You can find our river fly packs with this link All Fly Packs
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Size#14 and Size#16 are tied on barbless hooks.
]]>Yes we did catch a few on the day. Jig Fly Black Copper John BTB and Copper John Red GTB
]]>Spring is fast approaching and the trout season will be firing up and the question is have you got the right Caddis patterns.
Lets talk Caddis. For a start there are a lot of them hanging round our rivers. This alone makes them interesting to both us and trout, however, when do trout get to eat them? They eat every part of the life cycle bar the egg as it is too small for the fish to see even though trout have outstanding underwater sight.
Our pack has no egg pattern. The bottom row of patterns in the photo give the early stages of caddis life. Any plain looking nymph could be a Stick Caddis case with a living creature in it. Drab coloured nymphs would do quite well, weighted with a bead even better. At this stage of the cycle a Stick Caddis clings to the rocks and find their food sources on the bottom of the river. After growing for several months, and in some species some years, the creature incases itself and pupates in preparation for the next stage of the cycle. Achieving this it chews its way out of the case. So the journey towards the surface begins. The Iron Maiden fly is swept along by the river current and then begins to ascend to the surface.
The next row of flies represent the near surface activity just before the emerging stage. Bubble Back Caddis green bodied, Bubble Back Caddis brown bodied and Olive Caddis CDC. This stage of the cycle is perilous for the soft bodied creature as it has to break the surface. It spends considerable time partially sinking and rising to try and break through. At this point it is heavily pursued by trout.
The next part of the cycle is the adult airborne insect. The patterns for this event are Yellow Sallys, Hot Creek Caddis and Snowflake Caddis in the third row. There are other patterns to cover this stage, for example Stimulators which are not in this pack.
The danger for this insect does not diminish now it has become airborne. It spends many days hiding along the river banks and over hanging structures. Preditors are many including spiders, birds and other insects. The real danger occurs every day in the late afternoon and evening when the mating clouds form over the water often in the soft air behind low hanging tree branches. The cloud mostly comprises male caddis with females occasionally coming out from hiding in the nearby foliage to join the cloud and mate. She drops to the water and deposits her eggs which then sink to the bottom. In some other species of caddis the female swims to the bottom of the river to deposit her eggs.
We have tried to keep this pack in a simple form as there are thousands of caddis species in Australian waterways and with many variations on the life cycle.
Trout find them delicious in all these stages.
If you happen to see these insects in the brighter part of the day in small numbers bouncing on the water they are just like you and me having a drink. Cheers.
This Pack Contains 34 Quality Hand Tied Flies.
Quantity
• Iron Maiden Green DTB #14 2
• Iron maiden Green DTB #16 2
• Hare & Copper Flashback GTB #14 2
• Hare & Copper Flashback GTB #16 2
• Haysies Stick Caddis #14 2
• Olive Caddis CDC #16 2
• Olive Caddis CDC #18 2
• Bubble Back Caddis Green #16 2
• Bubble Back Caddis Green #18 2
• Bubble Back Caddis Brown #16 2
• Bubble Back Caddis Brown #18 2
• Yellow Sally #18 2
• Yellow Sally #20 2
• Hot Creek Caddis #18 2
• Hot Creek Caddis #20 2
• Elk Hair Caddis White #16 2
• Leggy Eggy Stimulator #10 2
]]>At home fishing the Goulburn River was an eye opener. We fished it every week except for our time in NZ. We caught so many fish we had to replace the net and, yes, we released them all. The numbers per trip were between 20 and 50 all on dry flies. Quite amazing.
There is a good explanation for this staggering number of fish. A massive volume i.e. 8 tons estimated escapees from the fish farm during the flooding of the valley in Spring caused when Goulburn Murray Water released 38,000mg from Lake Eildon. This created an out of bank flood you would hope to be a once in a life time event.
The years ahead look good for this fishery as the fish will disperse over the catchment and many will breed. It's a pity many people kept large numbers well exceeding the daily bag limits. Greed and with no thought for the future . No wonder the planet is in so much trouble .
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Fly Choice. USA Rubber Leg Cicada Black #10.
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Now the question is what flies worked. Miss Knobby X #14 and #12. Parachute Hopper #14 and our new Leggy Eggy Stimulator #10.
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Jerry's on the Job.
Gilmores Bridge, Goulburn Valley Highway.
]]>If you are thinking of ordering for Summer please get your order in by 21st October.
]]>A Tip : The dropper length is possibly more important than the fly selection and the point fly should be heaver to aid casting and create less tangles. Thats two tips! Am I loosing it?
]]>Lets start with getting there. We were on a Qantas flight Melbourne to Cairns and Cairns to Weipa on a Sunday and back the following Saturday which gives five days fly fishing the Weipa hot spots. The outfitters for us were Fish's Fly and Sports Fishing who looked after us with an all inclusive package which included a shuttle service to and from the Weipa airport to our accomodation. A stop for extra supplies was very welcome!
Our accommodation was excellent with a chef making great meals. Our guides, including the owner Mark, were extremely knowledgeable, professional and great company.
We took 8 through to 12 weight rods, however, we only used the 8s and 9s. These seemed to cover all situations. The reels were large arbour and of high quality as the fish seem to know how to get you onto the backing. Backing required 50lb braid with a couple of 100 metres. The fly lines we used were Tropical Floating with clear sink tips. Leaders need to have a heavy butt and need to be approximately 10 feet long. A breaking strain at the tip of 20 to 25lb. The guides may chop a bit off this leader length and add bit of 30lb Mono. We liked to use a bit of 30lb Fluorocarbon as a lot of the critters have very sharp teeth and I don't mean the crocks. An extra fly line and extra rod is not a bad idea.
I took too many patterns (is that something to do with owing a fly shop). The standout fly was a White/Silver Clouser, lead eyes and in hook sizes 1/0 and 0/1. I had about 20 of each and we only lost 8. A list of flies worth taking wold be something like this: White Silver Clouser White/Olive Clouser, Orange Big Eye Shrimp, and a couple of crab patterns. Depending on the time of year you go you may want to add some deceiver patterns species list is something like this: Barramundi, Blue Salmon, Coral Trout, Mangrove Jacks, Finger Mark, Mackerel, Tuna, Queen Fish, Trevally, Permit, and the list goes on. There are something like 50 tropical species in the region varying at different times of the dry season.
First timers to the region should be prepared for first runs from the fish using up the total fly line and anything up to 30 metres of backing or more. These can be average sized fish. The drag will have to be cranked up as you fight the fish. Most fish hooked strike with lightening speed whilst you are stripping line and they tend to hook themselves, however, it does not hurt to second set if you get the chance as most of the species have hard mouths. There are also plenty of opportunities to sight fish.
TIPS: A buff, peaked cap, quality polaroid sunglasses, sunscreen 50+, fingerless sun gloves with leather trim on the fingers, salt water wading boots and wading socks, light coloured long sleeved wicking shirt, light coloured long pants, boat shoes or sneakers can be handy.
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The story will cover flies and gear and all the other thingings you need to know to help you have a fun and great trip. Plus it won't break the bank account.
]]>A good day and lots of laughs that's what it's really all about.
]]>Rule of thumb if the fish refuses change the fly.
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The ever faithful Goulburn River comes up triumphs again. Fishing it yesterday with only a slight discolouration we had a great afternoon and good evening rise. The fish a mixture of browns and rainbows during the afternoon taking Miss Knobby X Hopper and small black cicadas keeping us busy. The evening rise #18 Bushy Grey Dun and Bushy Rust Dun got the fish to the net. Back home about midnight with bit of a panic packing up in the dark as I could not find my phone. Black on black on the dash. How it got on the dash an unsolved mystery. Another great day on a favourite river.
]]>Dave's Tip: Double rig it with a Para Adams White Post about a #14 or even an Elk Hair Caddis #14. Old eyes find the the little #20 and #18s are bit hard to see .
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