Jono Shales Provides!!!!

[srt007]

Good Day guys

When Jono Shales, "the fishing machine" invited me for a day on his boat for some fishing action here in Sydney I did not really expect to catch a fish, let alone add 3 more species to my list!!!

Thanks Jono, it’s a trip of a lifetime for me, one that I will never forget. The fishing opportunities around Sydney are absolutely amazing.

Jono has a wealth of information to share, and the patience for someone doing the vaal shuffle on his boat , as I developed round feet on the ocean swells. It was a first for me to fly fish from a boat in the ocean, and hopefully not the last.

Thanks again Jono, I really appreciate it. When I'm back in Cape Town, practicing my casts (that's all we do here in the cape by the looks of things) I'll be day dreaming of this day!! The grass IS greener on the other side, and I have seen it, so I'll be getting my stuff together to immigrate!!
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[LeRoy]

Awesome, Shawn!

[Jono Shales]

Shawn, it was a pleasure meeting you today, showing you my backyard and sharing home-made sarmies and great conversation on the boat.

It was really enjoyable watching the adrenalin flowing through you today with the fish and when you said it was the best day's saltwater fly fishing that you've ever had, that filled me with satisfaction and joy.

You're a great caster mate and I'm sure you're going to smash many more fish in the future.

[Jason]

Brilliant stuff and beautifull fish. I gotta go visit my uncle in Sydney real soon and get some fishing done. Is that the quality of the fishing all teh time Jono? Or are there blanks in-between?

[swsmith]

Jono.....what work do you do?Seems you have far too much time on your hands to fish..... ......and i blanked again this morning... ...im considering selling my tackle and converting back to aas....

[Jono Shales]

Jason, today was an average day, a bit quiet to start but then we found them. The salmon schools are about to arrive and for the next 4 months we'll have monstrous schools on the surface that just love flies.

The fishing's always good, it just depends how good. It doesn't really compare to SA, I'll let Shawn describe his experience in more detail.

Stephen don't you dare convert back to bait, that's not the way forward ... pack a bag and head over, I'll take you fishing dude.

Seriously ... life is short, you may as well have as much fun fishing as possible

[KevinE]

Nice Shawn and Jono. Is that last fish a bonito? And those kahawai give a good pull hey?

My Sydney-based sister has just had a baby. I think she may need a visit soon....

[Scythe]

Are there any big GT's in Australia ?

Actually, I'd like to know what the bigger species of game fish is you can target in the average season, after this last Kosi trip, I'm even more Kingfish obsessed than ever.

[srt007]

Thanks Jono, but I did struggle a bit with the casting, as I haven’t used that line on the rod for some time, and could not find the intermediate shooting line I was looking for in SA before I left.

Like Jono says, you cannot compare it to SA. We go nuts when we get a chase from a small leerie or shad, or see a swirl, or baitfish jumping. For some of us that's where it ends. That's usually the action we get in the cape, except for some lucky guys who hook up into a fish, and will then be talking about it for months to come as you might not hook into another for some time. I've done my fair share of casting at the popular (and some not so popular) spots for shad and leeries over the past 10 years around the Cape, and have a handful of fish to show for the time spent. But it’s those chases, swirls and baitfish action that gets the adrenalin pumping and it forces you back to the spots time after time in hope of hooking into a fish.

The morning started off with Jono making the 20 minute trip from his place to Mona Vale where he picked me up. I jumped in and off we went to Pittwater, a 5 minute drive further.

Jono already decided the previous night that we would be going to Pittwater and not Sydney harbor, as the weather did not play along. Jono hasn't fished Pittwater in 18 months, but he was confident that we would be hooking into something.

He launched the boat, (in record time, by himself, think if I intervened it would have taken longer) and off we went. A few minutes later we came closer to one of the many jetties/moorings, and he saw a swirl. The adrenaline hit me like a rocket, I started shaking, and as anyone would do, wanted to start casting frantically in the direction of the swirl. He saw what was going on, and quickly calmed me down by letting me make a few casts in another direction, that also got my confidence going with the casing from the boat.

We moved around the bay, looking for the usual surface action, swirls, fish jumping or birds diving. We had a few casts to swirls, but no hook-ups. Pittwater/Broken Bay is a huge body of water (picture Knysna Lagoon X 100), and we drove from one spot to another still looking for action on the surface. We even stopped at a jetty and ran across the road for a cup of coffee and some breakfast. We also went out the bay into open ocean to see if there was some action, but it was still to ruff to venture out to far.

He then changed tactics; we would be looking for schools of baitfish on the fish finder. It did not take to long before he found what we were looking for. He got us into position, and we made a few casts while drifting with the wind. I was still waiting for my fly to sink down when I thought I felt a bump, made one strip and bang, all hell broke loose as a bonito raced off with my fly. Now this was new for me, never had a pocket rocket at the end of my line, and by then was also shaking like a vibrator from the adrenaline pumping through my body!! Jono said with a very calm voice that I should get it on the reel, not to easy with line jumping up and wrapping around hand and what not, but a few minutes later Jono lifted my first bonito out of the water. He laughed as he saw me shaking from the adrenaline, he took a few photos, the barbless hook was slipped out and the fish was released, and I was stoked! He moved us back into position, another few casts; wait for the fly to sink down deep enough, strip strip bang, line tight! This time an Australian Salmon broke the surface as it leaped into the air! They are strong fighters, excellent fish to catch on fly, and a few minutes later Jono lifted my first Salmon into the boat. By this time you would not be able to beat the smile off my face with a baseball bat if you tried! A few photos and the fish were released. Then another drift, and on again! But the fish came off; I started dissing myself in my head because moments before I retied the fly on with a loop knot, I thought the knot slipped loose or broke or something, but the knot was still there and with a quick inspection by Jono I was told "A Taylor bit you off". By now I was shaking so much I almost could not even tie on another fly. Finally I got another fly on and it was back in the water. Strip strip bang! Halfway through the fight Jono yells "Taylor!" I was overcome with joy when he lifted my 3rd specie into the boat, all caught around the same area!

We then made another trip out the bay as the wind and swells dropped. This is when I developed round feet in the swells, I could barely make a cast as I had to hold onto something with one hand or I was al over the place! I landed another nice Bonito, a few more snaps with the camera and he decided to go back into the bay to see if we could get a Kingfish (Yellowtail). Made a few casts to likely spots but to takes, so we called it a day as the rain closed in on us.

Not bad at all for half a day's fishing, I was back home at 13:30, I can just imagine what a full day would be like!

[Jason]

I think i'm gonna cry Guess i will just have to settle for sand sharks in langebaan lagoon for now. Very nicely told srt, makes me wanna grab a rod and go fish