Q&A
70 | fishingworld.com.au | February 2015
I’m having a friendly argument with
a mate about what f lies work best on
spawn run trout at Eucumbene.
We are debating if you are better off
adding the weight to the top f ly or the
trailing f ly when using a two f ly rig or
adding split shot above two unweighted
f lies. We both have some experience in the
Eucumbene spawn run but are both a bit
confused about the best f ly fishing rig.
Vladimir Vidkin – Blacktown, NSW.In several seasons of the
Eucumbene spawn run I’ve fished a
lightly weighted nymph behind a
weighted Glo Bug and I’ve also fished an
unweighted Glo Bug behind a heavily
weighted nymph. I’ve never fished a
weighted f ly below an unweighted f ly.
My go to rig now is two dark unweighted
nymphs in sizes 12 or 14. I tie these in
pheasant tail or seals fur dubbing withno lead and only a very fine wrap of
copper wire. I like to fish these in slower
running water and use a tiny split shot
about half a metre above the top f ly to
get them down. The two unweighted
nymphs work a hell of a lot better than a
weighted Glo Bug or nymph as they
both look very natural rather than
having a bead head or dumbbell eyes.I read your article on chasing longtail
tuna on f ly in Hervey Bay in the
November issue of Fisho and have a couple
of questions regarding leaders and f lies.
What type of leader and f lyline connection
do you use? What f lies worked best and
what colours?
Des Watkins – via email.I’ve only had three days of fishing
experience on the Hervey Bay longtails
but those three days were spent with
Andrew Chorley who has a lifetime of
longtail experience and I pumped him for
information non stop. With Andrew’sguidance and tips I was hooking longtails
on f ly quite easily on the second day and
here’s what worked. I fished a leader that
consisted of a metre of Platypus 40lb Game
Leader nail knotted to the f ly line. I then
blood knotted 1.5m of 30lb FC Rock
f luorocarbon leader to the butt and tied my
f lies on using a loop knot. Effective f ly
patterns included Lefty’s Deceivers in pink
or salmon with a grizzly hackle down each
side or pink silicone baitfish profiles tied
with pink craft fur or Polar Hair. I also used
Surf Candies when we found fish feeding on
smaller baitfish. All f lies were tied on 2/0
Gamakatsu SL12S hooks.Q A
&
Greg Finney is one of
Australia’s best known
fishing writers. Send
your fishy questions to
Greg at Fisho’s Q & A.PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
® SPAWN RIGSHERVEY BAY LONGTAILS
An unweighted nymph behind a lightly weighted Glo
Bug is a reliable rig for spawn run trout in autumn.A 1.5m leader of 30lb fluorocarbon
is fine for longtail tuna on fly.A
A
Q
Q
I’m in the market for a new rod to chase
jewies and snapper using soft plastics with
a threadline reel. Is seven foot the best
length or should I be looking at something
around 6’6” to get a bit more power and
control fish boatside?
Steven Wallgrove – via email.Seven foot is a good all round length for a
plastics rod as rods of this length offer
good casting distance. I wouldn’t go any
shorter as you lose out on casts and you gain
nothing in the power and control area. You’ll
put just as much hurt on using a seven-foot
rod with 20lb braid as you will with a 6’6”
rod. My young bloke has been fishing a
couple of slightly longer rods of late and he
reckons they work even better than the seven
footers. His rods are 7’6” and he is out
casting me by several metres and is having no
trouble controlling fish around the boat.
If I was in the market for a new rod I’d be
seriously looking at models in this length.ROD LENGTH FOR PL ASTICS
A
Q
EMAIL: [email protected]
SNAIL MAIL: GPO BOX 606 SYDNE Y NSW 2001
FAX: (02) 92812750.Consider a 7’6” threadline
rod if you’re in the market
for a sof t plastic out fit.