well you might get a bream around docklands if you are persistent <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':o' /> that is top of PPB.
otherwise there is always carp! <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />
Hi mike, I assume you know that you'll need special fly casting gear, and probably lessons to learn to cast the damn things (I have tried a few, I don't think fly fishing's for me) <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':o' /> But there are a few ways you can fish with flies using normal threadline (spin) tackle.
You can fish the flies under a bubble float in small streams for trout - this might work in the salt too. It's not as good as fishing them on a fly rod (since you have the weight of the bubble float which hinders presentation) but it can work.
I have caught salmon in the surf on flies, using a conventional paternoster rig with the fly on a dropper above the sinker. But (in my opinion) you can put anything on this rig and catch salmon in the surf whe they're 'on' - surf poppers, flies and soft plastics all seem to work.
Another way you can fish flies on conventional tackle is to fish them on a leader which is tied onto the treble hook of a normal lure - the fly will run behind the lure, and if the lure has a good action the fly will benefit from this too. I've seen some good trout taken trolling in lakes using this rig - the trout come in to investigate the vibration of the lure, but often hit to fly trailing behind in preference.
I just knocked up a picture in Powerpoint to try and explain these a bit better, lol it's terrible!
for someone starting out on fly fishing i would recommend you try and catch some carp as they seem the most prolific fish around these days!
or alternatively go to a trout stream in the evening and try to catch a rising fish and they are usually fairly stupid (because its dark and hard for them to see you) and you can get pretty close so you don't need to cast very far. in this sort of situation you can sometimes just drag the fly across the water and fish will go for it.
learning to cast takes some energy but you only need to cast a few metres in most cases. there are plenty of training videos you can watch. you might be able to hire these from a library or fishing shop.
26-03-2007, 08:02 PM (This post was last modified: 26-03-2007, 08:06 PM by Jazman.)
Hi guys, I've finally caught what I consider a 'big' fish since the move to Canberra. I did a kayak fishing trip with a friend to Lake Tuross (south of Bateman's Bay) on the weekend, and was lucky to catch this 67cm dusky flathead on a soft plastic <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />
Mike, if you're reading this, I hear that PPB is going OFF for pinkies on SPs at the moment, my kayak fishing buddies have been cataching heaps of 30-40cm fish, and one caught a 62cm fish 2 weeks ago!
Wooohooo, matey that's a thumper! Well done, so did she fall to the infamous 4 inch minnow in pearl watermelon shad?
Hahahaha. I took a mate of mine floundering last week with the new set of gear, he loved it! But the conditions were not perfect it was falling tide so only a few fish worth spearing were in the shallows. It was the most amazing thing, the falling tide trapped all the bait fish and fodder in the shallows between the shore and sandbars so that we were wading through massive schools of tiny fish and whiting, while all the larger predators were stuck out in the deeper water. It was also a little windy so visibility was a bit of a struggle in more than a metre of water.
Thanks for the advice Jazman, I am keen to hit the pinkies again.
Fresh air, tight lines, scales, slime and fins, 'tis the salty sea dog life for me. Arrrgh!
well done on the leatherjacket on a lure! i would love to get them around here on lures! <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />
what do you think my chances are of getting leatherjackets on small soft plastics? <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />
Yeah we got a couple o' keepers, a big flattie wriggled off the spear and spooked or missed about four squid and three mullet as well as three gars and a strange looking fish which I had not seen before. All in all a lot to see and few to spear. It was good practice for us though.
Fresh air, tight lines, scales, slime and fins, 'tis the salty sea dog life for me. Arrrgh!
[quote name='glen' post='8329' date='Mar 27 2007, 08:30 PM']what do you think my chances are of getting leatherjackets on small soft plastics? <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />[/quote]
Hi Glen, I reckon your chances of getting a leatherjacket on a small SP are excellent, but be prepared for some frustration! Leatherjackets love Berkley GULP soft plastics, but on a standard sized jighead they generally just munch away at the GULP until there is just a bare jighead (see the pic below of the horseshoe leatherjacket - I was fishing for pinkies and getting a lot of teeny bites, and managed to foul hook this guy in the side - originally the jighead had a plastic on it with a fairly long tail!). But jackets will also eat normal (non-GULP) plastics. If you get a bite but don't hook up, and then notice that your SP has a neat chunk taken out of it, then you can be 90% sure that it's a jacket. So use small hooks (#6 or smaller), and strike as soon as you feel anything.
The other picture is a tiny leatherjacket my girlfriend foul hooked on a GULP SP - this is one of my favorite photos, that little guy was too cute!
Hi Mike, great work on your catch! Sounds like you saw a lot of fish. I really miss floundering, haven't done it for quite a few months. I'm planning to bring my gear back up with me, from what I can gather not many people spear flounder in NSW.
I caught heaps of stuff (including little leatheries) off mornington pier using sandworm soft plastics on a really small hook (like coarse fishing size). no jig head needed. just cut little bits off the SP and drop em down. hooked up nearly every time.
Jaz, seems like your having a ball up there. got any of them natives yet?
Flounderpirate - sounds like you had a great night out. i havent been for ages, but i must get out again at some stage.
[quote name='Steeny' post='8338' date='Mar 28 2007, 11:44 AM']got any of them natives yet?[/quote]
No! <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/oops.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> Everyone seems to catch them while I am away at the coast. There is a cohort of yellowbelly that are 30-35cm long that are biting really well at the moment, apparently they are from a stocking a few years back, I think I'm the only one out of the 10 or so people I kayak fish with that hasn't caught one of these fish <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />
thanks for the tips about SP leatherjackets. i will give it a go next time! <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />
[quote name='Jazman' post='8134' date='Feb 9 2007, 11:43 AM']Fishing in Canberra is going well, although only on the redfin front (still haven't caught a native yet). I caught my PB redfin of 41cm during the week, while trolling my faithful pink/black stumpjumper <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />[/quote]
Hi Jazman,
Have you tried fishing Yerrabi Pond in Gungahlin?? Pleanty of Murrays around there and the water is a lot cleaner!!
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