Darwin Harbour was to be plus 10knots all weekend and the neap tides with a high tide a little before midday meant the spots we could fish given the tide timings would have a wind that had been blowing for the week - so washed out basically.
Peter is off for 8 weeks back to Canada for family stuff (maybe a bit of 4w trout fishing too that he has promised to send pictures and info about - if he gives me enough info and pics I could put it up here on the blog maybe)
So given his boat would be not going anywhere for that time- run in the fresh sweet water would wash off any crusted saltwater residue. So with roads into most billabongs out due to flooding or flood damage - Manton Dam was suggested.
Manton Dam is just out of Darwin and close to my rural block as well. but most guys fishing it always struggle for a fish.
In prep for the freshwater outing planned - I thought I would tie up some mega foam dragonflies with weed guards - so the night before the outing I finally got a good session in at the tying desk - first time in ages - yaaaah! And it was GOOD!!! I had forgotten how much I like tying flies. Especially not having the right material and working out a substitute as I have never been one to follow the recipe exactly!
They were rough but it turned out- effective. I tied some orange black and some all blue foam Dragonflies. Extended foam body segmented with thread wrapped periodically down the foam with grizzle hackle wings. the heads were tied gurlger style with a 20lb wire weed guard - due the lilies, weed and tress I would be casting into. I tied a couple of Christmas beetles and a few oversized Turk's Tarantulas too. (but they were very ugly indeed!!)
First few casts went unmolested but that might of been mostly due the poor casting. 10 weeks without fly casting makes the SWOFFER a very bad caster!
By the 40th cast the fly was sort of landing where I wanted it but still needed to get closer to the sunken logs and likely locations of an ambushing Saratoga.
Peter mostly used a sinking line or a sink tip fly line with a pink thing or similar whistler style fly on his tippet -- a setup that has worked well for him in the billabongs. However the weed constantly fouled up his deep sinking fly till he removed the eyes with a pair of sidecutters - relying on the sinking line to help the fly go deep.
I stuck to a floating line the whole day to avoid the massive amounts of weed. I tied on one the foam dragonflies I tied the night before
Once I started to warm up the casting arm with a heap of dreadful casts - I landed the blue Foam mega Dragonfly I had tied on first to my leader in the middle of a large gap in the lilies. In the gin clear water I saw a sub 30cm Saratoga zipped at the fly from a lily pad a metre away. It rolled over the fly but sadly didn't hook up.
Five casts later further along the steep bank, this cast between a couple of bankside trees, now engulfed by the recent rain flooding into the dam, I get a large swish of water and hardly had to set the hook such was the take on the blue foam based fly.
The small toga really took the large fly down its gob!
Not a record breaking fish but it was a nice drought breaking fish - first fish in 10 weeks on the fly
The bonus of the capture was using a fly tied the night before, for that exactly fly fishing scenario
Peter got some excitement a couple hundred metres (i.e. hundreds of casts later) down the steep banks working our way from the front of the dam in a clockwise direction. We had come to a tree freshly fallen into the water, it still had all its leaves. Peter lays a beautiful cast right to the bank along the edge of the fallen tree.
Within a fraction of a second of Peter manipulating that fly of his - it was smashed hard by a quite decent Saratoga. The swirl and movement of water on hook up was tremendous - a fish easily twice the size of my baby toga. Peter was for a while keeping its head up but the size and strength of the fish, plus the long distance from the rod tip allowed the toga to sink its head and dive for the tree branches under the water - Peter stayed tight but those larger togas are masters at removing the hook once in amongst the timber or lily roots. Bugger!
Later we went right up the back of the dam amongst the sunken trees but far too much weed about. We also noticed significantly hardly any baitfish seen, and no herons, cormorants or cranes on the bankside either. (did see two croc traps!) Hardly a tarpon rolling on the surface either. We did see a few toga towards the front of the dam in the western shallows opposite the dam wall that were occasionally free jumping completely out of the water in a manner that we thought was them targeting the Dragonflies flying about in large numbers above the dense weed beds (the reason I was happy I tied a few the night before - next time i will tie them a bit finer in detail and black/green or black/red rather than my boof-headed mega foam versions I tied the night before).
As we got back to the front of the dam (to try for the fish Peter had lost - hopefully still at the same spot) two storms seemed to meet in the sky above the dam. We abandoned the fishing after a few close calls with lightning strikes near the hills about the dam. As we raced back to the boat ramp you could readily see the rain and gusty wind approaching from the back of the dam - misting out the view as it came such was the amount of rain it brought. The first wave of gusty rain hit us as we waiting for another boat to get up the ramp with a huge gusty intensity.
Peter struggles with the canopy as the zipper was stuck - I grabbed a large garbage bag with the corners and neck cut out so it would slip over the shoulders. Peter sort out a poncho from under the front hatch and knuckled down with his back to the raging rain. I was facing the rain trying to ensure the boat stayed in the right position to use the ramp as soon as it cleared of the previous boat.
The canopy wouldn't have helped much as the rain came sideways as the vicious wind whipped the rain along. The rain drops were large and stung the face and body even through the shirt and face 'buff'. As the ramp finally cleared we got a short lull in the raging storm, but the wind kept sliding the stern out making getting the boat on the trailer difficult - fourth attempt finally did the job.
So overall ...................
I tied a fly that worked a treat for just the scenario of the day and location- awesome!
Peter got to run his boat in the fresh - lost a nice one (sadly!) but at least he hooked a good one
The top of the boat got a freshwater rinse in the downpour of the afternoon storm at the ramp and on the way home
We both got to warm up the casting arm and practice our fly placement
So whats next.............
Peter's out next weekend - his final one in Aussie land before he heads home for family stuff for 8 weeks - so his wife takes precedence
(come on Peter! are you sure you cant wet a line? but I understand - sort of)
I have a bit more work to do on my own trailer - just a little
The boat motor needs a service, the tilt-ram needs replacing (maybe)
But the wife has spent my boat money account balance on the house pad and electrical connection on our rural block -
(the nerve!!! house before fishing - Never!!)
At least I can tie some flies!
Blog updates soon
But until then....
Go on - get out there - tie a fly with a fish or location in mind then go cast it!
Then strip it, feel the take, then strip strike setting that hook into the fish's jaw
and enjoy the tight line singing through the water!!!!
