Jam fly

[Paul J]

we should all know our limitations, and learn to live with them.
mine (apart from my "winning" personality) is the fact that i cannot create anything on a vise that any fish finds remotely interesting.
believe me, i have tried. i am now condemned to store bought flies, or handouts from fellow anglers that pity me.
which brings me to my question. the latest TCFF has an article on the jam fly. looks interesting, and i would really like to fling it a a few grunter in durban harbour, just to see what will happen,
any idea where i can get my hands on a few of these.
any info will be appreciated.

[swsmith]

Pilip had a few tied up in his shop at Flywaters....maybe they still available.send him a pm and find out...

[Andre]

One of the guys who developed the fly, and is the "M" in "JAM", is an active member of this forum...so search him out, and ask him to tie you a few... good luck. Also remember that fishing for grunter is as much about the technique as it is about the fly, in fact, more so about the technique. Although the JAM is a superb fly, I have still yet to catch a grunter on it. I have had more success on a fairly basic dubbed and weighted prawn fly that looks nothing like the realistic JAM fly. The main reason why people think the JAM fly is so awesome, is because it is a very realistic looking fly, and it is an awesome fly, and superbly tied by the few people who know how to tie it... in fact it not so much "tied", as it is "built". Grunter fishing on fly is so technical, that the fly plays a much less important role that you would think. There are too many things involved in catching grunter in shallow water over tidal prawn banks, than just an amazing fly. Not taking anything away from the fly, but even though its probably the best prawn imitation in the world, still one needs to know how to fish for grunter.

we should all know our limitations, and learn to live with them.
mine (apart from my "winning" personality) is the fact that i cannot create anything on a vise that any fish finds remotely interesting.
believe me, i have tried. i am now condemned to store bought flies, or handouts from fellow anglers that pity me.
which brings me to my question. the latest TCFF has an article on the jam fly. looks interesting, and i would really like to fling it a a few grunter in durban harbour, just to see what will happen,
any idea where i can get my hands on a few of these.
any info will be appreciated.

[Korrie]

Well said Andre.
A very well know fly fisher once said to me. " it is your hands and your brain that catches the fish, not the fly"
The fly is important, but the most important is your hands and brain.
The wrong fly fished right, will probably catch more than the right fly fished wrong.
The Jam fly is a great fly, but fished wrong, will not catch a Grunter.
I wonder if the guys who catch a lot of Grunter on the Jam fly, change to some other good prawn imitations, how successful will they be?
Probably very successfull as well

[Andre]

The other thing about the JAM fly, is that it is a very heavy fly, and doesn't present well at all. It needs experience to be able to fish it properly. if the fly splashes within 20 meters of the grunter, the fish are gone, and unless the fly can be presented properly, it wont work. I have more success with a fly that is easier to fish. the JAM fly is awesome as I have said, but you need to know how to fish it. Fly fishermen are fixated on the fly, and many believe it is basically all there is... in other words, if they aren't catching fish, must be the wrong fly. Nothing could be further from the truth. The trick with fly fishing is to make the fish think that it is food, and that's where technique comes in to it. Prawns don't splash onto the water from above. They live in their holes in the sand, and when the grunter blows into the hole, a prawn comes out and runs along the sand. The fish sees it, and eats it. To make the JAM fly, or any other fly behave like this, is the trick.

[Paul J]

thanks for the replies guys. i occasionaly fish for them in the harbour at night with conventional tackle.
i often see a lot of tailing on the pushing tide. the harbour at night is lit up like a christmas tree.
the grunter obviously feed on movement and silhouette. i just thought if i can get a realistic fly, it will mimic these two aspects better.
the beauty of flyfishing. there is always something new to try (until you find out someone else has been doing it for years)
grunter on fly at night.....ever been done before?

[Paul J]

also, i think there is a lot less chance of spooking the fish at night. the water is literally alive with fish activity, one or two more splashes wont be noticed.

[Andre]

You would be surprised... grunter are very sensitive to noise. Even poor wading on the sandbanks will spook them, day or night. Grunter are one of the most ridiculously spooky fish that you will ever find. Also at night, without being able to see the cast and the presentation, how are you going to know he has got onto the fly? with a tailing grunter onto the fly, you have to see him go down on it. Theres very rarely any sensation of feel. You basically have to know where your fly is, and when you see him tailing at the fly, you give it a twitch. at night, its going to be almost impossible to see this.

also, i think there is a lot less chance of spooking the fish at night. the water is literally alive with fish activity, one or two more splashes wont be noticed.

[Paul J]

now you have completely discouraged me. i will just have to catch them the old fashioned way.
going on friday night. will take a few flies and see what happens.

[Paul J]

thanks for the advise guys