Bream

Pregnant prawn – size #2/0 9 cm long

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This bigger pregnant prawn fly is one of my goto flies here in Central Queensland estuary waters. I often fish it when targeting barra, grunter, jacks and flathead in estuary and harbour waters but it’s not unusual to hook up on queenfish, travally or other fish that eat prawns.

Tidal flats shrimp – tan

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This fly is basically my original mud prawn that I released in 2003 and have now miniaturised and modified so as to represent the sort shrimp that you find on tidal flats in tropical waters. As an aside I note there is anecdotal evidence that there are permit and even bonefish on some of the local Central Queensland tidal flats so the search is on to find them. This tan version is the most translucent of my tidal flats shrimp and is my go to version for crystal clear water.

Articulated slow roller – size #1 to #1/0

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I tie these downsized version of my original articulated slow roller fly in sizes #1 and 1/0 sizes and fish them on my #8 weight fly rods with 20lb Maxima Ultra Green leaders. They are an absolute treat for native bass and all sorts of estuary and coastal species including bream, flathead, and mangrove jack and smaller pelagics including trevally and queenfish.

Rubber legged olive gotcha

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This is a popular rubber tailed Gotcha type fly which is very similar to other peoples ties. It has it’s place in your bonefish fly box for those occasions where the bones shy away from the bright colours of most other bone fish flies.

Hares ear booby

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This is a nifty little fly that merges the hares ear nymph and the traditional booby both very high pedigree flies into one very useful loch fly. It also has a bit of flash about it which helps the fly fill an important role in my fly box for an attractor fly to use on my middle dropper when I loch style fish fish just before, through and after the trout spawning season.

Chatto’s marabou bugger

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My first fish on fly fell to the magic of a Woolly Bugger and many have gone the same way since then. Tied predominately as a prospecting fly for barra in Awoonga this fly also gets a swim in estuary and coastal waters when I am looking for grunter and fingermark.

Pregnant prawn – size #1/0 7 cm long

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An ideal fly for targeting bottom feeders such as bream, flathead, flounder, whiting, bonefish or tropical trigger fish. Because of the lead shot it sinks quickly, swims hook point up, resisting snagging up on detritus matter or bottom structure such as shells or small stones, and as it is retrieved, has the added benefit on soft bottoms of kicking up a little sand or mud in much the same way as the natural.

Mud prawn – small 5cm to 6cm long

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The mud prawn is my first choice of fly for general prospecting in estuary waters or for targeting, whiting, flathead and bream. In water of only a meter or so fish it on an intermediate line. In deeper water I prefer to fish it on a sinking line. The best retrieve is a jerky but slow retrieve leaving plenty of time between strips for he fly to settle back on the bottom. used in this way it’s a good representation of a prawn fleeing from its sandy retreat after being disturbed.