Finesse gear fly fishing

[tonyb 1,017]

Hey guys, anybody out there caught Redfin on flies? I'm looking for specific patterns initially which I can tie, which catch Reddies.I'd also like some ideas :icon_idea: for techniques for use with weighted flies to use with my 2-4kg spin outfit. :icon_e_biggrin: Cheers, Tony.

[David Ciaravolo 34]

ive got a fair few in spring on pink or green Baited Breaths, big fluffy ones work well. Also crazy charlies and Joe Gorhams yellow shrimp pattern too.More Natural presentations like Matukas or Nymphs are also worth a go, especially beadhead nymphs in deep water (i think the flashy bead helps), similarly the Black Matukas with Bright Highlights of Red, Green and Yellow seem to work, I have caught reddies on theses while fishing for trout.Hope that can be of some help Tony, But DONT ASK ME HOW TO TIE THEM...i have no idea!

[Mickyj 3,205]

I am not an expert Tony but if the reddies take a bream lure then they "should" take a bream fly.Something large and flashy perhaps .Or have a look at COD flies they cod also work .Let me know if they do and I may move from teh slat to teh fresh

[Mickyj 3,205]

I am not sure if the mods will allow this link but how about bass vampire flies ?here is a link http://cgi.ebay.com.au/10-Mk11-Bass-Vampire-Bass-Fly-Fishing-Flies-2_W0QQitemZ270264047990QQihZ017QQcategoryZ23815QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[RogerG 1]

Here are afew that have caught reddies for me, the holographic tinsel with a pink body works really well.and one with a chenille wrapped body.This one has a brass swivel attached to the hook to provide extra weight and length then wrapped in yellow chenille with yellow dyed deer hairwith red dyed feathers.A Green Woolie wrapped with black chenille, The green fibres were cut from a Chip as Chips duster brush. I have tied red and orange as well but the perch don't seem too fussyA pink one with a grey bodyMost of the eyes that I use are brass barbell types. The coloured eyes are lead barbell type. The bodies can be wrapped with wire to give extra weight.RogerG

[Mickyj 3,205]

Roger you backed up what I was told yesterday at the tackle shop in Port adelaide that you can even make flies from chip packets for colours .Am I correct in thinking that a Bream fly would catch a redfin ?

[RogerG 1]

Yes Micky the old faithful "deceiver" catches both bream and perch so do heaps of other flies and lures. I reckon that it depends on the fish on the day and no amount of expertise will make the fish bite if they are not hungry or playful. Those tinsel flies of mine will catch almost anything if it is feeling hungry. They are also cheap, fast and easy to make and repair and the variations are only restricted by your imagination. I am always on the lookout for new material, it has to be light strong and durable because flies take a lot of punishment and if the material is poor then the fly will get torn to shreds just by dragging it through the water. At the same time it has to be subtle and move as though alive. As a youth I watched Scottish fly fishermen tie the "Fly for the day" Just by watching what fish were biting on naturally and then tying a fly, on the spot, to mimic it. They often used bits of wool, off the fence, left by a passing sheep or feathers dropped by ducks that had been preening nearby. But if the fish ain't hungry then it ain't gonna bite.CheersRogerG

[tonyb 1,017]

Hey Roger,It never ceases to amaze me the amount of top class knowledge there is on this site :icon_e_surprised:Your flies are the least likely ones I expected to see as I had been told by one of my peers that wooly buggers/worms were the go. I particularly like the look of the grey bodied pattern but I'm up for giving them all a try. Thanks for the info and great pics as well :icon_e_biggrin:Cheers, Tony.

[tonyb 1,017]

Hey Dave,excuse my ignorance but I've never heard of "breaths" or crazy charlies maybe cos I'm a bit one eyed with SP's, got any pics? I've got a few of Joes patterns but not that yellow shrimp, I'll hit him up for some next time I see him.I have got some of his bead head nymphs which I'll try to get wet soon. Mmmmm. Matukas, heard so much about them but never fished one or tied one either, seems like I've been missing out a bit on the action. Thanks for the input Dave. Cheers Tony.

[tonyb 1,017]

Hey Micky, top link mate,I always tied and used chenille bodied flies like those for many years and have a soft spot for them. I caught my PB trout in the UK on a white chenille body, white marabou tailed streamer style fly with tap/plug chain(two links) for weight at the head. I've just cobbled together a redfin imitator with an olive chenille body with a gold rib, red wool tail and red wool tags up the body to simulate red fins. Tap chain at the head, still got to get it wet yet.I'll try to get a pic if I can work out how to do it. (I've got the Photobucket website from here) Looks as if I'll be busy for a while with the ideas from you guys, many thanks, Tony.

[Mickyj 3,205]

Hey Micky, top link mate,I always tied and used chenille bodied flies like those for many years and have a soft spot for them. I caught my PB trout in the UK on a white chenille body, white marabou tailed streamer style fly with tap/plug chain(two links) for weight at the head. I've just cobbled together a redfin imitator with an olive chenille body with a gold rib, red wool tail and red wool tags up the body to simulate red fins. Tap chain at the head, still got to get it wet yet.I'll try to get a pic if I can work out how to do it. (I've got the Photobucket website from here) Looks as if I'll be busy for a while with the ideas from you guys, many thanks, Tony.

No worries Tony will have to get busy making more of my own flies .The port river is ok but I like the lake for my salties.But I have to try the fresh some time

[RogerG 1]

tonyb,I like woolly buggers too, however I never stop experimenting. There are a few "Names" around the world who have tied famous flies and these have been promoted so that others can make a quid out of people. Most of these flies are extremely elaborate and a specialized art form. You are paying for that art, not for the flies ability to catch fish. Walk into a tackle shop and you will find flies costing twenty to thirty bucks each. They are very pretty but will not catch any more fish than some costing a dollar each. One day I found myself sitting on the banks of the Murray, drinking a few beers with a couple of mates who had rocked up from the city. These guys had never tasted redfin and there were a few fish about(1996, the last "High" river) due to a high river.I went to the ute and found a spool of 4lb mono, a pink drinking straw, a #4 treble hook and a bit of red wool. I threaded the line through a 40mm piece of the straw, and tied on the hook then tied the red wool around the shank of the hook leaving tails of around 30mm. This humble rig caught a dozen nice sized redfin which we cooked, wrapped in alfoil, over the fire. The straw chucks a stream of bubbles as you retrieve it, attracting the fish. See my tube flies in another post.RogerG

[tonyb 1,017]

Good work Roger, your straw flies remind me when it was legal to troll along Port Noarlunga reef for salmon. We used blue plastic tubes about the same length as yours which bubbled and were lethal on those salmon. I started off with 3 lures in tandem, but after a triple hook up with two lures snapped off and a 3lb salmon on the remaining hook, I soon reverted to one. Had a boat trip down to the windmills at Cape Jervis recently and saw guys catching Salmon so found an old blue tube and yes, it's still as effective today.Just on catching Reddies in the Murray, I suspect those halcyon days of big bags are long gone due to that fish virus that cleans a lot of Reddies out of running water systems. We had a scientist from the Government give a talk at a recent SAFWAA meeting about the fish species throughout the Murray. I button holed him after the meeting and asked for any hotspots he knew off as they trap and radio tag all manner of fish to gather data.Imagine my surprise when he said over one year and a thousand kilometres of the river they only caught 4 redfin :icon_e_surprised:One of our other members told me when he was young , reddy anglers used to line the Torrens near the Zoo/university and catch them all day. Have you heard of any one doing that nowadays? Thankfully they are a very resilient fish combined with prolific spawning activity which will keep them on my plate for a long time to come.Cheers,Tony.

[Mickyj 3,205]

Good work Roger, your straw flies remind me when it was legal to troll along Port Noarlunga reef for salmon. We used blue plastic tubes about the same length as yours which bubbled and were lethal on those salmon. I started off with 3 lures in tandem, but after a triple hook up with two lures snapped off and a 3lb salmon on the remaining hook, I soon reverted to one. Had a boat trip down to the windmills at Cape Jervis recently and saw guys catching Salmon so found an old blue tube and yes, it's still as effective today.Just on catching Reddies in the Murray, I suspect those halcyon days of big bags are long gone due to that fish virus that cleans a lot of Reddies out of running water systems. We had a scientist from the Government give a talk at a recent SAFWAA meeting about the fish species throughout the Murray. I button holed him after the meeting and asked for any hotspots he knew off as they trap and radio tag all manner of fish to gather data.Imagine my surprise when he said over one year and a thousand kilometres of the river they only caught 4 redfin :icon_e_surprised:One of our other members told me when he was young , reddy anglers used to line the Torrens near the Zoo/university and catch them all day. Have you heard of any one doing that nowadays? Thankfully they are a very resilient fish combined with prolific spawning activity which will keep them on my plate for a long time to come.Cheers,Tony.

Tony I am 45 now .But decades ago when I was in my early 20's or late teens used to have a sales rep come into work .He used to tell me stories of redies in the torrens .Those were the days .And not just near the Zoo either !!Did the scientist say if they were controlling the mosquito fish in the river or not ?

[tonyb 1,017]

Hey Micky, no mention of any controls except major Carp kills for the Cray fishers pot bait. All of their work is data collection. Apparently some clever guy worked out that Carp jump. So they built fish traps which allowed natives under but the Carp had to jump. We were in awe of the height they could jump, 2 to 3 metres on the video he showed :o a slide took them off to holding crates which are lifted out of the water by winch loaded onto freezer trucks and sent off to the cray fishers. The annual catch is in hudreds of tonnes :icon_e_surprised: Did you have a specific reason for asking about mosquito fish mate?Cheers, Tony

[tonyb 1,017]

Hey Roger, could you help me to track down some of those barbell style weights on your flies. Adelaide seems desperately short on fly tying materials and I'd luv to find a good source. Cheers, Tony.

[Mickyj 3,205]

Hey Micky, no mention of any controls except major Carp kills for the Cray fishers pot bait. All of their work is data collection. Apparently some clever guy worked out that Carp jump. So they built fish traps which allowed natives under but the Carp had to jump. We were in awe of the height they could jump, 2 to 3 metres on the video he showed :o a slide took them off to holding crates which are lifted out of the water by winch loaded onto freezer trucks and sent off to the cray fishers. The annual catch is in hudreds of tonnes :icon_e_surprised: Did you have a specific reason for asking about mosquito fish mate?Cheers, Tony

Only because they are worse for the environment than Carp or so I have read or seen somewhere .Thats all tony.Cheers