20180425 - Corroboree prep comp outing

So my usual fly fishing expeditioner has entered the local fly fishing freshwater comp without me (seeing I have been turned off comps for a while now but may have to change that as I need a new rod or two that is the regular prizes for such comps)

So we planned a foray into the fresh in prep for the comp in a little over a week 

I got to sleep in this trip as Peter volunteered to get his boat ready and pick me up at my place on the way to Corroboree Billabong. He had to leave town at 4:45am to pick me up at my place by 5:30am. I only got up at 5:15am as my stuff was ready to go the night before.

When almost to the billabong, we met up with a couple more fly fishers at the Corroboree Tavern and then proceed straight to the billabong a short distance down the road from the tavern

There was a bit of a traffic jam at the boat ramp but everyone was efficient as they could be and we were very soon on the way to our first testing area. It was a testing area as we would test out flies, methods all day to refine and fine tune our fly fishing - in the areas of casting, retrieval and fly selection.   

The casting has to be tight and close to structure, shadow and weed edges, the retrieval would varying depending on mood of fish and many other factors, fly selection is endless so we were basically trying to work out colours, as too fly type which always varies greatly – surface? sub surface? or deep flies? Flies with pulse, size, weed guards or not......... the list goes on endlessly

Our first testing area proved quite testing as no fish other than tarpon showing or being caught. Our fly fishing companions in the other boat got four toga which raised our enthusiasm!

Peter and I used different fly lines and flies to work the full water column and to test as many flies as possible but to no avail! 

Eventually the next spot was decided to be visited.

This proved quite fortuitous. 

Peter had been focusing on weed guarded whistler style flies made mostly of bunny fur. These have been very successful for us previously. He was casting right to the back of the weed/lily beds. Once as we spoke of the best part of this style of fly fishing of when the toga smashed the lilies to get at flies drag across the lily's surface - it occurred - the toga twice whacked the fly on the lily but the fish failed to hook up.

I cast into the area and miss it by a metre or two but still managed to get a nice toga out of the exact lily edge area Peter had been casting into - was it Peter's fish??????. 

This capture proved very fortuitous for our theories on how to fish our chosen flies during the comp which we continued to refine, tweak and test til 4pm in the afternoon.  

Prior to this instance, for about a half hour I had wanted a little bit of action, any action! So I had switched over to my other rod with a small damsel pattern on the end of the leader - for which Peter has dubbed the type of fly – the "Corroboree Chihuahua" (why?? I have no idea - maybe small with lots of bark and attitude!). 

This fly shown here is the one that got the 61cm and a heap of tarpon

But the basic concept is a marabout tail, and a emu herl collar just behind bead chain eyes. Hook size is about a four.  you could add some peacock herl along body area but i am using a short shanked hook and didn't see the need. I used all olive materials and fluoro green thread. It is suppose to be a version of a damsel nymph but this fly here has been chewed on severely!

With this type of fly, once in a little personal competition when nothing else about, we decided to see who could catch five meters of combined length of tarpon in the shortest time. I think we both caught over 6m of 10-20cm tarpon up the creek to the right of the boat ramp that day in a very short time – so we knew it was a successful pattern in this location - well for at least Tarpon anyway.

So the night before I had tied a 12 of these - well my version of it for this prep comp day of fly fishing (but sadly in hindsight - without weed guards!!!). This just in case a tarpon fiesta was warranted if we couldn't catch anything else of merit

I was casting to a few boiling tarpon in the middle of the waterway while Peter persevered casting his larger fly into the back of the weeds looking for those bigger toga we have caught previously. I was hooking plenty of tarpon in the 35-45cm range and having a lot of fun (because it seemed I couldn't catch anything else on my usual flies) 

On seeing Peter's action with his lily attacking toga - I cast towards the area but missed it by a few meters. Still I began to retrieval my poorly cast fly. Surprisingly I came up tight to a nice 45cm toga – Man! they are a most beautiful fish! 

As we worked our way slowly along the water way - Peter kept casting to back of weeds and I cast to the edges of weed lines. Peter was using a fast sinking line. I was using an intermediately line (usually use a full sink line) with my tiny fly on the end of a long light tippet. I would let the fly sink and then retrieve a little, followed by a short pause before repeating this till back at the boat.

I was regularly picking up small toga and good sized tarpon in close to weeds - and once away from the weeds and shadows  on way back to boat - a heap of smaller tarpon. All this on this same fly little fly. I also got a few other species - long tom, catfish and even (praise the fishing gods!) my long-time nemesis - a couple of quite small Barra - one 35cm and one 25cm. 

We had several follows from similar sized Barra. Peter got fish on his big fly too - Toga and some nice (greedy - given size of fly) tarpon. Along one lovely length of waterway, Peter got three 45cm toga in about 6 casts over a 200 metre stretch. Later he had a vicious take from a thick chested 55cm toga. Peter also gets a small Barra and a plethora of good tarpon.

While starting disheartenedly slow- now we were having a great day - for the day we ended up with 17 toga - the biggest 61cm and most in the 45-55cm range, along with a few smaller ones. 

Once, on the way back to the start of our run area - I cast my tiny fly along a tip of weeds and letting it sink, I felt the take on the drop and strip struck, coming up tight to the biggest fish of the day a 61cm toga! You beauty!!! So unusual in our experience to catch such a decent toga on this small fly.

In the end a great day was had, plenty of tight lines with beautiful silver fish - then thankfully with the odd fish in a lovely golden brown colouration with brilliant pink spots in one of the most picturesque places to fish anywhere in the world! All, only a little more than an hour outside of Darwin

Who would live and fly fish anywhere else!

So more flies to be tied, most definitely a few with weed guards to get deeper into the weed beds.

We have marked a few spots to concentrate Peter's efforts during the comp. Our casting was getting much tighter by end of day, our retrievals finely tuned to our target species and the toga's at times subtle takes

But Peter - remember to bring the net on comp day! (unlike today!!) 

20180414 - Tuna Time already - Trip SUmmary Video

some of the things we saw and did this last fly fishing trip ------
tuna hammering baitfish a rod length from the boat
me almost falling off boat while untangling fly line from motor prop
some of the best weather and tuna fly fishing we have experienced in a long time
An absolutely awesome day on the water!

enjoy

20180414 - First tuna of the year have showed up - well for us anyway

So a late night phone call changes our location for the next day’s fly fishing trip to wider regions and it also moves the start time up an hour. And this motivates me to get straight to bed for sleep - as it will be a long hot day on the water.

Next day it’s a 3:30am get out of bed time – then gather a few things out of fridge (rest of gear already in ute) and start the drive to Peter’s place 40minutes away. We launch a little after 5am and it’s very dark with no moon – so we back off the throttle given the trees and logs washed into harbour over the wet season.

Once to the Six mile buoy we set the charts to a heading of 308 degrees towards out first location of the oil rig that has been offshore for a few years now. We have always manage countless fish from its piers but after the long ride out we found very little around the rig.

We get a few small queenfish, but only just as the large schools of them seem in a swimming slumber barely reacting to the flies we retrieve in the clear green water. I got a beautiful blue finned trevally, the photo here doesn’t do justice to its beauty as in the water the blue was incredibly iridescent, while the yellows on its lateral line so contrasting – what a beautiful fish! If only 35 or so cm long.

With every cast to one of the massive piers, I was getting plenty of touches and brief hook ups with the resident meter plus Long Toms. Most that may the flyline come tight with a little jump and flick remove the fly which is usually only twisted in their teeth and no real hook penetration. However, I finally manage to stay connected to one of the big ones, connected long enough to get a hand on it for a photo or two

A very much unique fish with its blue tinged teeth aligned along its beak like mouth with rows of tiny super sharp knives, and elongated body with an squarish edged head.

After a few hours working the area around the rig, we decide to head back towards some humps we spied on the sounder on the way to the oil rig. We putter away from the rig and move back to the outer regions of the harbour.

We get to about 10 or so kilometres off Lee Point in about 20m of water and zero structure showing on the sounder. The water has calmed to an oily slick-like surface and in these super calm conditions we clearly see a several hundred meters away some water surface action with a few wheeling birds hovering above it. We quickly decide zip over to investigate - hoping it is not the small fringe-finned trevally (the biggest usually barely 15cm) that filled this area later last year and at that time we ended up targeting the black tipped reef sharks that were in turn hounding them)

Can you see the boiling water a cast length from boat? that's a few hundred spottie macks!

On arrival near the actively feeding fish, we hook up regularly but they are all small spottie mackerel. A few larger ones are spied amongst the school of fish keeps us casting that we don't sadly hookup to. The water is absolutely crystal clear and watching all the fish move about is a massive thrill. The macks are all round the boat and under it, ignoring it and us completely as they chase baitfish and feed with abandon.

We can clearly see the large schools of macks deep in the clear water as they wheel about and circle the bait. They push the bait upwards to then ravage the small baitfish on the surface. Quite breathtaking to see so many fish after basically a fishless morning in such clear and calm water. So graceful in their movement through the water - well until the baitfish could be corralled and then with utter mayhem - consume them.

While I am hooked up to a small spottie mack I think I see off in the distance a tuna doing its porpoising type surface breach which makes me want to get my glasses prescription check if I am mistaken and increases the heart rate all at the same time if it is the first tuna for the season that we might be able to catch.

Despite plenty of fish, if on the small side, around us we leave them feeding and we head straight to the tuna. With predator schools starting to hammer bait all around us, we avoid some of the action that due to the surface slashing are clearly mackeral and veer towards what is now absolutely seen to be longtail tuna. our excitement has risen immensely to say the least! 

We had hoped to see the tuna out at the rig earlier this morning, one of the reason for going there due to a few reports buzzing out the social media circles of tuna out wide. 

But here we are with 120 plus kilometers travelled for the day to out wide and back to harbour, and ironically here within sight of Lee Point and the city skyline - the longtail tuna are all about us. We both hook up and lose fish. We chase, we drift we cast poorly but we still get hook ups such are the numbers and their lack of concern about being near the boat – typical early season behaviours.

So we found them, in large numbers too - right at the side of the boat too! (wait till you see this action on the video - awesome!!!!!!!!!

Our buck fever at seeing the longtails for the first time this year, create so many ways to not to cast and others ways to lose fish – I lose two fish with a few hundred metres of backing out leader breaking near the fly - takes so long to wind in especially when tuna are still at side of boat feeding with abandon. Peter loses one tuna a few seconds after hook up when the free line on the deck loops as it rapidly races out of the rod, and the flyline briefly wraps around one of his fingers and it pauses the fly line just enough to snap the leader as the tuna is racing for the horizon at an unbelievable speed. 

Such is the mayhem of Long tail tuna!

Once, I am so busy looking for the tuna - I don't see my only 8w sinking fly line wrap around the ticking over prop - which results in a shredded fly line. It is now in three pieces - so I join it with double uni knots in two places and keep using it (as my this is my backup line and the other line is at home in the same condition! - as least I know what I am getting for my birthday this year!). This is all happening while countless tuna continue to gorge themselves on baitfish around the boat. 

At one point on retrieve and unwrapping my shredded fly line, I also almost fall out of boat and end up hanging over the motor leg. I was on the verge of cooling off in the 31.2 degree water, and Peter has to stop casting, hop down off front casting deck, and haul me back into the boat - thanks Pete!

These tuna are not huge but very strong, and I mean very strong. These 65-70cm versions we are catching this trip, fight like the 80-90cm fish we were catching at the end of last season in 2017. Just absolutely love these football/torpedo like fish – frustrating chasing them when they are boat shy – yes, but awesome fish all the same.

I brutalize my fish during the fight never given them an easy time, to such a degree even opening slightly the hook of the fly I am using on one the larger fish for the day. in case you want to know - the main fly we used was the Silicone sirf candy in sizes 1/0 and 1, about 5-6cm in length. Search the whole blog using the search option at the top right of this blog for the tying instructions of this fly. my favourite saltwater fly for the saltwater regions I fish (freshwater tarpon like it too!) 

my second and biggest tuna was caught onc a fly line that had two double uni knots holding the fly line together

Peter is exhausted with early start and fighting two very strong fish. My forearms, my shoulders and back are aching intensely from my two to hand and several lost tuna but I want more. Peter said just after bringing one tuna to the boat that the next fish is mine and he will drive the boat, but it only takes one comment from me (and twenty to thirty tuna pound the water surface right near the boat) to get him casting and hooked up again. This time we get a double hook up, I lose mine after a bit but Peter stays hooked up to his ,for his second fish in a short period of time. I don’t know whether his groan on hook up was excitement at another tuna or despair at the pain he would feel getting it to the boat over the next 10-15minutes. Man! These fish are tough, stubborn and in turn a fantastically awesome species to target on fly.  

Both us agree to do some fitness work to ensure we can fish all day for these awesome fish over the next few months.

With the great weather we experience this trip, the ride back to the ramp was so much smoother than for as long as we could remember - both us enjoying the calm afternoon water not experienced for a few years now. Ssuch were the conditions, Peter opened up the throttle to achieve a top speed of 50.2kmh - not bad given the weight of all our gear and two very big guys in the boat! (both of us well over 6 feet.

The trip back to the ramp was spent planning the next tuna focused trip - we revelled in knowing they would be about for several months more! Hopefully the calm weather is travelling with them!

I want more! - COME ON TIE SOME BAITFISH PATTERNS AND GET OUT THERE! 

Catch some with us! they will be here to late into the 2018

The video for this trip will have some awesome fly fishing scenes and fish surface action. 

It will make you casting arm ache to be casting to such fish so close to the boat! - will have it up on the blog as soon as I can. 

20180408 - Trip Report - Six Mile Queenies

Had a cracker of a morning on the water on weekend while giving my little boat a run – its a 4.75 Stessl Protracker with an old 60hp merc on it – I call it a small boat cause there are crocs (and sharks!) up here regularly bigger than it and it also has a low profile – which makes it far too so easy for the crocs to jump on the casting platform and have a sunbake! 

Doesn’t stop me using it but the thought is always in the back of my mind. 

The rig is more of an east coast estuary bass/bream comp type setup.

but it gets me on the water - if it can be a little rough in any sort of chop and swell

The run around the harbour was needed as the result of having been fishing last six months out of a mate’s bigger boat - so my rig was not getting much use other than a location for mud wasp nests – under the console in particular!

  

The motor really needed a good long run – to begin with the motor was as rough as for the first hour – even had trouble starting it one out front of Darwin Harbour after the first 45minute run - which was a bit daunting of the thought of drifting to Timor if i couldn't start it. However, after a tweak and a fiddle by letting out the water from the petrol/water filter - it was going again a bit better.  

The tide was almost to the top – a nothing tide for the harbour, one I would normally do others things than plan to fish – but when time is limited and nothing else going – why not – you’ll never know if you never launch it! It’s only a bit of fuel at the minimum!

On way back into Darwin Harbour from Lee Point after not see a single bird or fish movement on ride out and at a few spots on way back in - I was thinking this trip would be like my last two trips - fishless!

But eventually 500m west of east point - I spy a few birds around the red Six Mile buoy (roughly half way between Mandorah on the west side of harbour and East Point on the Darwin city side of harbour)

Fantastic - something to cast at!!!! 

As where birds are wheeling and diving and fluttering - there is usually fish underneath! Even if a few small ones for the cats at home!

With tide running fast and the electric not up to the task, I keep the motor ticking over once I get within casting distance of a pod of thrashing queenfish

Hooked up and backing racing through the rod runners- LOVE IT!

The best part - all fish seen were larger than the standard or normal for Darwin harbour – these pelagics were between 80-90cm, with the occasional 1m plus busting through the others audaciously with much more slashing and crashing. Nothing small at all amongst the feeding silver flashes. Most times its 40-50cm queenfish with a few 70cm tossed in. So love all the big guys present this trip – stronger, smarter, more selective in fly patterns, longer fights, bigger runs, whirring reels, plenty of backing stretched out! - Awesome fun!

 

I zip around chasing the sporadic groups of active fish. They are not in a spot for long. Up and down before I can get into casting distance. I position the boat on the flowing tide and/or windward side of a frothing area and drift into and moving along with the feeding fish

After a while I work out a sort of line of the current they are mostly working and drift along it – hoping the fish increase their action around me. Saves me zipping about!

They do increase their action along this line of current and I am on more consistently

I cast a few hundred times - sadly short, long, to the left and right - but eventually I land the fly a bit closer to the action or specific cruising big fish.

I hook 16, lose three at side of boat – including a metre plus version that made me say naughty words when the leader popped just as I was about to grab the tail wrist!!!! – I tie another fly on quickly, as they smash bait right next to the boat, then disappear when I am ready to cast - !&$@#$!!!

The larger fish are quite focused on the bait they are eating, a bait that was larger than the silicone surf candies I love to use in the harbour. I ended up using 2/0 clousers for much better results – mostly in all white wings with an internal touch of a bit of gold tinsel (thanks for that idea Roger!). These flies about 7-8cm long rather than the 4-5cm length of the SSC. This bigger fly they chase hard! I even snapped off one big queenfish, in full view of the boat, on the take - such was the enthusiasm for the match the hatch size of this larger clouser pattern.

I think about heading home for the afternoon function my wife has planned for the family, but you know how it is - it is always one more cast, and as you are packing up they burst into action right next to the boat, then it's one more cast, then the whole scenario repeats until you realize you have been messing around with them for two hours and today was just a wet the boat kind of trip with minimal fly fishing.

But I did get 8 to the net, these between 82cm and 89cm in length, I keep a couple for the old ladies in my wife’s church who like a fish frame for fish and lemon grass soup and have no opportunity to catch their own.

Not a bad morning fly fishing - a couple in the esky, I was off the water before 11:30, the motor benefited by the few hours of buzzing about, and I got into some rod bending line pulling, free jumping silvery fish for two hours of mayhem and fun. Bring it on - any day!

Currently working on a trip video with all the jumps the queenies made – will upload it soon.

Oh that reminds me - school holidays in a week - plenty of time to go fly fishing in Darwin waters! 

Who would live anywhere else!

the dry season is almost upon up - go tie some flies and get them wet!

 

Video summary of 20180408 trip - Six Mile Queenies

find below the Video summary of 20180408 trip - Six Mile Queenies

Ashes - UAFBF - fly tying

So while I type up this fly tying blog entry - I am watching the Ashes on the small TV monitor the wife got me for Xmas. She hates the cricket, so I get the perfect excuse to isolate myself in the study and watch cricket!

To ensure TV set up right, I ensure my tying gear is within reach and the TV positioned just right.

So what better way to test the 'Feng Shui' of it all,  then watch the Boxing Day Ashes in Melbourne on my new TV monitor and tying flies for a future trip to East Alligator River a recent dinner guest, Andrew, during the festive season mentioned I could tag along to. (– You rippa!).

His talk as of a secret little creek he fishes every year during the run off with fish a cast opportunities, has had me dreaming of me doing the same ever since. His description of the soft plastics he used the most was melding into a reasonable sort of fly – in my head anyway!

The materials were what I had on hand but I am sure the pattern will work well. I had images in my head of Borski’s slider with its barred tail and deer hair spun head. I have also done heaps of reading on a guide favourite on the east coast of Australia for Barra the double bunny with its two side by side rabbit fur strips. Better still I can use the Fuchsia/purple micro zonker strips I recently had bought off eBay to test a new tying materials supplier out, for the tail material. Also just the right colour for Andrew’s favourite coloured soft plastic.  

So in between digging out a tree (that’s in the way of my workshop and its two sea containers), 'build up' seasonal rain storms, and watching Australia’s first innings on Boxing Day – I tied a few of these flies for a test cast over next couple of day that regular SWOFFING partner Peter and I have planned for the next two days.

Materials needed were the tail material in the form of barred rabbit zonker. 

Large plated dumbbell eyes, 

The brown part of a bucktail (always have the brown part left don’t you! Here’s a use) and instead of wool or deer hair for the spun head, I used shortish faux fur – this in a beige foxie colouring with black tips.

After laying down a bed of thread along the shank, the first step is the tail material. For this I tie in two narrow strips of zonker one either side of top of hook shank (in front of hook bend)

To then ensure zonker strips don’t continually wrap around hook bend while casting or retrieving – I tie in a collar of bucktail fibres around the tie in point of the zonker strips – using the rarely used brown part of the bucktail fur patch.

I then tie in dumbbell eyes (and weed guard if desired)

Then you tie in successive bunches of faux fur material. Points to rear, the bunch tied in middle of bunch with same amount of length either side of tie in point. I then fold back all fibres towards tail material, add a few wraps of thread in front before repeating till hook shank is full.

Tie off thread and grab your best pair of scissors – mine are all crap – hence the ugliness of these particular flies. Hence the name I christened them with – ASHES UAFBF 

(UAFBF as in ugly as F##k barra fly).

Whatever you call it, it is a fly with good “push” through the water with the spun head and plenty of “eat me” movement of the tail material – it is sure to be a winner – that is if I can get it in front of willing barra or other such target species

Go on tie some while watching the cricket (or other sport)

Then get them wet!!!!

Enjoy!

Vernon Islands Fly Fishing

Early start but not too early

We load gear, then get fuel & ice – eventually getting on the water just before dawn

Nightcliffe ramp is just too shallow even at high tide with back wheels of vehicle in the water even at a high tide we had this morning. The rocks to protect the ramp from wind and wave are no also no longer high enough when you have high tides like today's. This is absolutely the last time we will use it for sure.

On the way out of the harbour the rising sun was a pink/red circle on the horizon next to the silhouette of the Royal Darwin Hospital. Watching that sun rise into the sky as we travelled along particularly the colour changes that occurred was awe-inspiring in its grandeur.

The trip to Vernons not too rough wave and swell wise but you still knew it was there, however half way to where we were going, the sun getting ever higher in the sky was starting to heat up the day and we stopped the boat to apply sun safe gear (and have a break from the ever pounding of the waves as we pushed north out of Darwin Harbour). While we are sitting there in the middle of nowhere donning our skins, gloves etc – when four beautiful dolphins came right next to the boat to check us out. The four spent several minutes passing and re-passing the boat within a rod length - clearly looking at us. Very cool those extra things you wee while out fly fishing!

As we arrive at the Vernon’s we chose the south side of the East island to check out first, but not much showing. The tide is dropping and almost out of the mangroves, so we start cruising the edge casting distance off the trees and hope to spot something cruising the edge.  

A large black ray comes by followed by a few largish blue salmon. Despite how close we were to the group of fish they took a great interest in Peter’s shrimp he was using on a clear tip intermediate line. They chased frantically the fly as it was swept across the water surface beside the boat. One fish came so very close to hooking up! Before they took off to follow there ray again.

We worked the dropping tide edge of the island picking up tiny reef fish, Peter got one nice brassie, and I got one half the size of Peter’s. Saw heaps of 1.5m sharks in the shallows, in water so skinny half the fish was out of the water let alone the tell-tale dorsal fin of a shark.

The scenery all day was spectacular – but at 9am the mirror calm conditions (wind had dropped off to nothing), the water cascading off the stepped edges of the island adding to the vista. So amazing to be only casting distance off island and in 30 foot of water casting on to inches of water. A further 20m out from the island and you are in 180 feet of water. Amazing place indeed!

With tide dropping fast we head towards the blue hole on the eastern side of western island. We get delayed for quite a while as we guide the boat gentle and slowly, moving over the flats of the tip of the SW corner of the eastern island. We see three good blue bones on the flats – so brilliant in there colours given the dull flats of broken coral. Sadly, we were not good enough to get a fly to these beautiful and very strong fish - let alone get a hookup. We both agree to come back and do this bit again!

After a few other distractions along the way, we finally get up, around and into the channel that leads in into the blue hole on the eastern side of the Western island. Such fishy water, bommies touching the surface in 40 feet of water with straight sides, a drop off edge of the flats that goes straight into 30foot of water, water flowing into the main channel like creeks and colour changes on muddy water. There should be a fish off each of these we pass but nothing.

We weave our way up the channel – the crystal clear water allows to see every fish. Frustrating too as they could also see us by the time we saw them – with them usually exiting rapidly!

Peter spies a moving black shape – a ray – I cast and then see a larger fish following a bit further behind the ray. So I pause the retrieve of my squimp fly till that fish is near it. The very moment I move the fly the fish in on to it – it ‘lights’ up in reaction to the movement. I give two short strips, the fish follows – its keenness for the fly clearly apparent, as the fly drops slowly the fish follows it dropping in the water column at the same speed as the bead chained eyed brownish Squimp– the instance the fly move with my next strip we both clearly see the fish move forward, the mouth opens and it suck in the fly, the big lips close and I strip strike – instantly tight line is zipping through the water confirming a solid hook up. We are in a little cove surround by sharp coral and encrusted rocks – so I don’t give the fish much give or line to ensure I stay connected and it stays out of areas that might cut the leader. It was quite a relief when it came to the net (thanks Peter!)

Not a huge Golden Trevally but the visual side of the scenario from whoa to go – spectacular!

We continue up into the blue hole but fish are few and far between again despite so many fishy, soooo fishy spots to cast to. We cross up what is basically a water fall, Peters uses the electric sticking to side of the racing water to avoid the rapidly flowing water in middle of channel.

Once up into the next pool, I cast back into the lip of the pool just where the water concentrates and flows down the channel. I hook up immediately. I take it first to be a queenie but the first jump clearly shows it to be a good 60cm+ tarpon. The fish was too powerful and too smart for me and all comes loose – bugger!  

We fish hard in the top pool but nothing (a few years ago I got 17 species out of just this hole. Peter decides time to have his usually dagwood sandwich extravaganza – I keep casting

Back where I hooked (and lost!) the tarpon, we anchor up with the electric while Peter makes and eats his sandwich. His groans of delight at his chef skills while eating was a little troubling to my naïve mind!

I cast the fly across the current flowing out of the pool to swing the fly across the face of the lip of the pool. I am rewarded with 20-30 fish chasing the fly back to the boat. While Peter enjoys his sanga (maybe a bit too much!) as I catch fish after fish – nothing else happening so why not. They are mostly 40-45cm brassies and a few 50cm or so queenies mixed in (don’t know where tarpon went???).

Peter eventually cannot resist and gets into the action too. I try a popper but the fish are not interested at all. Back to the weighted fly and on again.

We get a shark taking half a fish and two other sharks hammering a fish that ends up with me hooking one of the four foot sharks, a bit of to and fro occurs before the inevitable cut off on the 20lb mono leader I was using.

Eventual fish after fish gets boring and we take the boat down the narrow channel of racing water into the next pool to find something new. The video shows this run down the gauntlet reef and coral either side as we shoot down the rapid and how thrilling the ride was. A few casts in the next pool and then we continued our exit of the blue hole.

We check out several places on the exit but nothing. We go the long way round the eastern island but nothing. We think we might give the entrance of the main land blue hole a look but wind increasing, water very muddy. The sounder shows 100s of fish stacked up in 180 feet of water. Peter gives them a weighted jig on dark side gear but nothing. We doubt the validity of the sounder screen given the number of fish marked on it – interpreting mud clouds/plumes for fish????

We duck in behind the southern island to get out of the increasing north wind. At the western tip under a couple of birds we come across trevally and queenfish so super keen for the fly. It occupies us for quite a while. I spotted one large mack that launched itself high into the air with massive hang time, So we head into the wave chop for the possibility of macks. This didn’t end well with Peter’s almost new full sink line getting wrapped around the motor prop – shredding the line – bugger! to say the least!

Its four o’clock and we have been going for 11-12 hours. We start the trip home.

Its 32km one way form the harbour to the Vernons. Peter’s boat despite a better prop is still a bit of a wallowing pig in a following sea. Rough and slow. However about 10 km from lee point we see heaps of birds work over bust ups – sadly its only fringe finned trevally. But the sounder shows heaps of big fish under them. Peter gets the dark side jig out and we cast and jig amongst the massive amounts of fringe finned trevs (only 10cm at max in size)

We get a few follows from massive fish that keeps casting in what are not the best conditions with wind and wave. Peter eventually hooks a 3 foot shark – that I delicately remove the hooks from while it is still in the water. Later we again get follows and almost hook ups on other bigger sharks and decide that is enough.

I left my rural block at 4:30 that morning and after getting boat onto trailer and cleaning up at Peter’s place in the northern suburbs - I finally get home at 7:30pm. With still a few fish to clean up for the kids (and my two cats).

Long day! Species hooked were not much different than if I had fished Darwin harbour but the location has much more potential and is so unique and has wonders of its own. Next time there, we are thinking of neap tides and more time on those coral flats with crabs and shrimp patterns!

Go on tie some flies and go get them wet!

Here's a highlight video of the day