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Fly Fishing Around
the World%20(2).jpg)
There are so many
sporting species of fish that will come to the fly,
trout, salmon and sea trout off course, then there's
the growing popularity of fly fishing for pike and
grayling as well as chub and barbel. At sea
anglers are using fly fishing gear in pursuit of
bass and mackerel. Overseas the fly is used to catch
both fresh and salt water species, bonefish and
tarpon being among the most exhilarating examples
although catching a sailfish on the fly must be be
something quite special. Fly fishing is getting
everywhere, if a fish can be attracted to a fly then
there will be an angler on the other end of a rod
pursuing it. Deep wading while fishing for piranha
or tiger fish is not recommended!
To mark this growth
of fly fishing around the world SpinFish has begun a
new feature - Fly Fishing Around the World to bring
the best of angling from foreign shores to your
computer at home starting with an article from
Australia courtesy of
www.spooled.com.au
Thompsons Creek Dam -
Sept 2006
www.spooled.com.au
Austrailia's premier fishing website.
.jpg) The
bell tolled (or alarm clock as it were) at 7am signifying a 4hr
sleep. Even with the 2-2 1/2hr drive we would still be there with
plenty of time to fish. Generally like most other trout waters
Thompsons Creek Dam fishes better at midday to late afternoon. This
is the time that the air and water temperatures have warmed up
sufficiently to trigger the hatches.
Our
drive was reasonably uneventful and it was great to be on the open
road again. For me as the time on the water draws closer the
anticipation increases immensely. So much so that there is surely a
formula out there somewhere detailing this phenomenon going
something like this
ME =
E / DTW
ME =
Maximum Excitement
E =
Excitement
DTW =
Distance To Water
If E
where to equal 100 out of 10 so too does ME eventually (when you are
lake side)
For
me, *Fishing is the only pursuit that allows one to relive the
pure excitement experienced in one’s youth.*
After
arriving at the Dam we parked the car and readied for the half a
kilometre walk to the water. We couldn’t have asked for a better
day. Warm (air temp around 19 degrees), bright, very little cloud
cover and only a slight wind.%20(2).jpg)
The blossoming
Cootamundra Wattles (Acacia baileyana) meant that Spring had
arrived, and it also meant that the trout season was just
about to open for the rest of NSW. Thompsons Creek Dam however has
no closed season. It is a Blue Ribbon waterway though, which means
“No Bait Fishing”, it is Lure and Fly only. The lead up road is
unsealed and at a slight incline (approximately 15 degrees) at the
top of the rise you are brought out to the center of the dam wall.
The water was low, very low. I had never seen it at this level.
The good thing about low water levels though is the fish are more
concentrated.
.jpg) Due
to the direction of the wind we decided to fish the left side of the
dam. As we approached, anticipation was high however we had no idea
what we were in for. Jaye decided to flick a Celta around while I
opted for the long wand with a Wooly Bugger. While I was casting
into the wind its lack of ferocity meant it was reasonably easy with
close to maximum distance being achievable. The water was clear and
though no fish were sighted we continued to cast blind in the hope
of drawing a fish from the deeper water. The [Spotters
www.spotters.com.au] really come into
their own here, giving a distinct advantage when polarizing cruising
fish. As we worked the dam edge the water was shallow, only a foot
deep (30cm for all you youngens). On sighting two fish we stopped
moving immediately and just watched them. Fining beside each other
then darting off into deeper water only to return to the same
place. They were joined by another four making it six very nice
fish right in front of us.
.jpg)
I put
a cast past them and to the right stripping the Woolly Bugger past
their noses. A small look from a 4 – 5lb fish saw me tense slightly
with anticipation. Recast and another retrieval had little more
interest then the first. Assuming they were feeding on small fish
due to their erratic behaviour
I continued to fish the Woolly Bugger. After a few more casts and
no more interest I decided to change to a Black Woolly Bugger. This
also produced very little response. The insects floating on the
surface above them had been ignored entirely.
The
surface of the water was littered with Beetle’s and Flying Ants, but
still no rises. Then more like tidying the place up than feeding
one lazily sipped one off the surface. Changing to Black Spinner
Dry fly which was the closest I had to a Flying Ant I cast out and
waited, and waited, and waited. Picking it up and laying it down
again due to the wind pushing it up against the bank. After
presenting everything from Brown Spinner Dry’s to Black Beetle
pattern’s, Mrs Simpon’s, Craig’s Night Time and Hamills Killer’s I
reverted to the Olive bead head Woolly Bugger as that seemed to
receive the most amount of interest.
While
initially being cautious not to scare the fish off, I was delicate
with my presentation, after 45 minute’s though with no luck my
casting become somewhat more carefree some of them now landing over
the group as I pursued the larger male a few metres past them.
However nothing scared them off.
Jaye
began to flick the Celta at the same group (as he had held off for
the fly) yet nothing. Our frustration grew as there were good fish
with quite a few sizable males among them, the group had now
increased too. Then it happened *BANG* and Jaye was on. *How dare
they* I thought. Taking a Celta over a Fly – sacrilege. And what a
nice fish, after a very placid fight the nice little hen was brought
into the shoreline. As she was picked up from the water and with
every grip $50 per kilo eggs dotted the ground beneath her. They
were spawning. I had thought it might have been a little early but
as it turned out they had already begun. While it didn’t really
give us a leg up as to what they where feeding on (apart from eggs
and I didn’t have any Glow Bugs) it did let us know why they weren’t
interested in our offerings.On
examining the contents of her stomach we found
it empty, although not making our job any easier
we knew they would have to feed eventually. Half
an hour passed, casting and stripping my Woolly
Bugger through the pre-occupied bunch, but
finally I had a take, and an already tired male
was quickly and quietly landed. The school was
so occupied with spawning that a 6 – 7lb rainbow
being landed two metres away didn’t move them
on. We decided to leave them be and continued
around the dam edge. The sun was high in the sky
now and the wind had picked up, not enough to
render the Fly rod useless but enough to make
the 6 weight considerably more difficult to
cast.
%20(6).jpg) The next few
hours proved slow as we were casting blind. I
much prefer sight fishing if I can help it so I
handed Jaye the Fly rod. You know what happened
don’t you? That's right as I continued to flick
his Celta around he connected with a solid
Rainbow and all I heard was “YeeHaa”
Turning to see a fish considerably bigger then
mine breach the surface. The angst experienced
when such a fish is hooked is overwhelming until
it is landed. This experience was to be one of
those that render our angst justified as the
Rainbow had considerably more fight and was 9lb
if not the magic 10. While it should have held
it, it didn’t, and as the tippet broke and the
rod relaxed a synchronized Oooohhhh%20(3).jpg) escaped our
mouths. Somewhat deflated at what would have
easily beaten both our PB’s we continued. After
another two hens and one buck all taken on a
replacement Olive Woolly Bugger. We decide to
head back to where we had seen the fish spawning
to see if they were ready to eat.
After working our
way back
we continued to present our offerings
only to be refused 99 times out of 100. Having
landed 7 fish for the day and as the sun had now
almost set we decided to head off. I began to
pack the little Loomis away, organizing myself
for the
walk out as Jaye had one or two more
casts (not intending to pack his rod away).
A small
rise off shore, to far to cast at. One a little
closer and to the left. Then a whopper three
metre’s in front of him. “Oh mate I have too!”
exclaimed Jaye as he cast out just behind it. In
a matter of seconds his line drew tight and
another solid fish was landed. Blue Ribbon
waters have a bag limit of 2
trout
per person and while we are both very catch and
release orientated,
Trout
is also one of my favourite fish. So while Jaye
dispatched of the fish I had a few casts of his
rod. It was less then one minute and before I
was on, then another Rainbow was released. By
this point in time fish were rising everywhere.
As I frantically set up my fly rod Jaye
continued to cast, hook, land and release fish.
After
finally getting the rod together I put the Black
Spinner back on and began to cast. The cast was
short as the fish were close and the fly touched
down on the surface and I fought to find the
last remaining rays of light to backlight the
fly on the waters surface so I could see it. It
happened. An absolute perfect end to a perfect
day as a 5lb hen arched her back and rose to
engulf the Spinner sitting high on its hackles.
With a raise of the wrist, she shook her head
and a small tail walk was all that was needed to
set a grin from ear to ear. As we released her
back into the water we knew we’d come back
someday to yet again fish this often overlooked
but wonderful waterway.
With scenery like
this where else would you want to be?
Thanks
toSpooled
for providing this article and if it wasn't just
a few thousand miles too far for my wee car I'd
be off there in a jiffy because those rainbows
are the Full Monty.
For much more
on the Aussie angling scene log on to
www.spooled.com.au
© 2006 Spooled
( spooled)
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