Might be my last fish for 2023

[Little_Flatty]

Morning Raiders,

Like many I've been off work but staying home over this period, hanging out with family and friends and enjoying the summer.

This morning I got up at 5am and headed out on the Clontarf flats. Dead low tide so it was an opportunity to go for a wade with my new fly rod (a 6wt Primal Mega - have been really excited about this!). Tied on my favourite tan Fuzzle Shrimp and started casting. The rod was fantastic, totally masking my poor technique and gifting me many more meters in casting distance.

There was a lot of bait around this morning, but it took a while to find a fish. Got to a patch where there were a few little stingrays swimming around and thought that would be a good spot to cast. I have always seen the presence of stingrays to be a good sign that other fish are about. And other fish there were; just off the drop-off was a small but legal flatty which snaffled my shrimp:

This guy had taken my fly deep down and I wanted it back, so I made the call to take him home for dinner and dispatched/iced him down. This one is destined for my mother's stock pot. Over Christmas we were talking about Chinese flathead soup. I've always said that soup was a waste of a flathead, but lately I've been craving it and I think the kids would like it too. So it was time to eat my words . It's also something that I struggle to cook well, so I decided to turn my catch over to the expert.

I cast on a little then shifted to the baths side of the flats. There was another angler there who was chasing tailor on the surface and got into a few. Turned out he was a keen fly angler back in Ireland!

I would've stayed a bit longer to get myself a tailor, but my wife was hankering for a coffee so it was time to get home.

Cleaning the fish, I found its stomach absolutely chock-full of whitebait:

It may be time learn how to tie some white deceivers.

Anyhow, this is probably my last session for 2023 and I thought it would be a good way to end the fishing year. Though my results are still very humble, I'm pleased to get to the point where I have a somewhat realistic chance of catching fish on fly. I'm hoping 2024 will see a big improvement in my fly fishing skills.

Wishing the Raider community a happy new year!

Mike

[jenno64]

Great way to finish off the year Mike!

Get tying those whitebait flies!!

[Pickles]

Great report Mike, so good when the rod / reel are so well matched - great you nailed target species. Have you tried a small surf candy - I’ve found they work great, even though more a pelagic fly.

Edited December 30, 2023 by Pickles

[Aussie_fisher]

Flathead are the best. Fun to catch when swimming in water and fun to eat when swimming in oil

[bessell1955]

Chinese Flathead soup, that is new to me.

[Green Hornet]

Glad to hear you like the new 6 weight Mike and have already landed a nice “little flatty” (see what I did there) on it.

For a simple whitebait fly, I like a smaller version of a gold bomber. Just different coloured materials, that’s all.

[Little_Flatty]

2 hours ago, jenno64 said:

Great way to finish off the year Mike!

Get tying those whitebait flies!!

Cheers Jenno, planning an arvo at the vice, all going well.

2 hours ago, Pickles said:

Great report Mike, so good when the rod / reel are so well matched - great you nailed target species. Have you tried a small surf candy - I’ve found they work great, even though more a pelagic fly.

Hey Bob, I do have a few. Would’ve tied one on if I had more time and suspect the tailor would’ve liked them.

1 hour ago, Aussie_fisher said:

Flathead are the best. Fun to catch when swimming in water and fun to eat when swimming in oil

Though they aren’t glamorous, they’re still one of my favourite species.

1 hour ago, bessell1955 said:

Chinese Flathead soup, that is new to me.

Yep, that’s what most Chinese families do with their flathead. It’s a brothy kind of soup, with a lot of vegetables.

52 minutes ago, Green Hornet said:

Glad to hear you like the new 6 weight Mike and have already landed a nice “little flatty” (see what I did there) on it.

For a simple whitebait fly, I like a smaller version of a gold bomber. Just different coloured materials, that’s all.

🤣 Thanks Pete, I’ll have a look at the gold bomber and tie it up with white bait colours.

[Yowie]

Nice work there Mike. Happy New Year to all.

When an uncle was alive, he always asked for the heads of jewies I caught. Boiled the head then sat down and picked it clean, even eating the eyes - not for me.

[mrsswordfisherman]

Thank you so much Mike for all you do to help moderate here on fishraider. 
You have been my right hand man and always willing to discuss any issues. 
The content and quality of your reports are terrific. 
Happy New Year 2024 to you and the family Mike. 

[Little_Flatty]

2 hours ago, Yowie said:

Nice work there Mike. Happy New Year to all.

When an uncle was alive, he always asked for the heads of jewies I caught. Boiled the head then sat down and picked it clean, even eating the eyes - not for me.

Yep, there are some in my family who are big fish head eaters. Boiled is a bit rustic for me though. If you visit a Japanese restaurant one day, do try a kingfish head dish. That is delish!

34 minutes ago, mrsswordfisherman said:

Thank you so much Mike for all you do to help moderate here on fishraider. 
You have been my right hand man and always willing to discuss any issues. 
The content and quality of your reports are terrific. 
Happy New Year 2024 to you and the family Mike. 

Thanks Donna, it’s the least I can do after all this community has given me! Happy new year to you and your family as well!