Waiheke Island

I had the option of going to my usual spots or going somewhere different and since i had to pick up my son from the island i decided that's where i would head. on arriving i walked round the beach at Matiatia. as i sat on beach to construct my rod i saw a tail flapping around in the shallow that would have been snapper but by the time i got my rod together i had no idea where it was and after a dozen casts i moved off.

I headed up the walkway and at the first point i saw a pod of fish so scrambled down the rocks to fish for them thinking it was kahawai only to realise after a few casts they were mullet. next time i will take a net.

i moved round to another point and had a lot of mullet cruising past and a few kingfish but couldn't bring up any snapper. I decided to head out to the island point where there were also plenty of mullet cruising and the odd kingfish. then out of the depths a kingfish came up and smashed my fly. i managed to hold the fish in front of me and felt like i was in control before the fish went for its first blistering run. my reel went into free spin and line came out so fast it wrapped itself around the reel and the fish was gone.

I then got yaking to an Asian lad and while i was busy talking tried to take a step only there was a jagged rock right by my foot and i went arse over and scraped up my leg and hands on the rocks. I also managed to slice both my big toes so i think  i need some better shoes.

By now a ray had turned up followed by a couple of big kingfish one being well over 1 metre. I plonked a big clouser and let it sit near the surface as the kings came over and had a sniff before moving on. this happened a few times before moving on.

It was some pretty hart stopping stuff and now i am keen to get some of my gear sorted for fishing for kingfish. including a new rod and reel set and some line for my 10 weight rod. next time i go there i am king hunting.

although with the kids i dont get out much and i cant wait till they are old enough to take with me.

Baitfish Construction

New Directions in Baitfish Construction

By Andrew Chicone

The Cannibal series of flies are 3 to 5 inch translucent imitations meant to emulate small baitfish that dart in and out of the shallow surf. Three different variations, designed for specific conditions, have evolved over time – The Sanibel (clear water), The Captiva (green/turquoise conditions), and The Caloosahatchee (stained or brackish water). Each are tied in a manner that is comparable to Enrico Puglisi's Peanut Butter Bunker or Jonny King's Kinky Muddler. The sparse, yet full body appearance, proper trimming, and careful color mix produces a very realistic profile that is a dead ringer for baitfish.

The three variations in the Cannibal series - The Sanibel for clear water, The Captiva for green/turquoise conditions, and The Caloosahatchee for stained or brackish water.

The flies consist primarily of Saltwater Yak Hair. While occasionally difficult to find, this material has a lot going for it – length, translucence, non-absorption of water, wiry texture, durability, and its ability to become supple when wet.

The key to getting consistent uniformity is to count out fibers you are going to use. This may sound a bit extreme, but if you try to work with too much it becomes very difficult to manipulate and tie down, leaving large bumps on the hook shank. Counting out the fibers not only insures that you don’t have some flies tied heavy and some sparse, but assures that you will end up with the right color blend.

For the vast majority of my baitfish patterns, the ratio of color to white is about 25/75. In order to tie the materials in smoothly without bunches and gaps, the colored materials need to be blended with the white. If you were to cut a baitfish into four lengthwise pieces the ratio of color to white is about the same.

A typical baitfish that the Cannibal series imitates

I start with a base color - white or a cream color, which will end up being 70% or more of the fly. I then select two to three accent colors. These colors are typically found on the back or sides of the baitfish. If you are looking at a baitfish or a picture of bait and you squint your eyes slightly, you will lose focus on the detail of the fish, and only be able to see colors. That is how I like to think about what accent colors to choose. Whatever color I see the most of first, for that split second, is what my first accent color is. It is usually a light shade of tan, gray, or blue green. Considering the color of the water the pattern will be fished in helps to narrow it down. The second accent color is usually the darkest color found on the highest part of the baitfish’s back; blue, black, dark green or other glimpses of color found throughout the baitfish. The colors blend naturally from light to dark, from belly to back, camouflaging the fish from predators above and below.

Captiva Cannibal Material List

For Green/Turquoise Water

Hook 2/0 Gamakatsu SC - 15
Thread 4 lb. Mono
Eyes 8mm Clear Doll Eyes with Post

Belly

2 - 80 strand bundles of White Saltwater Yak Hair
Pearl Wing N' Flash

Back

50 Strands of White Saltwater Yak Hair
15 Strands of Gray Saltwater Yak Hair
10 Strands of Tan Saltwater Yak Hair
5 Strands of Turquoise Saltwater Yak Hair
Silver Wing N' Flash

●●●

The next step is to measure the quantities exactly so you can reproduce the blend if you run out of materials half way through, or simply want to create a number of uniform flies. I do not blend in my flash. I start by counting out strands and creating a series of piles for each of my shades.

Base layer: 80 strands of white Yak Hair
Accent Layer: 50 strands of white, 20 strands of the light color and 20 strands of the darker color.

As a rule of thumb I never go over 30 strands of color. In this particular case I’ve got an 80/20 mix of white to color.

You’ll note that in each of these patterns I’m using a 2/0 Gamakatsu hook. There are two reasons. First, the strength and design of this particular hook is very appealing, and second, its weight moves the fly down through the water column quickly.

Click through the slideshow to see how to tie the Sanibel Cannibal

Start your mono thread at the point of the hook, 8-10 wraps is enough to secure it.

Tie in a few strands of Wing N' Flash, make sure it sticks out 4-5" past the bend of the hook. Advance your mono in front of all of your previous wraps.

Cut a 4 1/2" piece of the white (belly color) material. I like to measure it using the first line on my palm, so all my flies are a more uniform length and shape.

Taper each of the ends until it is between 7 1/2" to 8" in length.

Tie in the tapered piece at the middle with eight turns, wrapping backward.

Fold back the forward facing half, and tie it down on top of the rear facing half. Secure by wrapping forward with eight wraps. I do this to position my mono for tying down the folded back half of the material, so I do not have to make a big jump with the mono over the hook bend.

Cut another piece of white saltwater Yak hair to approximately 3 1/2" long.

Taper both ends until it reaches 6 1/2" - 7" in length.

On the side of the hook closest to you, tie in the piece below the other materials and angled slightly downward. Secure with eight turns of the mono, stacking your wraps behind the previous wraps and pushing them forward.

Fold the forward facing half under the hook shank and back on top of itself. Secure it with eight forward wraps on the far side of the hook. Both sides of the fly should be symmetrical. Laying the hair at the downward angle instead of straight back will start to build the profile of the fly.

Cut a 4 1/2" piece from the color blended bundle.

Taper each of the ends until it is between 7 1/2" and 8".

Tie in the tapered piece on top of the hook shank and in front of the other materials at its middle point. Secure the bundle with eight turns, wrapping backwards.

Fold back the forward facing half, and tie it down on top of the rear facing half. Secure by wrapping forward with eight wraps.

On the underside of the hook shank, in front of the previously applied materials, add a pinch of Pearl Wing N' Flash. It does not need to be longer than 1-2" because this area will be trimmed after the fly is complete.

Next cut a 3" section of the White Yak hair and divide it into two bundles, one for each side of the hook.

Taper each piece until it is roughly 6".

Tie in the first piece on the near side of the hook so that it is slightly longer toward the tail of the fly. This piece is used to fill the material gap and hide exposed hook.

Fold the forward facing half of the bundle back on itself and angle it in a downward direction to cover the gap of the hook.

Repeat on the other side of the hook.

This is where you should be.

Cut another piece of color blended Yak hair, this one 3 1/2" long.

Taper both ends until it reaches 6 1/2" to 7".

On the top of the hook in front of the other materials, tie in the section at its middle, securing it with eight turns, stacking your wraps behind the previous wraps and pushing them forward.

Fold the forward facing half back, but this time instead of securing it directly on top of itself, position the material in a V shape, to create shoulders, or width. Each half of the back colored material should be angling slightly wider than the first tail piece.

Add another 1"-2" pinch of Pearl Wing N' Flash to the belly of the fly and advance your mono slightly.

Cut a 2 1/2" piece of white Yak hair and taper is slightly.

Tie it in on the underside of the fly so that the forward facing half is slightly shorter.

Fold the forward facing half back directly onto itself and secure it with eight turns. Turn the fly over in the vise and user your thumb nail to disperse the material evenly around the bottom and sides of the hook. This will help cover up any spots where the hook is exposed.

Cut a 3" section of the color blended Yak hair.

Taper the clump to 6".

Apply this piece in the same V fashion as the previously applied back piece.

Whip finish 2-3 times and coat the nose of the fly with UV Acrylic.

Take the fly out of the vise and with a dog brush, comb out any tangles and blend all the colors. Comb each side of the fly to create a wide, flat, leaf shape.

Put the fly back in the vise and glue on the dome eyes, slightly in front of the hook point. Make sure they are aligned when viewed from the top.

Turn the fly toward you and double check that the eyes are aligned from a forward facing view. This is very important because if the eyes are out of alignment, the fly will have a tendency to spin when stripped.

New Flytying Websites and techniques

I came across this website the other day and they had some really god info on trying saltwater flies. the link takes you to the newsletters which has some great stuff and if you sign up you get some great tips come through your mail. I have also added another link which is to a fly developed by guy who does this website and the technique is broken down into a very detailed step by step.

http://www.saltyflytying.com/newsletters-archive.html

http://www.frontrangeanglers.info/newsletter/oct12/New-Directions-in-baitfish-construction.html

I have been busy tying some new flies so as soon as I get some decent pictures I will post them with instructions.

Kahawai bust up

wow had the most amazing days fishing yesterday. went out fishing in Whangaparoa where i was fishing the rocks, fishing was slow to start until i got chatting to an old fella who came down fishing and we noticed some birds coming around in big numbers further round the rocks and realised there was a work up. I tore off round the rocks and managed to put a bungled cast in close proximity and i was into my first kahawai. I quickly bled it and put another cast in and was into another one but unfortunately i got broken off. by now the work up had gone but i noticed it back where i had started so tore off back to the start. i quickly got my line in and within minutes had another 2 fish including one horse of a kahawai. i had a yak to the old guy again and found he had gotten a couple of snapper. seems the snapper sit under the kahawai and hoover up the leftovers coming down. I was almost going to go home when i noticed it was moving towards the beach so i tore off round and the action was all on again with a massive bust up that was just boiling with fish. a few of the locals had now come down with kids and some were fishing soft baits and catching nothing and i was straight into fish after fish. i gave a few away and got one of the kids to play one of the fish i had. the action just never stopped and by 4pm i had to go and pick up my wife from work. there were dead anchovies galore littering the shore from being washed up and i am sure it would have come round again.

here's a link to something similar to what i saw although not quite as hard out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V62ccbLY604


here is a photo of the fly i was using

Whangaparoa

well I finally managed to land my first snapper in the middle of the day. all my fish so far have been in the dusk part of the day as this seemed to be when the fish go on the feed but on Friday I was out fishing around 9am and managed to get busted off on one fish then landed another snapper of about 32cm.

one of the issues with going for a days fishing is keeping it fresh until the time you get home. i managed to go buy some salted ice which you can only buy in large bags.(bit overkill for one fish) i am thinking maybe i will have to start making my own salted ice and take it with me.

also of  note that i changed up the weight of my fly and after these two hits in this spot i got nothing more. part of it i think is that when you catch a couple of fish it puts the others down much the same as fresh water fishing so either you need to get the fly closer to where the fish are or rest the area up a bit before trying again. this may not be possible if the area you have is only a small stretch.

I had some visitors while I was there including one stingray and one bronze whaler shark. it gave me a heck of a fright as I had just jumped off a rock into water thigh high and it came swirling around only 2metres from me and then took off.

I am now starting to build up some good spots and I would now like to explore some more of this area so that I can move around a bit more and keep fishing fresh water

Snapper Taps

Well last saturday nights fishing was interesting. i have been getting into leaving my fly to settle more in between retrieves and keeping the retrieve to a few small strips and found that i have been getting strikes while the fly is stationary but i have also had a few where i felt the fish on so i struck and nothing.

One thing that i have a bad habbit of is the old trout strike where i lift the rod up and pull the line. When there is nothing on you then have a situation where you have taken the fly out of the zone and away from the fish. on making some enquiries on the saltwater blog there is a consensus that leaving the fly in the zone and then a small twitch will bring the fish back on the fly again and what i am feeling is the fish nipping at the tail.

Thus the best thing I can do is not to strike and let the fish take the fly on its own and once this has happened strike by pointing the rod at the fish and pulling on the line. if the fish doesn't take off wait and after few seconds give the fly a small twitch.

sounds easy but years of trout strike in competitions gives you a gut reaction to movement on the line and it may take a while to wean me off this.

Pt Chev

well this was an interesting night. turns out that an incoming tide and north westers turn the water so murky i don't think the fish would ever see the fly even if it was right in front of them. would have been better to try somewhere other than the harbour