Fly Fishing for Spotted Grunter

[Uli@84]

Hi philip, dont need a spot or anything, really just wanted to make sure I understand the terminology correctly.

[FlyCraft]

Hi philip, dont need a spot or anything, really just wanted to make sure I understand the terminology correctly.

Don't know how I posted on your post.

No problem, will see what screenshot explains it well.

[NeilRowe]

Hi Robin,

Mentioning the state of the high tide in your post, hour before to hour after, again I think that is because there is less tidal movement. However there are lots more water to deal with. Sandbanks I believe is also more pushing tide/high tide spots and have had very good bait fishing on sand banks at this stage. Not that the fish are not on the mud banks.

A friend fishes only crabs (bait) when the full tide reach the marshes/grass on the mudbanks, maybe this will be the are to target with an appropriate pattern. Thank you for your input, guess there is still so much to really figure out and understand.

Philip

I have observed grunter chowing crabs in the Bitou River when the pushing tide starts flooding the grassy areas. They move from the channels to the grass covered flats, which are teeming with little crabs.

[white death]

I have experienced the same with the crabs on Little Brak. The crabs here have distinctive white/cream claws which may be a trigger point. On the steeper mud banks I get the impression that the Grunter are patrolling the edges and then suddenly there is a splash and churning of water as the Grunter takes the crab. This takes place just after the turn of the tide. However, any boat or angler traffic and they disappear for that tide.
Last winter, the bait anglers were taking some big Grunter on Pilchard heads. I tried a Tan Zonker clouser type streamer (size 8 and 6)to imitate the Gobies and caught plenty of small Leeries and a Steenbras, no Grunter. The small mullet are absent in the river during winter but the Gobies are still around - are the guys catching on Gobies all year round at Stilbaai?
Due to the lack of rain, the sandbank just above the railway bridge has advanced about 60 meters upstream and the channel leading to the mud flat looks like it will be cut off soon. We need a good flushing of the river to restore it to where the channels are open again.
Robin

[FlyCraft]

I have experienced the same with the crabs on Little Brak. The crabs here have distinctive white/cream claws which may be a trigger point. On the steeper mud banks I get the impression that the Grunter are patrolling the edges and then suddenly there is a splash and churning of water as the Grunter takes the crab. This takes place just after the turn of the tide. However, any boat or angler traffic and they disappear for that tide.
Last winter, the bait anglers were taking some big Grunter on Pilchard heads. I tried a Tan Zonker clouser type streamer (size 8 and 6)to imitate the Gobies and caught plenty of small Leeries and a Steenbras, no Grunter. The small mullet are absent in the river during winter but the Gobies are still around - are the guys catching on Gobies all year round at Stilbaai?
Due to the lack of rain, the sandbank just above the railway bridge has advanced about 60 meters upstream and the channel leading to the mud flat looks like it will be cut off soon. We need a good flushing of the river to restore it to where the channels are open again.
Robin

Hi Robin,

I have fished at Stilbaai with gobies from October to April, sure they are there year round and that Steenbras and winter grunter can be caught from May to August.

[FlyCraft]

The above pic is from Stilbaai with the slipway visible. The grunter move into all the little channels and flats to feed with the pushing tide. Most crabs are on the edges and on top of the grass islands, with all the little channels home to mud prawns etc. Often the grunter tail on the drop off as the tide recedes. This is then the easiest time to fish here and spot tailing fish.

The above image is the Breede up from Mudlark/Southwinds. These banks often have great numbers of grunter, the banks to the left and right of the jetty can be good, probably due to the jetty creating a barrier, with less tidal flow on both sides and also a reverse eddy trapping free floating prawns. We only saw two tailing fish here during our last visit, guys were casting throw nets for mullet when we were there.

We were fishing this area on a receding tide and this electric ray was trapped in a little puddle. I lifted it with a stick to deeper water, been zapped a few times before.

[Uli@84]

Awesome information Philip, much appreciated.

From the information you guys have been swapping, Goby's seem to be very similiar to some the smaller Mud based Sculpin from America? Wouldn't it be maybe worth it to look at comparisons and see if you can actually derive a good Goby pattern based on this? Some of the american sculpin patterns do seem to have a lot of good movement and attractors, could maybe apply this to WC and South Coast Circumstances?

Or has this been done before?

[FlyCraft]

Awesome information Philip, much appreciated.

From the information you guys have been swapping, Goby's seem to be very similiar to some the smaller Mud based Sculpin from America? Wouldn't it be maybe worth it to look at comparisons and see if you can actually derive a good Goby pattern based on this? Some of the american sculpin patterns do seem to have a lot of good movement and attractors, could maybe apply this to WC and South Coast Circumstances?

Or has this been done before?

Know of someone who caught a grunter at De Mond on a Muddler Minnow. Mark Krige ties a very realistic goby. I believe it might be worthwhile to fish floating goby patterns over these flats, since these are blown out and stunned. Believe that might be what the Skitterwalk imitates. It will take some trial and error, but I believe it is something to look into. The sand gobies will lie dead still and shuffle into the sand and probably in all the holes on the sand bank. I believe tailing grunter on sand banks often eat these, together with small soles.

Caught a grunter once on the high tide on a sand bank with a whole 40cm bloodworm in its stomach, which was still alive. I believe these worms move closer to the sand surface on the high tide and the only way the grunter could get it I would imagine is to smell it and suck it out.

[FlyCraft]

We were sitting at De Mond some years back and a friend of mine was fishing some of the many prawn imitations we tied at that time. Without any success (as expected) he then caught a goby, hooked it onto the same fly hook and casted his floating line to the right of the bridge. Withing 5 minutes he caught a 2kg + grunter on "fly".

[Uli@84]

Interesting you should mention worms, in bass Fishing there is a lure called a shakey head which does a goo job of pushing a worm up quite vertical. Given the right materials(squirmy worm material) and weight distribution on good hook, maybe you can look at fishing static worm patterns vertically but on the ground in a similiar fashion??

Dont know if I am explaining it right but google Shakey head lure