Born to Fish, Forced to Work

A taste of the North

2009-12-29T10:40:00.003+11:00

Hi all,

Went off for a short family trip to visit the little sister in the Northern Territory of australia.

Was hoping to get in on some Barramundi action but the beginning of the wet meant that many inland estuary systems were closed for for flooding and croc safety reasons.

So the 1st 3 days of the trip were spent driving around and making little notes on where to visit at the end of the wet season.

The last two days however saw me landing my first fish in the nothern Territory. Two mornings spent in the Darwin harbour (one with Justin and Jake and the next alone) accounted for 18 fish in total.

So the trip's tally ended as such

15 Queen fish ( I will never tire of catching thses babies)
1 Bat fish (weird little buggers but couldn't get a photo)
2 really undersixed barra (couldn't get a photo either)

was hoping to take more pictures but the heat sort of rendered my camera brain dead.

I did, however, manage to save a couple of shots of the queen fish that were landed.

Enjoy

The Drift

2009-10-15T16:23:00.004+11:00

Yeah yeah, we haven't been posting.

despite attempts to keep it constant earlier in the year, Work has yet again caught up with me.

So here are just some happy snaps on a little project I've been working on.It's drifting "nymphs" for bream.

Yup you heard me.

Drifting.. as in the whole trout nymphing thing. In the salt.

nothing new. People do so for steelhead. but Hey, it's not often you see a guy at the local estuarine sand flat mending and casting upstream..

had pretty good results too.

This is fly 18

2009-07-16T07:57:00.002+10:00

Another issue is now out! LINK

Legends

2009-07-01T21:23:00.002+10:00

You know someone has made an impact in our sport when you have a fly named after you or your name becomes synonymous with a fly design pattern. Think "Lefty's Deceiver" and Bob Clouser's "Clouser minnow".

Until recently, the namesake of that other essential saltwater fly- the Crazy Chalie- has stayed pretty much out of the focus of popular fly fishing culture.

This was until the release of the "drift" fly fishing DVD.

Here's to another legend in our sport!

What on earth is this

2009-06-30T07:28:00.002+10:00

Was surfing the web looking for fly fishing stuff as usual when I chanced upon the site that specializes in Guiding in Asia. One of the locations was india and the target species was a masheer.

Sadly all the information we could get on this site was the usual "this is a fish of a lifetime" pitch that all guiding operations seem to use.

Does anyone out there know more?

Rod reviews

2009-06-29T22:03:00.002+10:00

A site that claims to take the guess work out of Choosing a fly rod. We all know that knowledge valuable. Here, we believe that nothing beats knowledge gained through experience.

A quick surf around the site reveals it to be yet another one of those sites where they claim to stand up to the average fly fisho. They claim to give you the full run down of what the rods are truly like on the water and in your hands. What happens when you click on a particular brand would be a "run down" of the rod taken word for word from the rod Company's website.So much for "unbiased" Opinion. clicking on a model takes to immediately to a Buying site. Good bye "helping you make a decision"

Is fly fishing really becoming so commercial?

Go see for yourselves. LINK

More fly art

2009-06-29T21:48:00.003+10:00

The Artist at ART on FLY has been at it again. This time adding Salmon flies and saltwater flies to the collection. What was interesting was a picture of what looks like a rapala x-rap lure. Not exactly a fly but great eye candy nonetheless!

We have also been informed that the artist has the mind to part with the works for some $$$$. It'll pay for material and hopefully a better scanner. Believe us, we have seen the works in the flesh and the scanner really does not do the works justice.

Biggins

2009-06-29T21:17:00.003+10:00

Hey all,

T brook has left some very thought provoking comments on our posts regarding the Snakeheads and mega Fish posts. Ok. We stand corrected. There are no native snake heads in the US and it seems that those that found their way to the states were part of the "fishzilla" phenomenon.

With regards to the Megafish project, we did a little more snooping around during our lunch break and found out that the guy behind the project was a scientist with the University of Nevada. We personally have not seen a full episode of Mega fish and simply thought that it was a laudable attempt in preserving some of the species that would otherwise not get much attention.

We agree that the "importation" of foreign species and the extraction of species from their natural habitat does nothing constructive for the Ecosystems that they are introduced to or taken from. However, we have to give the benefit of the doubt to the Megafish guys in that unestablished fact (at least to us)that these fish were taken from systems that were already beyond hope or critical. Furthermore,in the case of the Megafish pond in Thailand, we are under the impression that these species are not introduced into the indigenous water-systems but are kept in a pond that is removed from the natural systems.

Of course we are of the view that conservation should be paramount. However, do we picket zoos for importing pandas? that "extraction" of that species from its natural habitat has improved the odds of its survival. Think of the megafish pond in Thailand as a zoo where you are allowed to come into the closest contact with such amazing creatures without having to kill them.

we always welcome the input of all the fishaholics who read this blog. We are all for conservation and furtherance of our sport( you don't have to kill to have fun). The more we learn, the more we grow.

Many thanks again to T brook for the enlightening comments. We will continue to update the blog as more information on this topic comes our way.

We apologize for not putting up a more throughly researched piece. However, that was precisely why we put the links on the posts. We welcome all views and like to allow our readers to come to their own conclusions regarding the topics. Bounce those views off us. the more we learn together the better for our Efforts.

Tight lines!

the Big ones that are not getting away

2009-06-24T20:13:00.002+10:00

Anglers always talk about "good" sized fish and it is common knowledge that larger fish tend to pull harder. Some anglers just look for the next "big one" that tops the last Big fish they conquered.

There are fish that are generally considered on the Big list. Marlin, Sharks, Certain tunas, Wahoo. the list goes on. Then there are fish that are big for their species. These are the stuff dreams/ nightmares are made off.

Imagine hearing your guide tell you to pack a 10wt as a light option for a Carp or catfish!

Well, such fish do exist and we have had reports over the years of captures becoming more and more commonplace. With the popularity of fly fishing coming back into vogue, we are hearing more and more of the Mega fishes that are available in the fresh.

National Geographic is currently running a MEGAFISHproject on such Fish and trips can be booked to Thailand where such fish are stocked for sporting and conversation purposes. A new frontier? Conservation being aided by Anglers? sounds great to me

Strike like a cobra, Fight like a bull

2009-06-24T19:35:00.006+10:00

A species that can be found in my homeland and my fist fish ever on fly. Presenting the humble snakehead affectionately known as the "Toman" back in my land of birth. A fresh water species, these highly aggressive fish have managed to populate almost every freshwater catchment area throughout the world.

Considered a invasive species in most parts of the world, the snake head shares the same notorious reputation as the well known uropean carp. Not unlike the Carp, the snake head does pull hard for a fish it's size. Difference being that a large amount of poundage to give you a thrill on your 5 weight outfit.

for more information on the species visit :the Snakehead society

More angling related information like lures, flies and tackle required can be gleaned from the pages of:Snakehead PROS

These guys concentrate on the American species but the tactics employed are very much applicable in most places.

Who knows, We might see the rise of new "glamor species" or you might just find that fish that has that special place in your fishing fantasies.

When you have to Scratch that itch

2009-06-23T21:48:00.002+10:00

You know the feeling.

Anxious, fretful nights.

Every bat of the eyelids show glimpses of the water that you SHOULD be on.

Looking over your fly box over and over hoping that they would get used soon.

Thinking of where is it your next cast will occur.

You will never let anything stand in the way of your next trip

When you have to go you have to go. Even if it's in the middle of the War zone.
Well done Boys!

If you are looking for your next "Extreme" ( i use that term loosely) fishing destination look up theBaghdad Anglers Club!

Who says girls don't fish

2009-06-23T21:35:00.002+10:00

Proof that the Fairer sex can and really do love fishing!Really cool blog. So all you guys out there wondering if it's ever possible for your better half to get into the sport, think no more.

LINK

Grad slam candy

2009-06-23T06:56:00.002+10:00

Heading out for that grad slam? A flats trip coming up? still don't know if you've got the right flies? Or do you just want to chuck something more than the standard clouser or Deceiver?

Have a look at these patterns by Gary Merriman.(father of the tarpon toad)They should put you in good stead.

Full story here LINK

Chums

2009-06-22T21:24:00.002+10:00

A site that has made for a great office read and our window to much that is interesting in the world of fly fishing.

we are glad to be able to add MOLDY CHUM to our list of friends

We hope you enjoy their posts as much we have been

a decent read

2009-06-22T21:16:00.003+10:00

For those who enjoy a bit of a read on swoffing related topics. There's an interesting post on what the author considers "important" in our quiet sport.

Enjoy

link

More wicked color pencil work

2009-06-19T17:11:00.002+10:00

'ART on FLY'

Fly Fishin in a minefield

2009-06-18T21:13:00.002+10:00

Came across this interesting article highlighting what could be the last spot in the korean peninsula where the native trout are truely free. Click the link below to read more..

http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/trips/card_korea.aspx

wicked color pencil work

2009-06-15T22:34:00.003+10:00

Never knew that the humble color pencils we used to stuff up our noses in kindergarden were capable of stuff like this! We've linked the artist's site to ours (the art on fly tab!)

budget milkfishing

2009-06-15T22:24:00.002+10:00

Hey all! for all of us who enjoy our flats fishing but Don't really have the bank to do it consistently, here's a little known "secret" the phillipines Holds Milkfish! Easily achievable and a nice little tropicl holiday for the whole family.

You now don't have to drop so much coin to head to the bahamas to hit a milkie! Just a little ray of hope:)

for more info, the person who filmed these videoes posted at: http://flyfishingsg.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=SaltWater&action=display&thread=1084&page=1

enjoy!

Oldie but a goodie

2009-06-14T15:39:00.000+10:00

Don't we all wish we could do that??

Fishing DVDs

2009-06-14T12:05:00.006+10:00

Hi all,

With the drake film festival (read fly fishing Dvd deluge) just over not too long ago, some of the more notable offerings have found their way into my local tackle store here in sydney. mixed in with the Usual fanfare, were 2 pretty notable mentions.

1.) Drift

2.) Hustle and fish.

Anyway, I managed to get a little preview of Hustle and Fish as well as Drift.

If you are tired of the usual Fish porn out there in the market and are looking for something to entertain the fly fisherman in you during the days you're unable to get on the water, these are the films. Fly fishing Dvds have come a long way from the their humble beginnings of just a couple of dudes with a camera going fishing. Work was actually put into the production and making of the Dvds in question. They offered entertainment with just the right amount of Fish porn to keep you interested for the 1 hour odd. they even managed to give their sponsors some exposure without you feel like you've bought sell-a-vision's fishing products catalogue.

All in all a great watch given that the water's all but frozen at the moment. 5 Degree nights are not really a great condition for fly casting.

Enjoy the snippets and if you're interested, get your own copy at

http://www.confluencefilms.tv/about.php(drift)

and http://www.rollcastproductions.com/ (hustle and Fish)

Enjoy!

Roosters that swim

2009-06-13T08:11:00.004+10:00

There has been much hype over the past 2-3 years regarding Roosters on the fly. With Dvd's like "running down the man" exalting the merits and 'Avant Garde' status of this new target on the fly. Even Abel has released a brand new "rooster" color for their reels just to "keep with the times"

But the real question is not a question of whether the rooster is a worthy adversary but if it is all a huge marketing gimmick to sell the next new destination or piece of gear. Guides need business and sometimes there can be too much beating of the drum.

At least it keeps things interesting.

The Queen's Birthday

2009-06-10T11:19:00.002+10:00

Every state here in Aus has it's own day to celebrate the birth of the English Queen. (go figure)

All it meant to us when it came for NSW to have it's celebration was that we have one more day to hit the water!

fly casting, spinning and just drift baiting were the go.

the winds played up quite a bit and we stuck to pretty well known spots.This strategy paid off and we enjoyed a decent haul albit the fact that the tiddlers were out in full force!

Spinning in the Rain

2009-06-01T12:54:00.003+10:00

Hi all,

We have been having horrible weather as of late. Work schdules and studies have sadly taken precedence over the fishing. Did some fly work on the odd break but had little to show for it.

Thought things would change when all in the team got some time off work over the last weekend.

The first day out was an absoulte bummer with one of our frequented spots not yeilding much in terms of quality fish. Not to say that quantities were encouraging either.

Managed to salvage the weekend though.

Went for a short spin on sunday with Jake. Landed 4 decent flatties and a nice tailor. Dropped a bream. Though all were caught on spin gear, it was a great day despite bad weather and little promise of anything fruitful.

enjoy the pics and tight lines!

Carp pond Madness

2009-04-06T08:48:00.002+10:00

As some of you might already know, I have relocated to the eastern side of sydney. This brought with it a new hunt for spots and new quarries.

I have yet to fulfil the dream of sight casting to a Mulloway and landing one on fly but I'm sure we'll get there some day.

For the time being I'm completely stoked by my new carp pond!

wife actually told me she saw a couple of fishermen here on the weekdays casting flies to no avail.

I decided to give it a crack and am happy to report the discovery of a new "sure catch pond"

Average sessions here (2 so far) do not go beyond an hour and I will definately see a fish of above 10lbs everytime.

took a mate of mine there for my second vist.

To date I have landed 3 carps and dropped just as many. Bang for buck, I've found a new home! enjoy the pics

Fishin' blues

2009-03-07T07:36:00.004+11:00

It's been a really really long time since Justin or myself has posted a word on this site.

We've been busy. Work commitments, post Grad studies and the F***ked up economic situation meant that many of our fishing plans had to be shelved till our lives moved into a more stable spot. (if we get sponsors that would be better. But till then we're worker before anglers.

It's not that we haven't wet a line. It's just that we haven't had much time to do so.

Here are some pics to entertain you if you're reading from the office.

Tight
lines!

New Wand New adventures

2008-11-01T21:37:00.004+11:00

Not too long ago I came into possession of my Winston BII MX. I must say everything was as I dreamed it would be. Together with an 8 and nine wt, I've been able to open up the possibilities of solely fishing on the fly.

The recent spate of me not posting was largely due to my time spent fine tuning and exploring the options that we modern fly fishers now have with the amount of gear readily available on the market.

From all forms of land based flay fishing to inshore boat work. methods have been refined and techniques honed.

I shall dispense with much of the talk and let the photos tell the stories. I've also developed some patterns and rigs to better suit my preferences for fishing the areas that I chose to concentrate on.

So enjoy! and do contact me if you want to join in the quest to fish the entire sydney on fly.

TARPON TIME

2008-10-27T08:39:00.001+11:00

With the weekend approaching, the proposition of a tarpon on fly proved too tentalising to pass up and I was willing to be in the office at 3am to complete a task if I had to. But thank goodness that there was nothing in my mailbox at 4am - which meant that I wasn't needed at the office .

With a 45minute train ride ahead of me, I decided to swap the intermediate line over to a floating when I'm on it. Reached rendevous point at about 710am and was greeted by my mate and friends. It's just good fun getting to fish with other people...

A short cab ride saw us reach our destination without any dramas, followed by a 10 minute walk.

Upon reaching the river, it reminded me so much of a place in Singapore called Lorong Halus, where the first generation of fly fishermen there got into huge tarpons, herrings and barramundis...but sadly, that place was decimated by drift netting when I started to fly fish. Although this river suffered a similar fate, Tarpons were still around and that's enough for me.

We got to a section of the river where there was in inflatable weir and water was overflowing to the other side as the tide rose.... and Tarpons were rolling on the surface!! With no time to waste, the rod was rigged up and a Reuben Estuary Special found it's way to the tippet once more. There were fish rolling as close as 10-20ft in front that there was virtually no need to cast. After flicking the line out, I dragged the fly slowly through the water. It wasn't until the fly was almost out of the water that the fish decided to have a go at it, but failed to hookup. This happened a few times and I decided to use a jiggy retrieve and kept the fly near the surface.... it worked! A flash of silver in the water as a fish rolled for it and I set the hook without hesitation... it was on!! Though not very big, they still pulled reasonably well and lept out of the water like their larger American cousins. The next 30-45 minutes was just magic...there were no shortage of hits, just whether the hook found its mark or not. I landed about 7 or 8 and probably missed/dropped about 3 times as much.

And when the tide maxed out and started to recede, fun was over... we stuck around for another hour or so with no results and decided to move elsewhere.

FIRST WEEKEND BACK IN HONG KONG

2008-10-27T08:27:00.003+11:00

Was pleasantly surprised that I did not have to be in the office over the weekend... which meant that I can go fishing! Awesome! Had initially texted a local friend that I knew in a HK fishing forum to see if he was free to take me Tarpon fishing. Unfortunately, he was only available the next week.

So a visit to Mr Red was in the cards. But as before, I wanted to check out the other parts of the surrounding region to uncover new fishing locations. The first location only produced a tiny (and I mean tiny... thumbsized) rock cod. And instead of taking the short-route to Mr Red's house, I decided to take the long way. For a person who's not into photography, some of the scenery I came across was just too beautiful. This location gave me the feeling that I was in the European countryside or something....

After about 20mins, I reached a bay that had pretty strong waves. And since I'm already there, might as well chuck a few plastics... As I worked toward teh middle of the beach, there was a patch a rocks about 40meters out and I thought maybe fish would congregate behind the rocks, using it to break the water. There must be countless tiny crescent perches in front of me as the lure was being pecked all the way in. And after a while, I felt something larger (but still pretty small) took the plastic. I fought it to the front only to have the hook pull 1m away from me... and the little cod swam away leisurely.

Taking into consideration that cods have amnesia, I continued to cast repeatedly back to the same area. And five minutes later, I was rewarded with this little cod. If he was caught by the guys at the pier, there was no way he was going back. But the fact was that he met me and lived to see another day.

After that little encounter, it was time for redfish. But the tide had already rose pretty high and true enough, I didn't find any...

MY 3 WEEK HOLIDAY (19 SEP - 13 OCT)

2008-10-27T08:14:00.006+11:00

The day had finally come for me to re-live my bumming days (for 3 weeks...). The plan was to be in Singapore for half a week, spend the next two in Sydney, and the last half in Singapore again.

Touched down in Singapore on 19/9 and was out looking for Peacock Bass in the nearby reservoir... no takers... pretty depressing. Was sad to say that I didn't do much fishing, just walking in and out of tackle shops. But the good thing was that I stumbled upon some owner weedless soft plastic worm hooks that were just the right size. I was tired of losing jigheads and thought that this might be my life-saver... bought two packs.

The morning before the Australia leg of my journey saw me going onto Jeff moored boat for a short bait session. Things were awfully quiet for 3 hours until the line tightened and rod was bouncing away in the rod holder. Whatever that took the prawn certainly had some kilowatts in the horsepower department.... but superb (a shameless plug) rod technique made short work of my opponent... a nice Diamond Trevally.

48 hours later, I was walking the streets of the Sydney CBD into Prad... oops, a tackle store. I was looking for my trustee Berkley 2' Pumpkinseed Grubs but found none. So I bought some 2' Crays instead since they're reputed to be pretty effective. The next morning saw me head over to the neighbourhood park to re-acquaint myself with the breams... but unfortunately, only a few showed up. It was only through an elderly gentleman that I understood that it had been really quiet for the past 6 weeks!! Not surprisingly, it's the middle of spring but the weather was still bloody cold.

But undaunted, I drove the supra to another frequented location in the evening hoping to catch the upcoming tide. I was there too soon and the water was still too low. The wind was howling and the light was fast fading... it was time to go. Feeling very dissatisfied, I returned the next morning for the upcoming. This time, I decided to fish with the wind coming from behind. In less than 15 mins, I had my first Sydney lizard of 2008. The rest of the 3hr session saw me land another flatty and another two brembos... the second was about the 35cm mark and provided relief for my fish-impoverished soul.

Reuben and I had 2 fantastic bait sessions over the weekend with Ms Kim landing 14 fish in the session... it's gotta be the hooks :D The fishing was non-stop but no photos were taken.

The Sydney trip saw me making my biggest purchase in my entire fishing career.... an A$830 Winston BII MX. Luckily I've got some money from the tax return to ease the pain...

Back in Singapore, I paid another visit to Jeff's boat in the evening and saw me lost 5 fish.... how bad was that. :D

COD AND REDFISH

2008-10-27T08:05:00.004+11:00

It's been some time since I last posted on the blog as I haven't been fishing alot until the recent month. But I did manage to sneak out once in a while when I have time.

Well, this trip is no different. Went back to my trustee Redfish hideout in search of some willing victims. Started the day as usual, spent the Saturday morning lazing around abit and taking the pre-noon ferry to my getaway.

But this day, I decided to do explore the surrounding area before I go looking for Mr Red. Whilst on my way to the rocks, I passed a spot that I read from a blog that had produced a nice john's snapper for the author... a nice place to go do some bait soaking. Moving along, I reached the rocks and started to look for a nice place where I could chuck a lure. I stationed myself where I could see a length of submerged rocks in about 2-3 feet of water and proceeded to cast the 3D minnow. Nothing fancy, just a straight retrieve.

And in about 10 mins, the lure got hit and I can't believe that there's still fish! Brought the cod up without fanfare for a few customary shots before returning him to grow a little bigger.... that's if the locals don't catch him first... they'd consider it a pretty good sized catch.

I continued casting for another 15mins without inquiry and headed off to Mr Red's. It was a good 45mins before I found myself in familiar territory. This time round, I decided to give the fly rod a go first. 15 minutes passed without any customers and it was time to break out the spin rod. Whipped on my trustee Berkley Powerbait and within 10 casts, I was in business. It was awesome... I can't believe that there's still some around!

But that was to be my one and only red of the trip as the tide signalled the end of happy hour. But all in all, still a very fruitful trip in overfished Hong Kong.

Seeing RED in Hong Kong

2008-07-06T23:31:00.007+10:00

Hello there...I've finally got something to report from Hong Kong - the "kill every fish" drift net capital of the world.

Woke up at 6am and the sun was already beaming... but with some important work not finished, I decided to hack away at the PC till afternoon and maybe head out then if I made progress. Made some progress and there was no time to lose.... I only had about 2.5 hours of fishing time as I've a dinner appointment with my boss and some colleagues in the evening.

Decided to try out an area that I pinpointed on the good ol Google earth. The tide was low when I reached (don't know if it was the bottom or not though).... the wind wasn't too kind either . So I decided to rig up my trustee Berkeley 2-inch Grub on the spin rod to see how I'd do in the wind. First cast veered off to the right cos of the wind, compensated for the veering on the second cast, and was just doing a simple twitch-pause-twitch routine on the grub.

Then out of nowhere the line tightened and I realised something actually grabbed the lure And it felt like a nice fish too... and I'm obviously pretty stoked... There were a few close calls when it tried to swim towards some oyster encrusted rocks but a few rod-lefts and rod-rights saw it swim clear of them... although it felt weighty, the drag didn't have the opportunity to sing... By now I'm dead curious as to what's on the end of the line...not catfish I hope...as the bar of silver came near, the tell-tale spot on the tail gave the Redfish away. A few clicks on the camera and back into the brine it went.

Feeling that there could be more, rigged up another grubbie and flicked it out in the same direction...twitch, twitch, twitch, twitch.... FISH ON!! This time the rod began to bend deeply and the drag started to sing its song... definitely a bigger specimen this one... I grabbed the leader (bad move...) and tried to lift the bugger out... the 8lb fluro snapped as the fish shook its head in disapproval, and taunted me as it swam ever so slowly into the deep .... taking my last suitable jighead with it.

It's time to bring out the long wand... wind or no wind... tied on my Bentback Whistler and managed to put out 60ft in the menacing wind... took less than 10 casts for fly to get smashed. Pretty good sized one too from the way it pulled... Fought it carefully as I'd really like to get a shot of it... Finally rocked it, a few happy snaps, and released it.

Casted a few more times without luck as the bead chain eye on the fly had fallen off which resulted in the fly not being able to hold at the required depth... Decided to call it a day.

-Justin-

Rock Hopping- Many firsts in a day

2008-06-22T07:33:00.004+10:00

The past 2 weeks have been rather fishless ever since My beloved Loop opti was snapped by a rampaging JEWie. So when time came for a fish, I decided to make the most of it. The arsenal this time was simple. 9Wt Green wand+ lots of sink tips+ lots of sinking flies.

Walsh bay proved to be quite a bad start for the morning as my fishing Companion Brandon landed our only fish for the session. A tailor. Dejected and wishing that my only fishing day for a while could have gone better, I was pleasantly surprised when My better half's uncle called me to ask if I'd like to join him for a fish. As I was in need of a serious hook up "Yes"was undoubtedly the reply and I was off.

Thinking that the harbor was not really producing the goods on this glorious day. I opted for an estuarine location. to keep things short. It was not good either and bush overgrowth made my casting a little hard.Then "Uncle" Suggested going to the moutain goat place (it's his favorite bait fishing spot). For those that have been following our blog, This is one tough fishing spot to get too. Climing rock face walls with wand in hand is no joke. But I had an itch to scratch and would happily have swam through lava if I was promised a chance at a decent fish.

this time I kept it simple. Just rod flies and some leader. The Simms sun-gloves doubled for climbing gloves and my first cast was made. "Uncle"was doing his usual bait thing as I started my retrieve. "slam" my fly was hit by a kingie. this came together with uncle shouting and waving as his rod was bent into a deep arc.

Smiling I thought "How Green tide is this ?" needless to say when fishing off the rocks and decent kingies are about, you loose a lot of shooting head. Fights were kept to minimum time with all Kings busting both of us off. When I say all it was about 4 of them with 2 a piece. My 4 inch deceivers were dissapearing at an alarming rate.

Convinced the kings were not to return for a bit. I swapped to a surf candy when I saw fishing chowing down on the burley trail uncle had set up. Casting and fast stripping trough the surf brought up Sea pikes of all hues with the biggest of the bunch kept for a bbq later that evening.As the Pikes were noting of a strain on the 9wt, I got negligent and forgot to check my tippet. The rocks we were fishing from made short work and I lost my favourite surf candy.

As the action quietened down. I thought I'd try to explore the rock outcrop with some sinking flies and proceeded to loose at least 5 clousers and 30 more feet of shooting head. This prompted a change of tactics and a 2 inch white deceiver was tied on to my 14th tippet of the day. first cast out saw boils and uncle's bait get smashed. Seeing that uncle was on a good fish, I re cast and was rewarded with my First Rocks based Australian Salmon (kahawi) on fly! it put on a great display jumping as it did in an attempt to free itself. Unfortunately, Uncle thought it was prime BBQ fish and killed it while Helping land it from the rocks.Asian Bait fishermen.. everything is a feed.

So on the salmon run went and I was having a ball till a fish of unknown description took my last deceiver and wrapped me on a rock bommie.having lost the last of my shooting head, I decided to give the clousers one more go and cast out a 1/4 weighted model. This day nothing could really go wrong. the last cast out(uncle reported no more bait and had already started cleaning the fish he wanted to keep which means everythiing). was smashed by my first legal Snapper on fly! what a way to end a glorious day swoffing around Sydney.

Actual time spent fishing (around 12 hrs)

time spent getting into fish (1 hour)

Unbelievable. It just goes to show that location plays a huge role in success or failure and I'm thankful for being able to fish such a remote part of Sydney and catch some of the most memorable fish in my Angling career.

PS: It was unfortunate that every fish that showed some size was killed and taken home by Uncle and some of the photos are only of those that had been cleaned. I'm trying to educate my old schooled companion but it is proving to be a long long road.Still I will try till he understands why we catch and release.

Till the next time

take a kind Fishing!

Justin (agent X) in Singapore

2008-06-19T20:16:00.002+10:00

Hi all,

While I was stuck here in Sydney and the horrible low pressure system, weather,and fishing, Justin was happily off in Singapore. We are happy to report that he has broken the fishing draught (and the lack of Singaporean local food) on his last trip to the Sunny Garden City we call our Homeland.

Here is a copy of the Email sent to me while I was busily typing away at my desk.

See the pics =)

I actually wanted to just go to Sydney for 2 weeks in early Oct, but looking at the fishing, I'm gonna have to do a week in Sydney and the other in SG =D Wanna join me?

The 8 groupers and 1 ACK were caught at singapore river. They've sealed off the mouth of the SG river at Marina South and it'll become fresh water soon, so we went there to clear as much fish as we can. The small golden trev and fingermark were caught at the SAF yacht club where my fren - Jeffery has his boat parked. I hooked on to a runaway train on Mon night but it spat the hook. Jeff also told me that there are Giant Herrings and Milkfish on the calm mornings....bring the flyrod next time. The net of a neighbouring kelong broke a couple of weeks ago and they landed over 200 pcs of the escapees. The fingermarks are almost always around and 6 - 8 pcs per night is not uncommon. As the water isn't very deep, using the flyrod with live prawn is a very attractive and viable option... heheheh.

I was there at 3pm and fished till 530pm. Only found out that I left one section of my rod at home after I reached the place... but luckily, I had a spool of 10lb vanish and opted to do use it as a handline... good choice... hit an ACK before the rain came, and then the Goldie and another ACK after the rain... lost a pretty good sized one as well... all in less than 2hrs of fishing (discounting the rain). Went back there at 930pm - 12mn... lost one (line snapped) and dropped one (the runaway train).

Can't wait till Sept/Oct!!!!!!

Pimpin'

2008-06-09T01:17:00.014+10:00

Hey all,

I've done the first round of "face lifts" to the blog. I am still working out a way for our readers to get their hands on gear. As of late, I've been in contact with some really nice people and they happen to have pretty good gear that they wouldn't mind selling for cheap. I don't need all that gear so I thought I'd allow our readers a fair go. Upgrade or Update your kit. I'll work out the kinks and the new little "trading" zone should be up pretty soon. In Case you're wondering, I do not work at a tackle store or am I a member of any of the big tackle manufacturing companies. I don't get endorsement deals. I'm just a craze keen fly angler who writes the blog.

Now that the Update of the site is under way I thought that I would write something a little bit different.We all know fly fishing is an "accessory sport." whether we want to admit it or not, on some level or another, we( anglers) love accessories. a New reel here, some clipers there, a new knife... the list goes on. So in the spirit of new and wonderful gear, I present, Pimp My REEL!

Here are some of the reels that I've come across in magazines, tackleshops, websites. They are in no particular order and The article is just for entertainment's sake. So enjoy.

1.) Tibor Reels
Coming in with a hefty price tag, this set of "bling" raises debates as to whether one is going fishing or to a fly fishing "pimp off" The standard colors of gold or silver make these reels look like gaudy ornaments rather than fish fighting tool. Having said that, I fish with Tibors and the new colors that are being introduced have made it possible to fish without being tempted to do a DIY "re annodize" your reel in your garage with a can of Spray paint.

2.) Abel Reels
What can I say? Fully Custom made to your liking. That is looks wise and if you can afford to plump down a small fortune for one of these painted dmaes of the fly fishinf world. from simple colored reels to artists' rendering of your fravourite scene or even fish coloration, Abel does it all. Serious bling with sweet sweet performance.

3.)Exclusive reels
You know that kid who always needs to stand out? the one that has to have something so unique that everyone in the group counldn't help but wonder at it? Well, if you're that kid ore you know him/her, this is the reel they would probably fish with. One of a kind, and only attachable to your rod if you have it done by a licienced dealer,These reels bring a whole new meaning to the word custom. It's almost impossible to figure out how some of their models are meant to function. Just look below!

4.) VAAN STAAL
I'll leave loop out of this survey as the Swedish award for most "pimped" out reel would have to go to VAN Staal. Not happy with making spinning reels in gold and silver (not to mention designs that would, in my opinion,require some acquirement of taste)They have released a "new" set of fly dedicated reels that scream like that ugly shirt you have to wear out cause someone close spent a lot of money and bought it for you.

5.)Coming in 5th on the list would be the new Jack Charlton MAKO reels. Costing more than your average Tibor or Abel, these reels are billed as "probably the best reel for the salt at fishable prices".I think the marketing people have to check their demographic.How many anglers would not baulk at plumping down $700 for a reel? very few I suspect. But then, a person I spoke to (they work for the company) said that the 8 week delay from order to delivery (look at their website www.makoreels.com) was due to high demand. Am I the only person in the world feeling the effects of a slowing economy? apparently I am.

Anyway the site does not hint at any warranty for the piece of equipment and you are expected to place all faith in the handy work and materials used to construct these "bullet proof" reels.The reels are sweet to fish but come on,reels in the same price range like Tibor and Abel have a life time warranty and I like a company that's willing to put its money where its mouth is.so to me, you get a new form of annodizing, a lighter reel, and 4 color schemes to choose from(varying in price of course) very bling. Just pray that yours isn't one of those reels that was perfectly hand crafted and died due to operator failure.

Nothing says "i'm rolling in dough" like cracking a couple grand on a reel and pitting it against fish that could possibly destroy a bullet proof jacket under the right circumstances.

6.)Our last entry is one reel that you would never even see, not to mention fish. It is one of a hundred reels made by the boys from the isles of England. The Hardy Company has outdone itself in all things snotty and grossly over indulgent. They built a reel completely out of titanium. It will never rust corrode or bend. Hell, it'll out live you and all your decendants. This (it really is)"virtually indesructible" piece of piscatorial jewelary would set you back 10 thousand dollars. The Crown jewels of your reel collection I must say.

Site Upgrade

2008-06-08T09:18:00.002+10:00

hi all,

I have to apologise for the lack of posts as of late. My once busy fishing schedule has been sadly interrupted by work commitments. Still, I've been able to sneak in fishing in the mornings before work and on weekends.

The weather has been uncomfortable as of late but I've still managed to break my beloved Loop on a nice jew fish. Yes the 9"6 met its match in a Jew that was more than your average schoolie. Yes angler error was to blame for the rod that is now on its way to Sweden to be repaired.

More importantly, I'll be "revamping" the site. I've been tinkering with some ideas and am sure that The "add-ons" will make your visits here more entertaining and informative.

Proposed Changes include:

A new gear and 2nd hand gear column.
more informative and interesting links(i look at some of our links and think they ought to go)
hopefully a better layout.(we'll see if blogspot offers more)

Till the upgrade!Tight lines

I love my green Rod

2008-05-20T06:48:00.003+10:00

I recently came into possession of a BIIX by winston and I must admit that I am loving every minute of fishing this rod. Coupled with a Felty "predator"810 reel I've been seeing much of the saltwater grounds around sydney open up to me.

I'm happy to report that despite the winter conditions, I've been landing kingies and Tailor. I'll post more when the time permits but here are the pics!

Working N Fishin.

2008-05-04T18:19:00.005+10:00

Hi all,

Just started work not too long ago and fishing time has been cut down quite a fair bit. However, I'm still trying my best to squeeze in two sessions or so a week. Coupled with a lack of Internet access for most of April, I have been unable to post till of late.

I hope that fishing sessions are as precious and enlivening for you, our fair readers, as they have been for me.

Having figured out a host of flies to use in my local estuary and locating a school of nice sized Trevally, It's easy to say that my weekends have been eventful at least.

With limited success over last week- a lot of flathead action on surface bugs- I was itching to have a crack at good old silver.

It was a Saturday evening and I geared up. 7wt intermediate winter line(intergrated shooting head),tapered leaders of 50lb down to 8lb and a sink tippet. While tackling up, I said a silent prayer. The sessions that I have today are almost revered moments in time where all else fades away.

Tying on what I now call my "estuary special". I proceeded to cast to my usual beat. My spirits lifted as I saw the flyline go taught mid way through my first retrieve. I struck and half lifted my rod. I was overjoyed to feel some weight at the end of my line. The fight was not what we would call "a thing to remember" but up came a nice little flathead. Still things looked promising, First cast First fish.

Flat heads of similar size followed over the next half an hour or so.It was a pleasant enough session but quantity though very welcomed, was no substitute for quality.

I waited for the "witching hour"; the golden moment that I knew would let me tangle with my beloved estuarine silver dynamos.As that magic moment neared, an inspection of my tippet revealed it to be tattered and mangled in many section thanks to the raspy dentures of the flat heads that I had been catching.I proceeded to tie on a new tippet and my worst nightmare came true. Having tied on my tipped, I proceeded to strip line of the tippet spool as I usually do and was horrified when only 20cm of line came out. I frantically padded every pocket in my attire in hopes of finding some tippet material and only came up with some 50lb material. I was upset but determined not to let this spoil my much awaited session with the silvers.

with only 20 cm of tippet at the end of my leader, I proceeded to cast into the gutter that was filling up with frantic jelly prawns. The first 5 casts were nipped and tugged but brought up nothing.Then my dreams of the past week came to fruition on my sixth cast. on the sink, I stripped the suspending fly and let it sink. Strip-Jelly prawns jumped on the surface as a wake followed the fly just below the surface- strip. the surface filled with silver shapes. Strip- Wham! the fly was hit and I struck as the school turned and a lone silver shaped started heading for the horizon taking my fly line with it. This is all its meant to be I thought as more line peeled from the reel.

There was a point in the first run where I thought that I had been under gunned on this occasion as the fish did not seem to want to stop. I put on the pressure and after about half a minute of reeling I managed to close the gap between myself and my quarry. The fight then got more interesting as the fish headed for the mangrove roots that were not too far to my right. I palmed the reel for all it could take and applied as much side pressure as I would dare but to no avail. The fish made it to the mangroves. Not one to give up easily, I started to point my rod tip directly at the fish and hand lining the fish out of the roots. "I'm still in this" I said to myself as the fish was towed out of the mangroves and started charging towards me (this time holding deep. Unable to reel quick enough to match my opponent, I resorted to stripping line just to maintain the pressure while trying to coax what was by now proving to be a nice sized trevally up from it's holding in the deep.

after a fight that was one of my best in the NSW estuary system, I hauled a thick shouldered silver onto the shore. Happy snaps ensued and the fish was happily released. three more trevallys of similar size were landed over the next half hour or so with the biggest being almost 2 and a half kilos on the scales.

I had a blast and wish the same for all our readers on your fishing trips.

Tight lines and good fishing!

There Just Might Be Fish in Hong Kong..

2008-04-06T21:13:00.009+10:00

After 4 long months in "Asia's World City", I found out that it certainly aint "Asia's Fishing City"... When I first came over, the only information gathered in from the internet was that - you gotta go to Sai Kung to catch a fish... but I thought "Nah, there should be fish all over HK"... I take that back. Sure, there are locals catching stuff all over the place, but the good spots - especially for lure fishing - remain very closely guarded secrets. Even trips to places recommended by unselfish fishonetizens proved to be unproductive (for me at least). But I guess I should give those places a few more visits... which means that I'm sacrificing my once-a-week fishing time to try again as opposed to finding THE spot.

This past friday (o4 Apr) was one of those exploring trips. Since it's a public holiday, I thougt it'd be high time to holler my ass over to the Sai Kung vicinity to verify if what I've heard about the place lived up to its reputation. A quick check on Google earth and I decided to carry out my excapade at a place called "Hebe Haven"... dunno if it has anything to do with the Taiwanese all-girl pop group S.H.E.... heheh.

Getting there required a ride on the MTR followed by bus. It was the first time I took the green-top mini buses too... oops, second time actually... the first option was to check out a river that flowed into the bay, but it was scratched after the water looked a little too shallow and lifeless. Time for plan B. It was a hike (of about 30mins) toward the central bay area. And it's quite interesting (actually 'weird' would be a better word) to see semi-modern houses in an area where attap or zinc-roofed houses would pass off as more appropriate... single lane road, plenty of bushes and shrubs, and self-made parking lots. To cap it off, there was even a Supra parked alongside the road.

(Don't be fooled, there's nothing in the little stream shown above).

I walked to the end of the "village" to a little protruding islet and found a nice spot to start casting. Out comes the Reuben Pink Headed Gotcha (that I tied... heheh). The tide was low and I was able to find some really good rocks to stand on to cast... if anything, the casting was enjoyable. An hour went and nothing found the fly appetising... and then a man showed up in his 'sampan' (or wooded dinghy) and promptly laid a few drift nets around the area... no wonder this area is devoid of life.

Feeling disgusted, I broke the rod down and was contemplating if I should call it a day... but just out of curisosity, decided to check out what's on the other side of the islet... walking along a small path and down to the rocky shoreline, I was greeted with the smell of decomposing fish... and quite alot of flies. It was a barracuda of about 2-3 ft in length on a rock. Hmm, that's encouraging... a predator of this size actually hunts here. I spotted a rocky outcrop that made its way out to the water and decided to cast there... and I also found a nice rock from which to cast.

The SA Nymph taper that I bought a couple of weeks ago in Singapore is a dream to cast... turning over the gotcha and 12 ft leader with ease. It didnt take long for something to take a bite at the fly... even though they're small, the cods make up for it by hitting the fly pretty hard.

At long last!!! My first fly caught fish in Hong Kong!!! Then something unfortunate happened.. I lost my balance (for no reason) and fell into waist deep of water... "The phone's gone for sure" I thought... and true enough, it died. Feeling sorry for myself, I wanted to call it quits. But the wet shorts meant that I had to stick around for a while. So I walked back over to the islet to give it another go... with no results. So back to spot that produced. It didnt take long for this small fella to gobble the fly.

Then things went quiet... and I decided to walk over to the other side of the bay to take a look. It reminded me alot of Double Bay back in Sydney and I enjoyed myself walking there in knee-deep clear water, and found another patch of oyster encrusted rocks from which to cast from. The water looked like it was 2-3 ft deep, and was ideal. I proceeded to land another three cods from this patch, making me a very happy man.

Hopefully, this will be a prelude of better things to come in the future. Till next time....
-Justin-

Clouds That Hold Silver

2008-04-04T22:31:00.005+11:00

As I was saying in the previous post, I have been trying to learn to fish more effectively in the estuary system that surrounds my home. To the point of tewaking retrieves, presentations, leader lengths and "developing" new fly patterns.

Today was another chance at the "grand slam". It was an incoming tide at my newly appointed favorite time of the day. I tackled up and casted at my usual starting sport just to wet the line. Satisfied that everything was in order I made my way down to begin a "beat" that I've since developed after that faithful day with Justin.

I casted retrieved and walked. This went on for a good 7 to 8 casts until I reached what I now refer to as The spot.

As I was slowly stripping line, I felt a slight bump. I paused for a half second and was about to strike when whatever it was just started running for the horizon at an alarming rate! I couldn't even think, much less react as line just peeled through my fingers. Thinking that the fish must have hooked itself, I lifted the rod slightly in an attempt to turn the fish.

This was to be my undoing as the line suddenly went slack. "Big flathead" I thought, remembering "thumping" my rod experienced. "Could also have been a big Bream" echoed in my head as I recapped the blistering run. Possibilities ran through my head.

I was disappointed but not discouraged. Bracing myself and mentally running through the motions of "Strip Strike not ROD STRIKE", I put out another 70 footer. Remembering that I had hooked up on a rather well sunk line, I let the sink tip do its thing and commenced my retrieve.

Strip

Strip

Jelly Prawns were going crazy on the surface as something tore into them.

Strip

"Peck!"

What on earth was that??? Short strip, Peck! I felt weight and I struck.

What followed next was a run reminiscent of the fish a cast ago. I kept the pressure on and the fish put on a great fight, holding deep with runs that took me close to the reel. "This must be a good bream" I thought as it started swimming to the rock wall I was casting from. Then came another run. "This is one strange Bream" ran through my head as whatever it was stayed down deep and made another bid for the horizon. It was not till a full 2 minutes that I saw a flash of Silver and it still didn't occur to me what I had on the end of my line.

Not long after that first flash of color I managed to tire my opponent and proceeded to grab the leader. For those who catch Bream on the long wand, you'll be expecting that the good old Bream would know when it is beaten and come to the surface. However my quarry stayed deep and only after I hand hauled the last of 12 feet of tippet that I realized that I had landed my first estuary Silver Trevally! The sweetness of the moment was made better that it had been on a fly that I had put much thought and effort into.
2 more Trevallies and one flathead were landed after this momentous occasion.

I didn't get my slam today but what I managed was great satisfaction at being able to land one of my favorite Piscatorial Targets after much work.

Good fishing to you all!

In Search of a "Grand Slam"

2008-04-04T22:11:00.002+11:00

Notice that the words GRAND SLAM are in inverted commas... So much hype has been thrown about attaining a Grand Slam at many of the popular lodge fishing destinations that I thought that the humble Fly Chucker (aka yours truly) should have that same thrill while still being chained to a desk and a schedule.

In keeping with the concept that a Grand Slam consists of catching 3 of the prevalent sport fish of the locale - and that a super grand slam constituted of 4 prevalent game fish- I came to a decision that a Bream, Flathead and Tailor would constitute a grand slam for our southern Estuary systems here in Sub Urban Sydney. Of course catching a Whiting Tailor and Flathead would also Constitute a Slam. Following in this vein, it would follow that 4 species would make a super slam (think of the flats slam and really lower your expectations- I needed something to challenge myself) I had to make it achievable but still a challenge so I decided that all species had to be landed in one session in order for it to be considered a slam.

A lot of words, but hey, at least it's something to strive for.

Having conceived this plan, it was time to go fish. My initial efforts-and efforts till the writing of this post- have met with 2 species a day at best. However, these attempts have made me refine my techniques to better my chances of reaching my goal. From redeveloping my fly (yes I only fish THE ONE fly now) to adjusting my retrieve, I dare to say that I feel that I am getting somewhere nearer to understanding my local estuary. As yet, I've managed to land, in no particular order, Bream, Flathead, Tailor, Whiting and trevally with the one fly and retrieve.

Unbelievable but true. Truth be told, I am most happy with being able to catch a trevally on the fly rod. More so that it has been in my local estuary. This is due to the fact that I have never been able to even locate a single trevally in a location other than those near the harbour.

More on them in the next post.

One Singapore Morning

2008-03-30T23:49:00.007+11:00

After waving goodbye to Sydney (for the time being...) I headed back to Singapore to spend the Easter Holidays. I was actually more interested in catching up with all the food that I had missed so much... but strangely didn't get to eat them either.

Okay, back to fishy business... sorry for the digression. My fly escapade in Sydney only produced a small bream and an even smaller Tailor. But did manage to land a few nice breambos on bait... a welcomed consolation. I touched down in Singapore on early Friday morning and thought to myself, "hey, I could squeeze in a short session the next morning..." And I did... albeit getting out of bed an hour late. With no time to lose, I had to hit the water and high-tailed outta da place before the rangers start their round(s).

Reached the spot at 730am and tied on Reuben's Pinkhead DNA Gotcha... although the fly wasn't kind to me in Sydney, I decided to tie it on just to make sure Reuben's faith in it was not in vain :) Was surprised that I had the whole place to myself... as I was expecting a few regulars to be there.

As the fish were (usually) pretty in close, 40 foot casts were all that's required. Not expecting much, I starting a series of short strips... 10-15cm/strip. And in less than 10 casts, I saw the water 'boil' but still no takers... hmm... there's a fish... *strip* *strip* *boil* *strip* strip *boil* *strip* *strip* ZZZzzzzP!!! Fish on! What a magical feeling. The peacock then decided to throw in a couple of aerial displays for this fish starved fly fisherman. In about 2mins, it was by the bank for the customary photo shoot and release.

After the release, "Could there be another one?" I thought to myself. Made a cast, and as the fly came into view, I saw how the wing of the Gotcha gets pushed down and sprung back up as it was twitched in the water. On the next cast, as it came into sight again, a smaller peacock came up, flashed the white of its mouth.... "Where's the fly??" I struck. And it took off.... I savoured every moment of the fight knowing that this will be the only fishing session of my easter holidays. It too found itself on the edge of the bank after the tussle to say hello to my phone cam.

After the release, a quick check of the phone showed 8:03am. A couple more casts and it was time to go... but not before I landed a palm sized peacock.

Until next time, good fishing to you all...
-Justin-

Justin's Easter trip

2008-03-25T16:35:00.005+11:00

For those who have been following out humble blog, you'd know that Justin is now based in Hong Kong and is still on his quest to unravel the secrets of the mangrove Jacks that abound there. Anyways, Justin paid us a little visit during the Easter week and we made the best of it.

Due to work commitments and timing issues, we decided that it was best to visit our trusty spots. The week kicked off with a trip to Rhodes and a very through exploration of Glebe throughout the rest of the week.

We were off to a great start with 5 fish landed on our first outing. It followed by a lack luster morning effort at double bay and Glebe. We then switched methods and were into some decent fishes. We enjoyed out time greatly and new ideas and techniques were opened to us. Also, surprises such as learning that it was possible to fly fish for our bread and butter species at night were aplenty.

Here are the pics!

Oh and... we had the obligatory BBQ as always.

Tight lines and good fishing!

Fly after fly after fly...

2008-03-12T22:06:00.004+11:00

March has seen some really weird weather changes. Cold one day and Scorching the next. Similarly, Fishing fortunes have been just as mixed. With some days firing under any condition and some days cold in the best of situations, days off work had to be optimized.

Deciding to dedicate all fishing time to the long wand and determined to be able to fish in all situations using flies, I made an attempt to be totally prepared for any plausible situation that might I might encounter.

Some research and reading led to a 7wt LOOP OPTI-Coast 9'6 loaded with intermediate line with a back up spool of fast sinking line. Leaders were constructed from 8, 12, and 20 lb flurocarbon. Looking at the diverse nature of urban fishing in Sydney also resulted in the fly box(es) being filled with a number of flies that would be more at home in a trout bum's tackle bag.

From Really Chunky,Gaudy Clousers to minute size 8 "Gotchas", even "downsized"bush pig streamers were cast in my piscatorial efforts. What resulted was a greater appreciation for choosing the right fly and paying attention to the smallest of details and changing tactics to meet them. Like all matters to do with fishing, I was successful sometimes and am still scratching my head over others.

The lessons learned from both successful and unsuccessful attempts have made me more confident of my abilities as an angler and even added some new tricks to my arsenal. If you are ever in Sydney and want to do some Back Country angling for our native "Bread and Butter"species, give us a message and we can try to organize a day for a fish. No glamorous scout boats or lodge service, just a good day out to quell that piscatorial itch that all anglers suffer from time and again.(That's the only way to make it free)

In the meantime, enjoy the photos and tight lines!
Till next time...

Photos... Will Write later...

2008-02-25T22:57:00.003+11:00

Rhodes Revisited

2008-02-19T22:19:00.002+11:00

With Autumn around the corner, the Kings have begun to leave the harbor and it'll be a while before Trevelia show their silver flanks. Bearing this in mind- and the fact that I'm working at a new job- I thought that my hard earned fishing hours were put to more productive use going after the bread and butter species inhibiting the fish pond near my home.

My target time was the rising tide at fading light. Tying on my new 'mini Clouser' pattern and fishing an unnamed intermediate line, I started laying out 70 odd foot casts to explore the water. As the tide was slow on the rise, I had to contend with little "pickers"that consistently followed and nipped at the fly. I had 2 good sized Bream follow but no clear takes.

My luck began to change after some fresh water started flooding my all so familiar flat. After the tide reached its maximum, my fly was hit consistently for a period of half an hour. This time was it was almost a fish a cast. With a good mix of Flathead and Bream I was kept happy despite their lack of size. However it was good to feel a tug and that sense of satisfaction that comes when your pattern yields the goods.

All in all it was a good day and I had fun!

Oddities

2008-02-02T23:47:00.000+11:00

The last week has been rather strange in terms of what my flies have been attracting. Went to Rhodes with Branden and Byron on seperate days. These outings proved fruitless, with nothing more than a couple of ók'sized Bream and one tiny flathead to round up the two days.

My new rod came on Friday and I decided to take it out for a 'test fish' at Rhodes. Given the Preceding days' performances, I wasn't looking forward to landing anything substantial.This is where things started to get weird. After having a good time casting, I was happily surprised when I saw the fly line go taunt. Thinking that it was a small tailor or flat head, I just 'stripped the fly line. To my shock/horror/at least i caught something... I pulled up what has to be the smallest Bream ever caught on fly. I did snap a photo just to preserve the moment.

What followed next was just next to impossible. I cast out my line and was just letting it sink while I entertained a phone call. Having ended the call, I proceeded to retrive and thought that the fly was snagged on the mangrove. I turned to the tried and oft practiced 'my fly is snagged and I'm trying to not spoil my fly line' ritual of strip and tug. The fly line yielded and I felt some weight as I continued the retrive. My thoughts at this moment were focused on how to remove a mangrove root from the end of my fly without damaging any gear or getting dirty. You could say that I was really surprised when my "mangrove root"started tugging. After a short fight, I landed my first mud crab on fly. I repeated my eariler action after releasing the crab-sinking the clouser and waiting for the line to load up- and was rewarded with another.

If you thought 2 crabs on fly were weird. wait till you hear what happened today......

I was invited to fish with my girl's uncle and was introduced to his secret rock ledge. Let me say I was scared all the way there. Even If I told you where this was, I would highly recommend that you not go there unless you're a moutain goat.

To cut the long story short, I lost a whole bunch of bait rigs to the waves, wash, rocks and weed. I was honestly giving up and thought I'd salvage the day by having a bit of a cast in what I thought was a fishless patch of coast. I tied on one of my new epoxy experiments and began casting.
I was surpried to feel little tugs at the line. I persisted, now knowing that there was at least life down there. after about two hours, my fly was unmistakenably hit by a fish. I was down to the backing (current helping the fishie??)and palming even before I could swap over to a more comfortable ledge to fight the fish. But fight I did and the fish began to tire. I guided the still unknown fish to the ledge and used the wash to aid me in lifting it up. On the first unsuccessful attempt, I thought I had hooked a cobia or a really big flathead. Then remembering the cobia aren't supposed to show up here and a flat head's tail didn't really look like what I saw, I did my best to land the fish to have a better look.

upon landing, I was really surprised to see a blind shark(yes, that's its real name) lying there on the ledge! at this point the fish was still a ledge below me and the shark managed to break my 20lb tippet. My Girl's uncle was luckily on hand to pick up the fish for the obligatory photos.

This is a really special catch for me. According to my research this shark is in the adult phase of its life cycle (their maximum recorded length is about a meter odd). What struck me as odd was that this shark's diet comprised mainly of crustaseans. My first land based shark was a bottom feeder that took a bait fish immitation. However, I'm stoked that my first shark was as big as its species could come and am hoping that my captures on the fly would continue to be as intriguing exciting and fun.

the Pink Pillie strikes again!

2008-01-27T08:12:00.000+11:00

It's been a rather slow week. with not much catches to report, other than the usual bread and butter species. Kings didn't show up as often as they usually would and the bass seem to be on a total shutdown.

Having said that, The week was hardly boring for yours truly. I managed to tangle with my largest Bream to date to be taken on a fly. You guessed it. The Pink pilchard delivered the goods on a rising tide casting to a sand gutter surrounded by some structure.

Shan't bore you too much with the details but it was an evening rise of about 1.3m and the winds were very cooperative.8lb tippet was used and 7wt line was easily cast about 40-50 ft. It wasn't sight fishing, (it seldom is with Bream) but it was certainly a pleasure to catch such a fine specimen of my Year round sport fish!
For those interested it measured 42 cm and is the Biggest Bream on fly to date for me.

Fishing Report

2008-01-10T15:58:00.000+11:00

Hi all,

planning a trip with Branden and Byron soon. For the time being here's a report.

The harbour seems to be having lots of bait busting on the surface but the predators seem to be missing with rat kings being the exception. Also, bad news for those heading out for bass and estuary species.

Clear water and exceptionally high water levels have proven detrimental to those heading out to wet a line.

So pack lots of paitence and be flexible. You might just crack the code for these conditions.

Seeing Red

2008-01-07T12:26:00.000+11:00

Hi all,

Another week has passed fishingless and I have finally got some of the photos together to make this post that we've been most excited about! Well, as the regular readers will know by now, I went on a trip to visit Justin(he's relocated to HK) with the hopes of getting a crack at the mangrove Jacks that are reputed to live there.

If you've been keeping up with the posts, you'd know that little fishing was done. However, when an opportunity presented itself in the form of a Saturday off from holiday(if there is such a thing), we seized the chance and headed for a spot that Justin wanted to try out.

With both of us having next to no local knowledge, we just headed out with a bunch of lures and flies and here's how the day went.

we met at around 8 am in the morning and proceeded to make our one hour pilgramage to the "promised land" by train/bus. It was a pleseant Journey with many scenes of Hong Kong echoing our native Singapore. We got off one stop after where we were supposed to alight (see lack of any knowledge) and walked back to the location that was to be our stomping ground for the day.

Reaching the area, we noticed many of the anglers present were useing live bait. Again, our lack of any clue as to what to fish for here showed. We made a team decision to stick to our game plan of only flies and artificials(too lazy to source bait and all).

First casts went out at about 9 am with Justin on soft plastic (bass minow) and myself with the trusty hard body. We saw and unknow fish jump and break the surface at around our 3rd cast. Both of us were thinking that that was the only fish we'd be seeing for the whole day (no idea what we were doing)

This was however not to be. Justin started reporting "hits"on the plastic on this 5th cast and I was doing my usual "cast everywhere"thing when I felt a slight take. I increased the pressure and I was on! The fight lasted only a couple of seconds and I saw a little red fish break the surface. For some reason, the fish managed to spit the hook before I could land it. THis prompted a long "what the %&&*"from Justin with me sharing the sentiment (bear in mind that we expected to be fishless).

The same cycle went on during the next two casts: Tap, Strike, fight, color, drop the fish. I inspected the hooks leader, rod. trust me, if it was there we checked. By now Justin had already begun whooping as he brought in the first redfish of the day.

Trying to stay unperturbed... I continued casting to the same spot that had yielded the eariler hookups.This time I was determined to land a reddie. I retrived as usua, felt the Tap, resisted the urge to strike, and felt a solid whomp! as the fish crunched the hardbody and took off. Increasing pressure to set the hooks, i played the fish for what must have been a minute or two and was rewarded with the landing of my first redfish!

This was then followed by a succession of reddies for me while Justin pulled in what would later become the biggest fish for the day. Not to be outdone, I casted out of my little 'hole' in hopes of hooking a more sizable fish. I was rewarded with a monster of a fish that managed to earn its freedom by twisting the trebles of my lure. Didn't land it but it was fun.

When the fish the the main body of water went off the chew, I continued with my "cast everywhere"thing and justin persisted with a hard body. I managed to find a little holding of redfish and repeated the process. Justin, having lost his reddie and the lure, to a spectecular bust off came over after deciding that the bigger fish didn't want to play anymore. By now, we were on 15 plus fish going on 20 and out came the fly rods as swirls could be seen all around.

casting about 40 odd feet and taking turns to cast yielded us 2 red fish a piece. They pulled like everyone that has caught them said they would. It was a joy an pleasure to land such a magnificient fish and to watch it swim away into the murk that it came from.

The afternoon wore on with us landing and releasing close to 30 odd Redfish and with Justin catching a little "blue speckled"mangrove Jack. We got a good look at this Jack and both concluded that it was one weird fish.

All in all, a really great day facing off with one of fly fishing's pantheon. Tight lines and smiles all around!

Redfish in Hong Kong

2007-12-30T11:30:00.000+11:00

Hi again,

We are still on our vacation from sunny sydney and I'm happy to report that we finally got to go fishing! Yes there will be an actual post concerning fishing here in Hong Kong. So Look out for it!

I'm not writing the post till I can get the photos consolidated and organized. Korea will also feature for some fly matters. Just to whet your appetite, Justin and I went out and met with Redfish, (and lots of them too!) Right here in the middle of hong kong.

It was a truly unique fishing experience from what we were used to in sydney and one that we throughly enjoyed.

So be prepared for tales of smashed lures, lost flies, and general fishing bliss.

Till thenm

Tight lines and good fishing

End of our Seoul trip

2007-12-23T23:44:00.000+11:00

Hi all,

Tomorrow, my Significant other and I fly back to meet with my folks and Justin in Hong Kong. I'm sad to say that despite my most ardent wishes and efforts, it was just impossible to fish. We had to meet her folks and various social engagements took piority over the piscatorial needs of this now fishing starved writer.

However, I have good news in the sense that I now have a permanent fishing contact here in Seoul! Yu Ran was kind enough to take me to the local fly tackle store.(ok so we dropped by 3/4 stores and one of them was fly oriented.) I was actually invited on a Rainbow trout hunt earlier this morning but my having to go to church was more important.(If Someone made those trout you better respect that someone..) jokes aside, I got some fresh water tips from him including a used rvis reel that he had spooled with wt line.Sweet! I'll be posting a review of my impressions that I have gathered on this less often written about fly fishing destination!

Till the next post!
Tight lines "ham sa midah"

First time the team left sydney

2007-12-18T12:49:00.000+11:00

Hi all,

I'm writing this just to give an update to whoever that's been reading our blog. As you would know by now, we have been through a period of much stress lately with Justin going to HongKong and all. So we decided to take one big holiday!

My significant other and myself have been on holiday since the13th of DEC and will be till the 3rd of Jan 2008!

Never to fear, Fishing is still riding high on the agenda so you will still "enjoy" the usual intermitent ramblings of this crazy sheepfly maker to keep you entertained.

We'll be visiting Justin in HK as well as a little detour to Korea so I'll just snap a few and clue you in on what has been happening over here in the FF team. Keep in mind that it's winter season in both countries and that Christmas is around the corner( read this as:" tackle shop tours and freezing my buns of in hope of miriculously unlocking a locations secrets without any local knowledge to help...)

So till the next post

Season's greetings and tight lines!

Introducing the Ladies

2007-12-11T22:57:00.000+11:00

We have been blessed with having female company on many of our fishing trips. Contrary to popular belief, we have been enjoying success on the water on a constant basis. Without further a do, here are some pictures of the ladies in our piscatorial lives!

The Pink Pillie

2007-12-06T21:18:00.000+11:00

Yes Yes I know...

Posting deluge...

I'll give a bit of time before I post the other entries that I have thought up.

But for those who are interest, here's how I did the Pink Pillie! (I do apologize for the poorly focused pictures. Hopefully a new camera will solve things in the near future)
Also I'm doing all this in the office with my boss' (spare) vice. Not really ideal conditions but do tell me if anything is unclear and I'll redo it from the comfort of my home.

1.) Set the eyes and take the thread to the end of the shank and back twice
2.) lacquer to hold everything in place
3.) let the lacquer half dry and start attaching the "bottom" wing above the eye
4.) don't secure beyond the eye
5.) attach the top wing (secure this past the eye)

I used some translucent bluish hair for the bottom wing and ultra hair + crystal flash for the top wing. Happy tying!

I'm all by myself

2007-12-06T20:31:00.000+11:00

Hi all Reuben here. Sorry for the long silence from me. Work/study commitments had me all tangled up. Furthermore, our Piscatorial Swarae ( don't even know if I've spelled this right) has been reduced by the departure of Justin. He's left to pursue better career prospects over in Hong Kong. On the Brighter side of things, We've now gained a Hong Kong Corespondent every time Justin gets away from His desk for a fish. :P So here's looking forward to even more fly fishing in ever more unchartered locales!

You'd already guess from the last post that the last boat trip with Brendon was to be the final boat outing that included the 'full team'. The next time we were to meet was Justin's last big send/ fish off! (I'll update you all on the activities of those quite fish less but oh so memorable days in later posts.)

Anyway, I've been by myself ever since Justin left and was busy till recently when I got a couple of days to test a couple of flies that I've been developing.I'm happy to report that I've finally settled on what I think to be a winning design.

Ever since Brendon, Justin and myself found a new "aussie bass" spot, I have returned to the spot determined to get one of these freshies on a fly. A few patterns were tied in anticipation but one seemed to be a winner. This resulted in my first Aussie Bass on fly.

I had a couple days off and decided to take the opportunity to see if this same fly would work on our usual saltwater target the black bream. This chance came while I was to meet my colleagues for our usual car pool to work. I was about half an hour early for the car pool :) and tied on what I've now started to call the "Pink Pilchard" 10 minutes of casting saw a decent Bream and one small Flathead (which I dropped in a spectacular fashion) This Bream was followed by a couple more decent sized ones. I was happy enough with the success and will update on the next time I take the Pink Pillie out for another test run.

No Kings Yet, But Still Had Fun

2007-11-13T06:38:00.000+11:00

Brendan has returned to Sydney after a month of 'living-the-dream' at Thailand, Singapore (and god knows where else :P) and was itching to get into some action. The weather was starting to warm up but water temps will still take some time. But we decided to head out anyway... cos it's the weekend!

The plan to try for some squid over at Clifton Gardens and then heading over to the Wedding Cake marker to see if the rats are ready to play. But alas, the sun was well and truly alive and bright when we got to clifton, meaning that the chances of us hitting a squid was pretty slim. But we tried anyway. We found a small school of squids (all less than 10cm in length) and tried for them nonetheless.... nope, still no squid. Reuben hooked a cuttie and thought that it was pretty 'fun' to let it 'reload' its ink-&-water concoction and then swinging it into the boat hoping to change our skin colour...Brendan then caught another cuttie and we thought it was time to find some rats. Off to the cake.

The tide maxed out and was gushing out of the harbour faster than the speed of sound (...okay, I'm exaggerating, but u get the point). Brendan rigged up a cuttie - which eventually decided to make the cake pylons its new home - while I hooked on some pillies I brought (as backup) for the trip. The pillie rig wasn't reaching the desired depth due to the strong currrent and a small splitshot was added to help it get down abit more. I casted it beside the cake, and it didn't take long for a willing customer to "thank your mother for the rabbits".... in another words, something took the bait. I was expecting to see a bream but was surprised to see a trevally come up... the water temp was still quite cool after all. The next 15 minutes saw me pull up another two trevors before it went quiet. We were starting to think about stopping over at Rose Bay for a feed but Reuben was determined to land something. He casted and let out a fair bit of line to let the current bring the bait out... it paid off and he boated a trevor. And now that everyone's happy, we headed over to Rose Bay.

Feeling ready for another round after lunch, we headed to an adjacent bay to have a bit of a mooch around the moorings. Reuben spotted a school of tailors feeding (smashing was more like it) on the surface. The birds were getting pretty excited too. We rigged up some plastics as fast as we could and were into the tailors. They were not big, but their aggressiveness made up for the fun.

It was time to bring out the fly rod. I tied on a small experimental baitfish pattern that was intended to be tested on the sambos and managed to hook one up. The fish started to ignore the fly and I switched over to a red-head bendback that was larger. I hooked another two and that was about it.

Reuben and Brendan was having a ball at the back, one on the fly rod and the other on a spin rod with a hard-bodied lure. They took turns on the fly rod and must've hooked more than 10 fish in a span of less than 40 minutes. Reuben's flies were gobbled down with no questions asked. We might have gotten a couple more if we stayed on but Reuben's "special fishing permit" from his other half had expired (for 3 hours :D) and he needs to return for 'sentencing'. We've had a good day and was happy to leave it at that.

Until next time, good fishing to you all!

Kingie madness

2007-10-24T11:58:00.000+10:00

Summer is here. Together with burnt skin, a swarm of flies buzzing in your face, loads of anglers come the king fish. You could almost say that the capture of this pelagic has become somewhat of an obsession for Justin and myself. From new gear purchases to researching new connections, flies, lures and even bait, this species has caused quite a stir in our piscatorial activities.

Justin and myself have always subscribed to the theory that lighter is better when it comes to our gear choices. Keeping this in mind, we have attempted to land these brutes (however small they may be) on lines as light as 8lb mains and 10lb leads.Due to us mostly fishing from the shore or wharfs, we have endured constant break-offs, had our lines wrapped around pylons and basically been dragged around wherever we are fishing.

To cope with these issues, we have upgraded our eggbeaters to ones capable of 15lbs of drag, fished a little heavier lines and leaders and have experienced some success bringing in the yellowtailed brutes.However, bringing them up onto land has been a source of heart wrenching despair.landing nets are out of the question due to the height from which we fish and rope gaffs are being sidelined due to the fears of injuring the fish.

other matters associated with our current obsession would be to land "kingys" on the fly. Other than a boat, we have had no real opportunity to land them with the magic wand.

we will continue on our quest to land these piscatorial beasts and hope that you, our readers will be kept interested,amused, and informed by our journey.

If you're in Sydney, pick up a rod, spool up and join us on this very worthwhile pursuit.

till then

Tight lines and good fishing

The Fish That Saved Fly Fishing... In Singapore

2007-10-17T02:58:00.000+10:00

It may seem like a big claim, but true nonetheless. Given the small land mass and non-existent management of both fresh and saltwater fisheries in Singapore, it comes to no surprise that many people end up catching nothing at all. And because fish are hard to come by, people end up keeping anything unfortunate enough to take the bait. The mindset of the typical singapore fisherperson is not a beautiful one and much can be attributed to the lives led by many of the early migrants of the country. Almost all of Singapore's chinese population originated from China; coming over in search of a better future in the 1800s after the place was colonized by the British. Many came to work as labourers at the strategically located sea-port. The hard life fostered a mentality of "grab all you can" and that apparantly, is still evident in the people today. But since this is a fishing blog, I shall leave the political economic rantings out.

Things started to change, albeit slowly, when fishermen started to release their catch. And not surprisingly, the individuals practicing catch-and-release were those fishing with artificial baits - lures and flies (but predominantly lures). Another characteristic of these fishermen was that they were young and better educated, and were influenced by the American and Australian fishing magazines they read. The past five years saw a huge increase of young people taking up the sport, and also choosing to fish with artificials. It was also during this time the fly fishing started to have new followers.

With the poor catch rates from the saltwater, people turned to the freshwater reservoirs to cure their fishing itch. The only catch however, is that fishing in most of the freshwater reservoirs is against the law as these reservoirs store water intended for drinking. The Singapore government has designated fishing areas in a few reservoirs, but they soon become overfished by the unethical bait fishermen.

The most common fish in the reservoirs that readily take flies and lures is by far, the Peacock Bass, and they are the most accessible proposition for the new lure/fly fisherman.

The origins of the fish in Singapore is not known, but there's no denying that they are an introduced species. However, these peacocks are not the same species as their South American cousins and (unfortunately) don't grow as big. But other than that, they retained the aggressive native that these fish are well-known for. And not surprisingly, catching these fish on fly is alot of fun.

In the beginning, people were catching them on surface flies like poppers, muddlers, gurglers and sliders. All it took was to cast and strip the fly back quickly and fish were racing against each other to take a bite at it. But the fish soon started to realise that these 'creatures' were not food and no longer fell for them. And when the surface flies stopped working, the creative fly fishermen switched to sub-surface flies. It did the trick, and the fish were lining up to gobble the offerings once more. As the fish got even smarter, they became alot more selective in the flies that they'd take.

The selectiveness of the fish prompted myself to try different things in order to tempt these (now fussy) critters to take a bite. What I did was to experiment in the following areas:

(1) DIFFERENT FLY SIZES

The general rule of thumb is to downsize the fly as the fish get smarter/fussier. The most widely used flies would be the clouser and the charlie.

(2) DIFFERENT COLOURS

Brighter colors would be first choice, and tending towards the more natural tones. An interesting observation made was that big peacocks would eat the small ones, and people have had success with flies tied to resemble the small fish.

(3) DIFFERENT RETRIEVE TYPES

Start with a faster retrieve because these fish are aggressive by nature. Too slow a strip and the fish will ignore the fly. Experiment until the fish start to follow the fly in - and maybe even have a go at it. That's when you know the speed of retrieve is right. Then it's time to think about whether the fly is at the right depth.

(4) DIFFERENT SINK RATES OF THE FLY AND FLYLINE

This is done in tandem with the sink rate of the flyline. The idea is to keep the fly at a certain depth for the speed of the strip that is used. Most flies fished on a standard floating line tend to move closer to the surface as the fly is stripped back. This moves the fly out of the feeding depth of the fish and reduces the chances of getting a strike. A right balance between the line and fly sink rate should be achieved. There are sinking poly-leaders that are available that can be attached to the front of a floating line to obtain a sink tip. Multi-tip lines are also available in the market and is a viable option as well.

(5) DIFFERENT LEADER AND TIPPET POUNDAGES

The debate continues - monofilament line or flurocarbon line. Here's my logic: fish that can see a monofilament might not see a flurocarbon but fish that can see a flurocarbon will definitely see a monofilament. So I choose to use the fluro. The Berkley Vanish offers good value for money - buy the 250yd spool and not the 50m (leader) spool.

And as for line thickness, fish as light as the situation allows.

(7) DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE DAY

First and last light would be my preferred times of the day.

(8) DIFFERENT SEASONS (FOR THE FISH)

Year end is usually the spawning season for the fish and they tend to hang around closer to the bank. If you notice two fish hanging around one particular spot, they are usually a breeding pair. Repeated casts to agitate the fish will most likely solicit a strike. And if you hook one, please release it after having your fun.

A day to live for

2007-10-03T07:12:00.000+10:00

We have fishing days and then there are "Fishing Days". You know what I'm referring to. Those days where everything seems to go right, where nothing seems to take you from the fishing and the fish are great. These days seem to burn permanently into our minds and the 1st of October was such a day.

Planning for this day was not as easy as expected.Prior day engagements and party composition were hampering at a limited level. We ended up agreeing upon meeting at the chosen location to catch the early morning tide.

The first hour of the day was to be spent casting jigs for squid.(we were hoping to bait up and tangle with the kingies that have been reported in the area). This proved to be a futile exercise as neither Justin or Myself even tempting a take by any squid. However, it was a very pleasant experience. The first of sunlight kissing the water below the Harbor bridge coupled with the cool morning breeze made for some beautiful fishing surrounds.

Having called it quits with the squid, Justin and Myself made our way over to our decided spot. As it was a decidedly "bait" day, we proceeded to load up the spinners and cast out. after about a cast or two, Justin spotted an eddy forming and suggested casting our baits in that direction. This decision was rewarded when I hooked up with a nice silver trevally that was followed up by a decent 'green back' Tailor on the very next cast. Things seemed to slow down after this, with fish only nibbling and Justin landing a small bream and a snapper.

Things started heating up when a tug boat pulled in and we started reeling in the lines. Justin hooked up with a nice king fish that provided much sport. So much spot that the crew of a boat docked nearby and the tugboat actually slowed down to watch the action. It was all we imagined it would be. Blistering runs and Justin using every trick in the book to land the brute on six pound line and a 8 pound leader. All was going our way till the last 2 meters or so of line. At this point, with all hopes on landing our first big king of the season, the leader inexplicably gave way. Justin was somewhat disheartened but the look on his face when he said "this is what I live for" told me that it was great just to have the privilege to tussle with such a great fish.

After the episode with the kingie, matters took a turn to the quiet side and we were content to soak in the scenery and mull over the battle that occurred as the rest of the party trickled in. Jake joined up alongside us and the bite slowed to a halt. Continued casting found me a little alley where there was a bunch of fish willing to 'peck' at least. I indicated this to the rest but they were happy to try in their chosen spots. What happened next has kept the smile on my face till today. I hooked up with an unknown fish that was pulling my already tightly set drag. Blistering runs towards the horizon and lunges for the deep had Justin and myself speculating if it was a King. Deep in my heart, I was harboring the thought that I might just loose this king as well. This fear slowly dissipated as the fish was brought closer to the surface. Head shakes as it exhausted itself betrayed it to be a nice silver trevally.

As I said. nothing could spoil the day for Us. It's one of those days to remember.

Till next time, good fishing and tight lines.

Meeting Mr Milkfish

2007-09-27T00:22:00.000+10:00

It was way back in 2003 when I caught my first Milkfish on fly and they are to date, the most hard fighting fish I've encountered on a fly rod.

Location: East Coast Lagoon, Singapore
The East Coast Lagoon started off as a place where sun bathers could swim in calm waters away from the waves of the open sea. That is all I know. But in the late 90's, it was converted into a salt water fishing 'pond' where anglers paid to fish. The pond was stocked with the usual species found in pay-to-fish locations, namely the Barramundi, Fingermark Snappers, Mangrove Jacks,... etc. Small milkfish were sold by the pond operators and used as live baits, but many managed to free themselves from the hooks and lived in the lagoon. The fishing pond then went out of business and was returned to the authorities which built a perimeter fence around it whilst deciding what to do with it. A couple of years passed without any activity.

It was in 2003 when a young chap by the name of Nicholas (who was also a crazy fly fisho) got to know another young chap by the name of Matthew who happens to live near to lagoon and have been fishing it regularly with bait (and with good results). It came to Nick's attention that there were Giant Herrings in the lagoon and we started to have many night "operations" to target these fish on the fly. Nick caught quite a few as he was there almost every night, while I , unfortunately, never hooked one. There were many times when fish rose to our gurglers, poppers and sliders but missed the flies completely. And we would realise later that they were probably not herrings....

Another few months passed and Nick decided to venture to one of the two platforms (where water still flowed in from the open sea) in the middle of the lagoon. It was there that he saw many large schools of Milkfish cruising to and fro from one platform to another. Nick tried relentlessly to catch these fish with a bread fly but was not succesful. Determined to hook a Milkfish, Nick returned with (real) bread and decided to burley up the fish and casted his imitation amongst them. His determination paid off and he cracked the code for catching these freight trains.

Nick decided to share the 'spot' with a few of us more 'senior' fishos to aid us in the capture of our first Milkfish. The trick was to wade into the water to waist level, and burleying the bread in batches, allowing the wind from behind to carry them towards the platform. Once the bread got near, they were 'hammered' by the large milkfish. No one would believe that they are 'vegetarians' with the way they were eating the bread. The plan was to get them to swim closer and closer to us as they go for the next batch of bread burley.

I lost four Milkfish before I finally landed one. The knot gave way on the first, the hook broke on the second, the hook fell out on the third and fourth. On that fateful sunday, I decided to walk the path of the Thai workers who laid nets below the platform. They were able to wade at waist level till they were 5 metres from the platform. As I drew near, the sight of the tails of big Milkfish swimming sent my adrenalin sky high. I'd be the most unlucky person on earth if I don't hook one. A 5 metre cast was all it took before a Milkfish smashed the bread fly!!! WOOHOO!! It only took a few seconds and I'm into the backing... the fish swam around the platform and I thought I'd lose the fish for sure... but luckily, the stainless steel piping of the platform did not cut me off and after some persistence, the fish came back. I guided it away from the platform and into open waters. And it took another 25 mins to subdue the beast. But I finally have my first Milkfish in my bosom!! It weighed 15lbs on the Boga.

I went on to catch another three Milkfish on subsequent trips to the lagoon and they never cease to amaze me with they speed, power and stamina. What impressed me was that my Sth Cassette Reel (that cost me less than US$70) and Cortland 333HT line (bought at K-Mart for less than US$20) was able to withstand the runs of these rockets. The rod - a 7 wt Sage RPLXi - also performed marvelously. These fish are definitely ranked near the top of my list.

Tight Lines!
-Justin-

My first fishing comp

2007-09-26T09:12:00.000+10:00

hey all,

fishing seems to follow me every where. Even to work! The company that I work at organized a charity "fish off" to be held to day. i went for the short pre fish with most of the other competitors. the team consisted of 4 people. Henry, pete, myself and boss man ( i still don't know his name all I know is he can fire me and not even Henry can save my arse)

Due to the high volume of work, we opted not to fish the whole time allocated for the pre fish. Subsequently yours truly is stuck here at my desk with not much motivation to work. Henry is teaching the boss man how to fish (he never has in his life- he's a hunting guy).

so here are some posts of the morning's pre fish.

we saw a lot of surface action setting out at the pre dawn hours. needless to say every one started flogging and it was really difficult to even get a hook up. talk on my boat led to the usual 'wrong fly' pressuring the fish' 'they aren't interested' topics. This all reminded me of Justin's experience with the sambos. with this in mind, I loaded up a spinner with a metal slice and chucked it in. I was thinking that even if it wasn't the sambos I'd have a chance at whatever pelagic species lay down there.

Long story short, I hooked up with my first Australian salmon after about 5 odd casts and half hearted hits. It was really fun even though I was packing it in a little heavy with 14lb braid.
After landing and releasing the Sambo henry made the call to fish the heads as it looked like only luck will let you hit a fish.(they had been flogging the whole time to no avail.)

We fished to heads for about half an hour with not much luck. I hope things heat up during the comp hours. one fish just doesn't cut it. But I am really happy with my first Sambo.
(sorry , about no swell photos I was "busy") we do need a more committed camera person.

bread fly

2007-09-25T10:20:00.000+10:00

I've only taken up fly fishing for a couple of months and have been having limited success. Justin told me that it would take a while before i could land my first fish properly. His words were true and I only managed to tangle with fish that were obliging enough to "commit suicide".

This all changed recently when i came up with an idea to tie a sinking bread fly to be presented in a burley trail. Reason being that the bream seem to take unweighted bread pieces that were presented to them in a burley trail.

I'm happy to report success and here are the photos!

enjoy!

false cast

2007-09-23T22:01:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone,

Hope that the past week has been good for you in one way or another. Being a rather light work week, I thought I’d better go out to get a picture or two for the site (it’s really an excuse to go wet a line.) I visited a couple of places during the course of the week. Though not exactly new grounds to myself I learnt, as we always do in our sport, many new things and gained new insights into this ever addictive pastime of ours.

First up was a trip to a little estuary near my home. Part of the lane cove river, there was a little tributary conveniently located in the suburb of Rhodes. Having some knowledge of the place, I decided to test the place for it’s capability to produce on the outgoing tide. This time round, I came with a new plan to have some fun while waiting for the tide to change.

Packing a loaf of bread (Yes I do cheat…) and a box of lures, I arrived at Rhodes half an hour before the highest tide. First stop was a structure that I have affectionately named “bream corner”. I let out the burley and baited up. To my disappointment, the tactic didn’t work and I ended up getting impatient after half an hour. Looking over to the sand flats and seeing that they were still exposed, I thought I better try again next time. I let out another 2 pieces or so of burley and rigged up for some lure fishing.

Working my usual lure beat, I met with more disappointment. This went on till I reached the drainage pipe that marked the beginning of the flats. Here, my luck finally turned as a flathead of about 40 centimeters inhaled my lure. Luring action continued with a few small bream and tailor providing much appreciated action. As the fish at the sand flats went off the chew, I decided to try the bream corner one last time. I was rewarded with two decent bream for this decision. The day ended on a satisfying note. 15 fish landed with 5 being legal. I’m happy to report that all fish were released unharmed.

Next stop on the list was the good old bream pond at glebe. It has been a while since I have enjoyed any tangible success at glebe. The day started with 4 good bream on bread and ended when I hit 2 good flatheads on lure at the beginning of the run out tide. All in all, 6 fish released to fight another day.

Enjoy the pictures and sorry for the short reports. I will endeavor to be more succinct in my next post. I’m a bit of an airbag. I must apologize.

Till next time!

Tight lines and good fishing.

first casts

2007-09-18T10:32:00.001+10:00

Hello people,

The weather's warming up in Sydney and hopefully the fishing as well.
Have been fishing quite abit in the past three weeks, thanks to the
discovery of a productive spot as well as the return of Brandon to
Sydney.

First picture is the end-of-day catch after a session (the best one in
four) at the new bait soaking spot. Water depth is pretty much like

Clifton Gardens, and so is the rig used. The spot is within the Sydney

CBD. On that particular day, Reuben and me were fishing the upcoming
tide from about 11am to 4pm. There were intermitten showers but the

fish dont mind, before the first shower, Reuben hit the biggest bream
of the trip, and continued to hit 2 more as the rain came down. I only
had one bream for the whole trip. When the rain stopped, I released 2
undersized snappers, and had a bite off on a suspected big tailor. We
proceeded to land 5 Tailors. And when the tailors went off the bite,
The Trevallys came in a constant trickle till about 3pm. Would
actually be going back there this

weekend if not for the APEC making
the CBD area out-of-bounds. But the good thing is that Friday is a
public holiday, and Reuben and myself will be doing some flycasting
and fly fishing.

Brandon returned from his holiday in Thailand and fishing comp in Fiji

and was raring to try for Aust Salmon on fly in the harbour. A last

minute trip was arranged late friday night for a sortie on Sat
morning. We located the salmon but they were very spooky, and we only
had 2 chances to cast at them. Unfortunately, we didn't hook any. Good
news was that among the 5 to

6 fly boats out there, only one got fish.
Feeling pretty dissatisfied and hearing of reports of the bass coming
on the bite, we decided to head west to the sweetwater see if we're
lucky. We tried the usual spots that Brandon "inherited" from a
fishing guide but had a big fat donut after an hour and a half of
casting.

With nothing to lose, we thought that we should head over to the weir

for a look. Good thing we did... the place looked like bass country...
tall grass on the side of the banks, sparse underwater vegetation seen

about 2 feet below the surface. We bombarded the area for nothing in
the first 30-45 mins until about 520pm when the rises / surface
activity started to pick up. At the time, I had given up hope of
catching something for the day, and decided to tie on a pink charlie
to see if I could entice a herring to strike... there's gotta be
something with all the water act

ivity happening... whenever I saw a
rise, I would cast within 2 feet of it. And on the fateful cast, my
line tightened... After a drought of 2weeks, it felt good to hit
something decent on fly again. I thought it was a herring but Brandon
called bass after seeing its forehead. The fish was guided into the
net without any dramas and I finally landed my first Australian

Bass!!! After wasting about 10-15 mins trying to get a good shot on
the phone camera (that's why the lousy pic quality), back to fishing.
Saw another rise about 60-70 ft away, put in a cast, 3 strips, and I'm
on again. But this time only a little one. And after that, they went

off the bite... the surface activity was still happening but they're
just not taking the charlie. It's pretty late anyway so we headed
back.

This sunday would be the Sydney angler fly fishing social for Aust
Salmon in the harbour, I'll be on Brandon's boat again and we'll see
if we get lucky this time round. Still do not have plans for Sat at
the moment. Can't wait for friday.

Cheers mateys!

-Justin-

The hatch "ing"

2007-09-18T10:15:00.000+10:00

The whole idea of having a post space was born out of- like many things- boredom and laziness. Justin started it a week or two back. He posted a "fishing report" of sorts on the email. As usual, in all things fish related I blindly followed. an error in the email delivery and the lack of space for us to send the very much needed photos ("no proof ' situations and to prevent the whole "I swear! it was that big!" that is somewhat part of the sport) prompted me to think if there would be an easier and more constructive way to get out the fishing reports.

Then it dawned on me. Instead of typing and uploading photos on email and being constrained by size the name list we can remember to include, I and Justin could simply share out mini adventures (in angling terms they are interesting) more fully by posting them on a blog/page of some sort. I honestly haven't spoken to Justin Yet, but I'm sure he'll agree to this.

SENDING OUT A LINK TO A PAGE IS EASIER THAN WRITING AND SENDING AN EMAIL.

plus we can share the fun with a whole bunch of people we don't know! ( I never saw how that could be appealing..

So without further or do,

I give you Justin's email that started it all.

The First Tail Swipe

2007-09-18T09:39:00.000+10:00

Hi All!

A Huge Welcome to the newly (and very cheaply) created, fishing dedicated, space on what we have now know as the internet. There are countless of sites out there already offering fishing reports, gear reviews and other angler resource and we are probably following in what looks like a huge trend in the angling community.

What differentiates us from other blogs/pages/forums?

Well, it's primarily a blog about one and sometimes 2 fishing nuts. We'll post the reports. (Feel free to fight amongst yourselves in the comments columns) bore you with our antics. Stick a photo or two that you could rip. We're basically going to plaster this fragment of the web with what angling is like in our adopted Sydney and in our lives in general. So if you're a fishing nut, it's probably a good idea that you set up one as well. :)

Toodles and till next time