Baited breath
This is a prawn or shrimp imitation that has stood the test of time. Whilst I have seen it in all sorts of sizes and colours I have found that small flies tied in translucent shades of olives through to browns work best.
Saltwater – estuary
Cresent tail soft plastic fly
As the name implies these flies are built using a soft plastic lure body. I like to use 2″ and 3″ crescent tail type soft plastics as they tend to have a little more movement than some of the alternatives. For general prospecting or when targeting bream and whiting I use the 2″ version and when I am targeting flathead I use the 3″ version.
Wiggle minnow
By varying the materials used, the colours and size I have accounted for trout, bream, flathead, mangrove jack and even barramundi on wiggle minnows. The recipe I have set out below is just one version of this very adaptable fly and I would encourage you to individualize the fly to your own requirements.
Clouser minnow
The Clouser in my view is the quintessential salt water fly. It can be tied in sizes to suit Bream or Billfish and with the correct dressing and size is equally at home in saltwater, trout and bass fisheries.
Weed fly – wet
The same tie is used for both of the above flies. The only difference is that the bread fly is dubbed a little heavier and then trimmed to shape. These flies should be weighted enough to sink but not so weighted that it becomes unnatural in their action. It is often often useful to suspend these flies under a floating bread fly or other buoyant fly so that you can detect any bites.
PET shell nipper
This PET shell nipper is significantly different to my PET shell prawn as that is unweighted and is designed to fish hook bite down whereas this nipper has a weight under its tail and is designed to be fished on the sandy bottom with the hook bite up.
PET shell prawn
Prawns and shrimp are crustaceans, of the family Isopod, and are endemic to our Australian estuary waters. They are toward the top of the food chain for a lot of coastal species of fish including bream, flathead and whiting.
Mullet fly
This fly imitates the poddy mullet and is easy to fish. I like to dredge it with regular strips over sandy bottoms. Hits are generally pretty hard and can be from flathead hardly bigger than the fly right up to monster lizards.
Popper – poly head
If I could only carry one surface fly when fishing for Bass, Yellow belly and other native species my black Poll-Head-Popper would be it. They a definite “boof”as the fly lands and that is often enough to induce a strike.