Dear [FIRSTNAME]

There are lots of changes taking place at Tie 'n' Fly Outfitters. We are in the middle of a renovation on the shop (excuse the mess when you come in...) when it is finished there will be more room to for you to wander around and check out the tackle, and things will be much easier to find.

Another exciting change is our new staff member, Rod Young. We are so happy to have Rod on board- he brings with him a wealth of knowledge in the boating, marine and fishing industries.

Here is his first FLY FISHING REPORT:

Last weekend on the Sunshine Coast.

Saturday began with a one on one casting lesson on the sand at the mouth of the Mooloolah River.  Calm conditions, fine skies, a slight breeze of about 10 knots were perfect for teaching the basics of fly casting.  In no time at all John was lifting and laying out line like a pro with his 9wt South African built combo from Stealth that he bought along, a product we do not see much of here in Australia. 
From this basic method of showing or helping John to “feel” how the line loads the rod and how line speed and a definite stop, or the lack there of, give you a varying ability to layout a straight forward cast.  We moved on to false casting, positioning John’s body in such a way that he was able to watch the lines movement in both the forward and back cast directions, he could see for himself that breaking the wrist and drifting made a huge dent in his ability to hold line in the air.  It really does help if you can watch what your line does in the air.  You can actually see the difference between the correct application of speed through a smooth acceleration of the rod to a definite stop as opposed to a slower movement with a “drifting” motion instead of a stop.
John was ready to feel how adding water to whole situation changed things compared to casting dry on the beach.  As an intermediate sink line was fitted to John’s reel, he was forced to learn a roll cast before he could really start to put what he had learnt into practice in a simulated fishing situation.  In the process of demonstrating how it all goes together, the small piece of wool tied to the end of the leader was taken for a spin by a small Trevally.  Proving the point that if you are at the water there is no reason not to have a fly tied to your leader, a mistake I will not make again.  As John improved with his fishing application of fly casting we could see bait scattering and being harassed by Trevally but unfortunately he did not get to feel a take for himself.
Later that day John took his family out diving for the afternoon and was keen to try his new found skills out as he fulfilled his above water duties.  As yet I have not heard if he caught anything but if he didn’t it will not be long before he does.
Thank you John, it was a pleasure to meet you and have the opportunity to help you get started in the wonderful sport of Saltwater Fly Fishing, I wish you all the best and look forward to seeing how you take what you have learnt and add to it during the Intro School you have booked in for on the 26th of September, see you then.

Sunday

Well after such a great day Saturday, Sunday was looking like it would be even better.  Things got off to an early start when Martin and I met at the shop just before 6:00am for a wake up coffee and a quick gear setup.  We had our feet wet by ten past six down on the beach casting flies into the rip just in front of the shop.  As we both untangled the standard worst possible time tangle we found that during our struggle the Squimp we were so confident would get eaten, most certainly did, this was obvious by the clean cut left on the leader where the fly once was.  Hurriedly we tied on another and proceeded to turn the already turbulent rip to foam but with no result.  Decision was made to fish the gutter itself as the tide rushed out, with the help of the sun we could see small Tailor in face of the waves and larger suspected Dart flashes a bit further out from the shore break.  This filled us both with anticipation and we felt that we would surely get something from this gutter, guess what, DENIED.  Martins ability to cast and fish his GLX 9wt Cross Current and SL6 Shilton reel with a 240gr Shooting head, a line he had not cast before, was nothing short of impressive especially given he was feeling out this new line in the surf of all places with all manner flies tied to the leader, was certainly not to blame.  We covered the gutter and rip for a short time more with no result before deciding to make the enjoyable walk to the rocks surrounding the base of Point Cartwright.  We felt very exhausted, not for ourselves but for the ladies putting themselves through we can only assume was a “Boot Camp”, carrying a bucket of sand in each hand and walking through the softest sand on the beach only to get to the other end and begin another round of exercises… These ladies had stamina and strength that would put most of us blokes to shame and were doing this before most of would get out of bed, if weren’t going fishing that is.
Martin and I closely inspected the water around the rocks and found the safest place we could for him to present a fly to whatever we could entice to eat in such a fish looking area.  I cannot stress enough the care that must be taken when fishing from rocks, it is potentially very dangerous and great care must be taken, never fish the rocks alone.    After getting the odd saltwater shower a few times, it did not take much to convince Martin to have a break and a bite to eat.  With the morning wearing on and the tide hitting rock bottom it was obvious the fishing was only going to get harder but this did not deter Martin from climbing into the best position to get a cast into the wash on the Eastern side of the rock wall, even if it did mean that he looked like he was standing on a vertical rock face.  We picked our way out to the very tip of the rock wall and could see many baitfish and some good size Bream holding close to the rocks, filling us with renewed confidence that a fish was not yet out of the question.  As we systematically went through 3 complete fly boxes fishing everything from Crazy Charlies to Crease Flies and everything in between we could not buy a trick.  At one point, one particular Bream was knocked on the head by no less than 3 flies including Clousers but we could not even get an aggression strike from it, a Buddhist Bream I suspect.
With the morning coming to an end we fished our way back inside the rock wall covering every inch of water that could be reached but with no luck at all.  The local’s and tourist alike were all amazed at how well Martin could cast with quite a few making comment to me to that effect with some folks amazed at how graceful he made it look.
All in all it was beautiful morning and not due to a lack of effort in anyway, unfortunately a non productive one.  It would seem that the dreaded North Easterly wind had its way again, or was it the bananas that Martin had in his back pack for smoko, we may never know…

Thanks for that Rod!

If you would like to book into your own casting lesson or have a walking guide in the estuary or on the beach, give Rod a call in the shop - 07 5444 0611.

Saturday is looking like it will be pretty windy, however coming from the west/north west it means that some of the beaches will be quite sheltered. Dart, tailor and bream are still about, so get out there and enjoy it.

Cheers
Judy

Capt Gavin Platz
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
G-Loomis Pro-Staff

Tie 'n' Fly Outfitters
AUSTRALIA'S ONLY SPECIALIST SALTWATER FLY FISHING OUTFITTER

Fly Fishing Tackle | Fly Casting, Fishing & Tying Tuition | Guided Fly Fishing | Fly Fishing Travel

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