Posts Tagged ‘lake’

Gusto – sunburst variant

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 plenty of currents around the fly that really get the marabou moving.

The overall length of the finished fly is around 10cm long.

sunburst-p
Hook Eyes Thread Tail Tail Flash Body Front hackle
Tiemco 34007 stainless in size #3/0 Spirit River 'real eyes' 7/32" My preference is white cotton Yellow marabou blood plume Sure Strike violet krystal flash - 6 strands FNF jelly chenille in Picricish colour One red saddle hackle and one grizzly hackle died deep red

Process

A
  1. Starting at a point a little back from the eye of the hook wrap the thread in tight touching turns down the front 1/5 of the hook shank.
sunburst-a

B
  1. Tie in your bead chain, dumb bell or real eyes on top of the hook shank half way along the thread base using figure 8 wraps. To tighten the connection wrap the thread around the base of the eyes on top of the hook shank. My preference is Spirit River 'real eyes' 7/32" with double pupils of black inside red.
  2. Continue winding the thread to directly above the point of the hook.
sunburst-b

C

    Making the tail is a 3 step process

  1. Select two matching blood plume marabou hackles and tie the first one in on top of the hook shank. Make sure that the marabou is tied in horizontal not vertical.
sunburst-c

D
  1. Select a couple of long strands of krystal flash and tie two along the front side with equal amounts projecting behind and in front of the fly.
sunburst-d

E
  1. Take the strands projecting in front of the fly over the shank of the fly and face then back down behind the fly and lock them in that position with a couple firm wraps of thread
sunburst-e

F
  1. Select the second blood plume marabou hackle and tie it in on top of the first blood plume marabou hack and the krystal flash.
sunburst-f

G
  1. Trim off an excess hackle butt and lock the tail made up of the first blood plume hackles, the krystal flash and the second blood plume hackle in place along the top of the hook shank to a position directly above the point of the hook.
sunburst-g

H
  1. Tie a length of FNF jelly chenille in on top of the hook shank directly above the point of the hook
  2. Take the thread forward half way between above the point of the hook and the back of the dumbbell eyes.
sunburst-h

I
  1. Wind the jelly chenille forward in tight touching turns to the thread./li>
  2. Tie the jelly chenille off at that position and trim away the excess.
sunburst-i

J

    This fly need a dense array of hackles that fill the remain free space on the hook shank so select hackles that have some fluffy barbules and a majority of hackle barbules that are about 1.5 times the gape of the hook. For this fly I have selected a red saddle hackle and a grizzly hackle that has been died red. Depending on the length of your hackles you may need up to 4 hackles.

  1. Tie the red saddle hackle in directly in front of the jelly chenille body.
sunburst-j

K
  1. Tie the grizzly hackle in directly in front of the first hackle.
sunburst-k

L
  1. Pull the grizzly hackle aside and wind the saddle hackle forward in uniformly spaced turns in the space between where it is tied in and just behind the dumbbell eyes.
  2. Lock the saddle hackle in behind the dumbbell eyes with a couple of firm wraps of thread.
sunburst-l

M
  1. Trim away the excess tip of the saddle hackle with a sharp blade.
sunburst-m

N
  1. Take up the second hackle and wind that forward through the saddle hackle in uniformly spaced turns.
  2. Lock the grizzly hackle in place between the saddle hackle and the dumbbell eyes with a couple of firm wraps of thread.
sunburst-n

O
  1. Trim away the excess tip of the grizzly hackle with a sharp blade.
  2. Build up a neat cone shaped beak in front of the dumbbell eyes.
  3. Trim away any excess thread.
sunburst-o

P
  1. Varnish the beak and the tie in of the dumbbell eyes with a couple of coats of red nail polish.
sunburst-p

Redfin in Jindabyne, Eucumbene & Tantangara ????

Here is an interesting email from Steve Samuels that I wanted to share with you. Redfin are prolific breeders and carnivores ... if the right precautions are not in place, with no chance of mishap, their numbers will quickly out-compete trout for food and as soon as they get to any size they have the predisposition to eat trout fry and fingerlings.

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Chatto’s bloodworm alpine buzzer

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 varying amounts of red present as the transformation occurs. The third fly in the series is representative of the colour of the pupa as it reaches the surface the dark colour mellows and the pupa assumes a grey or olive colour similar to its terrestrial colour.

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Foam cicada – Chatto’s ‘black prince’

This fly sits well into the surface film like the natural and has a very realistic profile when viewed from below. I have made it smaller than the natural on purpose as flies tied as big as the natural are frustratingly cumbersome to cast on #8 weight outfits that are my preference of the target species mentioned above. The fly lands with a good audible fish attracting 'plop' and with its outstretched wings that are only about half as long as the natural still wiggle with the slightest movement in a very enticing way.

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Bass teaser

If you make the hook light enough and the wing long enough this fly swims hook point up making it quite snag resistant. It swims well and when fished with a twitching movement on either dry or sinking lines it has plenty of movement and of course being relatively compact it's not a fly that will result in a lot of short takes.

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Trout – preparing for an extended trip

My travel/ backup fly fishing kit that will act as: A travel fishing kit that can stowed in my van or car to cover those situations when on the road we decide to have an un-programmed stop and a fishing opportunity presents itself. A backup when fishing from either of my boats or from other boats in fishing competitions

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Leaders – #8 weight for estuary and native species

This is the set up I use for my #8 weight fly rods when boat or bank fishing for the likes of Bass, Sarratoga, Yellowbelly, Silver Perch, Mangrove Jacks, Redfin, smaller Barra and smaller Cod.

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Bass jig

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

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Operation Tempus … awareness about VIC fisheries regulations.

Operation TEMPUS, a major enforcement operation on Corio Bay, begins today to ensure all commercial and recreational fishers are aware of Victoria’s fisheries regulations and are obeying bag limits and legal catch sizes.

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Snowy Mountains fishing report December2013

Fishing in the Snowy region is often tough at this time of the year but if you put the time in and fish well you will find fish

My suggestion for Tantangara is to concentrate your efforts loch style fly fishing the Tantangara hot spots.

For Eucumbene polaroiding the rocky and timbered shores and back waters is a good option and if loch style fly fishing is you go fish into structure and accept that a few lost flies on snags will be a small price to pay for a brown or two.

Green coloured brown trout

On my door step loch style and shore based prospecting in Lake Jindabyne has been tough and the bait fishers have been struggling too. Trolling has fared a little better and there are a few fish mainly rainbows being taken by trollers at around 8 meters. These fish are probably daphnia feeders. For fly fishers fortunately there are a few fish to target (with the aid of polaroid sun glasses) close to structure on shores. These browns are patrolling and actively feeding around shore structure and in my view these are the fish you should target.

I guess we are lucky to have some fly fishing options ... the consensus of reports that I am getting indicate that fishing in Tasmania and right up the eastern seaboard has been tough over recent times. I think that probably somewhat comes down to changing weather conditions. Terrestrial insects like hoppers and beetles as well insects that spend part of their life cycle in the water such as midge, mudeyes, mayflies and damsels could all be forgiven for being unsure of what season they are in. It seems these days that every time we have a run of a few warm days and insects start to appear nature chucks a wobbly and give us harsh weather that either turn off or kills the insects.

Water management in the Snowy region is one of the keys to the quality of local fishing. The lake water levels are not determined by Snowy Hydro but they do play an important role and I am confident that they do their job well within the parameters that are set for them.

Just to set the records straight here is some additional information taken from the Snowy Hydro web site that describes their role.

“Snowy Hydro Limited is a business providing a complex array of financial hedge and insurance products to participants in the National Electricity Market (NEM). We are the leading provider of peak, renewable electricity to the National Electricity Market and a fully integrated Australian energy business with an excellent track record in financial performance, engineering innovation, workplace culture and business practices.
Some important facts about Snowy Hydro are:
• Snowy Hydro does not own the water it releases in the course of electricity generation, the NSW Government does;
• Snowy Hydro does not own or control the release of water to the irrigators. Release is controlled by the NSW Government and by the Murray Darling Basin Commission;
• Snowy Hydro can not store water. The Company has to release a prescribed amount of water each year and this is determined by its Water Licence issued by the NSW Government;
• Snowy Hydro is not a State Owned Corporation, even though it is owned by the three Governments. Since corporatisation in 2002 it operates as a Corporations Act company. Its borrowings are not guaranteed by Governments and it has no access to additional equity other than from the Government owners;
• Snowy Hydro is less a generator of electricity and more a provider of price risk financial hedge contracts to the electricity industry.”

Currently it seems to me that it's the NSW, ACT and Victorian governments determine water flows based on hydro generation requirements, irrigation requirements and environmental flow requirements. If we could get them to give greater consideration the effect of water levels have on fishing and in turn the effect recreational fishing has on tourism in the Snowy region and the wider economic viability of local communities I find myself wondering how much better off our fisheries would be.