Trout

This is a list of flies that I know all work well for the lakes around Miena and Bronte in Central Tasmania. For the sake of convenience I have broken the list below up into 4 distinct sections: The first table deals with "Matching the hatch" and is best read in conjunction with an article I first…

=NSW=The Thredbo River runs from just east of the ski fields of Thredbo to Lake Jindabyne where it enter the lake at Waste Point. Once known as the Crackenback River it is very accessible and consequently receives a lot of attention from both fly fishers and those pesky lure fisher folk. Moving up…

Squirmy wormy flies hit the market in 2014 with gusto. They were described as the new wonder fly. For my part I have to say that despite their emerging reputation I thought it just a fad and didn't embrace them. Over time they have endured and their reputation of, on the day, being an exceptional…

This fly is one of a series of four woolly bugger flies that I tie specifically for river fishing. They sinks well and the jig hook encourages the fly to bounce along the bottom hook point up which of course mitigates getting snagged up. Most jig hooks are suitable for this fly but my preferences…

Food source Seasonality (Jan–Dec) Fly suggestions Adult yabbies Woolly bugger Floating yabby Shrimp shell yabby Booby Small yabbies Woolly bugger Floating yabby Shrimp shell yabby Booby Ants & termites Foam flying ant / termite Foam flying ant / termite 2 Ant Midge Midge Beetles Red tag…

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…

Playing fish It's not just pricking fish that is important its landing them: Make contact with your flies as soon as they hit the water and maintain contact with your fly or team of flies at all times. Slackness in leaders will give fish time to spit the fly without you even being aware they have…

Please read this article in conjunction with the companion article: [member Link="p=6028" Title="Fly fishing tips"] Whilst it would be nice to have the right rod, line and leader set up for each sort of water in a river or stream it is not always possible. In competitions in particular you can…

A fly line is a fundamental piece of specialized equipment for the fly fisher. Modern fly lines are made from special polymer materials which are extruded around a core generally of monofiliment or more recently braid. The key difference of the two core materials to the fly fisherman are the…

The number of fly boxes you carry is obviously one of personal choice. One difficulty you may encounter when you are setting up your fly boxes is which flies you should include, and how many flies you should carry in your fly box or boxes. The last thing you want to be doing is standing on the bank…

As a result of fishing in competitions I have got used to measuring the length of fish that I catch, rather than weighing them, and then releasing them to fight another day. It's quick and simple and of course if you keep the fish wet and handle it carefully it puts little extra stress on the fish…

On many occasions over the years I have been told that trout are true opportunistic feeders and that they will eat almost anything. From my experience this statement is both true and false. If you approach your fly selection on the basis that trout eat anything, over time (probably your first…

Detailed below are all the materials you will need to tie all the flies in the course "abc of fly tying for trout" plus heaps of other flies. The overall weight of this kit is 3kg. Over the years I have also used this as the fly tying kit that I take to international competitions such as the…

Whilst the tips I have set out below evolved from fishing in the Snowy Mountains of NSW, in general terms they are equally appropriate to a whole range of fisheries. These tips are all designed to help you locate trout to encourage their cooperation.   Location, location, location Location is…

I like to fish wet flies in the rain. If you are one of those fine weather fishermen you are missing a lot of sport. On sunny days the fish swim near the bottom of the river, lake or stream for a number of reasons. They do not have eye lids and the sun can damage the eyes. More importantly the…

The amount of dissolved oxygen in water can have a significant effect on fish activity and well being and consequently from a fishing point of view its useful to understand why and when there may be more or less oxygen in water. Oxygen is absorbed into water in only two basic ways. Through…

Quite simply, this is a check list of all those things that I regard as important, and that I need to be sure to do, in order to get the most out of every fishing competition or practice session and in my case even to social fishing outings. I go through this check list before heading of to an…

See also: Getting started – wet trout flies Getting started – salt water flies Getting started – bass and native fish flies Getting started – the gear There are only really two types of flies dry flies and wet flies. A dry fly is any fly that is designed to be fished on or in the surface film of…

A wet fly is a fly designed to be fished below the water's surface of the water or a dry fly that has been drowned and is being fish below the surface of the water. Basically there are two main types of wet fly: The type is representational flies which are flies tied to represent food that trout…

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…

It was on the latest club outing to Kalkite on Lake Jindabyne where I was introduced to loch style fishing. I was picked up at 9.00am by the punctual and jovial Steve Chatterton. Attached to the 4WD was his latest acquisition, a serious boat made of plastic and powered by a 60 HP Yamaha. Within a…

The History of the Winery and Distillery is quite interesting. “St Peters was established with the utmost good taste and a seemingly limitless budget by Count Sassoli d’Bianchi and his son Count Andrea Sassoli d’Bianchi in 1978. Its function was truly bizarre: to produce that most unwanted of all…

Casting a fly rod: 6 essentials There must be a pause at the end of each stroke, which varies in duration with the amount of line beyond the rod tip. Slack line should be kept to an absolute minimum. The rod tip must travel in a straight line in order to form the most efficient, least air resistant…

Traditional – according to the oxford dictionary: “fishing e.g. for salmon or trout, using a rod and artificial flies as bait.” In contemporary Australia: That form of fishing, for any fish, using a rod and fly line to cast artificial “flies” or “lures” either as bait, attractors or antagonizes to…

I often get asked the question as to what gear a newcomer to the sport of fly fishing should buy. A lot has been written on what gear you should buy (most by people who are selling it) when you first start out but by the time you have sifted through the volumes you'll probably be as confused as I…

Flies catch more fly-fishers than fish To the uninitiated getting started with flies can be a real hit and miss exercise. I know that when I started purchasing flies, well before I tied flies, I purchased many flies that I never caught a fish on. Some of those flies were flies that others said I…

When browns and rainbows are feeding on hatching midges at the exclusion of all else this buzzer chironomid pattern and when a little lead is added for weight in the tie I find is a good choice for point fly in a team of three flies. This buzzer is basically the same as many that are in common use….

This is the first in the series of three versions of the same fly and is representative of the original bloodworm colour of the pupa as it emerges from the slime on the lake bottom. The second fly in the series is black with flashes of red representing the pupa as changes to a dark colour with…

In this post I describe all the aspect of my current river fishing set up and techniques. The way I set my river fishing gear up and the way I fish has allowed me to hold my own in river sessions in Australia and overseas.

This is a variation of my very successful articulated swimmer and is a great fly when targeting barra in the relatively static water of Lake Awoonga and other barra impoundments. Tied on a #3/0 hook, is 11cm long and on a #4/0 hook this fly is 12cm long. I fish this fly on a #10 weight outfit with…

There is so much written about how to set up your leaders when trout fishing that if you try to follow it all, particularly if your a newcomer to fly fishing, you can be forgiven if your a little confused. When it all boils down it doesn't have to be as complicated as it's made out to be. I have…

Please read this article in conjunction with the companion article: [member Link="p=6028" Title="Fly fishing tips"] At the 2012 World Fly Fishing Championships which I participated in as part of the Australian team leader lengths were limited to twice the length of the fly rod. Whilst at the…

Read in conjunction with: [start-member] [list Link="p=2890" Title="Fly lines"] [list Link="p=6193" Title="Casting a fly line"] [end-member] In terms of manufacturers of fly lines there are heaps of very good manufacturers out there. Look for brand names that are well known and proven in the fly…

A long time ago I decided that #6 weight fly rods were the right weight of fly rod for still water fishing for trout. Since then i have used #6 weight fly rods in many trout fisheries overseas and in Australia and have never for a minute considered changing to a different rod class. Set out below…

Jackall Squirrel lures are all Hank tuned and consequently they come out of the box already tricked up with hardware suitable for barra. The original 79mm version swim off the cast at around 3 meters and a little deeper on the troll and come in a version including rattles and a silent version. In…

My first fish on fly fell to the magic of a Woolly Bugger and many have gone the same way since then. My understanding is that the Woolly Bugger has its origins in America where it appears to be tied, as a leach imitation. having said that there is also an English fly with bead chin eyes called a…

Published: Dec 31, 2016 Revised Mar 07, 2021 This is a list of flies that I know all work well for both Lakes Tantangara, Eucumbene and Jindabyne. For the sake of convenience I have set them out in my "go to" lock style teams and also some "matching the hatch" options and finally some alternative…

Please read this article in conjunction with the companion article: [member Link="p=6028" Title="Fly fishing tips"] At the 2012 World Fly Fishing Championships which I participated in as part of the Australian team, leader lengths were limited to twice the length of the fly rod. Whilst at the…

For the sake of convenience I have broken my fly suggestions up into 5 distinct sections. I have put those sections in the order in which I methodically go through as I determine what fly or flies to tie on. MATCHING THE HATCH WITH DRY FLIES It's hard to beat the exhilaration that comes with…

There is so much written about how to set up your leaders when trout fishing that if you try to follow it all, particularly if your a newcomer to fly fishing, you can be forgiven if your a little confused. When it all boils down it doesn't have to be as complicated as it's made out to be. I have…

Loch style fly fishing is fly fishing over the lee side of a boat with the wind at your back with the boat side onto the wind, using a system incorporating one or a number of flies. It is a technique that is well suited to individual or teams of flies and has applications for both surface…

MEDICAL PROFILE PATHOLOGY

Please read this article in conjunction with the companion article fly fishing tips. Loch style fly fishing is fly fishing over the lee side of a boat with the wind at your back with the boat side onto the wind, using a system incorporating one or a number of flies. It is a technique that is well…

The fly rods that I use when fishing in the tropics for the likes of barramundi, mangrove jack, GT's, queenfish and tarpon are #10 weight Redington Predator fly rods. At only 8 foot 3 inches long they are relatively short rods that have turned out ideal for tropical fly fishing amongst the snags in…

At the 1999 world fly fishing championships held at Jindabyne in 1999 fishing buzzers was the buzz (excuse the pun) and as soon as I got home I tied some up according to the patterns I had seen. I fished those flies many times , without conviction or confidence, and with the inevitable poor…

There is nothing new about "Booby Pumping". English fly fishers have been doing it for years and for a time it was considered so successful in some impoundments that it was banned. I have been fishing boobies for quite a few years and booby pumping has even won a couple of competitions for me. I…

Please read this article in conjunction with the companion article: [member Link="p=6028" Title="Fly fishing tips"] "French leader" or often called "leader to hand" came to my attention in 2009 through the competition sports fly fishing scene. At that stage I was President of Fly Fish Australia and…

Insects such as Mayflies, Stoneflies and Dragonflies that have part of their life cycle in the water provide a significant part of a trouts diet. For a Mayfly Life begins as an egg. Gestation period is only a few days and the hatched nymph is a miniature of the adult except for the wings and tail….

Activity [months] Fly suggestions Brown trout feeding [50] [50] [50] [50] [40] [40] [20] [20] [60] [60] [60] [50] Quicklink Rainbow trout feeding [50] [50] [50] [50] [50] [40] [40] [20] [20] [60] [60] [60] Quicklink Dry fly fishing [40] [60] [60] [60] [40] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [30] [30] Dry…

Activity [months] Fly suggestions Brown trout feeding [50] [50] [50] [50] [40] [40] [20] [20] [60] [60] [60] [50] Quicklink Rainbow trout feeding [50] [50] [50] [50] [50] [40] [40] [20] [20] [60] [60] [60] Quicklink Dry fly fishing [40] [60] [60] [60] [40] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [30] [30] Dry…

Food source [months] Fly suggestions Gudgeon and galaxia [50] [50] [50] [50] [10] [10] [10] [10] [10] [10] [10] [50] Bead head nymphs Magoo Shrek Mrs Simpson Murdoch Adult yabbies [30] [30] [30] [20] [20] [20] [10] [10] [20] [30] [40] [30] Yabby Woolly bugger Floating yabby Shrimp shell yabby Small…

Food source [months] Fly suggestions Adult yabbies [30] [30] [30] [20] [20] [20] [10] [10] [20] [30] [40] [30] Yabby Woolly bugger Floating yabby Shrimp shell yabby Small yabbies [00] [00] [60] [60] [50] [50] [30] [20] [10] [10] [00] [00] Mini woolly bugger Woolly bugger Worms (as vegetation is…

Activity [months] Fly suggestions Brown trout feeding [50] [50] [50] [50] [40] [40] [20] [20] [60] [60] [60] [50] Quicklink Rainbow trout feeding [50] [50] [50] [50] [50] [40] [40] [20] [20] [60] [60] [60] Quicklink Dry fly fishing [40] [60] [60] [60] [40] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [30] [30] Dry…

Activity [months] Fly suggestions Brown trout feeding [50] [50] [50] [50] [50] [30] [20] [10] [10] [20] [40] [60] Quicklink Rainbow trout feeding [50] [50] [50] [50] [50] [30] [20] [10] [10] [20] [40] [60] Quicklink Dry fly fishing [40] [60] [60] [20] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [20] [30] Dry…

Food source [months] Fly suggestions Adult yabbies [30] [30] [30] [20] [20] [20] [10] [10] [20] [30] [40] [30] Woolly bugger Floating yabby Shrimp shell yabby Small yabbies [00] [00] [60] [60] [50] [50] [30] [20] [10] [10] [00] [00] Mini woolly bugger Woolly bugger Worms (as vegetation is drowned)…

Whilst there are over 2000 species of Grasshoppers and Locust in Australia there are really only three "hoppers" that are of significance to fly fishers. Hoppers are normally fished as dry flies but it is worth noting that as some hoppers drown and sink and consequently fishing a hopper pattern wet…

Because of their high protein count and high nutritional return trout will eat most small fish and tadpoles including their own young if given half a chance. Listed below as some of the small fish like creatures that trout eat as well as just a few suggested imitations.

Yabbies Floating yabby Shrimp shell yabby Sinking yabby Large populations of dark olive Yabbies of the Cherax Genus have developed in both Lake Jindabyne and lake Eucumbene and many anglers suggest that the Yabby has been responsible for changing the feeding habits of trout in the lakes as the…

Dragonflies are of the sub- order Zygoptera and Damselflies are of the sub-order Anisoptera which is part of the Odonata family of insects that spend part of their life cycle in the water. The Family Odonata is the oldest of the insect families and prehistoric fossils of dragon flies with wingspans…

Chironomids are also sometimes known Buzzers and Midges at various parts of their life cycle. They are part of the Chironomidae family of the order Diptera – True Flies. They are very small and have a similar life cycle to Mayflies,  Caddisflies, Dragonflies and Damselflies and go through four…

Caddis flies are also known in some cases as sedge because of their habit of clinging to vegetation, particularly sedge type grasses, along the banks of rivers and impoundments. Whilst caddis appear on general inspection to only have one pair of wings they in fact have two pairs of wings but the…

This definition covers insects from two separate orders. The first are the aquatic bugs of the hemipterus order and the second the aquatic beetles of the order coleopteran. Water boatman and back swimmers Whilst there are over 5000 different species of aquatic bugs Australia only two are of…

Please read this article in conjunction with the companion article: [member Link="p=6028" Title="Fly fishing tips"] A very good technique for water of almost any depth that has a little width to it and an obvious flow that will work your flies. It is often only used where holding fish can't be…

For me polaroiding is one of the most rewarding forms of fly fishing. It involves the process of sighting fish with the aid of polaroid sunglasses and then working out and executing a when, where, what and how equation with the aim of enticing the sighted fish to take the fly. I like it because it…

Recuperation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Serves: 4 Ingredients A good slosh of olive oil or alternative. 6 rashers of bacon – sliced across in 1 cm strips. I large onion – chopped. 250 ml Philadelphia "Original cream for cooking". Ground pepper. Parsley- optional but a little is…

Please read this article in conjunction with the companion article: [member Link="p=6028" Title="Fly fishing tips"] This is the first river fishing technique that I was introduced to and is probably the most widely used technique used by recreational fly fishers in Australia and New Zealand and the…

Please read this article in conjunction with the companion article: [member Link="p=6028" Title="Fly fishing tips"] There is a reason why up stream fishing is probably the most widely used technique used by fly fishers in Australia and New Zealand and the UK – it works. Given the attention this…

Including Polish nymphing, Spanish nymphing, and of course Czech nymphing. Please read this article in conjunction with the companion article: [member Link="p=6028" Title="Fly fishing tips"] [member Link="p=18013" Title="My preferred set up – Two rod set ups for rivers"] [member Link="p=12114"…

The word nymph has of course two fly fishing meanings. The first is "Juvenile, sexually immature stage of certain insects, usually similar to the adult in form, and which require an intermediate stage before becoming an adult. Mayflies, Caddis flies, Dragonflies, Damselflies, Stone flies and Midges…

I have been keeping a data base record of my fishing outings now for around 15years. When you do a search say on November, December and January for Lake Jindabyne its interesting to see the similarities for that period of time over the years. There is obviously some skewing of the results because…

There are obviously a lot of flies that have been designed for estuary species and in the right conditions and on the right days most work. Whilst the standards like the crazy charlie, baited breath and clousers are all good flies and might work for you I found that they don't work consistently…

I reserve my dry fly selection for flies that are fished on the surface of the water and either represent the dun or spinner of a an insect that spends part of its life cycle in the water such as a Mayfly, Caddis fly, Midge, Dobsonfly, Cranefly etc. or they represent terrestrial insects that have…

Loch Style fly-fishing  involves fly-fishing from a boat, side onto the wind, using a system incorporating one or a number of flies. There are both wet and dry lock style fishing techniques. The dry fly technique involves casting out in the direction of the drift, stopping the cast above the water…

I have listed this fly box first because its undoubtedly the most important of my river fly fishing boxes. I am a firm believer that when fishing rivers you have to get down to where the fish are holding and also that flies particularly in faster running water should include "hot spots". These…

I have extended the population of flies that I carry in my nymph fly box to include flies like Carixia and Shrimp flies because I fish them ostensibly in the same way that I fish my nymphs. Have a look at a full list of carixia and shrimp featured on this web site: QUICK LINK From the above list I…

It's a subtle distinction between what I consider streamers and pulling flies and what I consider 'loch style flies' . The main difference for me is that whilst each of the flies below work well in a team of flies they also fish well by them selves. My favourite woolly bugger flies and some nymphs…

I have lumped the flies that I prefer for Australian Native fish into one group as by in large the species I target are all structure oriented. They tend to frequent areas with structure such as weed, sunken logs, rock bars, under cut banks, holes and drop offs etc. and generally react in much the…

Fishing to spawning fish isn't everybody's idea of fun . . . it certainly isn't mine so I just don't do it. In the interest of completeness however I have included a selection of pre and post spawn run flies that suite this style of fishing. Detailed below are the flies that I carry in my 'pre and…

An important part of my bead head fly box. I am a firm believer that when fishing rivers you have to get down to where the fish are holding and also that flies particularly in faster running water should include "hot spots". These flies satisfy both these requirements. I tend to use my bead head…

The word nymph has of course two fly fishing meanings. The first is "Juvenile, sexually immature stage of certain insects, usually similar to the adult in form, and which require an intermediate stage before becoming an adult. Mayflies, Caddis flies, Dragonflies, Damselflies, Stone flies and Midges…

Detailed below are the flies I used on my last Tropical Fly Fishing Trip. Whilst that trip was to Melville Island off Darwin the selection is relevant to most Australian tropical destinations and is a good starting point for one of those exotic tropical fly fishing destinations.  For normal salt…

You could easily go over board with your selection of flies for offshore fishing as there are heaps of options out there. I don't think you have to do that and that just the few flies listed below in a couple of sizes and a few color combinations will do the job in 95% of offshore fishing…

Boobies are an essential fly if your going to cover all the bases with your impoundment fly fishing techniques. They are also great flies for targeting other species especially Australian Bass. because they cross over between species, have specialist applications and  and are bigger flies any way I…

As the pupa or sub-imago of Mayflies, Caddis, Midges, Stoneflies, Dobson flies etc. move to and through the surface of the water to hatch they are referred to as emergers and when large numbers go through this process at the same time it is referred to as a hatch. When fish are feeding on emergers…

There are more hoppers flies out there than there are actual hopper verities and you can carry a few of each if you like but I have opted to carry just three patterns that work well in most situations. There are of course a couple of flies in my dry fly selection such as the elk hair caddis, claret…

I have lumped these diverse types of insects together as much for convenience as because in may cases they can be fished in similar ways. All of them respond to being fished relatively static except for current and without any drag. Having said that for midge in particular remember that if you are…

Sorry for the inconvenience. The location you were reviewing is one of several venues being considered by Fly Fish Australia Inc. as a venue for either the 2011 Oceania Fly Fishing Championships, the 2012 Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships or the 2011 Nationals. Accordingly information in…

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You can cook trout in many ways but unless you add some zing you will find that it's often a bit flat. This is one of my personal favourite fried trout recipes. The baste I have used below is honey and soy but its a great idea to try out a couple of other simple bastes like: Lemon and butter Sweet…

You may recall that in my recipe for fried honey and soy trout that I suggested that " any left over trout should not be wasted. Using your fingers (after washing) flake the remaining trout and carefully remove the bones". If you want to turn the left over flaked trout into great trout rissoles…