Narralakes Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 (edited) Bluecod and I were on the water at about 5.30 this morning and conditions were good. After all the mid-week reports on salmon, I was keen as to see if we could also land a couple. We saw the "Cool" vessel with Captain Joe, Mark and Iain as we reached North Head and said g'day. Joe headed out to drift for snapper, but Bluecod and I were trekking for Spot X, no secret if you were out on the Raiders day a couple of weeks ago, but in contrast to that day, we were basically the only ones there apart from one or two others. We put in some HBs for some pike, and George landed a nice 40cm tailor at Manly, there were some baitfish, dolphins and heaps of birds, but no visible signs of any salmon. We set a pick and burleyed up, opting for SPs, a couple of reef dwellers and some big swirls spotted, but nothing else. Mark gives us a ring and lets us know, the salmon were at Bluefish. My battery was out of power, so only managed a quick report, so we headed up to find stacks of birds, but no salmon, and a gleaming Mark holding his nice salmon. We also bumped into Alex, how'd you go down south Alex? Anyhow, we head back to Spot X and burleyed up hard, SPs were not getting touched, then I switched to my flyrod, with a sinking tip and a couple of strips later was onto this nice king, my first one on fly, actually my first one ever! Was I happy! Now I know why they call them kings, they go hard! For the next hour, Geroge, who also swapped to his fly, and I had a pretty hot session, altogther, George - 2 sambos (set free), 3 trevs, and dropped about 3, for myself - 1 king 55cms (PB... as its my first and only so far), 2 trevs, 3 dropped, one was a salmon for sure, not to mention a sizeable St Baker. It was a good session and heaps of fun, thanks for the company again George, sorry about my phone battery Mark, would have called you. cheers Edited August 21, 2005 by Narralakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MarkD Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Excellent work Ken and George! I'm yet to get any kind of saltwater creature on a fly. I reckon I may have to upgarde from my 5wt first..! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jocool Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 (edited) Great stuff fellas. Wasn't it a pearler of a day to be out there! And congrats on your King PB. Now you know why I rave about them. Edited August 21, 2005 by Jocool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bombora Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Cangrat on your first kingie Narra! Well done! And goodstuff too Bluecod. Driving to work this morning there was a school of somethings working about 50-80 metres off Harboard Diggers club; birds were working fairly hard and could see splashes before I had to start looking at the road again . If there's no action off Manly or Queenie Bombie this little area off the northern tip of Harboard is worth the extra kay or two travelled, it has been good to us in the past for small pelagics. cheers Bombie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombat Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Well done Ken / Bluecod. Almost makes me want to take a hike out to ABA to look at a saltwater fly outfit. looked like a top day. What did you have on the end of the line when you got the King, Ken? Wombat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Pugwash Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Well done gents, a very successful day considering how quiet winter has been. Well done on the first Kingy Narra. I'll bet it won't be your last now you have had your first taste of them! Cheers Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weiry Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Excellent job fellas ..GOOD ON YAZ !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexit Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Ahhh Ken, I am kicking myself for not following you up that way We got all the way down to bondi for nothing. Though the cliffs are a sight to be seen from the water for sure and the dolphins were friendly. Congrats on the king mate.. I want one of those puppies on fly! So what weight wee you on? And the flies? alex ps..nice to put a face to you george, and well done on the fly today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmar560 Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Well done on your kingie on fly Ken it's always a good feeling to catch a new species of fish. Kingies are king of sydney harbour mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narralakes Posted August 21, 2005 Author Share Posted August 21, 2005 Thanks Raiders, Mark, a five would get you amongst the fish, briniging it in would be a drawn out affair though. Joe, too right, long live the king! Bombora, if we get more of these flat days, look out Browns Mt! As for Harbord, its only a few more minutes from where we were today. Will keep it in mind. Wombat, I had a blue over gold sparkle flast clouser, lead eyes, which seemed to get a lot of attention. Its looking very mangled now, Geroge was using blue over white I think. Capt Pugwash, we saw you in the boat, well George thought it was you, he waved, but maybe you didnt see him. Alex, dont worry, you got amongst them last time. I was using the 10 wt with a sink tip line, 2 metre leader, blue over gold sparkle flash clouser, yellow lead eyes. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narralakes Posted August 21, 2005 Author Share Posted August 21, 2005 Hey Mario, I'm going to try and catch more kings, thats for sure. Want to get close to your tally! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bluecod Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 (edited) Another top day thanks Ken, and the fishing keeps getting better too! There's a certain knack in getting fish on fly from the shallow reefs and from our results today, I think we are close to getting it down pat. At least until we come up a bummer - probably next time out, just to show us who is boss Ken's kingie was a beaut effort and just fell a couple of centimetres short of legality but still managed to put one hell of a curve in Ken's 10 weight with its efforts to find reef in 7 metres of water. With the crystal clear conditions today, its surprising that we got amongst them as well as we did and just goes to show how the fly with that little extra flash can light the fishing up when duller flies and plastics are ignored. Top day out and good to see so many other Raiders on the water BTW Joe - both those fly reels in the photos are 9,10,11 Gillies Guides and they really performed well. Edited August 21, 2005 by bluecod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jocool Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 BTW Joe - both those fly reels in the photos are 9,10,11 Gillies Guides and they really performed well. 63169[/snapback] Now how did you know I was looking at that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narralakes Posted August 21, 2005 Author Share Posted August 21, 2005 The flashier the better it was yesterday. Once we got the flashy flies in the water, as George said, it got very exciting. After a slow start, George changed over to a very flashy one and then cleaned up. Joe, I forgot mention last time you posted up asking about reels, I'll back up what George said, the Gillies reels performed wonderfully, nice drag, plenty of room for line and backing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefin Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Well done, another successful trip outside. The boats going well and the flys are flying! Howard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narralakes Posted August 22, 2005 Author Share Posted August 22, 2005 G'day Howard, the boat is going really well, but you can feel the bumps on the way back in and there is a bit of chop. As for the fly, I'm learning each trip out and I love it! I'm thinking of not taking the spin stick out anymore and just take the flyrod, as if we went straight to fly the first time round yesterday, we may have even done better, but then again, who knows. Sometimes it just too easy to spin instead of fly casting, but yesterday definitely proved that flys were the go. George and I are on a learning curve each time out with the fly and its good to talk tactics with someone as knowlegable as Bluecod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bluecod Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 George and I are on a learning curve each time out with the fly and its good to talk tactics with someone as knowlegable as Bluecod. 63298[/snapback] I'll agree we are on a huge learning curve that is starting to pay dividends but I don't know about the knowledgable bit Ken - its often a simple matter of "if it ain't working, try something else!". You've got to get lucky sooner or later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jocool Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Thanks for the run down on the reels Ken. Is Gillies the same brand that you associate with the cheaper tackle that is found around the place, or is it a brand I have missed previously? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bluecod Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Thanks for the run down on the reels Ken. Is Gillies the same brand that you associate with the cheaper tackle that is found around the place, or is it a brand I have missed previously? 63310[/snapback] Joe, As far as I can work out Gillies is an Australian manufacturer and their gear is at the lower end of the price spectrum, but it is one of those enigmas where there reels are pretty good value and seem to be competitive with "name" brands. I've got two of their large arbour reels and three of the conventional reels they produce and since the fly chuckers day have not had a problem with any of them [which is more than I can say about another more prominent brand]. Have a look around at what else is available and then check out either Ken's or my reels and then make a decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narralakes Posted August 23, 2005 Author Share Posted August 23, 2005 Don't know much about the brand at all apart from the reel I bought, not being a tackle junkie I dont really stray from what is in the mags and what I see in the shops. So far my Gillies has proven to be a decent reel, and for salmon and kings, it definitely is doing the job. Work out how often you are going to use it, what species you will be targeting, what price you want to pay, as everyone says, buy the best you can afford. Being very limited in my fishing budget department, my financial controller , reminds me we have 4 kids, so budget and value with performance are my prime concerns when buying anything for fishing. I reckon line and rod are the most important in a fly fishing rig anyhow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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