2022 DFR Freshwater Results and full tactics explained

What a difference 6 years makes in fly fishing results - see next image of a FB post from 6 years ago talking about a DFR Freshwater comp results

So in 2016 – We as a team, Peter and I were 10th out of 16 teams - not many team points at all - 2492 points

Me individually - 27th out of 30 anglers – still after 3 prior comps, I could still not barely stay connected to anything – even tarpon!

I just couldn’t imagine how the winners caught sooooo many fish!

But I listened, I observed, I asked, I learnt every comp and outing.

Interestingly, in 2017 we still were not catching much and after a fruitless day we went up that creek near the boat ramp. Here tarpon were everywhere – absolutely teaming with rolling tarpon mostly 10-20cm in length.

I feel it became what was turning point for our freshwater fishing.

We reverted to tiniest nymph type flies and proceeded to catch baby tarpon after baby tarpon

10cm, 15cm 13cm, 10cm etc one after another

We were adding the lengths of caught tarpon together, competing with each other

Quickly both of us got past 1m in total, then later 3 meters of fish each

We ended up catching over 6.5 meters of tarpon each in a short period of time

It was the starting point of a changing on our understanding billabong fly fishing. They don’t take the same as toga but have a session targeting lots of tarpon. It is amazing how much it can help a beginner in NT waters, like I was.

We pre-fished the next few comps more often, fished other billabongs, tested lots more flies and tactics. I still couldn’t work out the barra as targets, but toga and bigger tarpon started to be a more regular thing.

Over the next few comps – we might not have had the numbers every session like the winners – but we managed a few biggest in species for tarpon and toga between us – the hunger and drive, the competitiveness in us drove us on.

We have learned so much in those 6 years!

A big thanks to everyone at club, and a significant few - no longer at club

We are casting better

We make better fly choices

We formulate better tactics based on changing conditions through the day

A lot of people has influenced us, have helped us

It has been a long journey of learning (and still learning! always will!)

Now to this past weekend………..Our comp report from our prospective.

We started the first day very keen – first to launch and straight out in the pre-dawn light to our “Plan A” starting point - worked out during two comp prefish outings. 

The morning ride out was spectacular – 23 degrees, calm as calm, pink and purple hues invading the sky from the east. (who would live and fish in any other place so so spectacular and full of phenominal fishing opportunities close to a capital city????) 

We arrived 10 minutes early of the assigned start time and put the electric on anchor – we check leaders, fly hook points (though I did this the night before – so OCD I am!)

As we wait for 7am and official “lines in”, a couple of other competitor boats zip past us – we listen to their motors and hope they keep going as we planned to fish hard two sides of a 2.5km stretch further down the billabong from our position. It is our “Toga Alley” that we wanted to focus our fly fishing on. And the next 4-5 hours would be spent entirely on the electric, our fly lines frothing the stretch of water where we started with our casting as we repeatedly cast our flies far into the lilies and retrieve our weed guarded flies.

Every pocket searched, every lily pad traverse with a fly and allowed to drop off its edge and sink before a staccato varied retrieve.

Sometimes it was a grassy edge that would have a fly sunk right to bottom along its edge – ever wary of the hoped for subtle saratoga take.

You had to be soooo focused as a perfect looking 'textbook' locations and patches would at times not have fish and a nothing area with a crappy cast would shock you as your line came tight with another fish.

I hooked up first cast of the day to an average sized saratoga, then several tarpon came next, 7 casts later missing a massive toga – it jumped up right out of water and off the hook went - bugger! 

But you keep casting as the very next spot the fly lands could have another.

Peter and I used different style flies – his a rabbit zonker tailed, bead chained eyed,  flash ice chenille headed thing. While I used beadhead or bead chained bugger style flies. My colours more olive and subtle. And Peter’s black tail, with a pink, purple or orange  body/head.

Our flies were tied on Gamakatsu B10s hooks 2, 1 and 1/0. All with longish V weed guards of 60lb mono.

We found heavy flies (which have been the go in past) not as effective as bead chain weighted slower sinking flies this comp

We both used fast sink lines on 8weights – 99% of the time – I did start with a floating line and a V gurgler fly but more energy to cast, and as much as surface strikes of toga are absolutely amazing - with 10hours of constantly casting for the day - stuck to sinking flies. Leaders were very simple - a meter of 40lb attached to fly line, then a meter of 20lb between 40lb line and the fly.

At the end of every retrieve - we would roll cast the last of line in water and once it rolled out onto the water - with one water haul to backcast and then forward to get the fly back to the next likely fish holding spot along the weed bank – ready to retrieve again. 

This type of casting and retrieving, then quickly and constantly getting the fly immediately right back into the back of the lilies where you want it - is sooooo important - and it takes lots and lots of practice to get good at it.

As the result of such casting is maximum time for your fly in the toga strike zone throughout the day – in turn more opportunities to hook more fish and put more fish in the net.

This casting technique came into great advantage several times. Particularly when a toga would snap at a fly as it popped over a lily – missing it. With such an iconic swirl showing on water surface and being not pricked by the hook – one of us would cast immediately into the swirling water aftermath – you needed to be accurate and do it fast. With the fly landing in the spot immediately, a hookup was almost always happening – then to get the toga out of the lilies is another story! As too stay tight without hook being spat out!

I tied my flies on to the leader with a uni knot, some called a grinner knot rather than a loop knot as less time to tie. I also use the same knot to join my leader parts, as I can tie the knot without looking at it while I scan for the next place cast to. 

I also lost a lot of flies casting well into the weed banks but it is where the bigger toga are – so you have to expect fly losses. Snap the snagged fly off instead of dragging boat in or weeds out - instead save fishing time and tie on a new fly as fast as you can - fish, fish ,fish - instead of messing about retrieving a 50 cent fly of which you can tie 20 more of for next outing. It is fish in the net you want during comps, not flies in your fly box at the end of the day.

Above is an image of the main fly type I used on Day1, it is ugly as but works. I started with a black/deep purple version and moved towards this colouration as sun got higher in sky. I lost all 15 of these I had made for comp during Day1, and a few other styled flies too.

The following image is of a similar fly but it is without the fluoro orange tungsten bead head I normally use – this one with simple bead chain. (90% of Sunday’s Day2 fish were caught on this type of fly). you can use rabbit strip or marabou for tail.

  

We fished hard all day - rarely sitting down. Drinks and food quickly taken between casts, chewing food while waiting for fly to sink - but pay attention – I missed several fish while holding the rod one handed and taking a drink while waiting for fly to sink, missing several of those subtle takes of a Toga on the sinking fly.

We knew we had to be constantly casting, repeatedly casting – to get the numbers needed to get the points needed to finish in top three teams and as individuals – our goal for first day results. Individually we both needed to 'line out' (20 fish) on tarpon and toga  - that last one we knew would be hard given pre-fish results - it was only a slight change in fly type to bead chain eyed flies instead of lead dumbbell eyes, I feel changed our hook up rates from those two prefish outings.

By mid arvo, we knew both of us would be exhausted, hands sore, muscles aching – but we kept casting to the next spot and then the next likey spot, pushing ourselves.

We fished our prime weed bank areas hard - and by 9am we had 8 and 9 toga each, and full lines of mostly 30cm plus tarpon - the area was alive with fish. While the toga were mostly 39-41cm there were lots, we also missed, dropped, failed to get to the net several larger versions. Our favourite 50m stretch of bank got Peter his 55cm and 61cm togas in four casts. The tarpon, while needed too, were annoyingly taking time to unhook, measure and record on scoresheets - during a time frame when toga were actively about and taking our flies readily, more so because the toga were worth double points for the comp.

The next 5 or so hours we only used the electric and worked our way back in the  direction of boat ramp - fly fishing every inch of the bank as we move along. 

Grassed edges and points, we fly fish just the edge and sink the flies deep. When lilies line the edge, we cast right to the back and wiggle slowly our flies over and round the mulitple lily pads, then once to the weed edge drop and sink the flies. While every jumped off fish is so frustrating, every hit and take, is a joy - and brings on an adrenalin rush that keeps us casting!

The advantage of our flies we used is that the Toga love them, and just as important - once out of the Toga strike zone, a quicker retrieve gets us the tarpon on the same flies.

(BC told me that important tip way back on a comp Prefish). 

But watch your leaders, tarpon rub their teeth on the leader wearing it a bit each time, and you can lose a good toga (and tarpon) on weakened leaders right near the fly. So, regularly check you leaders after tarpon captures with a quick rub of fingers down tip of leader.

We both dropped a few big toga – uuggghhh! But each of us manage to net plenty of 39-41cm toga on Day1 of comp. Although I had several toga on the score card before Peter got his first for the day – he caught bigger ones and in the end more often. Throughout the day, I would catch a couple but Peter always one or two toga ahead of me. I ended up with 17 saratoga, Peter got 18 saratoga – both of us also with full lines of tarpon with multiple upgrades to larger fish we found later in the day – best tarpon 39cm (me!).

 

So, a great day fishing – one our best during any comp - where both of us fished and caught well. I caught my first sleepy cod, both of us got a catfish – Peters the biggest! Hahaha! He can have that honour. But he also got the biggest togas for the day in our boat with a 55cm and a 61cm. When he caught that big one, you could have heard his yahoos and yeehaaahs back on boat ramp, maybe even at the Corroboree Tavern where the comp was being held at, he was that loud.

He was hoping for this big toga, so that if other boats found the barra (that we couldn’t ) and they would easily beat us for points like last year - he might get at the very least get the biggest toga for comp – we have both shared that prize alternatively several times the last few comps. But given our results for the day of 35 saratoga between us, we were thinking we should be at least in the top three teams of the day. We kept fishing til the latest possible moment left in the fishing time slot of the comp before heading back to the ramp. 

One more fish! One more fish the constant motivation for effort when already absolutely exhausted - such a long day of constant casting in hot humid conditions.

We made it to ramp and submitted our scoresheets with 25 seconds to spare!

Now to load boat onto trailer, back to Tavern accomodation for a shower, and an anxious rest before we could find out where we were on the score board later in the evening.

Saturday night is the fancy meal before the results of Day1 are presented. In the chat before the meal between competitors, we heard of a big toga of 66cm being caught in another boat -so no biggest toga for day (let alone the comp) for us.

The meal was awesome – but I was so distracted and impatient for the days results.

Surprisingly, I won biggest tarpon for the day at 39cm – not many big tarpon caught it seems - we had found a patch of 50cm tarpon during a prefish but didn't find them again during the comp. Peter also won the biggest catfish for the day – got given a lovely gold crown to be crowned “Day1 Catfish King!”

Interestingly, with all those anglers - only 8 barra caught on Day1 by competitors – this knowledge indicated to us that we now were well in the running for at least the top 4 teams given the numbers of toga and tarpon we had caught.

Then finally (well for us) the important slide popped up on the night’s presentation – team standings as of Day1 – it showed us as a team that we were in 1^st place and approximately 600 points in front of 2^nd place. Significantly next few slides showed individual standings, showing Peter was 1^st individually, and I was in second place – awesome!

We were fairly chuffed at our results and placings Day1 – but fully aware of some very good fly fishers pushing us to work just as hard on Day2. I was straight to bed after the presentation – exhausted, and had to sleep lots to ensure ready for next day

Day 2 details.

So, it ended up not much sleep as I wanted, as I woke up at 2am and could not stop going over plans and figures needed for Day2 in my head. Minimums, percentages, totals, leads over others and more calculations. 

We were up at 5:15am, again first to launch, and straight out to same “Toga Alley”. This time 15 minutes early and got busy checking gear before first cast at 7am.

Morning Day2 - first to hand were four 33cm tarpon before the first toga. The sounder screen was absolutely full of tarpon from top to the bottom of the screen in the 7metres of water we were fishing off the weed edge. 

To be safe at top of scoreboard – I calculated 12 toga and a line of tarpon for each of us - were the minimum for the shortened Day2 to have some chance of remaining top of the standings.

 Like Day1 of comp, we had similar toga numbers, this time 7-8 toga each by 9am and almost full lines of tarpon.

Again, like Day1, we worked the banks lily by lily, moving along slowly.

I once was casting across some lilies and a small arm length croc chased my fly across the lilies. I had several casts to it, it continued to chase the fly racing across and around the lilies. It grabbed the fly once but didn’t stay hooked up. Still, it chased another cast fly. Eventually I snagged a lily pad and it got scared off. Would have been an interesting fly removal!

One more important thing on casting styles - let me explain our boat set up for casting. Peter is up on front deck, also operating the electric. I am down back of boat with a cleared space in back corner of deck. If the bankside we are targeting is on the starboard side of boat - being both right-handed, we can both cast forehand style - so real easy. Me over back of boat, elevated Peter on front raised deck - over my head. 

We have to time our casts - we communicate heaps on this "down right side", 'In now", "over the top", "you first" etc. you can pause your retrieve if needed to keep fly in water (where it catches fish!) til other has recast. After fishing together now for 9 years we are a well oiled machine when both of us are casting constantly - we hardly ever tangle up - we do - yes, it does happen with a lot of line in the air but not much these days.

However, when we fish the portside of boat different casting is required. For while Peter can still cast forehand due to being up higher and casting over the bow of boat. I cant cast forehand in this situation due to Peter and console being in the casting line. So I cast backhand over my left shoulder to maximise my options.

This back hand casting is hard and if you dont do much of it, it needs to be practiced for intense fishing times like comps. And I practiced a lot. I do so regularly on the mowed area of my rural block. Especially when it is windy. I can now cast almost as well backhand as forehand. When I am tired it is a craps game, laying out a straight line, it becomes a terrible J whip on the end when landing. It is manageable if I focus to ensure my wrist is positioned right, at the end of the last movement of my casting action. 

A couple of good toga I got during comp were when a long backhand cast was needed. To be truthful there are other times I cant land a fly any where near where I want it to be. I mainly want to emphasis the need to cast over both shoulders, in wind, in tight situations - accurately! It is not like casting in to a saltwater melee of tuna or queenfish. More like flats fly fishing where accurate long casts need to be made.

On Day2 wind direction and heading the boat into it, regularly required a lot of back hand casting on my part for hours and more. As a strong wind came along around 10am which effected our plan of slowly moving along every weed bed and lly pad. Instead, due to the strong crosswind ruining drifts and impeding casting - we had to power up to next short calm area behind trees, fish 50-100meters and then power up to next spot. Our tactics changed to suit the conditions to more sinking flies very deep along the edges before retrieving. Boring fishing but each calm area would get us most times a toga, at the very least an upgrade for tarpon or two.  

On one such calm corner – we started fishing this method near a fishing guide and his clients. Peter proceeded to land in 6 casts a good tarpon and 3x toga. I got a toga too and three or so upgrades for my tarpon line. The guide impressed by our catch rate popped over to chat to us about our methods and flies etc.

Then we powered up again to the next calm spot, repeating this till 12:30pm before heading to ramp to hand in score cards.

With 12 toga each and a good full line of tarpon we were confident but still anxious about our results for Day2 and particularly the overall results.

Which of the gun fly anglers behind us slightly in comp standings– had had a better day?

Did any find a heap of barra for lots of comp points? 

Drove us nuts thinking about it!

Back at room, I packed everything from room into my ute and was ready for arvo presentation of awards with half hour to spare. Tried to rest but just couldn’t – anticipation and unknowns were just too high.

The presentation went through the Day2 best of species. Then they start at the bottom of the individual standings and worked their way up. By the time we got to the last four competitors it was Peter, myself, and two other very good anglers whom have placed repeatedly the last few years. Both have been yearly club champions too.

I had heard one of them, Shane, had caught five more toga than me today, those five fish worth right about the same amount of points he was behind me from Day1. Hmmmmmm, very interesting. Pressure building, heart pumping – aaarrrgghh!

Fourth place went to one of the other two, leaving Peter, me and Shane.

It seems like an eternity till third place was announced – well done Shane!

Euphoria unmeasured!

So, Peter and I – 1st and 2nd individually and with those scores meaning - first placed team was secured as well 

Awesome!

Both of us were ecstatic! Hard work, lots of hours rewarded. Lots of poor fishing results – quickly forgotten. What a privilege to fish with so many good anglers and get a result we planned, practiced, and strived for.

My results of 2022 Darwin Flyrodders Freshwater comp based at Corroboree Billabong - Runner up Champion angler  though only just as Shane who had a great second day who almost got me - one more fish for him or one less for me - it was close! 

Fishing partner Peter Cooke, well deservedly got Champion angler (beat me by 200 point or there abouts) – the two large sleepy cod and a massive catfish and a few smaller ones he got last session in comp, assisted in him staying ahead of me – as we both had 12 toga for the half day Day2 and a full line of 30-33cm tarpon each.

This is one of the best comps I have fished in as comps go (the DFR salt comp is, I believe, the best fly comp there is!)– and that’s not because of the results this year. Except for a barra location on the billabong – most will tell you what they are trying, using and even suggest areas to focus your fishing. The banter, laughter and culture of the club is awesome. Yes, always a few loud ones, some quiet ones, some WTF ones ( buts that's the same in every club regardless of type of club) but over all a great group of fly fishers.

So, congrats to all the fly fishers participating 

  it was an awesome 2022 DFR FW fly competition

Thanks to DFR FW comp committee and leadership team, and the countless and greatly appreciated sponsors (especially in current post covid economic mess we are in!).

Wonder how 2023 DFR FW comp will go? Or 6 years from now?

Peter and I might have to split up one year and fish with interstate anglers who want to come for a vist and catch some Toga! Then fish together the next year and so on - maybe, maybe not, we shall see. Also my daughters (12 and 9 years old) will be soon old enough to fish hard all day with me. Maybe my builder son in Newcastle can come up to fly fish with his old man, and see if he can keep up with me in the hot humid conditions! 

So many options, such good fly fishing to be had!

Who would live anywhere else - Top End, NT what a great place to fly fish!

 

 

 

2022 FW Comp Prefish efforts 20220409 Corroboree Billabong

So Monday we found out that the road into Corroboree billabong was now open

The wait til Saturday was so tramatizing !! Could barely do my job as every thought was going over tactics to use, flies to use, locations to try -  fantasizing the numbers and size caught - oh my oh my they were huge in size and numbers! 

But fantasy aside, pre-dawn saturday morning Peter was at my place and 45minutes later we are backing into to the calm waters of the billabong launching Peter's boat

We duck up to the Rock hole first - but only tarpon rolling about in large numbers 

However, with the one more cast King - Peter, pushing out another cast and comes up tight not to a tarpon but a 46cm plump as can be to the point of bursting barra, which is frolicing about on the end of Peters fly line and leader - yeeehaaahhh!

This encouraged lots more casting but to no avail

we head further down the billabong to see what else we find 

Over the next few hours - I drop 5 toga before I got one

I ended up with four toga for the day

Also get a full line of 30-32cm tarpon (in the FW comp a line is 20 fish of one species, that can be upgraded once you first get 20 fish of the species) - over all got about 50 or more  tarpon

Peter got the Tarpon line too

He ended up with 2 toga for the day

The weather was calm but the sun extremely hot and quickly draining your energy

The Tarpon numbers made getting contact with the Toga very hard

Interestingly, we did not see many crocs - only one up on a bank sunning itself. Usually your see 20 plus crocs along edges as you rip between spots - they were mostly likely still there so no swimming for sure! lol as if!

So how's it looking for FW comp in 3 weeks??? 

We still have to work/try out our barra tactics at a couple of identified spots - the Toga were tough but we know several flies that work well - if we can get past the tarpon! 

We plan to do another prefish next weekend - hopefully test successfully our barra ideas/tactics and get more Toga than today - the low numbers of toga to the net - a little troubling so hope it was just a weather change thing! 

Interestingly. during a prefish last year I got 16 saratoga to the net and dropped as many with very poor hookup rates - but thinking on that, 5 dropped & 4 to net today - so the hook up ratio similar to last year just less fish today - hmmmmmm foreboding!)

ANYWAY, go on get out there - swoffing awaits you!

20220326 - Manton Dam - Freshwater comp practice

 

So we were both very keen to get our flylines tight to fish after many weeks of not fishing together

Peter had gone back to Canada to catch with his Dad for several weeks. While I, without my own boat now, was going nuts waiting for him to return – just couldn’t bring myself to land base fly fish.  -   (just 'lazy as' these days)

We almost didn’t fish with Peter’s back playing up since his long flight back from Canada the weekend before and getting back into his office chair since his return. But pain was endured – thanks Peter!

So come 5:15am it found me at his place putting gear in his boat and hooking up the trailer to his ute. And off we go, anticipation high.

We got to the dam a little after sunrise. On launching the boat we see a few of the DFR club members casting away on the opposite shoreline out from boat ramp

We head north to the weed line and start casting

Ribbon weed is everywhere – the area we targeted first was the ski boat area and as such lots of chopped up weed at the very edge of the lily pad line blown in by the prevailing winds – thus 4 out of 6 cast were hampered by weed collected on the retrieve

I stuck to using surface flies all day, while Peter stuck to his “jelly Bean” fly (think egg sucking leech but different). The lily weed beds were 10-20m from bank a with clear water lane like area between them and the bankside. We cast everywhere, retrieved all sorts of ways, tried anything to entice a take.

 We both got the occasional nudge and touch, but the weed was a real problem. To join leader materials Peter used a surgeons knot and his leader knots constantly were picking up weed as he cast into the weed beds, let it sink and then started a retrieve. I used a double grinner and due to being able to trim really short the tag ends – got a lot less – but still picked up weed occasionally – it was everywhere – uggghhhh!!

I dropped a couple of good toga on my version of a Gurgler fly: uses a plastic lure worm hook with a V tail of foam in which the hook tip rides up and is almost weedless (well not totally here given chopped up ribbon weed everywhere!!) – got the idea from an article by the guy who invented those gutless frog flies they use on east coast mountain ranges for Goodoo (Cod).

We were fishing Manton Dam this weekend due to other DFR club members having a monthly outing on the water and more so in practice for the DFR freshwater comp in 5 weeks on Corroboree Billabong (currently inaccessible due to water over the road from the wet season). However, the lilies are very different here – stringier stalks, smaller pads – and then the chopped up ribbon weed from the skiers – all added up to some difficult casting and retrieving.

But the Day was absolutely awesome – almost windless mirror calm water – yeah a couple of water skier boats but no any negative impact from their activities (aside from chopped up ribbon weed).

I finally got a toga to stay connected and netted a 46cm fish – first fish of the year! (soooo sad it is the end of March already – must fish more!). this fish must have followed the surface fly to come 15m from  the safety of the lilies and weeds, but due to its dark colourings and the dark stanin stained waters - I didn't even know it was there til the vicious surface strike that hooked itself - woke me from a repetitive cast and retrieving stupor i was in! I was very lucky to net this one.

A 100 proverbial casts later as we worked along the weed bed edge, Peter was almost back to the boat with one of his deep retrieves and his line went tight - fast! Rapidly, the line moved away, it cut a significant rooster tail across the water on the first blistering run and then a very big toga exploded out of the water – doing their typical body flex and reverse to the opposite flex extreme. The splash as it hit back into the water was huge! All within two rod lengths of the boat.

This saratoga was one of the biggest toga I have seen in a while – it had launched itself almost 1.5m out of the water – it seemed to be at my head height when it spat the hook. Peter’s tight line and the fish spitting the hook, saw the fly spring back to thwack into Peter’s shoulder.

This fish was so deep and so thick! So, so deep in its body depth, and very, very long. Its colours in the morning sun were breathtaking. What a fish!

But its assumed size, its show of strength, power and speed as exciting as it was to witness – did not alleviate the hurt of a flyline gone loose, and of not netting the huge fish. 

Bugger, would have liked to measure that one!

But Peter being Peter shrugged off the lost (despite my constant comments about the incident) and kept casting hoping for another. He is the one more cast king!!

For the next two plus hours we cast and cast and cast some more – finally Peter hooked up tight to a good fish – it hit the net and was measured at 55cm – well done Peter.

Right after that, it was time for to head in to chat with other DFR members at the BBQ.

So, an interesting outing – hard fishing, complicated by copious amounts of shredded weed on surface. Several half takes and nudges, thankfully a couple of fish to hand – a surface fly for me put higher on the “goto fly list”. 

Here is a 'how to' of the surface fly I used at Manton Dam

Tying the V Gurgler fly – it is very easy.

Bascially a surface version of Peter's Jellybean fly

put the worm hook with the shank upmost in vice. lay down bed of thread from bend to eye of hook

Tie in short strip of rabbit fur about hook shank length at hook bend – this time for me is was a black barred dark purple zonker

Then some long sparse black cactus chenille (the bits that hang off about 12-15mm long) this for the half hook shank up from tail tie in point

Then short ice cactus chenille for rest of hook shank– this time bright fluoro orange

Turn hook over in the vice and tie in a pre cut V of black foam – this is tied right behind the hook eye. With the hook point 4-5m back from inside of bottom of V in the foam. I add a drop of glue to keep the foam in place enough for a few fish at least chewing it before is starts to roll around and not ride right. then replace it with another fly and repair the twisted one once home with another drop of glue to get it ready for another outing.

Usually there are 8 hooks in a worm hook bag from the tackle store. So usually tie 8 at a time. Cutting the foam Vs first to match the hook size. At Manton I used flies with a 1/0 worm hook. But once home tied some with a #1 sized worm hook – so have two sizes for the comp. I will start with the larger versions at comp and if too many non-hook-ups will go down a size to see if it makes a difference   

2 years since last post - time to pick up my game and do more SWOFFING in the NT

wow! 2 years since last post - time to pick up my game and do more SWOFFING in the NT

and Write about it!!!!

Soooo soooo looking forward to this year 2022 and the fly fishing planned

Especially with COVID not having the impact and shutdowns that it has for the last two years

As such, Peter and I haven’t fished much in last couple of years – at least not like a few years ago where we were fishing constantly

Maybe getting softer, but also, we have caught plenty of fish, so don’t head out as much unless conditions are perfect - that attitude has to change - must fish, often! even in crap conditions

Luckily, we have the 2022 Darwin Fly Rodders club’s Freshwater comp in a few weeks. So, prep for that is paramount in our minds. I have been tying flies madly for it

But we also need time on water to fine tune tactics and practice strip strikes for those at times subtle Saratoga takes.

Peter just getting back from a trip back home to Canada to check in on family this coming weekend, but we are planning a freshwater session only a week after he gets back.

With the road into coroboree still flooded from wet season rains, It will be Manton Dam which has a bitumen road all the way to boat ramp – it has all the same species but without the water flow that happens through the billabongs. The DFR club has a club outing there, so will be good to catch up with the guys and gals of the club. there are alway the water skiers in the dam but they are restrcted to certain areas giving us a quiet corner to cast to without yahoos zipping by in their loud boats.

I am super keen to get a fly wet after not fishing since mid-December 2021. Boy, do I need to get a new boat after selling my old punt a few years ago (just not reliable to take young daughters out in). Fishing in Peter's boat is great but i dont get out as much as in the past (he is much nicer to his wife than me it seems!)

Reports and video soon on the Manton Dam outing.

After a heap of stress (work and personally) – and not much fishing last year – I really need that to change in 2020

In prep for this year’s freshwater comp on corrobboree. Tactics need to be honed and tested. Last year we got toga and tarpon – in size and numbers but not enough barra. We think we know how to do it based on post 2021 comp analysis and breakdown. We finished third in 2021 and are both keen to improve that – a full line of barra could be the difference between first and third like in 2022.

The majority of the toga I have caught in the last three DFR fresh fly comps on the billabong have been on a #4 gamagatsu B10s dragonfly mudeye style scruffy fly with all olive colourings - weed guarded, sunk right in to the lilies - paying close attention feel that typical subtle take of the toga down deep - awesome fun - sometimes taken high in water column as it starts to sink - sometimes they will follow it from the depths out front of the lily cover right to boat before hitting the fly. have several versons of it.
Peter, who catches as many toga as me, on the front of the boat while I am using my tiny fly from back of same boat - but he uses a vastly different fly he calls a 'jelly bean' fly (longish rabbit fur tail at hook bend, bright coloured cactus flash chenille head/body length of hook shank, bead chain eyes above hook point - #2 - 2/0 – simple (resembling no food source I have seen) fly but highly effective - once out of weeds gets the tarpon too - and a few small barra) - over longish soft 60lb mono weed guards (key could be the long weed guards vibrating as fly is retrieved - maybe / maybe not )

for sport fishing non comp outings - I love to stay on surface all day with foam hooper patterns, gurglers, and an articulated foam frog pattern I have been improving over last few years - this one hard to cast but oh such surface strikes!! the leg action is totally lifelike - is about 7-8cm in length on 1/0 and 2/0B10s hooks (see it on middle right of fly box image at beginning of this blog entry). Also, a go to fly early in the day in the over shadowed edges is the disco shrimp. All flies weed guarded - the surface takes on all these surface flies are everything good about fly fishing the billabongs for prehistoric toga

Seeing a big toga stalk the fly then punch through a lily pad to get at the insect like foam based fly being dragged over a pad - absolutely fantastic!

10 or so years ago you got the occasional 80cm (83cm my PB at billabong from late 2013) – but haven’t heard or seen that size for a while now (though I am not up on all the news of course check with guys from DFR club - lots of clever anglers there)

The winning biggest togas in last few years in the fly comp has been 60-65cm - heaps of 50-60cm (though I haven’t fished late evenings or nights when the larger one might be about like for barra) - my biggest toga for last three comps (in each comp) 62-63cm or there abouts. The start of second day last year's comp – my first cast - a 62cm toga, second cast -  a 58cm toga (I think) and then another 62cm toga fourth cast of the day from the same one corner to a side lagoon area – got several more within a 100m stretch of here – great start to the 2021 comp day2 (we just didn’t get the barra!!!!)

during comps some anglers use 10w so they can get the toga up and out over the weeds when they take at the back of a long cast into lilies - less fish lost to wrapping around the countless lily stalks – the toga are sooooooo good at wrapping themselves on stalks and pads - then getting off the hooks

I mostly use an 8w fly rod in most situations - three rods set up one full fast sink, an intermediate (not used much) and a full floating - used depending on location - but fast sink rod setup used the most in comps – also have a 10w fast sink ready during comps - if I start losing too many to stalk wrapping. I use a shortish simple 1.5m straight 20lb leaders. Nothing fancy.

You can work the edges anywhere on the billabong and you find toga even 100m from boat ramp (as most anglers on the billabong are trollers so not that much pressure on lily hiding toga) – Peter and I like the windward lily sides of prevailing winds of water ways on the billabong– they work better for us with 10-15 toga in a run down along these edges compared to opposite side of same stretch of billabong which you will barely be taking a fish

And this sweet water only 45min from my house - fantastic fly fishing!
I am very lucky to live and fly fish this region of NT
In the opposite direction 40min – Longtail Tuna, heaps of big 90cm queenies, bastards and more in Darwin Harbour.

And too - an hour away SW of my house we have Bynoe Harbour and Dundee – one a massive estuary and all its species plus offshore Dundee has sails, small marlin, macks, and more!

A lot of foreign fly mags and sites are talking up the queenfish in and around Red Sea in the Middle East - we have schools of thousands here in harbour some good sizes too. Yet most top End anglers up here, don’t even chase this awesome sportfish. even better longtil tuna in amongst them at times

when I had my computer career in 80s, 90s I only took the jobs based on the fly fishing - working and fly fishing most capitals in Australia. Even so, I would spend the money to come here a few times each year, to Cox peninsula back then and its fishing camp. now after a few life changes been here 13 years and despite the great kingies and other pelagics in Sydney harbour or the great fly fishing in so many salt and fresh water locations around Brisbane - I really think I am in the perfect place for a SWOFFER. Yes, no speckled feral (trout) but I can manage that trip south or over the ditch every now and then. but plenty other species to catch up here right on door step to keep my fly lines stretched - GTs, Brassie, Threadies, Blue Salmon, Jacks, Macks, Tuna, and more You also have Vernons to the north, a bit further along Melville island, to south you have Peron islands and further along maybe an overnight trip to Cape Ford (last time there 6 casts 5 goldens to 82cm and more species untold - rods bent all day)

When first up living up here, I would take my boat to work and five minutes after work I am on the water for a few hours fishing - awesome times learning the fishing up here (still learning!)

Am very lucky to be living and working here in NT - hoping to retire in next few years so even more fly fishing to be done

Anyone coming up please contact DFR club - plenty to give advice and help you get into some tight lines