on end of the flat to the other. But these ones had minute unbeaked mouths and none of us managed to hook any. By the time the day closed out I had little more than a few bones and a Coral Trout to my name. Usually this would be a good day. But not in Farquhar.

Turtle returning to the sea after laying eggs

Jean and his Emporer

Loving that crab

Coral Trout

Day 7

Plagued by the bad high tides we were lost for options on the morning high. Eventually Jean and Francois and I decided to explore a new section of sand flat west of Goulette. The usual Coral dwellers came out. The highlight of the session was a big Bohar that Francois hooked. It went straight into its hole and turned on its side. We were in deep water but Jean feeling particularly spritely put on my mask and snorkel and jumped overboard. He went down all the way to the Bommie and jumped and tugged until he got the fish out. He came up with a massive example of a fish. As the Bohar lay on its side on the surface I noticed Francois hadnt taken up all the slack and was pretty amused to see the fish go straight back into the hole and break off his 80lb tippet.

By now I was getting pretty tense about not getting my Trigger picture and after a slight sense of humour failure with three anglers on one skiff I asked to be dropped off at JD on the grass flat. We swam accross a channel and then JD spotted a Trigger. I begged him for the shot and explained my reason. Luckily, he gave it to me and I stalked the fish down. I dropped the cast on its nose and then lost sight of the fish. re-presented the fly on sighting the fish for the second time and this time It liked what it saw. A lot. It tailed hard on the fly and I felt a bump. I stripped as it continually hit the fly and then it lost sight of it in the sediment it has created. JD told me to leave it there as he could see the fish looking for it. It peeled through the sand cloud and attacked the crab as I set the hook. "ON!!!!" I shouted and rand after this guy at pace. We were surrounded by coral heads and I was frightened by the thought of it getting into a hole or wrapping me or biting me off. JD landed the fish and we got some great photos. I owe that fish to JD. I was so relieved.

Then JD spotted something. i thought we was looking at Bumphead parrots and was confused at why he was throwing brush flies at them. THey were in fact two big GT's. Each on the back of a ray. Both fish eventually spooked on presentation and we headed back to the boat. Spooking one more GT on our way.

Spot the debris in the background from running accross the flat

Trigger Damage

baby coconut crab

When fly lines snap

Morning 8

Our last morning on the island and I thought I owed it to the Trigger flat. I was secretly still after Big Red and the Milkfish but the conditions werent condusive to it. Eventually I went walking up the beach and spotted two silver fish hunting the small shore break. I hid and dropped the crab well ahead of the fish and felt the line go tought as a fish took off for the horizon. I thought I had a Golden on and, with 14lb was nervous to put pressure on. This was my hardest fight of the trip and the first run must have gone well over a 100m. The fish was now almost off the drop off and it gave 4 more spirited runs before eventually turning belly up on its last run and tail wrapping. I retrieved all the line but by the time I had the fish at my side it hardly had any life left. i lifted it out and felt its two last twitches before it died. I felt horrible. The first fish ive killed in years. I tried to revive it for about 5 minutes before I gave up and walked the 50 meters or so back to the shore. After the pictures I gave him to the group of pesky reef sharks that patrolled the area. The carcass didnt last long.

Walking towards the pick up point I spotted what i thought was two garfish. As I got closer I realized they were two Permit feeding on the edges. I presenting perfectly and dropped to the ground as they both tailed on the crab. By now the fish were right at my feet and I couldnt afford to take a peek and spook them. I felt a tap and set the hook. As I jumped to my feet elated but my heart dropped as I saw the two startled Permit still looking for the crab that the pesky bonefish had just snuck from under their noses. Dammit.

Bluefin Trevally on a crab

Other notable fish:

South Island Bonefish

Jean Malherbe - 80cm Bonefish (TL)

Nick Filmater - Coral Trout

Goerge Filmater - Black GT

Fred Davis - GT

JD Filmater

Manta Ray

Offshore flies for Farquhar

2011-12-02T00:49:00.000+02:00

Overall length is about 30cm. Tandem hook rig.

Squid Fly

Mantis Shrimp

2011-12-01T09:15:00.000+02:00

Mantis Shrimp Fly

Sand Prawn JAM fly

2011-11-28T08:59:00.001+02:00

Preparing for Farquhar - Fighting Techniques for Giant Trevally

2011-10-27T17:30:00.008+02:00

Farquhar is home to some of the biggest Gt's on earth. Ive had a few tussles with some 100cm + fish in the Maldives but never managed to stop one from reefing me. If I had to pick two guys who have perfected subduing these beasts it would be Keith Rose-Innes (Flycastaway) and Paul Weingartz (Ufudu).

Paul Weingartz

Paul Weingartz with a big GT caught in the surf.

Keith Rose-Innes & Flycastaway client

Keith wrote a great article in the Complete Fly Fisherman on the subject. You can find download link here:

One of the guys from the Faruhar trip managed to get some incredibly resourceful information out of Paul and I hope he doesnt mind me sharing. This is absolute gold:

"Hello Fred,

Following are my thoughts and methods on trying to stop big fish ! Please don't be offended if I repeat stuff you know.

I am off course referring to hooking and landing 90cm plus Gt's from the shore or flats. Fishing GTs from a boat is way too easy and i don't rate a GT landed this way cause it is so much easier to follow it around till it is tired. Each to his own and sometimes this is the only way some guys get to fish for them.

You can pull so much harder standing on the shore with a 12 wt, where as on the boat you are trying to to lift so your tackle really has to be up to the task of handling this heavy pressure on a big GT. Generally in areas of reef or bommies the idea is to stop or slow the fish as soon as possible or not even allow it to get going--more on this later.

I'll run through the gear . Reels, I like good quality reels with drags you can screw up tight but you can get away with cheaper reels if you don't turn up the drag too much but palm the reel hard enough when required( All the time on a GT !!) Same for rods if you fight the fish off the butt, up between 10 and 20 degrees from horizontal then most rods will manage.

Backing is very important, guys love gelspun as you can put a lot on the reel but I hate it and prefer 50 lb Dacron. 50 lb GSP cuts thru braided loops on flylines, fingers and pops on knots, even biminis under heavy pressure. Because good dacron is getting harder to find I do use some braids and less waxy GSP. I go up to 80 lb which seems to avoid some of the above problems. I like Jigman braid ( expensive) and both Arno and I have had good results with a Yellow Sufix GSP in 80 lb.

Backing to reel, many flyshops and guys say to me by the time you get down to the reel it is too late--rubbish. Make a loooong bimini and with 3 turns on the spool tie that arbor knot( also 3 turns) on the double bimini and you have a 100% knot that you can pull 50 lbs on ! Backing to flyline must be a long bimini loop so you can change flylines easily. . On the long loop part of the bimini I always lock it with a 3 turn overhand knot.

Let me say I extensively test all my knots before putting them into use, especially the GSP ones. I test knots and braided loops ( when fitting to a different type of flyline eg) against a 25 kg scale and if i can get it up to 20 kgs I am normally happy. If i have strained a knot by testing like this i redo it before using.

Flylines to stop a GT need to be higher strength, most lines are only around 35 lb which is OK if you have space to let a fish run. Many fish get landed this way but more ( especially on our coast here get away because you don't hold them) The 35 lb lines don't have enough reserve for close in shock loading and can break too easily. Here for intermediate we are using Rio Leviathan ( 50 and 70 lb). Ufudu line at 42 lb is just enough. That Airflo GT Floating Ridge line at 50 lb is strong enough.( If you don't mind casting a heavy line then the Airflo is not a bad option as it is strong and fairly cheap ) When I use a floater in Sey i used a Monic Bluewater line with a GSP core ( 90 lb) absolute bitch to cast but was trying to get some 1.4m GTs. ( Never got the hook ups !) Don't recommend that line !Seems like overkill but it allows for wear and tear , age of lines and shock loads etc. I replace all factory loops with 50 lb braid, I have never yet had a loop break or slip off ! A factory loop will let you down sooner or later in a hard tussle.

Leaders, I feel that guys use a heavy leader for the wrong reason. My thought is that if you are pulling hard on a fish and it touches reef or bommie 40 lb or 100lb is going to get cut either way. Or what is the point of having 120 leader for (chafing against reef) when you have a softer flyline that will cut as easy as anything.

I believe that the heavy leaders developed ( And I learnt this on my first Sey trip to Cosmoledo with Flycastaway in their early days) because GTs of 100cm and up have sizeable teeth. Altough they are not incisors a prolonged fight dragging a leader across these teeth as the fish turns wears down the leader. Sometimes a broken tooth can cut the line. I have also had happen once and seen several times a huge GT bite 100lb straight off on the take !! Therefore i feel that the heavier leader just gives you more leeway. The 124cm I landed on the flats in Farquar had worn down my 100 lb leader to 20% left !

The downside to a heavy leader is that skittish fish may be put off because of the fly not swimming as well as it may on a lighter leader.

On the leader up to 21kg I always use a bimini to loop it to the flyline other wise I use a 3 turn surgeon's loop on the bigger stuff. A 2 turn surgeon's loop is more common but gives about 75% strength where as a 3 turn brings it up to 85 %. Some guys like perfection loops, not for me. generally to the fly I use a Kreh Loop ( slight variation Lefty's non slip loop ) or an improved homer rhode loop.

Lastly to hold fish hard you need strong hooks. There are some really heavy gauge hooks in the livebait style which we used to use all the time but as they are so heavy they compromised the casting. Now we use mainly owner circle hooks preferably 8/0 or 9/0 but the 6/0 is pretty strong enough, also like the Tiemco SP 600 as a J Hook. Trey Coombs Gamakatsu SL12s are fairly strong but I have seen a mangled one on a 108 cm Ben landed , so i don't use them for GTs except on my poppers.

As I said before a lot of the above seems overkill but as i am after big GTs and they are so few and far between ( especially here) I want to limit equipment as much as possible so as not to blow that one chance. The spring tide a fortnight later I got that 108 cm in Dec 2010, I hooked another bus and after forcing the fish away from the reef I was settling in to the fight when the 100 lb leader parted. I can only think it was on a tooth as the it did not appear to be at the knot and no reef was involved. This is still haunting me !! Instead of Sufix leader I am now using Double X Fluoro which is harder but not a rigid fluoro. I was also using a J Hook and i felt that it may have been swallowed as opposed to the circle which normally hooks up nicely in the scissors of the jaw.

Over the years i have done much experimentation and playing with my rods. With a mate ( both wearing gloves and safety glasses ) we hook the rod against a scale and wotk out optimal pulling angles and just how hard one can pull. I can pull 12 kg against a scale before i feel I am starining stuff, this is at a short flyline distance of about 8 m. As you go further out you are still pulling the same on the rod but actual force on the fish end is well down. With about 50m of backing out you only get about 2 kg pull on the fish which is nothing. granted as you get more line out there is some line drag but i believe that this can be minimal depending on the fish's position and less drag if you are using GSP. Try this pulling against a scale, it is good to know just how hard you can actually pull !

When a GT takes in reefy area my reaction is to hold it immediately if I can, I always wear stripping gloves.. This is where two handed stripping helps you to grip the flyline. Then as and when i can I try and get the extra line on the reel. It is very difficult to stop a fish dead and just straight sticking is likely to break something so when you do give line it is a metre at a time. Sometimes in Sey I felt I needed to do a long fast single handed strip to get the GT interested. The fault a lot of guys make due to being freshwater or smaller fish orientated is to strip the line through only one finger, either index or middle finger, when the fish takes and you put tensinon on it the line comes out of that finger and you have lost control. If stripping this way you need to strip thru 2 or preferably 3 fingers this way you can clamp down on the line to stop the fish and retrieve line with the stripping hand.

Holding fish hard it seems to me if they do reach reef they seem to try to brush against the reef and I have normally found if they do cut you off it is against the leader. I have only had one flyline cut in the Maldives where i was caught by surprise, where as I have seen many guys lose flylines by letting fish run. Of course this detrimental to the fish's survival too if it gets off with a line in it's jaw. The convenient excuse is that it will rust away in a week. Not so, modern hooks take a while to rust away and only if the barb is crushed are they likely to fall out.

My first 2 GTs in SA over 100 cm were 102 and 105 cm they were both hooked in reefy areas and neither got any line off me . I knew if they ran they would cut me off so I fought them each on 25m of flyline ! basically instead of running they went from left to right until they were tired out ! I know there is a huge difference between a 105 and a 125 but the point is still to try and get some control while the fish is still close in. Once it is running the fish has control.

So lots of info here, some theory, some tested, best to know what you can do with your gear before you go out there. You have hooked some good fish, but I find guys that have not, cannot comprehend how hard they can pull !

Hope this is of some use Fred, any other info i can give let me know,

Regards,

Paul"

And this is what it all looks like in practice:

Cool Stuff

2011-10-19T18:21:00.001+02:00

Redfish by Mike Savlen (reminds me of a Grunter- the spots and colours are almost identical)

That is the only image ive ever seen that perfectly captures the shine and colours of a fish just as youve taken it out the water. I dont know how he does it. But im glad he does.

Bendback on a bass hook by Timber Pringle (the lady from Faceless Fly Fishing).

Preparing For Farquhar - Why I bought Marlwalker 2's

2011-10-19T18:03:00.001+02:00

And hoping I'll look less like Michael Douglas and more like this when Im fishing:

Karoo Yellowfish Spring 2011

2011-10-17T15:05:00.003+02:00

Two months ago a massive flood tore through the Groot River valley. Taking with it live stock, dam walls, the works. The river level rose 7 meters in parts. I feared that all my Yellowfish and the beautiful little runs that make up our river section would be destroyed. It took with it all three dam walls up river (which I would usually be happy about). However in this case the dam walls filter out sediment and as a result we end up with perfectly clear water full of life.

The river is still as perfect as I remember it. Running about a foot a second, crystal clear in parts. The fish are scarred and a bit scrawny from the Spawn but were hungry. At one part I climbed a 500ft shale cliff to get to a isolated run. Half way up I spotted something incredible. The biggest yellow ive seen with my two eyes. It was sitting behind a rock and picking something off the rocks. Possible stonefly nymphs or something. The only option was to strip off line and lay it straight down. As the nymph hit the water, some 30 meters below me the fish lunged, ate the fly and jumped out the water. I struck and off it went. I didnt notice a coil of line stuck in a crack. I tried to clear it but couldnt in time. The 10lb flouro leader parted like 2lb. Ouch.

The next morning I had another shot. Not as big a fish but in a more impressive setting. A fast flowing section of gin clear water. Not more than 6ft wide, not more than a foot deep. Now I was in an awkward position. if I moved he'd spot me. I was to the right of him so I couldnt risk a cast that might spook him. He was too far to high stick. The only option was to drop the fly immediately to the right of him. Close enough to sense the pressure difference. Far enough not to spook him.

I did just that. As the olive nymph hit the water he turned to inspect it. I stripped slightly faster than the current and he followed. As he got closer he got excited, his fins began to flare and he lit up. I sped up the strip and watched his mouth and gills open and he sipped up the fly. At my feet. While I was stripping leader. Incredible.

The follow

Into the backing she goes

15 min later

Millions of small fish in these little sections. Only to happy to take small dry flies all day long.

On top of the shale cliff

The right way to get around.

New species for me. Not sure what the hell it is.

Little guy.

The problem with self timers

Full of scars

The best part of the river

Jack Samson and the Mantis Shrimp

2011-09-06T16:10:00.001+02:00

Ive read every bit of literature on permit fishing, my favourite being Jack Samsons book "Fly Fishing for Permit". On what I have read and watched on youtube I have developed an assumption ... that one of the reasons permit are so hard to catch is that when conditions arent visually perfect it becomes almost impossible to see the take. Permit dont like chasing crabs and the only movement they like to see is a crab dropping through the water column.

Jack Samson addressed this by creating a mantis shrimp fly that towards the end of his fly fihsing career (a decade he devoted almost entirely to permit) he fished almost exclusively. He also wrote that the development of the mantis shrimp fly will see a complete change in Permit fly fishing- as Permit will chase a Mantis Shrimp and therefor dont get the chance to inspect it like a crab (fly), which results in more positive, aggressive takes.

Jack Samson

Jack Samson Mantis Shrimp

Jacks dreams were never realized. The crab flies still dominate. Except for maybe the Avalon.. and who knows what the hell fish think those are.

The Avalon Fly - I still dont get it.

Without disrespect- Jacks mantis shrimp was pretty ugly and badly tied but did still account for the lions share of his later life fish. It also swam the wrong way round.

Either way, I plan on spending the twilight years of my life doing exactly what Jack did.... wading and being poled around paradise casting at tailing Permit and listening to my classic Charlton reel sing. But with a better Mantis Shrimp on the end of my fly line.

This video shows is absolutely incredible for a fly tyer. Its the first time ive seen a prey items behaviour with its life in serious danger. And it shows exactly how wrong we get it. The mantis swims forward almost all the time.

wrong way round

wronf way round again.

another cool Mantis video.

Forward swimming mantis shrimp

2011-08-30T10:49:00.002+02:00

Im baffled by the fact that we all still tie shrimp/prawn flies the wrong way. I spent some time recently watching sand prawns after we pumped them from the holes and then looked around youtube. They only really swim backwards the second they leave burrow. After that they swim forwards, eventually digging back into a burrow front ways.

Fished these guys this weekend.... They dont look great out the water but in the water they look magnificent. They float for the first second or two and then sinks quite fast.

mud prawn fly

mantis shrimp fly

mud prawn fly

Grunter Season is upon us

2011-08-29T08:36:00.003+02:00

everything you need to know about grunter flies

I wonder if they eat these little guys.... run sideways and burrow.

spotted grunter on fly, fly fishing for grunter, spotted grunter, fly fishing south africa, fly fishing breede river

New grunter fly developments

2011-07-20T21:02:00.002+02:00

Some patterns Ive been working on for Breede grunter:

Mud Prawn Fly

Mini Mud Prawn Fly

Mini Mud Prawn Fly (tungsten underbody)

Glass Shrimp (tungsten underbody)

Weedless Grass Shrimp

New Weedless Rattle System

Something to try

2011-05-29T22:42:00.001+02:00

Scott Howells squidro-I think Id rather tie it using brush than marabou... interesting concept for squid and crustacean flies.

squid

crustacean

spinnerbait

TUNA!!!

2011-05-27T23:24:00.004+02:00

So we missed the Tuna. Just. We went out to get them on fly at short notice and to be perfectly honest I didnt have a clue on how to go about catching them. The only thing I knew was that free swimming Tuna like Pink flies. So I tied some of those.... I was completely wrong as to how to go about it.

I also tied a little yellowtail imitation to throw incase we came accross some floating weed. Apparently the yellowtail (as schooling fish) instinctively follow a fish that is of the same colour. We've had it off Robben Island where we've had school after school follow flies right to the boat without committing. Hopefully this will both get the fish following and excite them enough to entice a strike.

Yellowfin Fly

Each of the flies has a hell of a lot of 0.9mm lead wrapped around the shank and then covered in mylar tubing

If theres one person on this planet thats mastered taking massive yellowfin on fly its Dave Christie. The man responsible for probably the most IGFA submissions for the species. His guiding outfit is www.tosf.co.za and if you want a 200lb plus fish- he's your man. Trey Combs said in his book "Bluewater Fly Fishing" that a 100lb fish is impossible on fly and would probably never be done... Well, Dave doesnt land many on fly under that.

Dave Christie

TOSF client

Shimano Exxage as a fly rod

Dave Christie

The Fly

The tuna react best to chunk chum, and, cleverly, Dave fishes a chum fly drifted in the current as you would with actual bait. Circle hook, HEAVY rod, and wait for the take- makes perfect sense.

That rod is a Shimano Exage. Im not sure what the hell it was designed for but seems to have found its niche in extra heavy blue water fly fishing. And I just got given one... It makes my Heliply #14 feel like a 3wt.

Chunk Chum

Chum Fly concept:

Tuna Chum Fly

8/0 Cutting Point

Simano Exxage and Abel Super 13

White Death

2011-05-23T10:14:00.001+02:00

Saturday Night Fly Tying

2011-05-22T22:22:00.003+02:00

I need a crab fly thats heavy, BIG, but one that has lots of stationary movement... This is what I came up with. The Angry Crab (a reference to the mood by better half was in whilst I was tying it... she was painting her toenails too. So I added that in):

crab fly

I dont like the feeling of velcro. So intstead I used some tan furry foam and stuck that on to some regular fly foam and then coloured with light brown markers. Under it is a coil of 0.9mm lead. You might be wondering what Im targeting with a 4 inch wide crab fly. Well.... these guys:

Locally called "Swart Pylies" or "Black Pylies" they are a short tailed black stingray. You can sight cast to them in certain places. They are however considered to be the strongest fish in the Southern African oceans. I plan to turn a Tuna popping blank into a fly rod for the job. Im not sure what craft to use just yet but at an average size of over 400lbs I reckon Ill be in for a good few hours of fight. So far Im yet to talk to anyone that thinks its possible on fly... Going to have to use Owner bait hooks I reckon.

Carping

2011-05-20T22:14:00.005+02:00

Sight fishing to carp in 50cm of clear running water. Great practice for grunter. The day before yesterday I fought a fish for what seemed like an hour- massively under gunned. On a 6wt and 8lb leader.

On getting it to the bank I jumped in the water to land it and it broke off at my feet. I dived into the water and tried to reach around its waist. It slipped my grasp and I watched it swim away thinking I would never get another shot.

I returned today and the fish were still there. Carefully watched my back cast and let out the perfect presentation in front of two cruising fish. ON! Better equipped today. 8wt xi2/Tibor Back Country/14lb leader. And I needed it. This fish bent the 8wt in two. Andre Van Wyk (Nepps) managed to get it under the gill plates and after more of a struggle we had it on the bank. Victory!

carp on fly

one from earlier that day

Crab Fly

2011-05-17T09:20:00.000+02:00

Cant remember if I ever uploaded this.... My silicon + polar fibre prawn fly:

Silicone crab fly

permit fly, crab fly, steenbras on fly, fly fishing for steenbras, fly fishing for permit, crab fly, del brown, jack samson, spotted grunter, fly fishing in south africa

first experiment with brush

2011-05-02T17:54:00.000+02:00

The tan one is a sand prawn thats going to be used on my quest for a Steenbras in the surf. Its an avalon take on an Enrico Pusgili spawning shrimp.

The purple one is a toy for my girlfriends daughter.

detail: eyes mounted on silicon/polar fibre sheet

A short history of Grunter on fly in South Africa (from a published literature point of view)

2011-04-12T22:52:00.017+02:00

As a young fly fisherman obsessed with catching grunter on fly I looked everywhere for literature. Almost everything I found was in hardcover books basically just saying that catching them on fly is "impossible" and they are only ever caught by mistake as bycatch by guys targeting other species.

Two publications changed my mind. The Colt Fly Fishing Handbook and the November 1999 issue of the Complete Fly Fisherman.

The Colt Fly Fishing Handbook was released showing MC Coetzer, August Lohann and Mike Dohlhoff successfully catching grunter on fly. This blew my mind, but unfortunately the inspiration and new found determination didnt help me catch any fish. Through it I did manage to meet an inspiration of an angler: Niel Hockley. A man that knew the Knysna lagoon backwards and caught some of the biggest Skipjack/Ladyfish to be taken in the Western Cape. Many over 1m in length. His record in the lagoon was just over 120 Garrick (Lichia Amia) in one day.

click the link (not the image)

link: August Lohann with his first grunter on a mud charlie

link: Article on the Grunter Charlie

link: Mike Dolhoff with a Grunter

The December 99' edition of the Complete Fly Fisherman was the first solely on the subject (to my knowledge) by Anthony Kruger. He wrote about targeting fishing on floating prawns, squid skirts and other odd methods. This confused the hell out of me, but eventually I got my first chase in Great Brak on a deer hair prawn just like the ones pictured in the article. It opened my eyes. And pre-fishing forum was the only thing I'd really read on the Swartkops. Today, we now know the Grunter in this lagoon are completely different in behaviour to anywhere else in the country (or world for that matter). Feeding like pelagic predators, clearing the surface to attack even plugs thrown by lure fisherman. If you've ever observed a grunter in the Western Cape this seems almost unfathomable. Its like telling me that you can train a Giant Trevally to do tricks. But it happens. Who knows why.

Some have said its because of the presence of swimming prawns. But they are found elsewhere, so I'm not quite buying that. I think these fish just have a set of behaviour characteristics specific to the body of water they are found in... For example: In the South Western Cape they will only tail on a high tide and in the Breede they tail on the low tide. Just another variable to add to the mix.

click the link (not the image)

After this an article appeared in the Complete Fly Fisherman written by either PJ Jacobs or Gerard Loubser on catching Grunter in the Knysna lagoon. I have it somewhere and will scan and upload the pics. He basically said that in any given year there is only one or two days to target them on fly in Knysna...

February 2011 saw another article by Anthony Kruger. Not much literature on the subject but some pictures of grunter taken on fly in the Eastern Cape and good general info on Eastern Cape Angling.

click the link (not the image)

Still to come: TCFF Knysna article, JAM fly articles, Forum Threads

A fly line under a microscope

2011-04-12T22:20:00.000+02:00

Breede River Neap and the Duivenhoks River

2011-04-12T22:14:00.001+02:00

Possibly the worst weekend to try and fish a tidal flat... The plan was to get away with the girlfriend and hopefully get a chance to push one tide.

The planned destination- Duivenhoks River. When we got there we went to check out the accomodation and to be honest it was a little bit spooky... and nowhere near a grunter sight fishing spot. We took a drive to the mouth. From an aerial photograph it looked insane. We got there and were confronted with a gate. "Private Land- NO ENTRY". And all you can see is cottages. Apparently owned in some time share scheme where not even friends from the original members can gain access. This area is called Puntjie.

The Cottages

The Mouth

The whole area has an eerie feel to it. People dont wave or talk to you. They pretend you arent there. Deliverance stuff. The estuary does look good. The godfather of flies has fished it and says it does produce Kob and actually fishing similar to the Breede but on a smaller scale. He hasnt seen Grunter tail here.

The only decent accomodation from a fly fishermans point of view is the seaside cottage that has to be booked well in advance. That will give you access to the flats you see in the pictures.

The only public access is down this ramp. The road veers right from the gated entrance.

Duivenhoks River Mouth

We decided to make a call. And there was only one real option- Witsand. Off we went. I'm a novice on the Breede so I figured it was time to get some good wading/exporation and spotting in. I find if my priority isnt to catch fish but to "learn" the estuary I come out with a much more positive view and tend to see more.

We booked into the Breede River Lodge, got a downstairs room and out came the fishing kit. R100 later for a ferry ride accross to the Infanta side and there I was, on a flat, ready. I knew the neap wouldnt be strong enough to push the water high on the flat so this was always going to be tricky.

I walked for a while... worried about those notorious monster bull sharks in the back of my mind. Keeping an eye on shallow areas and possible refuge. I figured the dead trees on the flat would be good refuge If i got caught out too far from land and with too dangerous a swim.

I managed to find 2 fish tailing. One with its pectoral breaking out of every little ripple as It blew away for prawns. By the time I got to each fish they had moved on. 20knts of wind making things less pleasant. I kept looking and found an area with a shallow channel where fish moved onto the flat. I tracked a few fish and followed one that swam slowly for about 200m showing absolutely no signs of feeding. I didnt see any mullet or other fish on the flat which I always take as a bad sign.

I walked around to the Mudlark for my pickup and chatted to the owner there. A hell of a nice guy. Told me of the "Grunter Cove". There is a pic on the wall of some fish taken on an olive bendback some time ago in this spot. Bind casting.... Not my first choice for targeting these fish.

I hear the best spot is this Grunter Cove and a spot accross the river. I'll be back with a Freedom Hawk, Loop Pushpole and lots of patience to check it out. Brent Flack-Davidson has a lot of experience with this lagoon and reckons winter can be as good, if not better for tailing fish numbers.

We'll know in a few months.... I hope to hell thats still the case

My Breede wading experience. Infanta flat.

fly fishing breede river, fly fishing for grunter, fly fishing western cape, fly fishing duivenhoks river, fly fishing puntjie, fishing puntjie, breede river lodge, fishing infanta, saltwater fly fishing

De Mond

2011-03-27T22:48:00.000+02:00

I fished De Mond on the Spring. The problem with this sort of tide in this sort of Lagoon is the amount of weed that gets pushed accross the flat. I spotted one grunter and lined up perfectly for a shot when a massive weed pile washed directly in the path. I ducked down to stay out of view until it passed and when I got up the fish was a few meters away and spooked. Lesson- always keep your eye on the fish.

I walked and walked and walked the flat. An area where I know Grunter were caught previously. I went about walking the flat at low tide and marked the banks with the highest amoutn of prawn holes. Its quite interesting to see where grunter have blown. You can even see which tide it was on. The area creates a teardrop in the direction of flow. I saw more evidence of holes blown on the pull. This could be that that was before the water left the flat and it just leaves a better footprint (the holes made during the push would have been covered by the time the tide has turned).

No Grunter anywhere when the tide came in. I saw two fish the whole weekend. I did get some anchovy oil and white bread and chummed for the mullet. I found an area with water running over a small weed bank into a channel and began about setting the slick. It was about an hour until the big mullet came in. One MONSTER came through the slick but as I was about to drop my cast a seagull landed almost on it and stalked it.

De Mond is a seriously temperamental place, and just when you think you've got it down it throws a weekend like this at you. I will go back for the mullet. The big mullet.

I find Aqua Camo makes about a three meter difference when it comes to close quarter sigh fishing

The flat at low

Stranded Jelly

Fish inside the Jellyfish

It was however the Pergiree/Supermoon. And it doesnt seem to be good for fishing. That said. Any freak movement of water/tide/moon never seems to be.

Keep going.

Concept

2011-03-27T22:34:00.000+02:00

So this is the my new impressionistic prawn:

I went to Langebaan to fish the flats for (hopefully) some Wit Steenbras... If not then maybe a Sand Shark or two. But nope, didnt find anything. I dont know much about Langebaan so went off Google Earth. Definately wouldnt return to the same spots. After trying the flat I fished the channel with a fast sinker. Its one of those spots that looks incredible on Satellite Imagery but is just a wet desert.

sand prawn fly, f.y fishing langebaan, fly fishing western cape, fly fishing west coast

Change of Fly

2011-03-10T15:50:00.001+02:00

ChIn the hunt for grunter I get the feeling theres going to be a breakthrough using an impressionistic pattern. As far as numbers go impressionistic trumps realistic every time. So I went hunting for redfish flies. Here are some ideas;

Dron Lee - semi realistic

Redfish Croaker

Eenrico Puglisi

Enrico Puglisi

I ordered a whole bunch of these EP shrimps and Mantis Shrimps last night. Interested to give them a go.

Kob On Fly

2011-03-07T17:44:00.003+02:00

The Avalon Prawn claimed its first victim this weekend. A little Kob (Argyrosomus Hololepidotus).
Also known as; Meagre, White Sea Bass, Croaker, Weakfish- depending on where you are in the world.

Kob on fly

Avalon silicon prawn fly

I also got a chance to test out my Aqua Camo. What a difference. Stalked fish to within 3 or 4 meters. The important thing is to stay with the sun on your face. Anything in shadow is black. And then it rained. Ill get round to posting a comprehensive guide to sight fishing the Western Cape of South Africa.

kob on fly, meagre on fly, weakfish on fly, sea bass on fly, prawn fly, silicon prawn fly, JAM fly, fly fishing south africa

Sea Urchin

2011-03-07T17:34:00.001+02:00

So apparently triggers and permit like Sea Urchins.... Heres my Sea Urchin Fly:

Sea Urchin Fly

sea urchin fly, urchin fly, permit fly, fly fishing for permit, fly fishing sea urchin

Spotted Eagle Rays

2011-03-06T17:56:00.001+02:00

Yip, id cast at one.

Heres a fly caught one:

source: www.dudewater.blogspot.com - awesome blog

polar fibre & silcon crab v2.0

2011-02-24T10:06:00.000+02:00

Getting somewhere now.... Its a mix of impressionistic and realistic fly tying methods. Mostly realistic with the rabbit zonker hair to add movement when static. Based on a speckled crab (arenaeus cribrarius)- the most common swimming crab in surf zones and sand flats in the tropics and sub tropics world wide.

I had no sand for the epoxy bits so I mixed talcum powder (baby powder) with umber ochre paint pigment in with the epoxy.

His real trick is how he swims. I crimped the polar fibre legs so you can manipulate where they bend. The back swim fins are pressed flat and crimped close to where they are tied on the hook. The claws are laid wet. They stay in shape and are hardy as hell.

Dumbell eyes and quite a bit of lead under the hook shank to balance the dumbells so it sinks in a balanced position.

Oh, and finally some shale, cinnamon, black and pink permanent marker (crabs always seem to look a bit pinkish).

Scott Heliply 14wt

2011-02-21T14:47:00.000+02:00

This guy just arrived. He'll be my Shark rod for the upcoming season. A rod with a serious reputation.... The Heliply 14wt.

Giant Ladyfish

2011-02-21T12:55:00.001+02:00

These guys had delusions of Tarpon grandeur...

unknown

Mocambique

Eastern Cape, South Africa

Jono and his pet marlin

2011-02-19T13:23:00.001+02:00

I dont usually like adding unoriginal content on here... but what the hell. This is quite remarkable. Its the kind of story that makes legends out of men. And this man is quickly becoming something of a legend in Saltwater Fly Fishing circles.

For a while these juveline blacks were spotted off Fraser island cruising the flats. No one had managed to take one on fly. And then Jono arrived. Two in one day. I cant even imagine the rush of sight casting to Black Marlin in less that 8 feet of water.

These pictures haunt me:

The full article can be read here:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B5JP3cCalygGYmE2Nzk4N2EtYThlZi00YTJhLWJmODktMTUwMWI4ZGQzZjcx&hl=en&authkey=CKGah6QN

More from Thailand

2011-02-19T13:08:00.000+02:00

Just got sent these from Sean... Not a bad fish.

The hunt for smoothhounds - second try

2011-02-13T23:16:00.001+02:00

I went down to Strand this morning to try and see Smoothhounds. Nothing. Didnt even see a Mullet. Its hard to get used to wading back after looking for Sharks on the reef. Spooky.Also got a chance to test out the new rod. The added weight definitely slows the action down. It loads beautifully though and think its going to be perfect for short distance.

Aqua Camo, Costa Del Mar Release glasses, Redington RS3 and Tibor Light

the ghost rod (better hidden against a blue sky)

Decent air pressure

Fished the push from Low - Neap Tide was about 0.6m to 1.7m at high

Silicon Prawn Fly Splash and Sink tests

2011-02-13T22:09:00.012+02:00

JAM fly:

Tied By Mark Krige

Sink to 2.0m from stationary at surface

Silicon Prawn Avalon v5.0

Sink to 2.0m from stationary at surface

Silicon Prawn Avalon v6.0

Sink to 2.0m from stationary at surface

Surprisingly the heaviest fly makes the smallest splash.... It does make slightly more noise as it enters the water though.

Flats Fishing Camo / Spray Painting a fly rod

2011-02-12T22:25:00.003+02:00

To quote the Aqua Design website: "fish have been using camouflage for hundreds of thousands of years, its time we as anglers learn to fit in with our surroundings"

Stalking fish on flats you tend to spook a lot of fish. Ive noticed Grunter swim right up to me and then without me moving a muscle, they spook about 4m away. It must be a colour/silhouette that spooks them. In an attempt to get closer to this fish Im taking it to the next level.

Aqua Camo shirt/scarf/hat/pants. Lower half sand colour and upper half blue water camo. Stripping basket is a canvas bait bucket covered in a camo buff. Under this is my wetsuit. And to finish it off- A flat matt sky blue fly rod and 10wt WF clear floating Monic Permit line.

the ghost setup- stripping basket covered in camo buff, clothing, completed rod, monic WF10F clear floater

Now, without buying a custom CTS and requesting it in blue the only other option is to spray paint. I needed a medium action 9 weight, so off I went to Ebay and got a Redington Rs3 9#. Fast action is too stiff for quick delecate short distance presentations. The high AFTMA rating isnt for the fish, its for the wind.

It arrived Friday. Today (Saturday) I went to Builders Warehouse and got everything I need for the spray job:

Blue rust-oleum spraypaint
White rust-oleum spraypaint
White Plastic Primer
1000 grit water paper
Masking Tape
Scouring sponge

So I prepped with the scouring sponge, cleaned with soapy water and masked off. Next I shot with the white plastic primer. Then sand down with water paper. Clean again with soapy water, then with blue, then with white and finally sand again and unmask.

This is the result (it came out better than I even expected):

masked off and scoured to matt with scouring sponge

primer coat drying

post water paper- blue & white coats

final wet sanding

masking paper off

butt section

but and stripping guide section

detail

final product

stitched together (not too well but you get the idea)

spray painted fly rod, spray painting a fly rod, redington rs3, redington fly rod, monic clear fly line, monic fly line, spotted grunter on fly, stalking fish, spotted gunter, fly fishing for spotted grunter, grunter on fly, aqua camo, aqua camouflage, water camo, water camoulage, fly fishing, slatwater fly fishing blog, peter coetzee-grylls, sight fishing, flats fishing

Silicon Prawn/Shrimp version 6.0

2011-02-10T23:00:00.004+02:00

The evolution of the silicon prawn:


version 6.0 - avalon style with dubbing in place of silicon swim fins. Lead weighted with spray painted tungsten beads and dumbells

version 5.0 - First avalon evolution. Mustad long shank, dumbell eyes and four 2.5 mm tungsten beads

version 4.5 - heavily weighted, too white. Good size.

version 4.0 - less silicon swim fins to cut down tying time. Intermediate sink rate using standard shank hook with 180lb wire

version 3.5 - much smaller and better colour match to specific strain of Upogebia Africana. Not sufficiently weighted. Slow sinking.

version 3.0 First colour matched to specific strain of Upogebia Africana. Too large. Floating.

version 2.0 - change in colour. experimenting with body material, sink rate and leg material

version 1.0 - first semi realistic sand prawn. Too white, unbalanced. Legs using spun Ostrick hurl around copper wire. Body and pincers foam.

Detailed pictures of version 6.0:

New Big Game Kit

2011-02-10T10:39:00.000+02:00

Abel Super 13 with super large arbor spool. Got to love it.

Tying For Sandvlei

2011-01-31T04:23:00.001+02:00

Uploaded using my Iphone. Apologies for the quality. 33cm Lefty's Deceiver for Leerfish/Garrick. Thats about as big as a single hook fly can be tied.

Dave Todd with his remarkable catch

The History of Spotted Grunter on Fly in South Africa

2011-01-27T23:38:00.003+02:00

Henkie Altena

If you've ever tried to get them on fly- Pomadasys Commersonnii or Spotted Grunter, then you would have heard of Anthony Kruger, or Doug Swannel, or MC Coetzer, or August Lohann...the chances are you've never heard of Henkie Altena. But you should have.

He's achieved what few others have on fly in the Western Cape, including catching Spotted Grunter. It was a few seasons ago now, but using a bendback pattern he managed to get some real success on the Little Brak River. Its a part of the world that is very close to my heart. Its where I cut my teeth in the salt. So seeing someone catching fish on fly in these locations (and probably getting the old "no trout here buddy") from the locals puts a smile on my face.

He guides now and has a company called Fly.Fish (fly-dot-fish) and has had some pretty interesting captures. And a few firsts as far as I know for Saltwater fly fishing in SA.

Next time I'm up in that part of the world ill definitely be going out on a charter. R1500-00 a trip and similarly priced to be guided for Grunter. You cant go wrong with that. in my experience in one day with someone like this you'll inherit the knowledge that would have taken you months to develop.

You can get in contact with the man here:

http://www.flydotfish.com

Contact Numbers:

0722503175 / 0448770978

Henkies Bendback Sand Prawn

Leervis / Garrick at Great Brak

Black Musselcracker

Red Roman

Santer

Cob / Kob

The Smoothhounds of Strand

2011-01-27T23:03:00.003+02:00

Mark Krige

Its something that a few guys have managed to do lately. Take a smoothhound shark (Mustelus Musteluson) on fly. They seem to take flies quite easily.

Having a chat to one of the guys who's probably got the most experience and he reckons on a good day if you dont see 20, you'll get 20 shots at one. Sight fishing to sharks. Definitely my sort of game.

In reports the guys have said they are remarkably strong recommending tackle upwards of 12 weight. And they have a penchant for taking you into sharp rock surrounded gulleys.

Apparently the wind has to first blow SE or SW to bring the fish in and you need to fish the push and wade out at low tide.

The wind direction has been good, the weather looks good. Its all systems go for Saturday.

Strand Captures:

Mark Krige went swimming to stop this one. Its a biggie.

Stephen Smith

Jimmy / Jacques

It was first done by two guys named Jimmy and Jacques. Standing waist deep in the water. Chumming in front of themselves. At night. Now they do it from kayaks in the day. It must be spooky. Guys have stood on Raggies here (Sand Tigers) and another light tackle guy had a bronze whaler take a smoothhound out of his arms while taking a picture.

A story on the guys can be read here:

Radical Reef Fly Fishing by Korrie Broos

The Silicon Prawn Avalon

2011-01-26T23:02:00.002+02:00

The last few sessions on the flats in the hunt for the Grunter has been tricky... The tidal pull has been too strong to accurately time and cast and present repeatedly, meaning that ive only had a few shots a day at fish, if that.

This is what Im up against- Spot fish / get in position / cast upstream (has to be timed perfectly so as to arrive at the fish, at the right level, as it blows into a prawn hole....current is about 3ft per second) / strip.

The drift is what makes it difficult. You can often judge the position the fish will tail next but casting with your floating line (a necessity with the surrounding weed) and light fly to the fish is pointless if timed incorrectly. Additionally you have to judge the sink rate of the fly so that NOT ONLY does it drift in front of the fish at the split second its needed to... But now it has to drift and sink to the exact height in the water column. Difficult.

The solution:

Heavily weighted to hold in the sand. This way I can cast to the predicted tailing position and then just wait to strip through the sand cloud. The inspiration came from the Shale Crab (a merkin/avalon hybrid) designed by the master himself- Jono Shales. His site is www.swoffa.com

Shales' Crab


Shales' Crab

Other Avalons:
tied by Bjorn from www.bonefishonthebrain.com

silicon prawn fly, silicon shrimp fly, avalon fly, the avalon fly, silicon prawn avalon, crab avalon, merkin crab, prawn fly, silicon prawn, spotted grunter on fly, fly fishing for grunter, fly fishing cape town, fly fishing south africa, www.swoffa.com www.bonefishonthebrain.com, jono shales

Beulah Fly Rods

2011-01-10T10:28:00.000+02:00

What a beautiful bluewater stick..

13/15wt $395.00. Cant seem to find the weight in Ounces anywhere.

http://www.beulahflyrods.com/products/bluewaterrods/index.php

West Coast on Fly - Olifants River Mouth & Brittania Bay

2011-01-10T10:08:00.003+02:00

I spent the last week of 2010 on the West Coast on a family holiday and hoping to get some fly fishing in I went to my old friend Google Earth. I ended up at one place.... The Olifants River Mouth. It looked fantastic on aerial imagery so the first chance I got I made a break from it. Its a 3h40min drive from where I was staying. Usually with that sort of drive I expect the fishing gods to go easy on me. Conditions looked good and I was set to arrive just before high tide at 14:30.

On the Satellite image it looks like the Northern bank will be the naturally prouctive spot for my quarry. Wit Steenbras (White Steenbras), but on arrival.... A disaster. Not only was the road rutted like a moto-x rhythym section, but the entire area was closed off for Aluvial Diamon Mining. I begged some security guards for access to the river but they denied. So naturally, I moved 3 concrete pylons, opened the gate with an indemnity stating that deadly force will be used if this barrier is crossed due to illegal mining activities and 4x4'd as far as my Prius would go. Luckily that little car is a soldier, its been places i got stuck in my 3.0l D4D Hilux but somehow the torque and weight over the front axle gets it out of anything.... Even when its skidding on mud on the floorpan. It took me covering some holes with boulders but eventually I got within sight of the river.

the hike in

Not feeling particularly safe at this point I packed by gear and began the hour hike to the spot I'd located on Google Earth. All along the way there are holes where diamonds have bene sivved and most of the equipment was abondoned and still lying around (holidays).

I got to the spot, got prepped and the tide began to push. I noticed a massive problem again. Erosion. The diamond activities mean that the upstream flow runs about as clear as a river in flood. Even at high tide. This was no good, and fresh from getting chased off a flat by a Bull Shark bumping me up the coast I wasnt too keen on standing waist high in this water. I tied on a prawn immitation under a Kio Kahuna strike indicator and did a few drifts... but feeling uncomfortable decided to navigate around to the other bank. Its one hell of a drive but an hour later I was at the mouth on the Southern bank. It was running clean here and same technique, I started drifting flies in the now outgoing tide. I did this until sunset with no joy, eventually arriving back after 10pm.

Hike In

The Spot

Along the way I did notice a few spots that looked good for some shallow water calnwilliam yellowfish exploration. Ill indicate the spots below;

It was time to switch to an easier quarry- Sand Sharks on Fly. You can spot these guys by the ventricles on the top of their heads when theyre submerged. And Brittania Bay has a lot of them. A lot. The trick is to spot one before it spots you. Then on a heavy sinking line tie a short leader and strip a small crustacean fly about a foot over its head. (apparently dropping it next to one and waiting for it to sit on it works too). The strike is just like youve seen them eat baitfish on discovery. They cant fight to save their lives but its good fish spotting practice and cool to see them up close.

Apparently Varkvlei is another area that produces for Sand Shark and Cow Sharks (7 gill) and Velddrif. There are some Shad (Elf/Bluefish) under the bridge at Velddrif too but this time of year its hell.

My next trick was to try chumming at night in the Sand Shark spot for hopefully a few spotted gully sharks. I chopped up about 200 sardines and with a thrower made out of a water bottle begain putting out a slick. After chumming for 3 hours I put a sardine out on a hand line under a balloon. My thinking is when I see action on the balloon Ill pull in, teasing the shark close and then when its close enough Ill cast a fly out. Well, under a new moon alone on the rocks with some bush behind you isnt fun.... And no sharks came in this time. But I know the technique will work elsewhere so It want be the last time its tested.

pilchards, chum thrower, fire wood

Rigged

Teaser under the balloon

stripped and ready for sharks

More Sand Shark Pics:

Fly Fishing Brittania Bay

Fly Fishing Varkvlei

Fly Fishing Velddrif

Fly Fishing Olifants River Mouth

Fly Fishing for Sand Sharks

Fly Fishing Varkvlei

Fly Fishing West Coast

Experimented with silicon - Silicon Crab

2011-01-07T14:28:00.001+02:00

Messing around on the vice last night... Invented this little guy:

Step by step tutorial:

Polar Fibre + Silicon

Soapy Water to stop the silicon to stick to your finger

Flatten with wax paper

Roll Out

Silicon Permit Fly