My Three ' Go To'' Flies for 2007

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

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?

The DNA/Marabou Baitfish By Peter Varring Jensen

The DNA/Marabou Baitfish By Peter Varring Jensen

Hook: TMC 811 s- Mustad 34007- Mustad S71 SSS-Daihici 2546
Size:4 # - 2 #
Thread: Dyneema
Eyes: Prismati Silver 2 .5 mm
Wing -White Marabou
Tail materials: DNA Frosty Fish Fibre Polar and DNA Frosty Fish Fibre Dark Olive
Other Items - 5 Min Epoxy

	The DNA/Marabou Baitfish While DNA is an excellent material used on it`s own, there´s no reason why you can`t add other materials, both synthetic and natural, to add other qualities to your flies. This pattern uses marabou to give a bit of exxtra movement. 1. Tie in the thread just behind the hookeye. Cut off excess thread, and wind the thread down to just before the start of the hookbend. 3. Tie in a 5-6" lenght of silver tinsel, and, covering the tinsel, wind the thread back to just behind the hookeye. 4. Wind the tinsel to just behind the hookeye, and secure it using a couple of tight turns of the thread. 5. Cut off any excess tinsel. 6. Wind the thread back towards the hookbend, about 1/7". 7. Tie in the "top end" of a marabou feather. Make sure that the marabou you`re using has stems pliable enough for winding around a hookshank. 8. Wind the marabou as you would any hackle. After each turn, stroke the fibres back towards the hookbend. 9. When your hackle is of a "suitable size", secure it with a couple of turns of the thread. "Suitable size" can be anything from a single turn of marabou, to something reminiscent of a small bird. It depends on your own preferences. On this fly I´ve used 3 turns. 10. Stroke all the fibres back towards the hookshank, and tie them down just enough for a "baitfish profile" to appear 11. Select a suitable amount of DNA Frosty Fibers(illustrated with the olive, start with the white) 12. Cut of the selected DNA 13. Pull the fibers in one end so that the tips DON`T line up 14. Fold the DNA over. 15 Cut at the "folding point" 16. You now have a bunch of tapered fibers, ready to tie on 17. Tie in the white DNA. After the first couple of turns, press on the top and bottom side of the tie-in point to make the fibres spread on the bottomside of the hookshank. Add a couple of tight turns, and cut off any excess material. 18. Turn the fly up-right in the vise, and tie in the olive DNA the same way you tied in the white. 19. Whipfinish, and cut off the thread. 20. Add a THIN coaing of 5-min epoxy. Hold the DNA and marabou in place while it dries. When almost dry, place a couple of stick-on eyes on each side of the head. 21. Add a second coating of epoxy to give the head an even surface(/good looks!) 22. Go SWFFing! Have fun tying, Peter Varring Jensen

Cape Cod Stripers 2007

Cape Cod 2007

A Years a long time to wait to get back to the Cape. Once again we made the pilgrimage to Massachusetts to worship the Striped Bass, the Bluefish and of course the Clam Chowder. Colin and I had 17 Days of hard fishing ahead of us and were eager to get started.

Rhode Island
The first plan was to head south from Boston towards Rhode Island and visits a few special spots where the Stripers can be found feeding on Cinder Worms, this coincides with the new moon when Thousands of these strange creatures will hatch and spiral their way around helplessly. The Bass instinctively head to these locations in search of an easy meal. Saltwater fly fisherman also head toward these locations for obvious reasons. I had been led to believe that these worm hatches are equivalent of Duffers days when the fish drop their guard and will throw themselves at anything that came close to looking like a worm. Well it appears I was misled, we experienced that evening what many Trout fisherman must have to deal with from time to time where the fish are locked into a supply of food that you cant quite seem to match correctly , we were surrounded by fish boiling and sucking in worms from the surface. We managed to catch a few fish but on the whole the fishing was quite tough that night.

The following morning we fished a rather nice Channel that provided us with the first ’’Keeper’’ sized fish of the trip (That’s a fish over 28 ‘’ Long) we made the decision to head to the Cape that afternoon.

Fishing the Cinder worm Hatch under a New Moon

Onto The Cape
It was Thursday PM and we were the advance scouts and we had arranged to pick up four eager saltwatefly fishermen on Saturday Morning. The Friday morning we fished one of the better known marks on the Cape that had provided us with consistent sport last year and completely blanked. This was followed by an unmemorable PM session with a handful of small fish. On the Friday night we sat down together over a beer and wondered where the fish had gone! We agreed to split up the Following Dawn to cover as much water as possible. The Guys were now boarding the plane at Heathrow and we were yet to really get into the kind of fishing the Cape has to offer. I managed 7 fish to 28 ‘’ and Colin had 40 fish at a different location the Sun was shining and we had found some decent fishing at two different locations so were a little more relaxed. Four excited fishermen were picked up from Boston and taken to ‘’ The Lodge’’ to get rigged up and go fishing. We had a handful of fish on the first session; everyone had their first Striper with the exception of Dan. We had arranged to fish the Flats with our first shore guide Gary the next morning. We split into two groups of three. I fished with Dan and Philip and the Guide while Colin Chris and Alan went elsewhere.
We located a large number of fish on the flats and we were soon catching plenty that is with the exception of one of us! Dan was now starting to panic; he had blanked the night before , we now must have had 15 fish landed and not a sausage for him. He did not look too happy. I knew his duck would break sometime soon and his confidence along with his spirits would lift. I was soon right and check out the relieved smile on his face.

One broken Duck!

I think that everyone that joined us evolved and developed as fly fishermen that week and none more so than Dan. By the end of the week he was a Hardcore Specimen hunting Striper fisherman.
The following couple of days we fished various locations on the Cape and the fishing was good despite the very changeable weather.

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My Story - Operation Desert Storm and the 40 ‘’
One highlight of the trip was the night fishing sessions I had arranged with our other Guide. Tony has been fishing for Striped Bass all of his life , Originally as a commercial rod and line fisherman and now as a recreational fishing guide specialising in the Wilder Ocean side of the Cape rather than the sheltered backwaters so often inhabited by fly fisherman. Tony was the holder of the Striped Bass world record with a Surf caught 73 lb Bass that took a Deceiver tied on as a dropper on his spinning outfit on November 3 rd 1981 . I had spoken to Tony several times on the phone prior to the trip and just had this gut feeling that something was going to come from meeting this man. The moment I shook his hand I knew that that night would be memorable, even had we blanked. Tony lives for the Surf Beaches and the Huge Bass that migrate into his world; he has a special attachment with these places and a burning passion that after many years and thousands of large Bass has not diminished.

Tony With a Cast Of ''Bertha ''

We all hoped into Tony’s faithful Chevy 4 Wd. This was as much a tackle box as a means of transport. The foot wells at the front were filled with plugs and flies and all manner of odds and ends. We were soon off road and heading out across the dunes into the rain with a heavy stormy sea alongside us for a view. The Surf spinning Rods and expensive Vaan Staal reels were all in the rack on the Bullbars ready for action.

We stopped at a little favourite spot of Tony’s and spread out and began to spin into surf. It was not long before I began to recognise the knocks as Stripers were bumping the large diving plug. Soon after the knock followed by a take resulted in a large surface explosion as my first of Seven that night made a mistake. This fish was 33 ‘’ and a fine start and proof that the larger fish are often patrolling the surf. Tony’s eyes lit up with excitement to see me land this fish, how lucky is this man to still be so excited after so many years.

A nice 33 '' Start to the session

Over the next couple of hours I had other smaller fish to 28 ‘’. As the tide progressed and dusk turned to night the action stopped. We hopped back in the truck and headed off to a special place with a great name, for some reason I can’t remember at this moment ! After a couple of knocks I hooked a fish in the darkness . Tony called out to me ‘’Any Size ?’’ My answer was ‘’ No , maybe six pounds’’ That confident was I of my highly tuned ability to weigh a fish without seeing or landing it. Then as I beached this tiddler it woke up or realised that something was wrong and the true fight began. I don’t know how long it took to land the fish . I remember laughing out loud every time the clutch screamed, it felt like a long fight. Eventually I managed to run the fish up the beach on the back of a wave. I turned on the head torch in the blackness and was overwhelmed to see a Cow of Bass glowing Silver below on the sand. In the excitement I managed to get into the worst tangle you could imagine with a windy night and braided line , we had to cut the lines to free my body from the mess and re rig later as the line was everywhere ! That was the last fish that night. She kicked and splashed my face as I returned her back into the darkness . It had been my night for sure , you get those times when you get it right you feel that something special will happen and it does.

Thanks Tony See you next year. They were right about you , you are ’’ A Legend’’ .

Holy Cow

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Week 1 Pics

Dan and Phil ( Email me some pics please Phil thats a tiddler)

As you can see the weather had really turned on us during the early stages of week one, we were still catching fish but our choice of location was sometimes driven by the wind direction rather than the best fishing spot. The wind had been blowing Strong South Westerly for a few days and Bait had been blown into the South Facing Beaches. As soon as the wind eased of to a manageable strength we returned to those areas. A great Evening session We had decided to return and fish the channel. The mark had not been that productive earlier in the week but these Southerlies would change that . We had a great session that evening with Shoaling Bunker being blitzed in front of us. Large Bluefish were present along with plenty of Keeper sized Bass. You could see the way that the year class Bass stay together. One Shoal would enter the arena at 24 ‘’ - 26 ‘’ another at 28 ‘’ - 30 ‘’. I suffered endless Bite offs from Blues that week while the other guys were landing them. It’s odd the way things work out, a week later the roles would be reversed. The sun was setting and we had great fishing. It was too good to stand around with a camera but I did get this great Picture of Dan playing and landing a nice Striper. We returned the following morning as a full group. All six of us in a row fishing the Rip. The fishing was good but not to the same standard as the night before. Chris had a nice Bass and a couple of huge Blues chomped their way into and out of his life. I remember Chris’s hands shaking as he held this fish for the camera. Worth the flight Chris? Week 2 All too soon for Dan Chris and Philip it was time to depart. Alan stayed for a second week and Kevin Joined us. As we dropped the guys off at the Airport and picked up Kevin the weather changed . The wind shifted to North West closely followed by North easterly. During week 2 we found several new locations to fish. Our choices were governed by the wind Direction and as with week 1 Fishing during ebbing Tides were proving to be the most successful . We fished literally from the Top of the Cape around Provincetown down to the far South West of the Cape. The names of the spots elude me! The number of fish for week two would be less than we had on week one subsequently the number of Keeper sized fish dropped down. When you fish for Stripers you are chasing Keepers, you become a specimen hunter pretty quickly. The Bluefish were far more prevalent than last year. We witnessed nightly blitzes at one of the locations. These fish fight like demons. Unfortunately they also bite off flies like demons. Having tied enough for the next decade I was shocked to be tying more of the Go to pattern two days prior to my return home. We fished wire at times but this did seem to spook the Bass so flies were sacrificed to the Piranhas. Alan won the prize for catching the most unusual fish of the trip. In the final hour of the holiday He managed to catch two Flounder in almost as many casts on size 3/0 H 20 Slinky Fibre Baitfish pattern ! The proper name for this particular breed of fish is Fluke. A rather menacing toothy version of our Flounder. An ironic name for a fish in those circumstances. I had a couple of Hickory Shad during the trip. These are very attractive and beautifully coloured creatures. Pics From week 2 Alans Fluked Fluke Always time for one more Kevin Plays the last Bass of the 2007 Trip A Nice 33 Inch Bass on the fly Hickory Shad Accommodation We were all very pleased with the accommodation it certainly met our needs and provided a perfect base for the group . The high Ceiling in the Living room provided us with a great feeling of space. The Drying area was really useful and the Showers were nice and Powerful. And the free Clams were divine. Thanks Guys ! See you next year Austen Base Camp The Fly Tying Room Tackle and flies 9 # Single Hander 350 Grain Lines - Intermediate Lines Double Hander 500 - 600 Grain Lines Tapered leaders 15 - 20 Lb Fluro Carbon Tippet DNA Sparse Clouser or Bucktail Clouser 2 # Olive And White Deep Eel 1/0 # Olive and White or Tan and White or Black Decievers 2 - 2/0 Charteruse and White or All Black Big Bunker Flies 4/0 + Olive White- Grey and White You could take a load more gear but that’s what you will need 95 % of the time A sandeels step ladder to heaven The trip is booked for June 2008 want to join in ? Email sales@uksaltwaterflies.com

The DNA Clouser (SPARSE VERSION)

Hook: Mustad C70 SD
Size:4 #
Thread: Dyneema
Eyes: Real eyes 5/32 Yellow and Black
Tail materials: DNA Holofusion White and DNA Frosty Fish Fibre Dark Olive
Other Items - fulling mill super glue

This is a fly must have been my No 1 Fish catcher in 2006 I must have had over 150 Bass on this pattern tied in these colours. Not only is it effective but it is very easy to tie. Mackerel go crazy for this pattern as do Bass and Pollack. It is a very realistic sandeel pattern and also extremely hard wearing. This particular method of tying could easily be applied to bonefish flies also as the Hofusion doubles up as body and wing. How useful is that!

	Step 1 Tie in White or Polar Holofusion in at the shank in the same manner as a tail
	Step 2 Apply Fulling Mill Super Glue to the shank , then add a couple of twists to the Holofusion and wind back up the shank then secure down with a few wraps of Dyneema.
	Step 3 Now wind the thread back into position and tie in the eyes . This is a great way to tie in the eyes as the body provides a snugg base for the eyes hense they are unlikely to twist
	Step 4 Reverse the Holofusion back and add a couple of wraps to secure into position. Please note that when I tied this fly I used a very long length of material this was rather wasteful.
	Step 5 Add a sparce overwing of Dark Olive DNA Frosty Fish Fibres ,Trim ,whip finish. Add superglue or head cement. Trim the fly to size and Taperize useing Taperizing scissors or a decent pair of sharp scissors
	Here are a few straight out of the box . I had to remove the loop knots for the pictures!

Striped Bass Fishing Cape Cod

You can only listen to the stories of blitzing shoals and fly fishing the flats for Striped Bass for so long before you have to see for yourself. After months of planning I was headed west towards Cape Cod in Massachusetts .I could hardly contain my excitement. Just a couple of guys who love to fish ,spouses left at home unadulterated fishing for ten days. Bass fishing from Dawn till dusk with just enough time at night for a clam chowder and a couple of cold Beers to follow ,it sounds great ! We also caught around 400 Bass in ten days .You soon lose count when the fishing is that good.

Fishing can be hard work at times!

Chatham and Cape Cod
After a two hour drive East from Boston airport and you will arrive at Chatham a picture postcard New England town with the most wonderful period timber houses. The beach front houses sell for Millions , so if you plan to relocate start saving .

The fishery
Cape Cod is a mecca for saltwater fly fishermen. An intelligent coastal fisheries policy has provided the East coast with a bounty both in the terms of quality fishing but also in terms of money spent by visiting foreign fishermen and locals alike. You will find a strong saltwater fly fishing scene and all accessible to the visitor. The migrating Stripers will arrive at the Cape From around mid may ,soon after the bluefish arrive. Blues are the hard fighting thugs , a fish with attitude and a set of teeth to match. These fish will hang around until the fall. As the season progresses the fish wise up and can be harder to catch. Early season is a great time , as the fish are hungry having recently spawned . Later in the year the false albacore arrive and provide great sport on the fly. The Cape has endless options for Flyfishermen. fishing the flats ,the rips, Oceanside surf beaches ,salt ponds and the creeks. We managed to fish a variety of environments and caught fish from every single one of them.

Creeks	Beaches
Flats	Afloat

The Fish
Striped Bass are prolific along the East coast They are very similar to our European bass although as with all things American they tend to be a great deal larger .they will migrate North with the warmer waters and head back down south as the sea temperatures drop. Bluefish are voracious predators . To watch a shoal of blues attack baitfish is amazing they will slash at anything that comes within their path .They also fight like demons when hooked .If you start losing flies then its time to rig a bite tippet .

Tackle And Fishing Files.
Take both a 7/8 wt and a 9/10 wt . The lighter set up would suit the creeks . You are far more likely to fish a 9/10 most of the time. You will need a full compliment of fly lines and expect to use fast sinking lines in the rips on a regular basis. Twenty pound fluorocarbon leaders were used . And remember to pack a decent bite proof tippet material for the bluefish. I used PRO LEADER and had no problems. Expect to hook big fish that will run hard and fast so invest in a decent reel with plenty of backing .

Flies
Size 4- 2 # Olive sparse DNA Clousers - On the flats and beaches
Size 2 Gurglers - In the creeks
Size 1 /0 Olive Super hair Clousers - In the fast Rips and drop offs

A day out with Fin Addiction
We had arranged to spend one day with Captain Jeff Smith from Fin Addiction Charters . Fortunately the clouds parted and the wind dropped in time for or our day afloat.

Jeff your pretty cool, but not that cool!

We met Jeff at Pamet harbour at Five AM And were soon blasting out at great speed past Province town and Race Point towards the fishing grounds. Jeff loves his work and it came across. I just knew we were going to have a great day out. We arrived at the first spot to the sight of a vast shoal of sandeel . Fast sinking lines on 9 Wt rods were rigged and size 4/0 DNA bush pigs were tied onto strong leaders. We were soon into what we regard as great fish and Jeff regards as little fellas. A few seven or eight pound bass wasn't’t too bad to start with . Jeff had other plans and wanted to get us into the Cows. We headed further South and were confronted by a unforgettable scene ,a colossal shoal of sandeel ,literally a few miles square in size dimpling the surface .Gulls and Terns were diving on mass . Humpback Whales were engulfing prey with huge mouths open as they broke the surface. Bass also were attacking the bait .You could possibly think that catching fish in these circumstances would be a formality but that wasn’t the case. Jeff had to work really hard to get us onto fish, as fast as the bass would hit the surface they would vanish to re appear elsewhere , we would move closer to the action or play the waiting game and then if lucky get one or two shots at the fish before they disappeared. Jeff was slightly frustrated but we were over the moon. My buddy Colin had a personal best fish at thirty five inches. I had a few double figure fish and a big smile on my face. Two very happy customers indeed.

A nice start to the day	Colin with a great fish (again!)
Someone to do the hard work	Our Home for the day

After several hours Oceanside we headed towards the sheltered waters of Provincetown Harbour to try a little sight fishing in the shallows. Clouds appeared from nowhere and visibility was lost, the next couple of hours were spend catching 3 lb class bass on intermediate lines and olive DNA clousers. Great sport and great fun watching twenty fish follow the fly from our elevated position on the boat. I am already looking forward to a day out with Jeff in the future.

A managed fishery , we can only dream.
In the late eighties the population of striped bass hit rock bottom ,over fishing by the commercial sector had taken its toll .Radical steps were required and quickly. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in conjunction with Federal government introduced a far sweeping range of laws to protect the species. And more importantly those laws were enforced rather than just passed.

In the UK Saltwater fly fishing is regarded as ‘’ the next big thing ‘’ .I watch fishing boats leaving the harbour laden with monofilament gill nets soon to return with juvenile fish that have not been given even a chance to spawn . If we had the same commitment and vision to change policy then perhaps we could achieve the same as the Americans . Recreational Sea fishing is now booming in the States. Saltwater fly fishing in the UK is great fun but a shadow of what could be.

If I have inspired one person to visit Cape Cod I hope I have inspired at least another to join BASS these guys have been fighting on our behalf with some success for years. Look at the Irish Drift nets. Recreational fishermen are standing up and being counted and it seems that common sense may finally be winning .The same could be achieved over here its all down to us.

Email sales@uksaltwaterflies.com