Pollack on the Fly Part 1

Pollack Fly fishing trip May 11 Th. 2008

It’s still a week or 2 early for Bass here, the second set of springs will no doubt bring a tidal wave of giant Bass! Lets hope not as if that were ever to happen a greed y commercial fisherman would be more than happy to scoop them up with no regard for the future of his own fishery. Ok politics aside.

So in the absence of Bass I have turned my attention towards catching Pollack from Reefs and Pinnacles. Usually I regard Pollack as a by catch, such is my favouritism towards Bass fishing. This style of fishing is very basic in terms of technical fly fishing. Boat handling becomes the critical skill rather than fly casting. I did ponder too myself a couple of times. Is this saltwater fly fishing as I drifted over pinnacles watching the fish on my Fish finder and lining up my drift. Regardless of the ethics it’s still a very enjoyable way to fish, you certainly do hook into larger fish than you tend to when fishing my local Rocky shore marks. I think I will start to do more of this fishing this summer and see if I cant get a Double figure Pollack on the fly.
Method
Once you located the correct starting point and have set up your drift you cast the fly either ahead of the boat or at 90 Degrees to the boat. With a stiff Northerly today wind I fished with the stern facing the wind. Depths ranged from 20 - 60 feet. As the fly swings around the bites tend to start. You can let the fly swing fully astern and then jig and retrieve the fly. Sometimes retrieving a few meters and then paying the line out again. This certainly breaks the gentlemen’s rules but when handling a boat in chop on your own while fishing the fly it is useful.

Lines and flies
I have been fishing with 8 # and 10 # Rods both with Rio Outbound Di 8 Sinkers. 30 lb Seguar Fluorocarbon leaders and a variety of flies. With regard to flies I have now started to fish 1/0 Deep eels and other Long Mobile flies. If you fish small flies you will be plagued by Small Pollack. If you fish a large Saltwater fly they tend to tail nip the fly ,rather than swallow it, its rather like bait fishing . As you drift you can feel endless tugs and pulls from small fish nipping while you await a thump from the larger specimens . The 6 lb Fish today fell to a bright red Zonker on the Second cast .

So today I had well over 20 Fish , with several 4 pounders a Five pounder and one just under 6 lb. The little guys don’t really pull your string but the better fish really do stick a bend in the rod. as they dive for cover .

It may not be pure fly fishing but as a pre Bass fishing season distraction it was pure fun !

Saltwater Fly fishing in Cornwall - May 2008

After a busy week I managed to sneak away for a whole tide today. We had a pretty large Spring tide combined with a strong very gusty South Easterly Breeze . This made maintaining the correct drift , managing the boat and a fly rod rather a challenge. Constant tweaking of the boat and much swearing as the fly line spooled out of the Orvis line tray in the gusts,were the order of the day. It was good to see the Herring fry were in the shallows dimpling the surface in the margins of the Estuary . Despite the arrival of the Fry there was still a wintery feeling to the place . Peak season the estuary will be a soup of Bait and life. The Stingy Noodle weed beds are still rather thin. I should have looked at the water temperature on the Fish finder . I checked several favourite Bass spots but alas nothing there, Not a pluck or a follow . Usually if they are there you will see them follow or hook them within a few casts.

So it was back to Pollack duty. Armed with the 8 # and Rio Outbound Di 8 . DNA Olive Clouser size 2 # (Just for a change) The heavy seas restricted my movements so I fished well within the sheltered confines of the estuary . As usual there were plenty of willing Pollack and Coalfish , no monsters , the best fish would have maybe tweaked 3 lb. 20 or 30 fish later that was enough..I had fished 2 marks ranging from 18 to 35 foot deep. All the better fish were deep down. Time to return with a glowing red face thanks to Sunshine a windburn. Nice to be catching fish and bobbing around.

A few weeks from now the daily Herring fry Bltz’s will start . Hopefully !

AG

Saltwaterflies for Cape Cod 2008

I have been busy knocking up flies for the Cape Cod fishing trip, with three weeks of fishing ahead I am aware that Im going to need plenty of ammo. I will try to keep the number of patterns down, Deep Eels, sparse Clousers , Black Decievers and a handfull of Menhaden ( Bunker) flies should do the trick. Obviously I will add a few bits and bobs to the mix. There are several guys that have asked me to supply flies , 180 Deep eels later I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Every year we encounter shoals of Manhaden often closely pusuied by Bluefish and striped bass. I have tied these flies with EP 3 D Fibres Menhaden over Tan over Baitfish Belly, Hook Tiemco 600 SP size 6/0 . Eyes 6 mm Abalone shell. Just add a couple of spots to the flank to match the distinctive markings of the natural.

Hopefully these will dothe trick

I have an article on the main site with tying instructions

Click here

Aprill Fools or brave souls?

I was joined by Clive on Thursay April 11 th. So two brave souls headed out into the rain for an early season saltwater fly fishing session. The initial plan was to hit the same mark that provided me with a couple of Bass in Febuary. As soon as I managed to position the boat correctly and set up the right drift we were into fish, fishing in 25 foot of water with fast sinking lines on 8 and 9 # rods. The fly of choice was a size 2 Olive over Polar DNA frosty fish Fibre Clouser ( By way of a change !) We managed to land over 40 Pollack and coalfish, no bass were landed today . But it was still great fun to see a bend in the rod.

Austen Goldsmith CLICK HERE

First Bass of the year

I ventured out today for the first ''uk based '' saltwater fly fishing session of 2008. After the stunning weather on Saturday the change of wind direction to easterly and the drop in temperature came as rather a disappointment. Fearless and well wrapped up I hid behind the rather small consul on the Boston Whaler to keep warm. It was great to be out in the fresh air at last after what has been a hectic month work wise. I fished several of my favourite locations within the Estuary and drew a blank. Marks that always produce a fish 'In season' were lifeless, not a Tug and not a fish on the Fish finder. A change of location followed by a change of fly finally paid off. The Orange and Black clouser was switched for the well tested Frosty Fish Fibre 2 # clouser with red eyes. The first cast with new fly produced a Bass, Not a Monster, but regardless it was a Bass! It was a cold February afternoon, not the conditions associated with UK saltwater fly fishing. This fish suffered the indignity of the traditional kiss on the lips for the first Bass of the year before being released.

The second slightly larger fish fell to the same fly on the next drift across the edge of the reef the depth was around 17 feet. The flies were fished on the swing at depth with a slow double handed retrieve. The takes were gentle perhaps that indicates that the fish have slowed down with the drop in water temperature.

The Fly pattern - http://www.uksaltwaterflies.com/articles_Sparse_clouser.htm

More uk saltwater fly fishing information - http://www.uksaltwaterflies.com/articles_homepage.htm

A great yet Simple Saltwater Fly Pattern

This Saltwater Fly was kind to me in 2007. Nice and fast to tie ,which is an advantage as I fish it deep aound all manner of weed and snags , so I lose plenty. But I can replace them fast. With the Long zonker strip it fishes really well with minimal input in the way of retrieve. I often fish this on the drift from my boat with a fast sinking line. Pollack and Bass eat it. Its also good for fishing deep into Rips from the shore, it was very useful for stripers in the States in June

I wonder how usefull it would be in a strong Red colour for Pollack ?

Like many good flies its dead simple

size 1/0 Jiggy Saltwater Hook
7/32 Eyes
30 lb Mason Anti tangle on tail and also weed gaurd near the eye
Black Zonker Tail & Collar

Thumbnail, click to enlarge.

http://www.uksaltwaterflies.com/

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The Airflo Ridge GT lines (Review)

Airflo Ridge GT line was developed and field tested on Cosmoledo that should give us an idea of the kind of punishment these lines were intended for !

I used the 12 # GT line on my recent trip to the Seychelles . The line flies out . I was chucking giant 6/0 Poppers . The line had great turnover( or as much as you could hope for with Giant popper) It was stiff enough for the tropics but not too stiff. It has a 60 Lb core so I had confidence to give it everything when combined with 66 lb backing and 100 lb leader. I did however replace the weilded loops with 50 lb Gudebrod braided loops double nail knotted and glued. The weilded loops may be ok I just needed to be 100 % confident. The other nice thing about the Airflo ridge GT line is the price. At £ 35 you can afford to take a couple of spares with you. Something to consider when tussling GTs on the Flats. I had a Barracuda bite one of my fly lines in half on my last trip. Crazy things happen out in these places!!



I used the old Airflo Blue Saltwater floater a few years back , that was pretty poor. I binned it. Im glad to see Airflo developing products for extreem fishing aswell as the mainstream.

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http://www.uksaltwaterflies.com/

My Three ' Go To'' Flies for 2007

Hi

I thought I would post a picture of my favourite saltwater flies for 2007 . These have been the three flies I have Fished with almost exclusively this season , when fishing cold Atlantic saltwater that is.

The Tooty Fruity Bucktail Deciever with posh eyes has plenty of triggers, I love Chateruse and also I like pink. Im a fan of grey and im keen on Olive and white, so to hell . I use them all in one fly. This has fished well when the fish slow down and start to refuse the fly. Also dawn and dusk.

Hook Gamakatsu SC15 Size 1/0 - 2/0 Various bucktails as above. Holo Chromosome flash or Crystal flash etc Pearl
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The Deep Eel is a classic for Stripers but I have also found the fly useful for boatfishing deeper water on bright days this season,

Hook Tiemco 811s or Daiichi 2546 or Mustad S71 sss size 1 -1/0 Unique hair= Gold Over White or Olive over White. , Some Flash.
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Number 3 the Sparse DNA frosty Fish Fibre has been the killer this season . I take guys fishing and push them toward useing this fly. They catch a load of fish and then naturally want to use one of thier own creations, Sometime's that pays off but I dont know how many times this season they went back to the FFF Clouser and started catching again. Ive had 6 species in one day twice this season and both days they all fell to the same fly. Its getting boring fishing the same fly everyday.
Its great for Bright days. It has no flash to startle fish it shimmers rather than shines, if that makes any sense. It also is a very stable fly that wont hang up.

With these flies being synthetic you do need to carry a small comb and give them a groom from time to time.

Hook - Gamakatsu SC15 sz 1 -2 or TMC 811s sz 2 -4. FFF Olive over Polar or FFF Tan over Polar

Cheers and Happy Christmas

Austen Goldsmith

Sky TV vs. the Gym. And the state of the Forums

Fishing has made me chubby chap over the last few years, the Surfboard gathers dust and my computer keyboard skills increase year on year. Fishing doesn’t really burn the calories to the same extent as surfing and the more you sit on your arse the fatter it gets .

I think the forums are possibly dying or at least they are in the UK , with regard to saltwater fly fishing.. I am a reforming forum junkie. The forums are limp and lifeless where once they flourished. I constantly scour the boards looking for something interesting going on and seem to draw a blank , am I alone there ? Theres more spam on the forums embedded between the lines than there is in my spam box and that’s something else.

I had been meaning to sign up for Sky TV this winter and also re join the gym. I would love to watch all those Fishing Programs. It was a toss up between the two , luckily I joined the Gym. Its early days but I feel great for pumping some iron and running a few Kilometres on the treadmill every other day. I also finally woke up and purchased an ipod , this has re awoken my passion for music. Playing Leftfields epic debut album from 96 while running has been spiritually uplifting to say the least. Just keep an eye on the heart rate those songs lift you maybee a little too high.

Seychelles Trip

Recent Seychelles Trip

I have recently returned from what I would regard as a trip of a lifetime. People have been asking me ‘how was the trip’ My answer has been ‘Remarkable’ The 10 day Journey by Catamaran the seascapes and the marine life we encountered were unforgettable. I swam with whalesharks before we had even left the waters of Mahe the Main Island. That was a lifetime ambition achieved The fishing exceeded my expectations ,in terms the number of species and quantity of fish landed . The worst thing about a trip to the Seychelles is the number of Species that you will encounter and the number Rods and reels you may wish to pack. In hindsight you could make the Journey with two rods , a Nine weight for the Bones and Permit and the occasional fishing with sink lines over the reefs. The other would be a Twelve weight rod. This will handle the Yellow fin Tuna and GT and not break you balls in the process. Poppers were by far the most productive weapons. Streamers would often go un noticed. Just the splash of a 6/0 Popper landing on the surface would pull a few thugs out and up from the deep. We opted to fish for the big fellas rather than cast at bonefish all day everyday. The Bones were very user friendly . The 2 week trip with 10 days at sea costs between £ 1750 and £3500 depending on your willingness to share a cabin .For me that’s still a lot of money to some that’s small change. Im booked to go back next year!! Anyone interested in sharing the cost should get in touch asap I have several people very interested..

The species that fell to the fly were as follows GT - Yellowfin Tuna - Bonito - Job fish - Blufin Trevally - Bonefish ,various reef fish and Wahoo, a Sailfish swung across the stern to eat my fly but turned away so perhaps that will be next year?