KNOTS & RIGS
IF ever there was a saltwater sportfish that
commands the attention to detail in rigging
that the trout does for freshwater anglers, it’s
the luderick. To be a consistently good
luderick angler requires fanatical dedication.
I know – I’ve been chasing them virtually all
my life, just as my father and grandfather did.
I catch my share, but I still get regularly
out-fished by those old luderick diehards who
have single-mindedly dedicated their entire
fishing lives to the pursuit of these wonderful
sport and table fish.Chasing luderick has always been considered a
traditional style of angling. Rigging techniques
haven’t really changed for more than a century,
aside from the advent and adoption of the use of
chemically sharpened hooks and f luorocarbon
leader material. Also, some rock luderick anglers
have forsaken the time honoured stemmed f loat
and instead use small bobby corks. However, in
recent times I’ve had a lot of enquiries in the
tackle shop I work in from luderick diehards for
weed f lies or the materials to tie them. Why the
use of artificial weed f lies has suddenly gained
traction amongst the luderick
fishing community is a bit of a
mystery to me – possibly it’s driven
by social media?
Chasing luderick on weed f lies
isn’t anything new. The first
anglers that I witnessed taking
consistently good catches of
luderick on weed f lies were
Warren Yuile and Matt Zahra, a
pair of gun all-round fishos from
the NSW Central Coast. This
was over a decade ago. In the
early 1990s, noted f ly fishers
such as Canberra’s Dave Longinwere successfully targeting luderick on f ly on
the NSW South Coast. One thing’s for sure,
it’s a highly effective technique to use for
pursuing luderick.
Weed f lies for luderick can be tied from a
wide range of materials such as wools, synthetic
fibres, dubbings and chenilles. These can be
sourced from any f ly tying material stockist or
even some craft shops may carry suitable goods
that can be utilised to turn out realistic weed
f lies. Weed f ly patterns can also be weighted
with fine lead wire if required to help get them
down in the boisterous conditions often
encountered off our coastal rock ledges.
Warren and Matt tied their weed f lies on a
Black Magic size 8 grub, shrimp, buzzer and
blood worm f ly hook. This strong hook pattern
also gave them a chance if they hooked up to a
decent black drummer while luderick fishing.
There are a range of techniques and rigs that
can be employed for chasing luderick on weed
f lies. Warren and Matt used light f ly rods
rigged with f loating lines featuring short sink
tips. They looped a pair of 4kg monofilament
leaders onto the end of the f ly line each with a
weed f ly attached. This rig proved to be deadly
effective when cast out and drift fished in our
coastal washes and it wasn’t unusual for the
boys to achieve a double header hook-up with a
luderick on both weed f lies at times.
Weed f lies can also be fished very effectively
under a traditional stemmed f loat or bobby cork
rig on conventional threadline or centrepin
tackle. My personal preference is to employ a
“Newcastle Rig” which features two separate
f luorocarbon leaders; one rigged with the
artificial f ly pattern and the other with a green,
brown or cabbage weed bait. The illustration
opposite by Fisho’s Chris Palatsides demonstrates
how to create this rig. This set up works really
well off the rocks as it’s quite easy to miss a bite
or down in rough water conditions resulting in a
bare hook for the duration of your drift. By
incorporating the weed f ly into the rig you’re not
wasting fishing time as you’ve always got a
chance at a fish whether your other hook has a
bait on it or not.
As you can see, you don’t have to be a f ly
fisher to use artificial f lies as they can be
effectively employed on any tackle. I don’t
believe there is a more realistic artificial lure
than a well-tied f ly pattern. Think about how
you may be able to improve your fishing results
by using f lies. They are another valuable tool to
be added to the thinking angler’s arsenal.Chasing Luderick On Fly
Ditch the weed and try a fly tied from wool, synthetic
fibres, dubbing or chenille to target the ever-popular luderick!
TECHNICAL EDITOR MARK WILLIAMS IS A HIGHLY E XPERIENCED
ANGLER WHO WRITES REGUL ARLY FOR FISHO.WITH MARK WILLIAMS60 | fishingworld.com.au | February 2015
A well presented weed fly (fished either
on standard luderick tackle or via a fly
out fit) is extremely effective on luderick.Popular with generations
of fishos, luderick are a
prime sport and table fish.