kingtidesaltfly – Page 4 – Saltwater Fly Fishing guide. Tauranga, Bay of Plenty

Dealing with rejection

Just a handful of reasons you may have suffered in the hands of the fishing gods.

At some point in your life you’ve had to deal with rejection. How you go about dealing with it is your business, but one thing is – if you don’t pick your own self up you ain’t never going to learn from it.

Therefore I’ve put together a few little snippets on making a rubbish situation a little more bearable and maybe even turn it into an eat. And also help me get through the flats drought over winter.

Kingfish are by and large a cunning predator. They are on top of their game and one day will be terrorizing bait relentlessly, the next day scrutinizing every single fibre on your fly. So as a rule of thumb for these days I’ll fish as natural as possible. Muted colors and minimal bling can still turn them on. Otherwise “if you can’t catch em, piss them off”! Bright, bulky and loud being the modus operandi here.

Big, loud and bright. Small, natural and subtle.

Those follows… Heart stopping, time seems to slow right down as they meander along behind your fly. One kick of that yellow tail will see them overtake it but they’re content on just following. You run out of line, now what? Get that fly out of the water, no point educating the fish more than it need to be. Wait for them to turn then flick the fly into their exit path – departing body language will dictate if they eat it or not, just remember to make the fly move straight away. You can also try changing your retrieve but bear in mind you can’t out strip a kingfish.

A few points about these precious few seconds boat side. Don’t look them in the eye, keep very still, no pointing at them and yelling eat the f*%ken fly. Keep the rod still and away from overhead. In fact just ignore the bastards and wait for your next shot, almost as they disappear from sight or at your casting range limits are best bets.

Gear failure sucks big time. Buy the best gear you can afford and keep it in great condition. Saltwater is a reel killer and a water/bomb proof drag is highly recommended. Retie suspect and overworked knots. Research the best connections for each stage of line join and practice them over and over again. And when you’ve mastered that find an even better way to do it…

Sometimes however it just doesn’t go to plan. My mate Andrew Marshall got backlashed on a big kingfish a few years back (keep the drag set, not undone after stripping line off). The monstrous surface take and sound of that fly line snapping as it came tight was epic and forever etched in our minds. All these little lessons serve a purpose to strengthen your resolve, if you’re not learning something from it then get an easier hobby.

Quick re rig and time to ponder the big kingfish that just destroyed a fly line.

Most people don’t eat meals all day long, same applies to fish. Perhaps a smaller portion will be snapped up more readily. This is a good time to mention bite times and solunar activity. Keep an eye on these you’ll be pleasantly surprised when the fish activity correlates to these times, even if it is just a brief window.

And finally the worst of all, blanking! You’ve worked hard all day, covered all your spots and tried all your tricks. Best to go home, clean your gear, curse the fish and have a beer (in no particular order, but if you’re really clever you can do them all at once). Strip things back to the basics and think how you can do better. Often keeping things simple will take the clutter out of your head and fishing. Leaving you free to chase fish, not faff around distracted.

3 days of searching, blanks and refusals ended with this in the dying minutes.

Cheer up dude. At least the old man caught something.

Even the best of the best have had a shit day or two. Just bear that in mind next time you find yourself raging in a bad way. Tomorrow’s another day.

Senyos Laser Dub Review

For a few years now I have been sourcing various fly tying materials from Matt at Taupo Rod & Tackle. The man sure knows his stuff and is more than happy to track down stock in a flash (no tinsel related pun intended).

So when a parcel arrives at your house full of goodies you naturally put thoughts to hooks and the fluff starts to fly. This time around I had some Senyos Laser dub to play with. This stuff is as versatile as it comes whether using as a dub or stacking it like deer hair. It can also be clipped to make tight shaped heads and bodies. In fact you are only really limited by your own imagination.

What really sets it apart from other similar products is the look it has in the water, the fine sinuous fibers have amazing translucency even when packed hard to form a bulky water pushing head. You can tie it as sparse or dense as you like but I found smaller, more frequent applications when stacking to be favoured. especially when blending various colours.

Although I have had zero time on the water of late (establishing a business ain’t easy) I was impressed with the water shedding capabilities when a few test run flies came out of the sink. Any remaining water will be displaced on the back cast easily enough, leaving a fly with its originally intended weight to throw. Perfect for long days on the water waving the wand.

You can get hold of Matt via his website www.tauporodandtackle.co.nz

Slim head bait fish. Swims with an enticing kick

Piper variation #63. Kingi candy on the flats

As you can see the red is particularly good for blood. Just another trigger to consider when tying. Nothing says eat me like a flared gill plate.

An eye for detail

Since I have had minimum time on the water over the last month (work, baby, bad weather, work, work… repeat) I figured best to write something that is the next best thing to time on the water. Prepping for fishing trips is a very close second, especially when Winter is making itself present.

Call me slightly OCD but I have a thing for tying flies with a fair bit of attention to detail. Maybe not quite the levels of some hyper-realistic flies, who really has time to tie those Picasso pieces? It’s something I find gives me more confidence while fishing them, especially when the days are tough and the fish not as Kamikaze as you’d like. Eyes are definitely a major trigger for most of my salt water flies

Eyes are a deal breaker. Picture a fleeing baitfish, eyes wide as a predator closes the gap in pursuit, the predator keyed on dinner. They’re both watching each other, looking for clues as to each others movements. Many good fisherman also understand these subtle body gestures and use them as an indication themselves. Liken it to a first date, something I’m out of touch with but if my memory serves me right you can read a fair deal from eye movement and whether or not you’re getting lucky.

There’s such a vast array of options from homemade works of art to mass produced sheets of pupils. It’s really up to the fly makers imagination. Personally I prefer function and durability when using them, most of the time bound under a coating of resin. The flies and eyes below are just the tip of the ice berg and the options are limited only by creativity.

So next time you’re tying or even better on the water stop and give them a thought. It may be the difference between a donut day or a damn good day.