Back to the Southport Seaway this evening
Result nothing, not a touch again and not a fish of any kind seen, but this time there were a couple of birds, zooming down over the water looking for a feed also, these poor creatures went hungry this evening also
And now as it is winter, its time to start looking for a Bass or two that has come down into the salt for winter
the loction of the Bass at this time of year, makes the use of a Double Handed fly rod the perfect casting tool
Todate I’ve been fishing only6 times since Christmas all due to health.
Thorefore boys and girls, when your healthy, go fishing, find any reason you can, just go fishing as the day will come sooner than later that you cannot
Tonights trip out was once more the the Southport Seaway, the wall on the Southern side, great looking was, with just a nice wash of white water for the ‘bad’ guys to hide in, filling tide and all, all the effort into casting from 4 different locations, all for nothing
However the time spent was enjoyable with the smell of salt in the air and an escape from the World only fisherman/women know
setting sun looking towards Surfers Paradise with ideal water for a big fish
Still no fishing, as my health is still lousy ! This is the worst year ever for fishing todate.
However there is a positive event in this ‘sick’ time that was a result of a lot of hard work and effort, this is a new product, but first lets slip back a bit in time.
Remember the wonderful GuideBode Braided Butt Leader, that was perfect for loops and joining fly lines that vanished from the market about a year ago and now cannot be found anywhere around the World. The tale tells that the manufactures closed their doors, hence no more GudeBode Braid Monofilament Butt Leader.
Well fly fishing friends, your fly fishing products specialists Talon RA has now produced and stocks Talon Braided Butt Leader (just like the old GudeBode Braided Butt Leader and can supply anyone anywhere in the World
30lb, ideal for trout sized fly lines, 35 and 50 pound perfect for saltwater fly lines on 100 yard spools.
If you require braided butt leader in a hurry, email Uncle Barry or wait a couple of weeks and buy it at the Aussiefly shop.
Are you a wholesaler or distributor anywhere in the World ? Would you like to stock this product for your fly fishing customers, then contact Uncle Barry directly
Still no fishing or even casting here, all because of this back problem I have, but things are on the mend now.
And on a happier note, we introduced another new product for you, the World’s best Fly Dubbing Wax, Veniard’s Premium Tacky Wax, this is great value at only au$9.50
Haven’t tried Veniard’s Dubbing Wax yet, you realy should
Something that just might help someone save a heap of money.
Have you ever had your Gore-Tex/ breathable jacket or waders start leaking
and you were told by the shop and ‘experts’ to buy another set of waders etc as this is the only way to have a non leaking set of waders etc as they are worn out.
Well news for you, as it was news to me sometime ago !
I had the problem with my waders and thought, your have done miles with these, its fair enough they are old enough and then by chance we walked past a Mountain Design shop. Everything changed from there on, my waders are as good as new today thanks to the super helpful and knowledgeable staff at Mountain Design.
The staff suggested I use a waterproofer for Gore-Tex.
I didn’t think there was such a product on Earth to reproof a Gore-Tex fabric,
Well guys and girls for about$30.00 you can buy 2 bottles for waterproofer designed for breathable fabrics.
This product is TOKO Eco Proof Textile.
We now carry a couple of the spray bottles when away fishing all the time for the just in case situation.
I would like to thank Mountain Designs for having staff that know their product range (and its a pity more shops didn’t follow MD’s lead in this staff case).
Waders.
I have heard people crying that their waders and boots only lasted a could of seasons. Then maybe you could take a look at Greys G Series of waders and Boots. I have had mine for roughly 200 days PLUS of use and so far the boots are still what could be classed as almost new (amazing !) the waders well worn and just starting to weep around the sowen seam in two small areas. Spray with TOKO and they are as good as new.
The advantage of the G Series is that they are light weight, and thus ideal for most Australia summer conditions.
AND cheaper than most waders and Boots.
The fat Brown was taken on a Talon USA 2W XF 7′ 6″ fly rod
Back to chasing the Tarpon this evening, and thinking how lucky can I be, living in Surfers and this kind of fishing only 5 minutes away fromm home.
Today 1 Tarpon grassed at 45cm plus, then a solid strike, rather unlike the Tarpon kind of strick, then within seconds the water explodes and there is chrome cart wheeling in the sky, its a Giant Herring, also known as a Lady Fish by Americans, that is connected to my little Trout Spey fly rod.
The fish measured 57cm and of course was released quicky.
Back to fishing again, as most Orders are now filled.
Tonight its chasing Tarpon in the local creeks/lakes and rivers.
And I have got lucky on the first Tarpon adventure for the summer season, tonight 8 fish were grassed all 45cm or longer, all with the aid of the little Talon Trout Spey rod, at 5/6w and 12feet, its a pure fum machine in the salt !
Great fun on a Trout Spey, you really should try this class of rod
Sad day today, its trip is over time, time to go home.
Overall I have grassed 276 fish for this trip, and totaly proved the so called experts on forums wrong with their dopy ideas about Trout Spey fly rods being unsuitable for Lake fishing.
The biggest fish grassed was a beautiful Brown of 56cms. We only kept a few fish for eating as Trout are too good to catch once ! We are packing up for the trip homeward.
Some interesting events of the time spent around the mountains, other that described earlier.
One day Bill went down to his boat that he leaves in the water, in the Lake, however this morning was some what different.
Because there right in front of him as he was about to ‘load-up’ for the day was a 1 meter Tiger snake sunning its self on the forward casting deck area !
So no fishing/boating for a while till this unhappy creature is removed.
The trailer was bought in play, boat loaded and taken away to find a hose to fill the boat with water.
Water filling removed the snake
Next step, check under the floor, just in case there was another snake that called the boat home.
Floor removed and there in front of them was the Tiger’s skin.
Which then leads to the question, how long was the snake there before being discovered ?
Another snake tale.
We ran over a Copperhead snake in the truck, then on watching the mirrors noticed no snake on the roadway.
Opps big problem, where was the snake ?
Then we drove about 10ks to town, still no snake seen in the mirrors ! There can be now only one place for the snake to be, now and thats caught up under the truck.
Try getting out of your car or truck with the thought a snake is caught up under the car or truck, then try looking under, thats not nice but could be very exciting within seconds, maybe. We found no snake anywhere, next step is to ‘pop’ the bonnet. BUT try placing your fingers under a bonnet thinking there could be a cranky snake there. Well as good fortune would have it, we couldn’t find this black creature !
Another tale,
I found someones reading glasses washed up in the river, if you have lost your reading glasses contact me. Yes there were in about 300mm of water and look like they have been there for many months.
A couple of pictures from the trip
A dark coloured Raibow, as if it was ready or had been spawning, however the fish was in top condition and fat as a pig.
Something thats killing the Trout
While fishing Eucumbene River we noticed that some pools didn’t have a fish in it, just a dead section of water !
Why you may ask, well the problem is from the early dawn in the morning till about 9am, one pool would be the feeding station for a group of shags/Cormorants, these birds would flap their wings up the pool, then its feed time guys, the flapping of the wings drives all the fish to one end and then its feeding time. You may not be worried but would you be if there was 52 and sometimes 53 black birds doing this !
And then there were small groups of twos and threes working pools.
Sadly I found numbers of fish with jaw like marks over their backs and even one dead Rainbow with a huge mark over its back that must have killed it.
And then there were groups of dozens of Herons feeding on little glass like fish about 25 to 30mm long, and you can guess what these were, if you cannot then I will tell you, these were baby Browns. Wonder where the Browns are all going, wonder no more.
You may say, so what. Would you change your ideas when at anytime there were between 50 and 70 birds working the stream banks over 1 kilometer or less, day after day, week after week !
What a beautiful warm day it is today !
Today I fished with Bill, for what can be only described as one of if not the most frustrating day of fishing ever.
What happened,
Bill found the fish feeding on #18 and #20 midge pupa, and went about catching over 30 fish, one after the other, in fact it was a pure pleasure to see someone so dialed into the Rainbows working. While myself could only grass 2 fish but dropping heaps !
Even when I stood where he was standing, using the same fly and leader combo, I just couldn’t match the number of strikes let alone the hook-ups he was recording.
But overall, a fantastic day was had. And the fishing didn’t start till after 8am and then to finish at 4pm.
A fish from the river taken on this trip with its damaged mouth.
Super lazy day today, did nothing except talk to a few friends till late in the afternoon. Why because there is a strong eastly blowing down the Lake. Late in the afternoon, just before darkness decended I went fishing and grassed a 42cm Rainbow.
Another fish from the river is in this photo, again taken on the Talon Trout Spey rod
