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Thread: Some help for new fluff chucker

  1. #1

    Some help for new fluff chucker

    Had a casting lesson just before Christmas and had my first go at fly fishing today at Borumba. Couple of issues arose that I would appreciate some assistance with. I managed to get hits, but failed to set the hook sucessfully on quiet a few occasions. Is there a trick to setting hooks on flies? Is there a best way to fight bass/toga. What are the best flies for these species at Borumba?

    Still had an absolute ball and thought I did OK, sort of, for my first go. Can't wait to get there again (two weeks off work so very soon) and actually get one IN the boat.

    Thanks

    Steve

  2. #2

    Re: Some help for new fluff chucker

    Mate its a frustrating place sometimes, however flyfishing from what I have seen is by far the most productive form of fishing when fishing for Toga at Borumba.
    The trick to setting the hook is point the rod at the fish , fly rods are to soft for setting hooks. Personally I find that its best to set the hook on a Toga after they have turned their head, sometimes by simply maintaining pressure is all it needs , just don't put it on the rod.
    One of the most successful patterns is a Sculpin, heaps of movement when still, something you need for sight casting, muddler minnows and variations of work well, small dahlberg divers are great but for simplicity on the surface a Booby fly is hard to beat.
    Click on the link in my signature to our club site and head for "Andy's Toga Destroyer" its basically a modified sculpin that a mate of mine developed a couple of years ago, this is a go to fly myself and other mates of mine who flyfish there regularly.
    If you don't mind me asking did you get professional lessons ?

    Federation of Fly Fishers
    International Certified Casting Instructor
    Sunshine Coast Fly Fishers
    www.saltwaterflyfishers.org

  3. #3

    Re: Some help for new fluff chucker

    As for fighting them , well there are some brutes in there. Some mates who have been fly fishing for Togas at Borumba for many years fish 10kg , however I usually fish 6 kg without too many hassles. You will never break 6kg over your rod the softness of the rod usually slows them down, just keep your rod angles low, unlike conventional gear, you will be surprised at the pressure you can put on these fish Bass included.

    This one I caught was on a 7 weight with 6kg leader it my PB They pretty clean fighters, most you will find will be around 60 cm this one was around 90. There are heaps bigger ones in there and they are very clever (hardly seen let alone caught) that will pull your rod straight and snap 6kg like cotton, thats why the old schoolers use 10kg I have been busted of by Togas only once or twice, what a feeling.

    Federation of Fly Fishers
    International Certified Casting Instructor
    Sunshine Coast Fly Fishers
    www.saltwaterflyfishers.org

  4. #4

    Re: Some help for new fluff chucker

    Quote Originally Posted by flyfisho View Post
    Mate its a frustrating place sometimes, however flyfishing from what I have seen is by far the most productive form of fishing when fishing for Toga at Borumba.
    The trick to setting the hook is point the rod at the fish , fly rods are to soft for setting hooks. Personally I find that its best to set the hook on a Toga after they have turned their head, sometimes by simply maintaining pressure is all it needs , just don't put it on the rod.
    One of the most successful patterns is a Sculpin, heaps of movement when still, something you need for sight casting, muddler minnows and variations of work well, small dahlberg divers are great but for simplicity on the surface a Booby fly is hard to beat.
    Click on the link in my signature to our club site and head for "Andy's Toga Destroyer" its basically a modified sculpin that a mate of mine developed a couple of years ago, this is a go to fly myself and other mates of mine who flyfish there regularly.
    If you don't mind me asking did you get professional lessons ?
    Thanks for this great info. Yes I got a professional lesson from someone you would know. As we were absolute beginners, we did get much into the 'what next?' phase. I am just at the very beginning of fly fishing and am try to soak up as much info as possible. I know with practice, I will get better.

    I must admit to be surprised today at the amount of strikes and hook ups I got.

    Cheers

    Steve

  5. #5

    Re: Some help for new fluff chucker

    Quote Originally Posted by flyfisho View Post
    As for fighting them , well there are some brutes in there. Some mates who have been fly fishing for Togas at Borumba for many years fish 10kg , however I usually fish 6 kg without too many hassles. You will never break 6kg over your rod the softness of the rod usually slows them down, just keep your rod angles low, unlike conventional gear, you will be surprised at the pressure you can put on these fish Bass included.

    This one I caught was on a 7 weight with 6kg leader it my PB They pretty clean fighters, most you will find will be around 60 cm this one was around 90. There are heaps bigger ones in there and they are very clever (hardly seen let alone caught) that will pull your rod straight and snap 6kg like cotton, thats why the old schoolers use 10kg I have been busted of by Togas only once or twice, what a feeling.
    That is one horse of a toga. Thanks for the information. I am using an 8 weight with a 10lb leader.

  6. #6

    Re: Some help for new fluff chucker

    All I can say is welcome to the dark side, once you go fly you never go back...

    Borumba is a fantastic place for the fly fisho, especially for those trout on steriods (The Toga!)

    I have fished there for the passed 6 years or so and it changes every time I go there, which is all the fun. We mostly fly but also throw the odd lure or SP around.

    We fished there last week and am heading back out there this wed for a look. As previous post explained, they averae the 60cm mark but there are a hell of alot of big fish over the magic 100cm mark. My biggest is 99.5cm and yes, I tried to stretch it out a bit more, and I have seen and lost much bigger. They have just finished spawning so are just starting to come back on the bite as they don't really feed when looking after their young. This has resulted in the smaller ones growing a pair and taking up the prime feeding grounds, as the huge males look after the young and are quite teritorial. I only see the smaller ones around this time of year then the larger ones come back into the best areas and chase out the smaller ones. This is the best theory I have come up with but if anyone out there has a better theory, I am all ears.

    Anyway, I use an 8wt Powell rod and mainly floating line but sometimes inermediate if the water gets quite hot in the middle of the day. Leader, well I mainly use 12lb but depends how finicky they are. They have quite boney mouths and rough, so have lost many fish when not hooked properly. As mentioned, you can't realy use the rod to set the hook so have o rely on the fish and your strike hand that is holding the fly line. I tie my own flies and use Gamikatzo hooks with a wider guage to get into their mouths better.

    Flies of choice are, poppers, small Dahlbergs, muddler minnows, damsel fly, red tags (for smaller Togas mainly) pink things, Zonkers and small bait fish patterns.

    They are certainly great fish to catch on fly, especially when sight casting.

    If you ever see boats on the water with 'Woolybugger fly fishers' n the side, say g'day and we will have a beer and share some war stories, or if you want to go out one day, give us a bell.

    Hope this helps alittle.

  7. #7

    Re: Some help for new fluff chucker

    Quote Originally Posted by woolybugger View Post
    All I can say is welcome to the dark side, once you go fly you never go back...

    Borumba is a fantastic place for the fly fisho, especially for those trout on steriods (The Toga!)

    I have fished there for the passed 6 years or so and it changes every time I go there, which is all the fun. We mostly fly but also throw the odd lure or SP around.

    We fished there last week and am heading back out there this wed for a look. As previous post explained, they averae the 60cm mark but there are a hell of alot of big fish over the magic 100cm mark. My biggest is 99.5cm and yes, I tried to stretch it out a bit more, and I have seen and lost much bigger. They have just finished spawning so are just starting to come back on the bite as they don't really feed when looking after their young. This has resulted in the smaller ones growing a pair and taking up the prime feeding grounds, as the huge males look after the young and are quite teritorial. I only see the smaller ones around this time of year then the larger ones come back into the best areas and chase out the smaller ones. This is the best theory I have come up with but if anyone out there has a better theory, I am all ears.

    Anyway, I use an 8wt Powell rod and mainly floating line but sometimes inermediate if the water gets quite hot in the middle of the day. Leader, well I mainly use 12lb but depends how finicky they are. They have quite boney mouths and rough, so have lost many fish when not hooked properly. As mentioned, you can't realy use the rod to set the hook so have o rely on the fish and your strike hand that is holding the fly line. I tie my own flies and use Gamikatzo hooks with a wider guage to get into their mouths better.

    Flies of choice are, poppers, small Dahlbergs, muddler minnows, damsel fly, red tags (for smaller Togas mainly) pink things, Zonkers and small bait fish patterns.

    They are certainly great fish to catch on fly, especially when sight casting.

    If you ever see boats on the water with 'Woolybugger fly fishers' n the side, say g'day and we will have a beer and share some war stories, or if you want to go out one day, give us a bell.

    Hope this helps alittle.
    Woolybugger

    This is great info and greatly appreciated. I only saw smaller toga feeding today, so you may be right. I might be there on Wednesday as weel, depending on the weather (if it is calm, I will be offshore, if not, Borumba), so if I see you, I will give you a holler. Love to go out one day with you to learn a bit more (read lot) but am still a pretty shite caster at the moment, so would only embarass myself. PM me, if you are heading up and wouldn't mine have a green skin aboard.

    Cheers
    Steve

  8. #8

    Re: Some help for new fluff chucker

    Just so you know what to aspire to , I was just talking to a mate who has been fishing that dam for around 15 years and the biggest he has seen caught and landed out of there is 110 cm(16 lb) by Johnny Rowe. Maybe Tropical Trout can confirm this but out of all the fly fishing guides I know who fish this dam (Gavin Platz, Paul Dolan , Nat Bromhead and Nial Logan ) I believe they will all say Johnny Rowe was the one who consistently caught big fish and knew the patterns well, some of the techniques are very unorthodox but extremely effective.

    Federation of Fly Fishers
    International Certified Casting Instructor
    Sunshine Coast Fly Fishers
    www.saltwaterflyfishers.org

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