Other species

AKA "All depth booby". Boobies have been generally fished as a wet fly to target trout and other species This version is relatively neutral in buoyancy but can be fished at a a range of depths with the depth being determined by the speed of the retrieve and the fly line it's fished on. With a…

Peter Morse introduced his version of this fly to the members of the Illawarra Fly Fishers Club at their first meeting for 2005. The fly was developed to cover a specific niche in Peter's Bass and Estuary Perch fishing arsenal. With a heavy lead shot head the fly sinks quickly and can as the name…

Like many fly fisher folk I did my fishing apprenticeship using bait. One of my favourite baits was poddy mullet that abounded in Lake Illawarra just beyond our back fence. We caught these little fish in many ways but one of my favorites was with the help of one of those long oyster bottles that…

Mudeyes are the nymphal stage of the Dragonfly. There are two families that are particularly important to freshwater fisher folk in Australia. The Couta Mudeye is of the Family Aeshnidae, genus Hemianax and is one of the most popular freshwater fish bait throughout Australia. The lava or nymph are…

Prawns and shrimp are crustaceans, of the family Isopod, and are endemic to our Australian estuary waters. They are toward the top of the food chain for a lot of coastal species of fish including bream, flathead and whiting. Prawns and shrimp are similar in form and function to each other and have…

Endemic to beaches all the way from Northern Queensland to Central Victoria nippers (Trypaea australiensis) are widely regarded as the best of baits for a range of coastal and estuary species of fish. They are a borrowing shrimp and generally harvested with the use of a nipper pump. They are a…

As the name implies these flies are built using a soft plastic lure body. I like to use 2" and 3" crescent tail type soft plastics as they tend to have a little more movement than some of the alternatives. For general prospecting or when targeting bream and whiting I use the 2" version and when I…

This is a shrimp or prawn imitation which I made up as an alternative to my Mud Prawn for competition fishing trout fishing. That's right trout fishing. I had been using small versions of my Mud Prawn for trout feeding on shrimp with considerable success and I wanted to carry that success into my…

This is quite a realistic prawn or shrimp imitation and incorporates a little bit of flash and a rattle in the body. Its particularly useful as a salt water polaroiding fly when just a twitch is often enough inducement for a strike and in murky water where a stop start strip gets the rattle…

In the last few years I have identified three flies that have elements of their ties that are similar. Depending on who ties them they can be almost the same or can be diverse as two Woolly Buggers tied by two different fly tiers. The three flies I refer to are of course the Flash Harry, the Dirty…

Large populations of dark olive Yabbies of the Cherax Genus have developed in both Lake Jindabyne and Lake Eucumbene. Many anglers suggest that the Yabby has been responsible for changing the feeding habits of trout in the lakes as the populations of Yabbies have increased. In fact in both Lake…

This is a great fly to rip through the water in front of Tailor, Australian Salmon, Tarpon and any other fish that is a predator of small fish. The combination of the resin head and the body materials create a fly that is translucent and a very effective imitation of many small thin fish that that…

If bass are not actively feeding they will generally sit deep and either in or close to structure and out of reach of dry flies and you'll find it easier to target them with a seductive wet fly fished deep and slow. When their active its a whole different story and they will be attracted to almost…

I have experimented a few times tying flies that have the wobbling action of a hard bodied lure. This is the closest that I have come to emulating that action. The problem of course is balancing the weight needed to make a lure work against the amount of weight that you can cast with a fly rod….

This fly has a number of particularly useful applications for Bass and Estuary Perch as well as trout. It main claim to fame is that particularly in discoloured or rough water the movement of the zonker strip and the inbuilt rattle are often enough to illicit a strike.  As a prospecting fly it can…

I had the pleasure of bass fishing with Peter Morse a couple of years ago and he introduced me to the concept of "fuzzeling" which I understand was developed between Muz Wilson and himself. It's dead simple and involves creating a dubbed body and then picking out the dubbing fibres with a strip of…

No this is not a fly promoted by a news network, rather the CNN stand for "Cheap aNd Nasty". I first tied this fly for use around structure where if you don't loose a few flies then your not in the game. The fly I had previously used in those situations was an estuary fly that cost between $2 and…

This wonderfully named fly came to light in Australia when John Horsey published an article about the 2008 Fly Fishing Championships that he came fourth in just a few months earlier. He went onto say 'I switched to a slime line and put a Black Straggle Fritz Taddy on the point, kept the Damsel on…

One of the best search flies in slow moving or still deeper water using a sinking line. If fishing from a fixed position cast it out, let the line sink to the desired depth, and then retrieve the line using a constant stripping motion, a pumping retrieve or a combination of both. The stripping…

Jiggy heads are similar to bead heads except they are designed for salt water use and they have an obvious fish head shape and have a recessed area on each side incorporated to accommodate stick on holographic eyes. They are also covered with epoxy once the fly is tied. They were designed by Bob…

One of the best search flies in slow moving or still deeper water using a sinking line and a booby. If fishing from a fixed position cast it out, let the line sink to the desired depth, and then retrieve the line using a constant stripping motion, a pumping retrieve or a combination of both. The…

Large populations of dark olive Yabbies of the Cherax Genus have developed in both Lake Jindabyne and Lake Eucumbene and many other places. Many anglers suggest that the Yabby has been responsible for changing the feeding habits of trout in the lakes as the populations of Yabbies have increased. In…

If you fish fast water and need a very buoyant hopper or a buoyant fly to support a nymph try this one. Materials Hook Thread Tail & over-body Wing Legs 4 to 10 2X long shank or bass stinger 3/0 thread for trout flies Wapsie 210 Denier thread for bass flies for bass flies Closed cell foam Deer…

This is the big brother of my foam hopper which is a formidable trout fly. When I converted it for use as a bass and tropical fly fishing I added a sparkle chenille under-body and grossed it up dramatically so that it would withstand the aggressive nature of fish like Australian bass and tropical…

For a long time I simply sized up my trout stimulator and used them on bass. I grew out of the habit of tying them on as I always had a feeling that they just didn't offer bass a big enough morsel and even though they were bigger than anything I would use for trout they still landed too softly ……

When I fist tied this fly and asked my wife what it looks like her immediate response was "it looks like a guppy". Well it wasn't tied to represent a guppy and I don't think bass have guppies on their dinner menu but the name stuck. When bass are feeding on big insects like Cicadas and Hoppers that…

At the time of adding this fly to this web site John Schofield had now won six Bass Pro events attributing much of his success to his Bass Vampire fly. Its not surprising that the fly has elements of a Clouser Minnow because it was inspired by the successful black and purple Clouser Minnows that…

This is a good alternative to the zonker rattler particularly for estuary species. It lends itself to fishing on a fast sink line and a jerky active retrieve with plenty of stops. It's also a good idea to count the fly down so that you can identify what depth fish are holding at. Materials Hook…

One of my favour early season still water flies this fly is dressed with a skit around a marabou tail. It is very adaptable and is a great way of tying tails of two colours of marabou or just adding a hot spot at the base of the tail which fish find very attractive. The skirt can be made of several…

My first fish on fly fell to the magic of a Woolly Bugger and many have gone the same way since then. With its origins in America where it appears to be tied, as a Leach imitation there is also an English version with bead chin eyes called a Dog Nobler. Whatever the name it's a very good fly. The…

The Dunkeld is certainly one of my top 2 or 3 middle dropper flies for lock style fly fishing. Until mid 2012 I was using a version of the Dunkeld that had a hackle Palmered along the body as in the original. At that time I was experimenting with "fuzzeled" bodies an an alternative to bodies with a…

Beetles are of the order Coleoptera and there are over 28,000 species found in Australia. One species that is a popular food source for trout is the tea tree beetle. This representation is tied in shades of black and brown colours that have stood the test of time. Many of the recipes you see use…

As the name implies this fly has been designed specifically for fishing into mangroves and other tropical structure such as gravel and rock bars. It has several attributes that make it the ideal fly to entice fish like Barramundi, Mangrove Jacks and Fingermark out of structure and to take the fly….

My bass jig has been designed to be fished on a variety of lines with the choice of line being determined by the depth the target bass are holding at. With a 4mm tungsten slotted bead for weight it sinks well and when retrieved with a stripping action with a few protracted pauses provides plenty of…

Whilst the woolly bugger was evolving in Pennsylvania USA from a fly designed by Russell Blessing to represent the local hellgrammite or dobsonfly nymphs, probably from the woolly worm pattern, at the same time in England a similar fly that became known as a dog nobbler was also evolving. Dog…

Large populations of red claw crayfish of the genus Cherax Quadricarinatus are native to Tropical Queensland and have been farmed as a food source and for stocking purposes very successfully for a number of years. There preferred habitat is still water impoundments but they also fare well in slow…

This is a variation of a bead head woolly bugger that has worked very well for me in Lake Eucumbene and Tantangara Reservoir on brown trout and on Lake Maroon for bass. Materials   Hook Bead/weight Thread Tail Rib Body Hackle Collar Knapek S #6 to #10 Metallic/anodised TBH pink bead 6/0 brown…

This fly is basically my original mud prawn that I released in 2003 and have now miniaturised and modified. This orange and brown size #2 hook version of my tidal flats shrimp is my first choice of fly when targeting feeding trigger fish. It stands out in the storm of mud and other debris that…

This is a popular rubber tailed Gotcha type fly designed by Christopher Hall, an Aitutaki regular for targeting big bonefish. Materials Hook Threads Bead Tag Body Beard Legs Wing 3X strong Gamakatsu SL11-3h Uni big fly thread throughout except for 3/0 Olive for the whip finish Double pupil orange…

The original version of this fly was tied on a size # 3/0 hook and the finished fly was 11cm and 12cm in length. This mega version is tied on a size #4/0 hook and the finished fly is a whopping 15cm to 16cm in length. Orange & yellow combinations are popular with lure fishers and those colours have…

This is one of just four colour combinations that I tie my articulated swimmer fly in. Hard bodied Brown bomber lures are very popular as a lures for targeting barra and jacks in Queensland waters and most lure fishers have at least on in the lure tray. Based on the colours of the 'brown bomber'…

I tie these downsized version of my original articulated slow roller fly in sizes #1 and 1/0 sizes and fish them on my #8 weight fly rods with 20lb Maxima Ultra Green leaders. They are an absolute treat for native bass and all sorts of estuary and coastal species including bream, flathead, and…

This fly is a down bib version of my 'articulated swimmer' range of flies and adopts the "sunburst colours" of a number of popular barramundi lures. Like those lures this fly comes into its own when fishing water that is tannin stained or carrying a lot of sediment. Building an articulated fly is…

This is a fly which I developed progressively over the period from 2012 to 2015 to fill a gap in my arsenal of flies to target barramundi around Gladstone. When I first came to Central Queensland I started out fishing for barra with pink things, clousers and deceivers that I had tied for barra…

This fly is primarily designed as a simple yet effective fly to be fished behind my articulated popper heads. Colour choice are infinite but three of my favourites are. Materials for trailing hook Hook size Thread Under-tail Tail flash Over-tail Body Mustard 34007 #3/0. Big fly thread Hends or…

The Clouser in my view is the quintessential salt water fly. It can be tied in sizes to suit Bream or Bill fish and with the correct dressing and size is equally at home in salt water, trout and bass fisheries. Many flies whilst not acknowledging their heritage are based on the Clouser recipe. Have…

There are a lot of colour combinations of Christmas Island Special (CXI) flies that my mates and I have seen on our various trips to Christmas Island and Aitutaki. Some work sometimes and not others and some work more often than not. Below is my list of CXI flies that more often than not…

This fly is inspired by the Clouser but it is so different I just call it a a baitfish fly. It's slightly translucent and swims well making it a realistic generic baitfish pattern. It also sheds water well on the pick up and back cast making it easy to cast. I tie my "baitfish fly" in a range of…

This fly has a poddy mullet shape, casts well and as the name implies it has an action which is similar to both a jerk bait lure and suspending lure. The set up of the jig hook and extension puts the tow point 15mm back along the fly so that a medium to fast strips cause the fly to dart off in…

I tie my mutant clousers in a range of colours and from size #1 up to #4/0 and if I could only carry one colour that would be olive over UV shrimp. That one colour tied in a range of sizes covers a big cross section of fish that I target in Central Queensland. In the smaller sizes it's great for…

I designed this fly to cast easily and to displace or push a lot of water when retrieved. The water displace by the head creates currents along the body which activate the body materials. This black over gold version (i.e. gold bomber colours) is particularly good over weed banks or in dirty water….

This is a variation of my very successful articulated swimmer and is a great fly when targeting barra in Lake Awoonga and other barra impoundments on those quiet days when the barramundi are sulking and you need a fly that is going to be in their face for a relatively long time but still active. I…

This is the biggest version of my "mud prawn" fly and the one that I use when chasing barramundi, flathead, grunter and fingermark in Central Queensland. I tie samller versions on #2 and #1/0 hooks and this large version on size #2/0 and #3/0 hooks. All 3 sizes provide a representation of prawn…

I designed my original pregnant prawn in 2011. That fly is tied on a #2 hook and is a corker of a fly for targeting bream, whiting and flathead. This bigger pregnant prawn fly is one of my goto flies here in Central Queensland estuary waters. I often fish it when targeting barra, grunter, jacks and…

Matching the hatch is the key to catching pelagics such as Queenfish, Tuna and Australian salmon on fly. These unweighted flies are like candy to pelagic fish because they closely match the form and function of a lot of naturals they are targeting. I always tie the bottom 3/4 of the fly in white…

Whilst not designed to represent any particular bait fish I have designed this fly to have a shape, form and function similar to many of the little fish that predators hunt. In the #4/0 version this is a very effective "big fish fly" and is 12 cm long but because it's unweighted it's relatively…

Whilst not designed to represent any particular bait fish I have designed this fly to have a shape, form and function similar to many of the little fish that predators hunt. This #2/0 estuary fly is 9 cm long and because it's unweighted it's relatively easy to cast. It's a great fly to use when…

My articulated swimmer dressed in the red and white "Qantas" colours has been one of my most successful prospecting flies for Central Queensland. It has caught more than its fair share of barramundi in both the Boyne River and Awoonga Dam and has caught other species including bream, flathead,…

[map state="QLD"] Mast head and other off shore reefs Rundle Island (top of Curtis Island) Facing island reefs including Perl Rocks and Sable Chief Jenny Lind and Seal rocks Channel markers Gear options: 1) General fishing: 15/50 with 30lb braid, 50 flouro and a #4 fastatch clip. This can fish for…

If I could only carry one surface fly when fishing for Bass, Yellow belly and other native species my black Poll-Head-Popper would be it. When Bass or Yellow belly are feeding on big insects like Cicadas and Hoppers that crash onto the water they also become susceptible to poppers cast around their…

If I could only carry one type of fly when fishing for bonefish on Christmas Island, Aitutaki, The Bahamas, tropical Australia or other Pacific Islands or The Seychelles or other Islands in the Indian Ocean it would undoubtedly be the Christmas Island Special. The recipe is very much a tropical…

Black fish move into the estuaries and around the coastal rocks at different times of the year and become challenging targets for fly fishermen. If they are actively feeding on weed around structure or you have used berley such as weed and sand to get the black fish feeding they will often take a…

From what I can gather the original Wiggle Minnow was conceived by Mark Felty of Felty’s flies in Sydney. By varying the materials used, the colours and size I have accounted for trout, bream, flathead, mangrove jack and even barramundi on wiggle minnows. The recipe I have set out below is just one…

This is a prawn or shrimp imitation that has stood the test of time. Whilst I have seen it in all sorts of sizes and colours I have found that small flies tied in translucent shades of olives through to browns work best. Materials Hook Thread Eyes Weight Mouth parts Sieves Legs Body Size 2 to 6…

If your heading off on a fishing trip the gotcha fly in a few colour combinations and a couple of sizes should definitely be included in you fly box. I was looking at the Fulling Mills bonefish flies and one of them was predominately orange with a pearl body … this is my version of that…

If your heading off on a fishing trip the gotcha fly in a few colour combinations and a couple of sizes should definitely be included in you fly box. Whilst preparing for a trip to Aitutaki I came across a video of Etu tying a fly like this for Paul Worsteling from the Tackle World franchise ……

There are a lot of colour combinations of Christmas Island Special (CXI) flies that my mates and I have seen on our various trips to Christmas Island and Aitutaki. Some work sometimes and not others and some work more often than not. Below is my list of CXI flies that more often than not…

The Black Prince cicada can be found along the full eastern coast and hinterland of Australia. It is prolific in many forested areas in the wormer months and when it inadvertently falls or flies into the water more often than not provides a big protein rich snack for a range of fish species…

This is definitely my preferred popper for targeting Australian native bass in their natural river and lake habitat. Bass strike for 3 reasons. The fist and most obvious is when they are actively feeding. At those times bass can have an appetite for everything from nymphs, yabbies, small fish,…

For a few years now I have fished for bass on and off with wiggle minnows. I always thought they should have worked but the limited success made me wonder if it was all about the shape. Being pretty confident that bass take frogs I decided to modify the wiggle minnow concept so that it would look…

Boobies are a fantastic bass fly when fished on the surface but occasionally they hang so low in the water they get a bit hard for me to see. To overcome that when seeing the fly is necessary I added a back of 2mm closed cell foam – works like a dream. This is undoubtedly my favourite bass fly….

If the fish are cooperating I would always prefer to catch my bass or other native species on a surface fly. Sometimes however you just can't convince them to come to the surface to take your fly but you know they are there because there still responding to your mates who are fishing on the "dark…

There is no doubt about it Andy's destroyer is a very good saratoga fly and I am confident it will work on other species too. My variant does not include the shroud of mara wool tips around the zonker tail. I have left that off because for me the currents around the body of the fly produce more…

Designed by Lefty Kreh in the 50's this fly or class of fly has stood the test of time. In terms of popularity with salt water fly fisher folk it probably runs second only to the Clouser Minnow. The Deceiver was designed to be easily tied in a range of sizes and in a range of colours and…

This is a larger blue water version of my very successful 'Flats minnow". It's a very fishy looking fly and has a little blood spot that adds to the appearance of the fly being a wounded fish. It sinks quickly and because of the relatively heavy dumbbell eyes and the wing that is well above the…

I came up with the design for this fly in 2011 and have used it with great success ever since. Designed to be fished with a stop start retrieve along the bottom this fly looks very much like a shrimp or prawn that is in row carrying eggs)and is an ideal fly for targeting bottom feeders such as…

In the #3/0 mega size this is one of my three main goto flies when I am chasing barra in both fresh and salt water Central Queensland environments. The 1/0 smallest size is great for fresh water tarpon and the middle #2/0 is a good general prospecting size. It doesn't matter if you fishing the…

This is a fly that I developed specifically for sight fishing on the flats to the likes of bream, flathead, bonefish and permit. It's a very fishy looking fly and has a little blood spot that adds to the appearance of the fly being a wounded fish. It sinks quickly and because of the relatively…

This is my variant of Peter Morse' Gusto fly and is one of my go to flies when targeting barramundi in Lake Awonga. It's dressed on a #3/0 34007 stainless hook which is quite a heavy hook and that creates an effective "keel" effect. It has a long marabou tail and a dense hackle collar which creates…

Hard body lures in brown bomber colour have earned a place as a popular lure colour combination for barramundi in estuary and coastal mangrove edged water. The same colour scheme is a great colour combination for flies used to target barra along the edge of mangroves. In the smaller sizes it's…

Guns and Roses coloured of red over chartreuse are very popular hard body and soft plastic lure colours in Queensland and work equally well for flies particularly in low visibility water. In the smaller sizes it's great for estuary and coastal species such as bream, flathead and whiting. Moving up…

Qantas colours of red or orange over white are very popular hard body lure colours in Queensland and equally successful for flies. This is second to only wild olive over shrimp as my favorite ‘all rounder’ colour for many flies that I use in Queensland. In the smaller sizes it's great for estuary…

This is a popular rubber tailed Gotcha type fly which is very similar to other ties for rubber legged gotcha flies. It has it's place in your bonefish fly box for those occasions where the bones shy away from the bright colours of most other bone fish flies. Materials Hook Threads Bead Tag Body…

This fly swims well and the propeller at the front adds an element of action that fish find enticing. You can tie this fly in any colour combination to mimic the colour of some of the more popular lure colours that your mates that fish the "dark side" use so successfully. My favourite colours are…

The original thing was pink and white and was tied by Graham White of Darwin the early 80's. It got its name "pink thing" when one of his mates asked for "a lend of one of those pink things".  Whilst the "pink thing" was tied as a barra fly it has turned out to be a great dirty water fly for a…

Beetles are of the order Coleoptera and there are over 28,000 species found in Australia. One species that is a popular food source for trout is the tea tree beetle. This representation is tied in shades of black and brown colours that have stood the test of time. Many of the recipes you see use…

I was ripping the black tailed version of this fly through the chop with some success when my boat partner asked what fly is that 'silver surfer'. I explained to him that it was just a woolly bugger variant tied with a black tail and silver UV straggle fritz. I tried to give it a real name such as…

This is a nifty little fly that merges the hares ear nymph and the traditional booby both very high pedigree flies into one very useful loch fly. It also has a bit of flash about it which helps the fly fill an important role in my fly box for an attractor fly to use on my middle dropper when I loch…

Designed by Jack Gartside this fly is one of those flies that just works. It's amongst the most successful surface flies for American small mouth and large mouth bass type flt fishing. In Australia it is also a very useful fly and when tied along the lines of the original it takes Australian bass…

One of my top 10 trout flies is my Kalkite special. It's no surprise therefore that I have a cousin to that fly, perhaps with a little influence from the yeti fly, in my bass fly box. Unlike the trout Kalkite special fly I seldom fish this fly as a single fly but find that if fished on a dropper…

This is a Peter Morse fly and is a great variation of a Woolly Bugger and is making its mark. It's dressed on a wide gape hook that creates an effective "keel" effect and sports a relatively long marabou tail and a dense collar which together create plenty of currents around the fly that really get…

I designed this fly in 2002 and when the yabbies are on the move it's one of my go to flies. My original notes on this fly are set out below. "In lakes like Jindabyne and Eucumbene you seldom catch a trout with a full stomach when the contents doesn’t include yabbies. Over the years I have…

Over the last two weeks or so I have had the pleasure of fishing with good friend Ray Ellis in various water ways around Gladstone. For a lot of the time we both fished fly and finished up with similar results. When the fly fishing got tough Ray swapped over to the "dark side" and fished with his…

If the fish is big enough it will take a mouse. This applies to trout, barra,cod, saratoga and a range of other fish. This little mouse lands right way up most of the time, swims well and has a reasonable mouse profile. The eyes and the ears are really only for the angler and hopefully add a little…

Unfortunately, in the process of Tiewell being sold and reinvented the large rubber tails for #2/0 versions of my estuary fly never came back on the market. What I have come up with as an alternative is using the rear half of the 2.5? Z Man Grub Z. That has created an even better fly. I have stuck…

I designed my original pregnant prawn in 2011. That fly is tied on a #2 hook and is a corker of a fly for targeting bream, whiting and flathead. This is the biggest pregnant prawn fly that I tie and is one of my goto flies here in Central Queensland when targeting barramundi in estuary and harbor…

This fly is basically my original mud prawn that I released in 2003 and have now miniaturised and modified so as to represent the sort shrimp that you find on tidal flats in tropical waters. On my next trip to CXI this year I am expecting that this variation will work really well particularly on…

The Clouser in my view is the quintessential salt water fly. It can be tied in sizes to suit Bream or Bill fish and with the correct dressing and size is equally at home in salt water, trout and bass fisheries. Many flies whilst not acknowledging their heritage are based on the Clouser recipe. Have…

Poppers are a bit harder to cast than a normal fly because of the wind resistance but if you slow your cast down a little I'm sure you'll soon get the hang of it. Once you do you have another tool in your arsenal which is useful in three diverse situations: When pelagic fish are actively pushing…

A great fly to use when target fish are actively feeding on small fish such as sardines, whitebait and pilchards. You can either fish it on a floating line and strip it across the surface with dramatic effect or fish the fly on a sinking line, count the fly down and then retrieve it up through the…