MULLET, Yellow Eyed, Jumping or Stunned on Fly

[tonyb 1,017]

:-\ Hey Guys,I'd luv to hear if any one has targetted Mullet on Fly, wet or Dry, or even caught one accidentally while on fly while after other species. When I came to Oz in 1990, I'd come from a lifetime passion for catching Trout on Fly. I was initially frustrated by the lack of opportunity to follow this up but came around to thinking what a brilliant sporting fish the humble Mullet would be with its surface feeding habits and also it doesn't mind a nocturnal snack either.I tried all sorts of dry's and wets on areas of the Onka which were heaving with busily feeding fish with not a touch so put it in the too hard basket. I've asked about among my peers without much success but have been so impressed with the know how on this Forum that I thought if there is enough info coming forward we might be able to start a new dynamic and give the old bream a few days off.Cheers, tonyb

[projoe 262]

hey tony u know me & ive caught some mullet on fly most of have been caught while targeting bream on fly. one nice fish i did foul hook in the back was a jumping mullet of about 1 kilo but most are yellow eye mullet on my deeper dan pattern in the yellow colour. you could also try floating bread type patterns with some bread berley that little white moth pattern i sell at the club meetings might work as well.

[tonyb 1,017]

Thanks for the input Joe, is the deeper dan the bright flashy barbell headed mully lure you make? if so I've got a few of them but haven't tried the lure types as I was thinking more on the lines of small drys or wets :-\ Could you bring a few of those white ones to the meeting if you remember and are they wet or dry?Was at Stu's place friday arvo, the place was boiling with fish rises. Stu was saying they never stopped all afternoon. Plenty of fly life too. Bit of heat really fired them up.Going back for a fish on friday with my new Fly Rod off Shane. Gotta get it christened. :icon_e_biggrin:Cheers, Tony.

[Mickyj 3,308]

every fly I have thrown at them they swim straight past .

[tonyb 1,017]

Thanks mickyj, where do you fish mate? what type of fly were they you used? streamers, wets, drys? :-\ Some one somewhere has gotta have taken a mullet on fly. I've seen/heard the Onka estuary going off with rising mullet way into the night and similar up at Old Noarlunga.Cheers, tonyb

[grubb 0]

I've only caught yellow eye mullet on small red flies, try a buzzer style pattern in red about a size 10 or 12. Also flylife magazine has an article by Steve Starling on catching mullet and garfish on fly.Cheers, Dave.

[tonyb 1,017]

G'day Dave,Welcome to S&H and take a Karma point as well as I've been waiting sincs September'08 for the info you've just given me : 8)Cheers for that, wouldn't be able to photocopy that article would you mate? Don't want to stretch a potential friendship too far, so it's OK if you can't :fishing:Cheers, tonyb.

[tonyb 1,017]

I've only caught yellow eye mullet on small red flies, try a buzzer style pattern in red about a size 10 or 12.

Dry or Wet mate??

[grubb 0]

He uses a small wet fly called a buzzer.I don't have a copy of the article unfortunately as I only read it in the news agents while waiting for my girlfriend.Cheers, Dave.

[tonyb 1,017]

Thanks anyway Dave, do please try to remember a pic with your cell phone the next time you're waiting for your girl ::)Cheers, tonyb.

[johnwalkley 24]

go to creeks and the port and burlwy with bread get them around and chuck any fly in the area even a small surfcandy and they will hit it, although i like deer hair bread fly and a suspended white or red buzzer slowly retrieved, but you need burley to hold them. its like catching gar

[Opah2 0]

Yellow eyed mullet have been very frustrating for me as a fly fisher and a real challenge. I recall catching them as bait fish in the sea on mini sabiki fished through breadcrumb burley many years ago. Thinking along these lines and having learned about dropshot fly fishing I came up with a possibility. 

I used a 13 ft. Tenkara rod with a clear nylon line of 10 lb as main line. To this was a 4 lb. 4 ft. leader with a dropper 8 in. long a foot from the end. At the very end an AAA shot was placed and a 12# Sawyers killer fly on the dropper. Casting is a sod! But, the result in my local river was most satisfying; two mullet caught fair and square lip hooked on the swing in the first hour. I did try other flies and they had no response from the mullet that I could clearly see. Next is to try fish skin sabiki hooks which I will have to tie in size 14# and 12#. Yellow eyed Mullet bite very quickly and though there are many takes few are connected with.