foolforjesus

Good work Jimmy, next time hey Mate. I was up at Jindy over the long weekend with my wife. We didn't fish much...We did a couple of hours each evening on the lake. I managed to hook a very small Rainbow on the last evening, but it shook the plastic. She can be tough Jindy I think. It's the sort of place you need to fish regularly to nut out the right spots and times when the fish are around. Cheers, Chris

Hey Jimmy72, Thanks Mate! It's funny, on the day the flies that I thought would get the action didn't! You'll have to let us know if your heading up to Windy for a crack at the natives, it's great fun! Hooked Up is becoming a gun fly tier, his Calamari flies are great, not to mention his other patterns! Cheers, Chris

Ok, good to know! So it really is possible to crack one of three big natives up there! Sweeeeeeet!

Hey Scratchie, Cheers Mate! Yeah they do fight we'll, very we'll I fact. I reckon a 5kg plus fish would be awesome on the fly rod! You'll get up there at some point!

Hey Stewy, Ahhhh I so wish we'd got that last fish into the boat! It really did fight different? The Yella's dug deep, whereas this fish ran deep, stripping a good bit of line, in two runs! After reading the Silvers can reach 8kgs, who knows?! Do you know if there is much of a Silver Perch population in Windamere? Cheers, Chris

Hi W4z, Thanks Mate. We will certainly be chasing them in the near future. We'll hopefully tap into the Silvers & Cod! You've gotta dream big hey!

Hey Big Neil, Mate it was a very exciting day, it really was more than I'd anticipated!

Hey pmak, They sure do! Cheers Mate, it was a great day!

Hey Jimmy72, Please see the pics I've added to the post. They seemed to prefer neutral colours. We threw some colourful ones at them, but they didn't seem to respond. I'm sure on the right day, some pretty out there colours would work!

Hey Raiders, The day finally arrived, Hooked Up & I were on our way to chase our first native species, the majestic Golden Perch. The challenge we'd set ourselves was to crack a Yella on the fly rod! After a lot of prep, tying flies & getting the boat ready, we launched her into the beautiful waters of Lake Windamere. How beautiful is this part of the country, we were well impressed! After soaking up the new landscape, our focus turned to searching the many bays, getting a feel of this wonderful piece of water. It wasn't long before we had found a likely looking spot, which turned out to be the first hook up of the day. Lee was on, and what a dog fight it turned out to be! The fly rod was buckled, Lee was putting the hurt on, yet the mighty Golden didn't flinch! After a stubborn fight, Lee's first Yella hit the deck, and we were well chuffed! Yeehaaa's & high five's all round! We were impressed with how well these fish fight, and loved their bulldog spirit! After a few pics, off it swam to get bigger! We searched around some more, checking out the terrain, learning as much as we could about the ol Windy! After locating another great spot, I cast my fly out behind the boat, letting it sink before I started a strip pause, followed be a strip BANG! I'm on! This fish was stubborn, it would not give up! It reminded me of a big Brown Trout, stubborn, using its weight to stay deep. After a cracking fight on fairly light fly gear, my first Golden Perch was on the boat! What a beautiful fish, boy they go hard! After a few snaps, off it swam! Another missed take, followed by a dropped fish, this one going hard for the timber which resulted in shaking the hook! This one fought much harder, going on a couple of screaming runs...Was it a Cod, was it a huge Golden? We'll never know, but it was enough to hook us in! Gear used: Sage TCX 9wt Sage VXP 7wt Intermediate Rio Lines 14lb Flouro Tippets Successful Flies on the day were: Other flies tied: The mighty Golden Perch certainly lived up beyond our expectations. To crack our first ever Yella's on the fly rod, on our own flies was extremely rewarding. I think the Trout & Kings may be having a rest while TS focus their attention on this very worthy opponent!

Hey Raiders, I'm planning a trip chasing the fabled Yella Belly soon, and wanted your thoughts on the gear I will be targeting them with. From what I hear, people seem to recommend a good 8wt outfit. From the bit of research I've done online, I've seen several articles/videos where people are using 2-4kg bream gear, and also 1-3kg gear. Based on this, and as I'm not in a position to get an 8wt combo at present, I was going to use my Sage One 6wt outfit. Do you think this is too undergunned? The flies I have tied are all unweighted, size 4 long shank, and will be fished on an intermediate line. I should be able to cast these no worries. I was going to use 10lb straight flouro tippet. Any tips or suggestions would be most appreciated. Cheers, Chris

Hey Royce, yes palming the spool is certainly a great weapon in a fly fisherman's arsenal.

Hi Jet01, I concur with everything that Hooked Up said! Just bear in mind that with Lamson Waterworks reels, the drag is sealed, however the drag doesn't put out that much in way of KG. If you were looking to spend that kinda money on a reel, it would probably serve you well to get a specific salt water reel, with a higher end drag system. Cheers, Chris

I get "G" series Black Magic hooks sometimes for fly tying. They are a wide gape hook, very suitable for worms/powerbait. You can pick them for a box of 30 for under $10. Good hooks IMO. I would go a size 10-14 depending on the size of worm/powerbait. Size 12 would be a good happy medium. No need to go crazy big. Cheers, Chris

I can confirm what Troutboy said. I bought 2 spools of Fireline Tournament Exceed in 5.5lb & 6.6lb (couldn't get 4lb) and straight out of the packaging they both fished extremely well. I found them to be thinner in diameter than the standard 4lb Fireline. I've used expensive braid before, and this was much much user friendly.

If your casting light weighted jigs, plastics etc then braid will cast a lot further. Ideal for bank & boat fishing. Once you've got used to braid, I think you'll never want to go back. Using a fluorocarbon leader between 6-7 feet is essential. Cheers, Chris

Good work Mate!

So I ended up getting some Fireline Tournament Exceed in 5.5lb & 6.6lb (they were the lowest lb strains I could get). I spooled up the 6.6lb last night (which is thinner than the standard 4lb Fireline) full to the lip of the spool no less. I went for a fish today, and I gotta say, I had no problems what so ever, which is pretty amazing I reckon. Not one tangle or wind knot, and that's fishing very light plastics in the wind! I'm very impressed with this line, and it's fair to say I'll be sticking with it from now on. Expensive Japanese Braid line has it's place I'm sure, but I honestly think I would have had more issues had I gone that route. Cheers, Chris

Hi quochuy, Thanks for the info. I may try the Nanofil at another date, but for now I've decided to stick with the tried & tested Fireline. I actually got some exceed as well to try. My main reason for sticking with a stiffer line is simply down to fishing in windy conditions. A supple PE braid in my mind I s asking for trouble in windy conditions. That said, I'm sure in calm conditions it's a dream to use. Cheers everyone, Chris

Hi Luc, Ok great, cheers for the update!

Hi reLapse, Ok great, I've narrowed it down to Sunline Super PE & Fireline Tournament Exceed. Cheers!

Hi Mate, Ok great, that's peace of mind on that.

I must say, after reading up on Fireline Tournament Exceed on the Berkley website, I can't see anything in the Speil that says it's designed only for overhead reels. Can anyone confirm if this is true? Cheers, Chris

Hi Witha,Did you put the Exceed on a spin reel? Do you find it cuts into itself? That's what Berkely say in the technical info on the line. The Sunline Super PE line sounds pretty good, it seems to be good from everything I've heard about it. I think I'm either gonna stick with run of the mill Fireline or give the Super PE a try. Cheers!

Hi Trout Stalker, I was reading up on Nanofil line yesterday. It does sound good. The only thing that put me off a bit was the knot strength. I also read quite a few reviews saying it isn't very abrasion resistant either.