Some Aussie Options

My first mulloway on fly back in 2003

Taking my mind off the Flywater Exposed project for the past few weeks has been of all thing some bait fishing. It's not often these days that I fish with bait, however in a few select locations or circumstances it is the best option. I won't be going on about bait fishing in many posts, and the reason for this post is actually fly fishing related if you will bear with me.


The current situation is one I hadn't seen much of over the last few years as I had been busy with other things. The target species was mulloway, and schools of them move within range of a jetty in a popular Yorke Peninsula (South Australia) town each summer. As these schools are visible to those with good polarised glasses, they are a great sight casting proposition. Unfortunately over the last 10 years or so, these schools have become common knowledge and even on weekdays there are enough people fishing for them that fly fishing is not an option 99% of the time. So that brings me to the bait fishing part. Such visual fishing can't be passed up, but even lure fishing is difficult when a combination of sinkers, and floats are raining down on the school from all angles. So there I am with a spin rod and small live baits and fresh cut squid with a few mates. We caught some good fish. It's great fun, however none of these particular captures are overly memorable. 


Before this place gained popularity back around the time I started fly fishing seriously, when the fish were in range I was able to get a fly to the school. I caught two fish and lost another on fly, and I can most likely recount all of those hookups better that that of the bigger of the two fish I caught last weekend on bait despite the fact that those fly hookups were back in 2003! This brings me to the point of this post (finally). I picked up a copy of South Australian Angler yesterday and had a flick through while waiting to pay a bill. I haven't purchased a copy for years, but there were a few articles that looked interesting. One was about fishing for big mulloway, and the other was about South Australia's far west coast. I quite quickly realised that it might be not only fun, but add interest to those reading this blog if I plan a few lesser trips and doccument them here. The far west coast is extremely remote, and I thought that there is probably no better place to start than this wild part of my home state. I will also try and come up with some other Aussie adventures to do over the next few years while  planning for the big Flywater Exposed continues.

Unfortunately due to the crowds, fly fishing here is now rarely an option

So, how does it sound? The far west coast offers the opportunity to fish for monster mulloway up to 80lbs in deep surf gutters close to the shore - perhaps a heavy double handed fly rod will be taken along to attempt to catch one of them. I have never heard of a big mulloway taken from a South Australian surf beach on fly, so I would love to give it a go. Apart from the mulloway, there are plenty of other species to target on fly from the little tommy ruff, Australian salmon, snook, flathead and kingfish to name a few. I am thinking if planning can start now, this should come together in the summer of 2012/2013


You can find more about South Australian Angler here at their website www.saangler.com.au

My mate Gareth with another good fish caught on light spin gear and live bait