More figtree flatties on fly...bigger this time

[Little_Flatty]

Hi all,

Just got back from another session on the Figtree bridge flats. Arrived at 4pm at the bottom of the tide and waded out onto the flats. I was aware that the tide was going to come up and make for an uncomfortable wade back to shore, so I was on a mission.

I had a new tan coloured Fuzzle Shrimp tied on, as I had lost my previous one to a snag during the week. I had a new cheap sink tip line on the reel, which paired with the shorter leader fly fishos recommend with these lines (4ft of 20lb flurocarbon), made it heaps easier to cast. It was a revelation; I had always thought that you needed a 9ft minimum leader for all fly fishing! That said, even with the much shorter leader, the wind was playing havoc with my cast and on my third cast, I had a tangle. Then on my fourth cast, my hand was stopped mid-strip and my rod loads deeply with some flatty headshakes.

The fish proved more challenging to land than expected, but that had more to do with me still getting familiar with having a fish on the end of a fly outfit, than any other factors. Having a flatty on the end of a bendy rod is an unusual feeling. After 30 secs or so, I decide it would be easier to play the fish off the reel and wound in all the stripped line. A couple of runs later, a 49cm flatty slides up the flats:

Not a croc, but a PB on fly so far, and I was stoked! The leader was scuffed up quite badly and I was really glad for the 20lb leader. Much as I am enjoying my fly tying, I'm still quite slow and can really only manage one fly a night amongst all the other things we need to do of an evening.

Cast around for about 15 mins and then move round to the other side of the bridge. Probing the eddies around the bridge pylons, I pick up another fish:

Cast around a bit more, but notice the water was coming in fast with the incoming tide. It was already noticeably deeper where I was standing than at the beginning of my session, so I decide to call it and start heading back in, having a few casts along the way. In my old age, I don't like wading deeper than knee height, especially when there is icky soft mud involved.

Get back to shore and have a cast around some really fishy looking spots. Sighted a good bream rolling around the oysters, but spook it before I can cast to it. And I doubt it would've taken a fly on my 20lb leader in such shallow water. Then I got snagged and copped a tiny oyster cut when clambering down to free it. Have made a mental note to myself to pursue this same spot on a high tide, just casting from shore with flies or lures. I also sighted some whiting on the flats, so might give them a go too.

My alarm goes off at 5pm which was my cue to go. Quite a few more 'last casts' than anticipated, then I head back to the car to clean myself up. The mud was quite horrid last time, so this time I came prepared with a 5l jerry can of fresh water and a bucket. What a difference that made! From mud-monster to human again in two minutes.

I've noticed that fishing here is very hard on the gear. Just the mud, being in the salt water and clambering up and down the retaining wall is rough all round. Have to stay on top of the gear maintenance if I am going to do this a lot.

Pretty happy with the session. Hopefully more to come in the summer.

 

 

[big Neil]

Good onya Mike...tying your own flies and catching fish more regularly, you have to be pleased with that progress. Maintaining your gear so that it's in first class order is going to be a big help when you get that monster Flattie.

Cheers, bn

[Isaac Ct]

Well done MIke, love to see you getting into the flatties on fly. Never know when that big girl is going to hit your fly. Keep it up.

 

[Little_Flatty]

1 hour ago, big Neil said:

Good onya Mike...tying your own flies and catching fish more regularly, you have to be pleased with that progress. Maintaining your gear so that it's in first class order is going to be a big help when you get that monster Flattie.

Cheers, bn

Cheers Neil. Yes I certainly need to look after that gear. Fly rods can get terribly expensive, so I will need to learn to look after them properly.

1 minute ago, Isaac Ct said:

Well done MIke, love to see you getting into the flatties on fly. Never know when that big girl is going to hit your fly. Keep it up.

 

Cheers Isaac. I’m happy catching the smaller ones for now, but hope to be ready when a true croc comes along!

[AlbertW]

2 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Hi all,

Just got back from another session on the Figtree bridge flats. Arrived at 4pm at the bottom of the tide and waded out onto the flats. I was aware that the tide was going to come up and make for an uncomfortable wade back to shore, so I was on a mission.

I had a new tan coloured Fuzzle Shrimp tied on, as I had lost my previous one to a snag during the week. I had a new cheap sink tip line on the reel, which paired with the shorter leader fly fishos recommend with these lines (4ft of 20lb flurocarbon), made it heaps easier to cast. It was a revelation; I had always thought that you needed a 9ft minimum leader for all fly fishing! That said, even with the much shorter leader, the wind was playing havoc with my cast and on my third cast, I had a tangle. Then on my fourth cast, my hand was stopped mid-strip and my rod loads deeply with some flatty headshakes.

The fish proved more challenging to land than expected, but that had more to do with me still getting familiar with having a fish on the end of a fly outfit, than any other factors. Having a flatty on the end of a bendy rod is an unusual feeling. After 30 secs or so, I decide it would be easier to play the fish off the reel and wound in all the stripped line. A couple of runs later, a 49cm flatty slides up the flats:

Not a croc, but a PB on fly so far, and I was stoked! The leader was scuffed up quite badly and I was really glad for the 20lb leader. Much as I am enjoying my fly tying, I'm still quite slow and can really only manage one fly a night amongst all the other things we need to do of an evening.

Cast around for about 15 mins and then move round to the other side of the bridge. Probing the eddies around the bridge pylons, I pick up another fish:

Cast around a bit more, but notice the water was coming in fast with the incoming tide. It was already noticeably deeper where I was standing than at the beginning of my session, so I decide to call it and start heading back in, having a few casts along the way. In my old age, I don't like wading deeper than knee height, especially when there is icky soft mud involved.

Get back to shore and have a cast around some really fishy looking spots. Sighted a good bream rolling around the oysters, but spook it before I can cast to it. And I doubt it would've taken a fly on my 20lb leader in such shallow water. Then I got snagged and copped a tiny oyster cut when clambering down to free it. Have made a mental note to myself to pursue this same spot on a high tide, just casting from shore with flies or lures. I also sighted some whiting on the flats, so might give them a go too.

My alarm goes off at 5pm which was my cue to go. Quite a few more 'last casts' than anticipated, then I head back to the car to clean myself up. The mud was quite horrid last time, so this time I came prepared with a 5l jerry can of fresh water and a bucket. What a difference that made! From mud-monster to human again in two minutes.

I've noticed that fishing here is very hard on the gear. Just the mud, being in the salt water and clambering up and down the retaining wall is rough all round. Have to stay on top of the gear maintenance if I am going to do this a lot.

Pretty happy with the session. Hopefully more to come in the summer.

 

 

Maybe tie on a crab fly or the light cranka crab for the bream 😆

[dirvin21]

Getting bigger Mike 

Love reading your fly fishing journey

[Little_Flatty]

7 hours ago, AlbertW said:

Maybe tie on a crab fly or the light cranka crab for the bream 😆

I have a couple of crab flies, will pull them out soon 😎

7 hours ago, dirvin21 said:

Getting bigger Mike 

Love reading your fly fishing journey

Cheers Dave. It's been a hard but fun journey. Can't believe it's taken me more than 12 months to start catching flathead of all things!

[Pickles]

Great report Mike - getting a fish to the net on fly gear can be quite challenging (especially Flatties, who will “saw” through the leader on a long fight). Well done mate.

[Green Hornet]

Nice fish Mike, 50cm flatties are great fun on a fly rod.

I wouldn’t use anything but a sink tip line on flathead once the water gets over about 1.5m. I reckon the floating back section lifts the fly up off the bottom with every strip, attracting the fish rather than just dragging along the sand when using an intermediate or sinking line.

What weight rod/line are you using?

[Yowie]

Couple of nice fish, and fishing in difficult conditions in the mud.

Flatties around the size of the larger one put up a fight on any light gear, so the fly rod would not be any different.

[zmk1962]

LF … you were on one serious mission there … and you got tgw reward congrats … there are so many parts to appreciate in your report. Great job. 
cheers Zoran 

[Little_Flatty]

2 hours ago, Pickles said:

Great report Mike - getting a fish to the net on fly gear can be quite challenging (especially Flatties, who will “saw” through the leader on a long fight). Well done mate.

Thanks Bob. To be honest, while I love catching bream, for some reason I really enjoy my flathead. So in the past year I’ve doubled down on them and upped the leader size, because they aren’t that leader shy and the insurance of thicker fluorocarbon is helpful. For fly fishing, a heavier leader also has the benefit of being easier to cast, because it turns the fly over better…good for the bigger or heavier flies you often use for flatties.

1 hour ago, Green Hornet said:

Nice fish Mike, 50cm flatties are great fun on a fly rod.

I wouldn’t use anything but a sink tip line on flathead once the water gets over about 1.5m. I reckon the floating back section lifts the fly up off the bottom with every strip, attracting the fish rather than just dragging along the sand when using an intermediate or sinking line.

What weight rod/line are you using?

Cheers Pete, I think my issue this whole year was that I wasn’t getting my fly into the strike zone. Your comment about the floating section lifting the fly off the bottom makes sense; I am a big believer in lures/flies having a decent ‘hang time’ just above the bottom…after all flatties’ eyes face upwards. I’ll see if the sink tip works better in my local waters. My latest bucket list item to chase is a locally fly caught Meadowbank flathead😎🤣! I’m actually serious! Though I’m good at finding flathead in that area, but one on fly has totally eluded me this far!

I was using an 8wt, with a short straight through 20lb fluorocarbon leader. I had a bit of regret to begin with, thinking I’d have been better off with a 6wt, but I’ve really come around on the 8wt. Can use bigger flies or continue to cast in the wind.

1 hour ago, Yowie said:

Couple of nice fish, and fishing in difficult conditions in the mud.

Flatties around the size of the larger one put up a fight on any light gear, so the fly rod would not be any different.

Cheers Dave, they certainly do! It was a new experience fighting a reasonable fish on the noodly rod.

36 minutes ago, zmk1962 said:

LF … you were on one serious mission there … and you got tgw reward congrats … there are so many parts to appreciate in your report. Great job. 
cheers Zoran 

Cheers Zoran. Glad to see you are back catching the duskies’ offshore cousins again😎

[Green Hornet]

17 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said:

Cheers Pete, I think my issue this whole year was that I wasn’t getting my fly into the strike zone. Your comment about the floating section lifting the fly off the bottom makes sense; I am a big believer in lures/flies having a decent ‘hang time’ just above the bottom…after all flatties’ eyes face upwards. I’ll see if the sink tip works better in my local waters. My latest bucket list item to chase is a locally fly caught Meadowbank flathead😎🤣! I’m actually serious! Though I’m good at finding flathead in that area, but one on fly has totally eluded me this far!

I was using an 8wt, with a short straight through 20lb fluorocarbon leader. I had a bit of regret to begin with, thinking I’d have been better off with a 6wt, but I’ve really come around on the 8wt. Can use bigger flies or continue to cast in the wind.

Good luck on the Meadowbank fish, I’m sure you’ll tick that off your bucket list sooner than later.

I fish saltwater only these days and use an 8 weight for everything, seems to be a good all rounder. I had a cheaper 6 weight and found myself using it less and less, so I converted it into a lightweight luderick rod 😂.

I’ll have to give your short leader idea a try as well. Sounds like it would really help with the cast in less than ideal conditions.

[Little_Flatty]

4 minutes ago, Green Hornet said:

I’ll have to give your short leader idea a try as well. Sounds like it would really help with the cast in less than ideal conditions.

Cheers Pete, this is from the Cortland website:

(https://www.cortlandline.com/blogs/cortland-stories/streamer#:~:text=Tips when setting up leaders for sinking lines%3A,longer leaders with heavier flies.)

I just decided to go with one length of fluorocarbon instead of a knotted configuration.

[jenno64]

Got to be happy with a 50 on a fly🙏🏻

[XD351]

Nice flatties Mike ! 
fly casting at Meadowbank will be interesting - watch out you don’t hook onto a jogger with the back cast 🤣🤣🤣

[Little_Flatty]

34 minutes ago, XD351 said:

Nice flatties Mike ! 
fly casting at Meadowbank will be interesting - watch out you don’t hook onto a jogger with the back cast 🤣🤣🤣

Cheers Ian!

I try my best to be polite and not cause anyone any trouble.😇 I tend to only fly fish during very quiet times and find places where my back cast is free of people/things or over water. This pretty much means I can only fish half the available water, but I just stump that up as a challenge 😎. That’s the lot of a land based urban fly fisher! I am just grateful I haven’t yet had any cheeky ‘no trout here mate’ comments🤣

I have seriously considered a double handed Spey outfit and some lessons with a well known pro for Spey casting when I get more advanced, then I might be able to fish 90 percent of the water I frequent. But I have enough of a challenge getting my forward and roll casts right as is!

[XD351]

Peter morse ?

[kantong]

very solid flatties there! great work!

[Larkin]

Nice flatty on the fly rod! 👍
Can imagine you were cheering

Although sounds like tuff going walking around in the mud! 

[Little_Flatty]

So this morning I was out on these flats again, trying some new flies I had tied, including a couple of patterns I spent an awful amount of money on materials for (as an aside, I now totally understand why some flies cost $15-$25 retail and will gladly pay professional tyers for them when the need arises!). Despite me being dead sure I’d catch on the new flies, I donutted.

However, walking to the other side of the flats, I was just dragging my fly along in ankle deep water, and something grabbed my fly! I was a bit distracted as a rower had crashed into one of the pylons with an almighty crack, and I didn’t have the presence of mind to tighten up my line. The fish let go, and right next to my fly was a cloud of sand and an imprint of a flatty in the sand! Probably 40-50cm by the shape of the imprint. If I was nine feet further along, I would’ve stepped on it!

Sometimes it pays for one to concentrate!

[Green Hornet]

Fly tying, like rod building can be a hobby in its own right, as you’d know Mike. Good for those rainy or windy days.

Its uncanny when wading in The Basin how man flatties sit right up on the edge in only inches of water. Always worth a cast or two.

[XD351]

I was over the hill at woolwich trying for luderick- massive donut day 😞

The thing with fishing as a whole that many don’t see is how many branches there are to it ! Rod building , fly tying, lure making , some of the old timers made their own reels and tackle boxes and so on - that is why it is the greatest pastime of all ! 

[Little_Flatty]

2 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

Fly tying, like rod building can be a hobby in its own right, as you’d know Mike. Good for those rainy or windy days.

Its uncanny when wading in The Basin how man flatties sit right up on the edge in only inches of water. Always worth a cast or two.

I’ve learned over the years to cast my way over the flats as I head out. Still, it surprises me every time I find a good fish in very shallow water!

I think the fly tying obsession is far worse than lure collecting! It’s been interesting to learn what makes flies work and not work in the field. Also how some quite effective flies can be tied quite cheaply and others cost much more. And some materials cannot be sourced cheaply, even from Asia…like fly tying thread.

33 minutes ago, XD351 said:

I was over the hill at woolwich trying for luderick- massive donut day 😞

The thing with fishing as a whole that many don’t see is how many branches there are to it ! Rod building , fly tying, lure making , some of the old timers made their own reels and tackle boxes and so on - that is why it is the greatest pastime of all ! 

Bummer Ian, but I guess the occasional donut is what makes fishing fun!

[XD351]

50 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said:I’ve learned over the years to cast my way over the flats as I head out. Still, it surprises me every time I find a good fish in very shallow water!

Bummer Ian, but I guess the occasional donut is what makes fishing fun!

Yep they happen !

Can’t say i was impressed with the colour of the water though - it had that milky green look to it which i have seen before in the harbour , i was once told it is a form of algae bloom which  happens when the water temps spike . All i know is every time i have seen it we caught nothing but a couple of kids got a few flatties and a bream off the wharf so maybe I’m wrong 🤷