Flies

Christmas Island Special – pearl pink

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.

The prawn pink coloured and my version of the ring burner he CXI special are my two go to colours and each of those take up twice as much spac as any other colour version in my CXI fly box.

Below is my list of CXI flies that more often than not consistently work. From these I look for local knowledge from my guides as to which fly they will think will work at any given time.

The biggest mistake that guides apparently see is that flies are often overdressed and the proportions below are not followed.

cxi-o-h

These are the other colours that I find work consistently:

  • Pearl prawn - pink (as tied below)
  • Orange (Ring burner is a similar fly)
  • Pearl prawn - orange
  • Pink
  • Mauve pearl (Electric camel is a similar fly)
  • Yellow pearl
  • Pearl prawn - chartreuse pear

Materials for CXI Special - pearl

I have tied this fly below on a size #6 Spirit River SW07 and Fin Racoon over-wing.

Hook Threads Bead Tail and under-wing Body Over-wing
Gamakatsu SL11-3H or Spirit River SW07 in size #4 to #8 Hends body thread - orange VP-28 5/32"(medium) chrome finish brass dumbbell eyes Tiewell krystal flash in pearl Tiewell krystal flash in pearl Tan Finn Raccoon, craft fur, or rabbit fur

Process

 

A
  1. Wind the thread in touching turns from the 95% position to the bend of the hook and then back to 2/3 of the of the way to the eye of the hook.
  2. Put drop of super glue on top of the hook shank at that position.

cxi-o-a

 

B
  1. Position the eyes on top of the drop of super glue and tie them in on top of the hook shank using tight figure 8 wraps. To make sure that the eyes don’t rotate on the hook shank include a couple of tight wraps the thread around the base of the eyes on top of the hook shank and between every couple of figure of eight wraps take a firm wrap of thread around the hook shank.
  2. Take the thread back down to the bend of the hook.

cxi-o-b

 

C
  1. For this size #6 fly select eight strands of krystal flash.
  2. For this size #6 CXI Special I have selected 8 strands of krystal flash to form the tail, body and under-wing. For a size #4 CXI Special I like 10 strands of krystal flash for the tail, body and the under-wing and for size #8 CXI Special I like 6 strands of krystal flash for the tail, body and the under-wing.
  3. I don't like the tail cut off square so tease the ends out so that the tips are close but random lengths.

cxi-o-c

 

D
  1. Position the krystal flash so that the tail when tied in will be about 1.5 times the gape of the hook.
  2. Lock the tail in position on top of the hook shank with a couple of firm wraps of thread.
  3. Take the thread forward to directly in front of the dumbbell eyes.

cxi-o-d

Pace yourself with the next two steps steps because you want to finish them with enough krystal flash left over for use as the under-wing.

E
  1. Flatten out the krystal flash and wind it forward to directly behind the dumbbell eyes.
  2. Do a single figure of eight wrap of the krystal flash around the dumbbell eyes.
  3. Now take the krystal flash backward doing a single figure of eight wrap of the krystal flash around the dumbbell eyes on the opposite diagonal.
  4. Wind the krystal flash back down to the bend of the hook.

cxi-o-e

 

F
  1. Wind the krystal flash forward again to directly behind the dumbbell eyes and again do a single figure of eight wrap of the krystal flash around the dumbbell eyes.
  2. Now take the krystal flash backward doing a single figure of eight wrap of the krystal flash around the dumbbell eyes on the opposite diagonal.
  3. Finally take the krystal flash forward to in front of the dumbbell eyes and tie it off on top of the hook shank and tie it along the top of the remain part of the hook shank to just behind the eye of the hook.
  4. Take the thread back to just in front of the dumbbell eyes.
  5. Apply a thin coat of head cement to the body of the fly and the tie in of the dumbbell eyes.

cxi-o-f

 

G
  1. Turn the hook over in the vice.
  2. Separate the krystal flash that you have left for the under-wing, pull it up to the underside of the hook shank with the loose ends projecting backward so that the tips are directly above the tips of the tail.
  3. Trim away any excess krystal flash so that the wing will extends beyond the back of the hook the same distance as the tail.

cxi-o-g

 

H
  1. Select a small bunch of your over-wing material.
 pink-h

 

I
  1. Hold the bunch firm between your thumb and forefinger and with you other thumb and forefinger pinch off any wispy ends.
pink-i

 

J
  1. Position the over-wing so that it sits neatly over the krystal flash under-
    wing.
  2. Tie the over-wing material in with several form wraps of thread.
  3. Trim away any excess over-wing material and build up a neat thread head and whip finish the thread.
  4. Trim away the excess thread and apply a coat of head cement to the head.

cxi-o-h

Last Updated: May 11, 2024
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Categories: Trout, Trout flies
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Shrek – Chatto’s viva

It seems that these days the term 'VIVA' has been given to the very popular and successful colour combination of light green or chartreuse and black.

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Last Updated: April 20, 2023
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Categories: Flies, My 'trout' lake wet fly box, Woolly buggers & variants
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Coastal & Estuary – check list

TRADIRIONAL PLASTERSOL SOFT PLASTICS

 
Castaic-jerky-j-swimbait-5"

Powerbait Hollow Belly paddle tails

Grub-tail-prawn

Molix RT Shad 4.5"
 

VIBES

 
Jackall-transam-95

Samaki-vibelicious-vibe-lure-8-5cm

Zerec-fish-trap 90 & 110mm

Reel-Action-Vibes 95mm with 20gram & 115mm with 45grams
 

TPE PPRAWNS

 
Chasebait – flick prawns
 

HARD BODY LURES

 

SURFACE LURES

Bassday Sugapen Floating 70mm and 95mm walk the dog style lures
 

MID WATER LURES

79mm Hank Tuned Jackall Squirrel - sardine
 

DEEP WATER

Killalure River Rat 20feet

Last Updated: April 10, 2023
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Categories: Saltwater - estuary, Saltwater - offshore
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Gladstone – Coastal reefs, rocks and other structure


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 “big fish” (particularly, barra and King Salmon) using Hard body lures, soft plastics, vibes and bottom bash i.e clip on a bait rig with 50lb paternoster rig and a swivel to connect to the Fashatch.
2) If bottom bashing and trolling is the main fishing method take the two big rods they have 40lb braid and 50lb leaders so can troll with one and have the second one ready to bottom either paternoster or binger directly above the bait.
3) Scrounger outfit: 4-10lb ugly stick with 20lb braid , 25lb flouro, #3 fastach clip. This can be used for scroungers such as snapper, netting cod etc, bream, flathead, grunter and fingermark
4) Barra and King Salmon stinger set up: 15/50 with 30lb braid, 50 fluoro and stinger above #4 fastatch clip.
5) #10weight fly outfit: Intermediate line and 30lb Maxima Ultra green leader plus big fish fly

Don’t forget:
1) If intending to keep table fish take the esky and ice
2) Swivels, lead and hooks for paternoster gigs
3) Hard body lures, soft plastics, vibes

Last Updated: March 22, 2023
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Categories: Big fish flies - temperate & tropical destinations, Saltwater - estuary
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Articulated swimmer – estuary species #2/0 version

This amazing estuary fly tied in Qantas colours of red and white or natural colours of olive and shrimp is like candy to many estuary species. This estuary version is tied on a size #2/0 hook with a 3/16" dumbbell eyes.

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Last Updated: January 9, 2022
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Categories: Flies, My estuary & coastal waters fly box, Saltwater - estuary
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Articulated baitfish – estuary version

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 targeting estuary species including but not limited to:

Bream (yellow tail, pikey and black bream)
Lutjanids (Mangrove Jack & Fingermark
Javelin fish (Barred Grunter and Silver Grunter)
Tarpon
Flathead (Dusky and Bartail)
Smaller trevally (including Giant Trevally and Golden Trevally)
Smaller queenfish

It can be used in a number of different ways including:

  • As a prospecting fly work the fly over and past where fish are holding or are expected to hold and retrieve at a range of jerky retrieves at various speed and with the occasional stop.
  • For sighted fish put in clean cast which is inside the fishers current swim path so when the fish sees the fly it will have to make a slight change of direction, instinctively taking it a little out of its comfort zone. The tendency of fish once they have made that change is to take the fly much quicker than they would had the fly been directly in their path. As soon as you think the fish is in range rip the fly in as fast as you can strip or roly poly. It's important to keep your line under control at all times as strikes are always hard and mostly followed by blistering runs and you have to be able to clear the stripped line and get the fight back on the reel as soon as possible.
  • It can also be used as a trailing fly for my articulated popper combination that I use to target predators in very shallow water or actually feeding on the surface.

The fly below is dressed in Brown Bomber colours but I also like it dressed in Qantas colours or natural colours of olive and shrimp..

ripper-a

Materials for trailing hook

Hook size Thread Body foundation
Mustard 34007 @#2/0 Big fly thread - black H2O slinky fiber - brown

 

Process

Right from the start it's important to get an understanding how much body materials you will need to achieve the desired thickness and density of the fly.

There are 2 bunches of H2O Slinky Fiber and two bunches of Steve Farrar's Flash Blend and an optional one or two bunches of Flashabou or Flash Blend to be tied in and it can be a bit of a learning curve getting the quantities right. The goal is to use just enough body materials to dress the fly without making the fly too thick. I suggest you start with bunches as thick as a match stick or tooth pick and then go up or down from that for successive flies.

Also, because your going to fold the Slinky Fiber and the Flash Blend over on themselves it's important to tease each bunch of Slinky Fiber and Flash Blend out at the end that was cut off the hank so when it's tied in and doubled over the tips will all meld together and you don't finish up with square ridges of Flash Blend, from where it was cut from the hank, in the middle of the fly.

A
  1. Place the hook firmly in the vice.
  2. Wind a bed of thread on the front 20% of the hook shank.
  3. Return the thread half way up that bed of thread.

ripper-a

B
  1. The size #2/0 hook that I am using is 3.75 cm in length so cut a 7.5 cm length of Slinky Fiber .
  2. Tie the Slinky Fibers in on top of the hook shank two soft wraps of thread.

ripper-b

C
  1. Massage the Slinky Fibers so that they are equally distributed around the hook shank.

ripper-c

D
  1. Build up a neat thread head.
  2. Whip finish the thread, trim away the excess thread and varnish the thread head.

ripper-d

 


 

The second part for building an articulated fly is to attach the articulated shank and to dress that to represent the thorax and head of the fly.

 

Materials for articulated head

Articulated shank Thread Structure guard (optional) Under-body extension Back Back flash (Brown Bomber only) Belly Belly flash (Brown Bomber only) Eyes
Fish Skull FS-GS-K20 20mm shank Uni big fly thread - black 50lb stiff monofilament H2O slinky fibre - brown Steve Farrar's flash blend - black Flashabou - black Steve Farrar's flash blend - orange Flashabou - gold Fish Scull Living Eyes Size 7 mm - ice colour

 

E
  1. Structure guards are optional on this fly and whilst I prefer to fish most of my flies without structure guards, because they swim better without them, i normally cay a few with structure guards for when I ma fishing in and behind mangroves.
  2. If your going to tie in a monofilament structure guard it's important to attach the articulated shank to the trailing hook with the front eye on the articulated shank facing up.
  3. Also at this stage it's important to make sure that the front and back eyes on the articulated shank are square to each other. More often than not you will need two pair of pliers to make a slight adjustment to ensure that.

ripper-e
F
  1. Cut about 6 cm of 50lb monofilament, fold it in half, and with a pair of pliers crimp the monofiliment so that it holds that shape.
  2. Invert the fly in the vice.

ripper-f

G
  1. Build up a a base of thread in the middle of the articulated shank.
  2. Tie the monofiliment to the articulated shank with firm wraps of thread.

ripper-g

H
  1. Fold the monofilament down onto the front of the articulated shank and lock it in place with firm wraps of thread all the way up to the eye of the articulated shank.
  2. Take the thread back down to the gap in the middle of the articulated and do a half hitch in the thread just to ensure nothing comes undone.
  3. Cut a 7.5cm length of Slinky Fiber.
  4. Tie the Slinky Fibres in on top of the articulated shank with two soft wraps of thread.

ripper-h

I
  1. Massage the Slinky Fibres so that they are equally distributed around the articulated shank.
  2. Lock the Slinky Fiber in with firm wraps of thread.
  3. Turn the fly back over the right way in the vice.

ripper-i

J
  1. Cut a 12 cm length of Flash Blend.
  2. Tease the Flash Blend out at the end that was cut off the hank so when it's tied in and doubled over the tips will all meld together and you don't finish up with square ridges of Flash Blend, from where it was cut from the hank, in the middle of the fly.
  3. Position the Flash Blend with the tips extending 3 cm facing backward and 9 cm facing forward.

ripper-k

 

K
  1. Lock the Flash Blend in position with tight wraps of thread.

ripper-l

L
  1. Fold the forward facing Flash Blend back over the rear facing Flash Blend.
  2. Lock that in position with firm wraps of thread.
  3. Take a couple of half hitches to make sure that nothing comes loose.
 ripper-m

 

M
  1. If your adding flash to the back of the fly as in the Brown Bomber inspired version now is the time to do it.
  2. Cut a 12 cm length of black Flashabou
  3. Tease the Flashabou fibers out at the end that was cut off the hank so when it's tied in and doubled over the tips will all meld together and you don't finish up with square ridges of flash blend, from where it was cut from the hank, in the middle of the fly.
  4. Position the Flashabou with the tips extending 4.5 cm facing backward and 11.5cm facing forward.
  5. Lock it in position with a couple of tight wraps of thread.
  6. Fold the forward facing Flashabou back over the rear facing Flashabou.
  7. Lock that in position with firm wraps of thread and take a couple of half hitches to make sure that nothing comes loose.
 ripper-o

N
  1. Rotate the fly in the vice.
  2. Cut a 12 cm length of gold Flashabou and a similar bunch of orange Flash Blend.
  3. Integrate the Flashabou and the Flash Blend together and tease the Flashabou and Flash Blend out at the end that was cut off the hank so when it's tied in and doubled over the tips will all meld together and you don't finish up with square ridges of flash blend, from where it was cut from the hank, in the middle of the fly.
  4. Position the Flashabou and Flash Blend with the tips extending 4.5 cm facing backward and 11.5cm facing forward.
  5. Lock it in position with a couple of tight wraps of thread.

ripper-r

O
  1. Fold the forward facing Flashabou and Flash Blend back over the rear facing Flashabou and Flash Blend.
  2. Lock that in position with firm wraps of thread and take a couple of half hitches to make sure that nothing comes loose.

ripper-s

P
  1. Take the fly out of the vice and stroke, comb or brush all the elements of the fly into their desired position.
  2. Reinsert the fly into the vice.
  3. I generally use an elastic band to hold the body components in place.

ripper-t

Q
  1. Place a stick on eye on each side of the head of the fly.
  2. Once the second eye is locked in position mix up a generous amount of epoxy and apply a coat of the epoxy over the head of the fly and as far back as the back of the two eyes.
  3. Rotate the fly in the vice until the epoxy had gone off.

ripper-u

R
  1. Do a final trim of the fly to finesse the body into a bait fish shape with an overall length of 9 cm.
  2. Bend the two structure guards into a position so that they are facing slightly backward in a V shape.
 ripper-a

Last Updated: January 9, 2022
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Categories: Flies, My estuary & coastal waters fly box, Saltwater - estuary
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Scrounger – articulated minnow

This is the third in my series of scrounger flies and like the scrounger baitfish and the scrounger jelly prawn it's tied on a worm hook which in soft plastic parlance is also referred to as a weedless hook and more often than not this fly can be retrieved not only through weed but also over or around most structure such as detritus matter, drowned timber, rocks etc, in rivers and lakes, without being snagged up.

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Last Updated: May 23, 2021
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Categories: Flies, My estuary & coastal waters fly box
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Scrounger – baitfish

This fly can be cast onto a muddy bank, right into mangroves and onto rock bars and then can be retrieved over and through all manner of structure with an extremely low incidence of getting snagged up.

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Last Updated: May 9, 2021
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Categories: Flies, My estuary & coastal waters fly box
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hardy-u

Candy – hardyhead

Even for pelagics such as tuna, mackerel, queenfish & trevally matching the hatch is often critical to success. This fly is my version of a hardy head which is one of the baitfish that particularly tuna and queenfish target in Central Queensland but because of its form and function it's also a good representation of some other small baitfish that these hunters target.

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Last Updated: December 14, 2020
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Categories: Big fish flies - temperate & tropical destinations, Flies
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Articulated bibbed barra baitfish

This fly is designed to be fished very slowly and is one of my favorite targeting flies for barra in Awoonga dam. It's not designed to represent any particular bait fish but it does have a shape, form and function similar to many of the little fish that barra target.

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Last Updated: September 1, 2020
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Categories: Flies
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