Fly Fishing for Spotted Grunter

**JadeDsantos** · 21-04-16

Originally Posted by Nepptune

Platon and I saw these young chaps up there when we fished Breede a month or two back... we were fish less at this point and these fellows arrived, and we watched as the smallest nailed a Grunter on what was probably his 2nd cast.... you can imagine how we felt as we had at this stage still not hooked up... thankfully a little while later we both connected to and landed our first Grunts on fly which soothed our adult egos just a little...

Fantastic to see these young fishes out there with their old man taking on these fish... amazing watching the little guy, pint sized laying out a great cast, popping the rod under his arm, starting a slow steady double handed strip and connecting with a lovely Grunter... The sport is in good hands with the youth..

I need some help from the master here. I have gone looking for grunts at the Breede, mostly targeting their mud plums and hoping for the best. How are other guys targeting them. Are you blind casting floating prawns and letting them drift? Are you stripping a little? Or are you looking for fish and sight casting?

**Nepptune** · 21-04-16

Not to detract from the fish caught, but floating prawns have revolutionised the actually catching of Grunts on fly... as Philip described its fishing in likely looking areas, or where you've seen grunts tailing, and a very slow steady retrieve ( figure 8 - although i get hand cramps from doing that endlessly and find putting the rod under my arm and double hand stripping very sloooowly works too ) interspersed with some long pauses/dead drifts and thats pretty much it...

Please bear in mind I am far from experienced, but I've spent 2 days doing this, and got about 15 hits with the result of one fish hooked and landed... Grunts are certainly not built for eating off the top so they miss a lot...

Fishing sinking prawn patterns, to tailing/mud plumes/cruising sighted fish is a whole other ball game in skill and technique and patience... and I would hazard the opinion that 1 grunt caught sighted on a sinking fly ( JAM or similar ) is worth 10 on a floating prawn... I'm sure I'll get slated for that, and I am by no means detracting from a capture on a floating prawn, cause thats the only way I've ever caught one and I was, and am STOKED... but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say...

Either way, both are epic... ones just a lot easier than the other... thankfully cause it means some of us neophytes actually have a chance!

**JadeDsantos** · 21-04-16

Dude, thanks for this advice - Its like the point finally hit home. I have a place at the mouth, lets organise a weekend down there when it is quite to hunt some fish. Know some good people that are keen . . .

**will101** · 21-04-16

Off again there next weekend... Andre I saw a nice fly that was tied by you apparently. good job man. I have a few new versions that I want to go try myself - hopefully we can connect with a few fish but I have started to describe my breede trips as boating and hiking outings with a rod in hand...

**Nepptune** · 21-04-16

Originally Posted by will101

I have started to describe my breede trips as boating and hiking outings with a rod in hand...

Ja but the pics you come back with are incredible Willie!!

**FlyCraft** · 21-04-16

I'm just extremely passionate about grunter and far from being an expert on fly, which I believe, when a person can catch them consistently under all conditions, when there are some in a river/estuarine system. Fishing for grunter on bait my whole life, with intermittent fly stints where I would end up feeling chucking a rock at them, just to get them out of sight, ending up tying a Leerie fly on, donner Bettie!

Since I could hold a fishing rod and mainly catch Gorries off my uncles jetty on the Kromme, and the odd grunter, these fish still give me a severe bout of fishing fever and the shakes. Often thinking about them during a working week, which I shouldn't do......shit:biggrin: I guess it is a combination of many factors - their looks, stamina, ghostliness (if there is such a word), temperament - can be suicidal and also "impossible", and most importantly, when seeing a fish feeding, it believe it is rather easy to catch, should be? When I see a trout feeding on a stream, have a good presentation and drift, with a good imitation, dan vang jy die donnertjie. This does not seem to hold true at all, for Pomadasys commersonni.

As Joan Wulff mentioned, the progression of a fly fisher - most fish, biggest fish, most difficult fish.

The laaities are waiting to eat their fish fingers, will post more later.

**FlyCraft** · 21-04-16

Look at the colouration difference between the 40 plussers/Salusa 45'ers and the teenagers. The older boys are in general more tanny in colour and the younger ones and softer females, more pale grey/olivey/bluey tan (if that makes any sense

)

Also believe, when the females are sporting the golden olive egg sacks the grunter have so much more protein to chew on. Personally I suck/chew out a prawn's head, feet and all, only leaving the horn in the bin

For the wifey, they are too ugly and she only eats the tails without the shell - wow, she misses all the flavor!

So far, more hookups on the front/head hook=more meat and protein? Also head to tail size length relationship, 1:1.5-8, width about the same.

And shortly after taking the prawn pics, Superman and T Rex, landed a grunter, they are hooked

**FlyCraft** · 21-04-16

In my opinion the pioneers of grunter fly fishing in SA - the JAM clan - Jannie Visser, August Lohann, MC Coetzer, Anthony Kruger (did I read many of his Swartkops articles to pieces in the 90's/early 2000's), Peter Coetzee for his obsession in recent years, Ian Kitching (caught 69 in one season, including a 5kg+ fish) and Henkie Altena, humble and great fisherman, master fly tyer, this fish is in his thoughts as we speak.

Apart from the older ballies on top

, we had Bradley Wiehann on our last trip to Karoolskraal - 16 years old and a Protea light tackle boat fisherman. He has caught many under the radar, mainly in Swartvlei and Goukamma, his fly tying is immaculate - grass shrimps, #8 crabs, JAM's, turds etc. When Bradley's eyes are open he talks and explains fishing. Bradley leopard crawls on a grunter bank and fishes on his knees, this pretty much says it all. His explanation on why Tiemco's are too sharp when fishing his tiny crab patterns on sand banks , opposed to Mustad 34007's made obvious sense.

Great to see these fishing bedonnerde young boys!

**FlyCraft** · 22-04-16

My experience on the floating prawn is that the fish either grab/attack/bite the fly, these are the ones that you hook rather often. Then you get the slower approaching "suckers", you will also often hear the "glump", most fish were in this mode for some reason on our last trip and we have missed lots, then the "gesigwysers/showing facers", the fish will follow or come up to the fly, inspect it, think about, think about it again....and once more, then he departs/FO.

I have some gopro footage on some takes/misses and hookups and hope to have it up in a few weeks.