Fly Fishing for Spotted Grunter

[Andre]

I have caught grunter on a salty bugger in the past. basically dead drifting it along the bottom. also caught them on crazy charlies in various colours. I don't think the fly is hugely important for grunter, but I think the technique is what is critical.
In fact, I have had more success with charlies, than I have had with the jam fly. Im talking about Knysna, Plett and Sedgefield. I haven't really fished anywhere else for them.

[Niel Malan]

Hi
I recently had some excellent success for grunters and kob on surface flies at the Breede River and thought you might find it interesting. Read all about it at: https://nielsflyfishingadventures.wordpress.com/
Regards
Niel Malan

[occie]

Thanks Neil that was a great read and some beautiful fish.
Any chance you can post a pic of your grunter fly.

[Niel Malan]

Hi Occie,
Thanks, I have about 5 different prototypes that I hope to test next time. I will then be able to share the better ones.
Regards
Niel

[Korrie]

Hi
I recently had some excellent success for grunters and kob on surface flies at the Breede River and thought you might find it interesting. Read all about it at: https://nielsflyfishingadventures.wordpress.com/
Regards
Niel Malan

Neil
jy moet so paar fotos van die vliegies ook plaas op jou blog.

[briansflyfishing]

Men grunt.jpg

Got two of these on a articulated floating pink prawn fly tied by Phillip at Winelands FF. The first took it with aa dsh of aggression on a medium strip.
The second one followed the fly, so I stopped stripping and let the fly sink to the bottom( 500mm of water), I saw the suck and fish on!!!!!
My first Grunter was caught on a pink Crazy Charlie. They followed the fly on various speed strips, start stop etc. But only when I decided the strip seriously fast did the little Grunt decide "genoeg is genoeg" and nailed the fly. Believing in your fly and a good attitude is also very important.

[Scoop]

Were they on the crabs?

I was targetting Grunter at Sedgefield this past weekend. Good tides and clear water made for excellent sighting and the fish were around in good numbers. However they were exhibiting some strange behaviour (or just added another piece to the puzzle that sometimes seems to be never-ending) - something I haven't experienced in the past, at least not on my home estuary (Klein Brak).

They seemed to be tailing very 'lazily' for lack of a better term. No aggression, tails not high and proud and no mud bubbles...instead you'd see only half tails here and there - small triangles covered the flat. I was alone on the flat and fished as stealthily and light as what I had on me (down to a 2x tippet). Employing tactics (and flies) that have worked for me in the past –*from JAM flies to charlies and Winelands FF's awesome articulated floating prawns (sand and mud prawn imitations) –*I got not so much as a look.

Some of the Grunters spooked from the fly line and sloppy presentations as they do, but over a good many hours of persistence (over two sessions) many good presentations were simply refused (without being spooked). It reminded me of an old piece by Peter Coetzee on Feathers & Fluoro about using crabs for targetting Grunter.

There is a prolific population in the Klein Brak especially and I saw many over the weekend in Sedgefield. The one particular flat I stalked had a lot of grass with big spaces between what seemed single prawn holes. This flat was full up with fish doing their 'lazy' tailing.

Were they nosing crabs out of the grass? Does anyone have some experience of this? Or, regular success and ideas of crab patterns to try?

I'm going to tie-up a few (very basic) versions of a velcro crab in brown and dark maroons, with perhaps some white under the pincers to match the little critters we have up here.

Surely if they are as thick as they are here at the moment even the cob in our river should be interested??

[MCC]

Hi Scoop

We sometimes get this behaviour at Infanta as well. I'm probably horribly wrong but I think that they are listening for Cracker prawn in the grass.

We've had some success by fishing heavily weighted Grunter Charlies - tied without eyes but with a solid wrap of lead wire on the shank and covered in olive epoxy. The problem with most flies are that you simply cannot get it down through the grass.

You simply stalk up to that little triangle very slowly and drop the fly down as close as possible to the head. Try to get the fly through the grass onto the bottom and wait for the tail to disappear as they see the fly. Takes are very positive.....

Enjoy and please let us know if it works for you.

Cheers
MC

[Scoop]

Much appreciated, thanks MC - will give that a bash for sure.

[FlyCraft]

Hi Scoop,

I have also seen this behaviour quite a few times, mainly where there is grass and those marshy reeded mud islands. It is almost if the fish tilts lazily and the the tail disappears again. Really not sure what this behaviour means in terms of feeding, apart from that the fish don't actively tail, feeding on mud prawns, - all that is left is crabs, grass shrimps, as MC mentioned cracker prawn (skietkapper) and gobies.

Maybe the grunter are sleeping