Fishing the PigSty

Finding a new spot is always fun.

At this time of year the SE pumps daily, often hitting 18 or so knots. It humps straight across the majority of the flats on Mahe and Praslin. In fact, a strong SE will cause a great deal of frustration and anguish as casts are blown awry and vision is all but destroyed by waves and clouds.

It makes for tough fishing and generally sees one on the flats at day break (when the wind is only marginally lighter) or not at all!

This is why our new find is rather unique (and makes us happy). It’s a kind of man-made backwater. We’ve driven past it countless times when heading north in search of fish and waves! It’s the sort of spot written off without a consideration.

I’m not sure what made us stop. We had been chasing Goldens and Permit all morning and were ready for eggs and bacon. It may have just been the smooth silky water of a protected section of water. The enticing allure of not having to squint through chop glare and the idea of casting without having to make trigonometry calculations in order to land your fly in the zone.

Another day, another place, but somehow wildly appropriate (maybe you had to be there) as JD waits for Fabien , wanting nothing but eggs and 'bekin'!

But we did. And there lay two bonefish on the edge of the channel. And they were big. Surprisingly big.  What was left of the fishable tide was spent watching and casting. Although nothing came to hand, we saw several large fish, including a few Goldens, cruising the deep water of the channel.

The next morning found us chasing Goldens again on a vast grass flat further South. But as the wind knotted up we were back in the Blue Bomber and heading North to the new spot a little later.

JD walked the flat and Fab and I spotted from the man-made wall. It felt like spotting trout or yellows from a dam wall. It gave us an awesome view point but I soon realised we were spooking fish by being so high up. Our sandy and sky coloured shirts, which work such a treat on the wide open spaces of a flat suddenly stood out like a sore thumbs against the bright tropical green background!

Swim boetie, swim!

JD did get a beautiful Bonefish though. It headed first for the sea, then wrapped him round a rock and headed back into the lagoon. It swam right under Fab and I and it looked heavy. Pig heavy. JD had a swim, unravelled his line, thanked the fish for not changing direction again and proceeded to land a Bonefish with shoulders of a prize-fighter. “Heaviest Bonefish I’ve ever caught” were JD’s thoughts.

After discussing the spooking theory in some detail, it was decided that we would all walk the flats – no would stand on the high ground. It seemed to work. I connected with a heavy fish that popped my tippet and the take. A good lesson to self about triple checking tackle and using the previous days leader was learnt.

However I soon vindicated myself and brought to hand a stunning fish. Also fat and piggish in girth. It bent my #7 and gave a superb demonstration of how a Bonefish should fight. Two blistering runs; the first stripping a good 40m of backing off the reel.

It was then Fab’s turn and he had a fight on his hands with a fish that, although the same length, was a good 2lbs heavier than mine.

Three fish that were approaching trophy size is great going on Inner Islands – especially at a new spot one doesn’t know.

I may just grab the ferry across to Mahe this coming weekend to chase the farm animals swimming around the pig sty!

The #7 and and its tamed pig... 

Self Portraits: You've never quiet sure if you got it right... (Photoshop and buildings... no more!)

Fabien and his fatty!

Please that some of these photos have been edited to hide the location. My apologies but it is for purely selfish reasons. Come and visit and we'll take you there!

Fixing Focus

Getting cracking photos of your fish is quite an important part of fly fishing. It is awesome being able to share the surreal landscapes, magical streams and endlessly blue oceans of our fishing experiences. And let’s not mention the being able to email all our friends the latest bus we landed - we love to stroke our egos don’t we?

When taking photos with your own camera, it’s easy. You know the settings, understand the focal lengths and know how to manipulate its nuances to get the best picture. It gets a little more complicated with a DSLR. But you learn the camera like you learn the action of your rod coupled with your line.

But when it’s your turn to have the pics taken of yourself, be sure to check that the settings are correct before handing the camera over. After he snapped his rod today, my old man was relegated to cameraman. I didn't realise the focus was still on manual and after 30 odd photos of a bonefish; Photoshop worked hard to sharpen, clear and fix the images. 

Dad has now had a lesson and a practice session in the basics of using my Nikon. Hopefully the next round of photo taking will be more of a success...

After Photoshop was employed - all shots were edited in Camera RAW (if you have a DSLR get Photoshop and start shooting in RAW format) - the photos are clearer and sharper. The simple steps to cleaning up your potentially lost images are below.

Step 1: In the details tab, pump up your sharpening, radius of sharpen and detail of sharpen.

Step 2: In the basic tab, play with contrast and clarity.

While this is a great way to salvage photos where your subject is a bit further away, your close-up shots will probably stay blurred. And in general this is not a magic way of making those blurry photos suddenly magazine cover quality. But it may just keep some memories a little clearer!

Above and below: The before and after Photoshop

Left photos are prePhotoshop and right is cleaned up. As mentioned, this isn't going to turn your photos into magazine covers but they'll look a lot better in your albums!

Always a great memory: sending it back...

Evening Cast

The fishing has been slow but here are two images to start the week...

The Evolution of JD's Creature Fly

JD Filmalter, like me, has had an obsession with Golden Trevally since his first encounter with them on the flats of the inner islands. We have chased them, theorised about them and worked out their habits.

Obviously this all led to our own fly development for Gnathanodon speciosus. What would get the best results most consistently? While I have stuck to crabs and ended up with the “UglyCrab”, JD has gone with the shrimp direction. Taking inspiration from famous Spawning Shrimp and Avalon flies, JD has created his own “Creature” flies.

These crustacean imitators have proved successful in both JD’s pursuit of Golden Trevally and in catching a variety of other flats species including Carangoides ferdau  ( which is the Blue, not Bluefin Trevally) and Bonefish. I’m pretty sure it’s just a matter time until JD gets a good permit on one.

The Creature has had a full evolution of growth and, keeping true to Darwin’s theories, has shed its weaknesses and grown in its strengths.  The first Creatures were rather shabby, woolly affairs that incorporated a few triggers. They worked, but JD wasn’t happy and tweaked or revised with every Golden encounter.

At a fairly rapid rate – which highlights his understanding of fish and fly fishing – JD has turned the Creature  into a serious fly that has a impressive and growing list of caught fish. Even I have a sneaky one in my box just-in-case.

The most recent - and best - version of The Creature sits alive on the grass of the flats, daring a fish to eat it. The combination of a hot pink underbody and an EP or Frizz Fibre overbody give the fly a translucent and realistic shrimp look. The feelers double as pincers and move alluring in the water. The eyes stand out on stalks adding to the realism. A weed guard prevents snagging over the grass and the tungsten beads tied in as a keel provide adequate weight, an upright swimming position and the added bonus of some noise.

I have no doubt there will be more changes and adaptations made to this fly. And while, like so many different fly patterns, I'm sure it has been tied by somebody, somewhere else; JD's talent as a flyfisherman is highlighted by the growth of this great fly.

One the first creatures.

Getting the shape and the eyes right. First use of silly legs as feelers and moth apparatus.

The Creature becoming more streamlined. Colour experimentation . And note the first time addition of the keel.

Almost there - the rostrumless (this one has a small, understated rostrum) Creature.

The most recent Creature fly showing the addition of a pronounced rostrum,  pink hotspot, weed guard and barring.

Keel position

A backlit photo which gives an idea of the translucence of the fly. This much more noticeable when underwater.  

JD and a Golden Trevally with a Creature in the scissors.

Moments - a few photos

A few random fishing moments to please the eye, excite the imagination and just make you jealous :)

Cruising bones

A pretty girl casting a fly rod... Need I say more!

Bonefish release

Midday down time... Where's the beer?

Disappearing act about to begin...

Anticipation

Evening gold off the Silver Ghost

Satisfaction of friendship

Nothing quite like stalking tailing fish...

Addiction - where's the fly rod when you need it?

The evening cast.

Knees shaking, sweaty palms, don't fluff the cast!

Was there ever a truer thought?

Eyes for Flies #1

Over the years I've realised more and more the importance of the role of eyes when tying flies.

Years ago I used just burn the end of a piece of mono and waalaa, nice tie eyes that looked real enough. These were used on crab, shrimp, creature and any other fly that needed stalk eyes. As far as fresh water eyes went I barely bothered. Only the biggest streamer flies got the most basic black dots.

My first trip to the Seychelles in 2001 taught me a little more with regards to the importance of big, shiny eyes on big flies as triggers. I hadn't until then given much thought as to why fish ate flies and those all important triggers. I was young and the realisation as to why realisitic flies weren't always the most effective was rather profound.

Production line eyes. Trying to cut down on the time. These have been burnt, painted with pink (left)/red (right), had a silver glitter added and are waiting a black eyeball and final epoxy/polish finish.

As my Dad had always said, flies aren't tied to catch fisherman; they're tied to catch fish. Until then I had always taken this statement as a tongue-in-cheek excuse for the not so neat and tidy array of flies that adorned his fly box.

I began in earnest to read and experiment with colours and movement in my trout and yellowfish flies. And the results started to show. One of friends once called one of my flies an abomination and should never be cast at anything except bass, yet he still asked for one at the end of the days fishing.

As I explored the salt more and more, I began to take heed of the fact that eyes were of critical importance in the triggering of fish aggression and fly-eating behaivour.

I started playing with different materials for eyes. Glass beads - silver, red, orange and even blue. Using mono, heat and superglue I was able concoct a number of different eyes types. Sometimes even the use of tungsten beads in the eyes to change the angle of drift or swim of a fly.

A rough epoxy finish and ready for tying. Still working at final polished finish that I'm happy with.

It was recently that I saw a fly with the most amazing eyes I have ever seen on a fly. These had taken time and effort. Layered with colour, sparkle and shine. I'm a fly tyer who doesn't like spending hours tying a fly, let alone making one aspect of the fly. But realised I may have to revise my attitude on time when it came to these eyes.

And so the playing began. Melting mono, playing with nail polish that that always brings raised eye brows when purchased, covering with glitter and finishing with Hard-As-Nails or epoxy.

The results have been mixed but I have settled to two types that I'll be using on all stalk-eyed flies for awhile!

Missing the Milkman

I've started to take this personally! This evening I had nine shots at Chanos chanos.

Jono Shales with a magnificent Milky (photo courtesy of Exmouth Fly Fishing)

And nothing. Denied every time.

Drifting the wind lanes is a patient game. It's so easy to get distracted by the huge amount of fish activity in these naturally food rich areas. Eight of the nine swim-bys happened late in the afternoon - the sun was well down and made watching my fly below the surface absolutely impossible. A lot of guess work and an even greater amount of hope was applied to every cast - it didn't pay off.

A clear and typical windlane with a Milky I thought (for a second) I may have hooked! (photo: Anne Davis)

Obviously the go to fly is Arno's Milky Dream. Developed by Arno Matthee on Alphonse it (and he) did the so called impossible: catch Milkfish regularly. 

I've been tying a fair amount of these bad boys but I don't have sink rate right for the windlane Milkies. The more I read the more I realise that this is the crucial element. An interesting note comes from that online bible of saltwater fish: Fishbase.org. Apart from soft algae - which I would presume is the basis for Arno's Milky Dream - Milkfish also eat cyanobacteria, small benthic invertebrates and, how's this now!, even pelagic fish eggs and larvae!

Cyanobacteria is what causes algae blooms and often is a bright green or blue-green colour. This explains the success that has been had with bright green chartreuse weed flies and why Arno's Milky Dream is often seen with chartreuse loop. 

Small benthic invertabrates are the tiny chaps that live in the mud and sediment of lagoons and flats areas. This explains why you sometimes see smaller Milkies in shallow water eating stuff off the bottom at random. And also why some guys have caught them on really small Charlies.

But I'm really interested in the last one: the fish eggs. Maybe a Milky dream with suspended plastic or glass beads as fish eggs. Or just a clump of fish eggs. I'll be in the windlane with mask and snorkel tomorrow evening planning and plotting.

These Windlane Milkies seem to act like they down at Alphonse. While they do stick those odd mouths of theirs out the water filtering away, they don't daisy-chain and they don't come buy in shoals of hundreds. They cruise the windlanes in shoals of anything from 3 to 30 fish and although they are visibly feeding - sometimes even swirling and doubling back for a quick second look - they don't hang around for pudding.  

My emails bugging the gurus are primed and ready, the tying bench is set out and my thinking cap is on. I am absolutely frothing for another shot tomorrow... and the next day... and the next day... until I come tight!

I thought this was it!!!

The Evening Permit

So I’ve been trying crack the Muggle problem lately. I have been wanting to catch Mugil Cephalus (Mullet) without chum for ages now. Using bread, it’s easy. But I want one without using a starchy chum and a ‘Bread Fly’. I've been playing with floating shrimps, blood worms and variety of educated guesses but the Muggles have been difficult. There has been little success. But this is not about Muggles...

It is about one of my other piscatine infatuations: Permit.

Evening shades of gold.

The uttering of that name sends shivers down the necks of any serious saltwater flyfisherman and a trophy specimen is on the top 3 bucket list of the same group. I’ve been lucky enough to catch several fair sized specimens over the years but have been chasing my trophy for a long time now. And, well, I am still waiting. He will come though!

But to prevent this post from becoming convoluted, let me get back to point. This evening I grabbed the #3 and few experimental Muggle flies and heading down the road to see if I could convince one of them eat my latest guesswork of fur and feather. In the pocket I had a couple of blood worm imitations, a small shrimpish looking fly, a minuscule crab and, as always, a few Crazy Charlies (one should never leave home without at least a couple of Charlies in the box).  Mom and Dad, who are visiting at the moment, came for the short and where heading down the beach for a swim.

Chasing Muggles

As things go, I had barely told them to enjoy their swim when Dad shouted that there was a permit swimming toward me. I asked him if he was sure. He told to stop being ridiculous and catch the damn thing! 

"Our" Permit, by-the-way, is actually called a Pompano (Trachinotus blochii) and is the Indian Ocean’s version (and close cousin) of Trachinotus Falcatus – the famous Permit of the Western Atlantic.

Now he wasn't a big Permit but neither is my little trout rod. And well, a permit is a permit so I very hurriedly changed the San Juan looking blood worm that the Muggles had be so willingly kicking to the curb to a dark brown Crazy Charlie and began hoping.

Small...

Getting ahead of the fish was made easy by the sea wall that I was fishing from and a flick of the old 3 weight put the Charlie just far enough ahead of the Permit for him see it sink but that close that he got spooked by the big plop.

... but you know you want one!

After that it just seemed too easy. The little beauty sipped up the Charlie, I set the hook and he gave me a great rev on my trusty old #3. A couple of photos courtesy of Mom and my little Permit was sent back to grow into my trophy. 

Not a terrible evening at all!