Flies tied per fish caught.....

[swsmith]

just to clear up confusion as my wording wasnt correct...if you tied one fly on how mant fish would you be happy to catch on it....seems most of you new that was the question already...

[deewy]

fish it until it isnt a fly anymore, just some scraps of material bound to the hook by the head sement.

Phillip: What hooks are you using that is dropping you so much fish? I will take a wild guess, Mustad 34007 SS hooks? they are crap! Get Gamagatsku hook, your chances will improve big time and if you are using them already, do you strip strike? Do not lift the rod until you feel the fish turn. I know its all easier said than done but you will get it right, consentrate in what you are doing and you will hook them.

[Kevin James]

I had to read this post twice just to make sure I was on the right track.

In all honesty, most of my flyfishing takes place in salt water, and as we all know, it is a harsh environment one way or the other.

There are a quite a few factors to take into consideration when asking this specific question about how many fish you get to a fly. I firmly believe the material makes a hell of a difference. These days I have almost entirely switched over to synthetic material, and some of this stuff is indestructible. The target species makes a difference as well...for example Wahoo versus Sailfsh......or shad versus blacktails in the gulleys.

Speaking from persoanl experience, we have nailed half a dozen wahoo on one fly. The wire trace was more damaged than the fly, but it's amazing what a pair of pliers can do to get wire straight again. The toothy critters tend to tangle the hell out of the material, but very rarely destroy it so it can't be used again. We have also had striped marlin crash the same fly 4 times before hooking up and the thing looked like a crazy mess of flash and fibre......nothing like a baitfish of any description unless you were on a serious trip.

Even Clousers.....they should realistically last at least a dozen fish unless they are tied with bucktail.....it isn't the strongest material out there and I find the stuff gets chomped pretty quick. Don't get me wrong, I love the stuff, but durability suffers.

With regards to what Deewy is saying about the Mustad 34007 hooks, I respectfully disagree. If you can get these honed to a razor sharp edge, I vote then to be just as good as some of the brand name hooks with chemical sharpening and......what's more..... when the chemical sharpening is stuffed, your fly is basically a goner. With 34007, gently take to it with a fine file and recreate that edge and you're fishing again.

In a nutshell, my flies last about a dozen fish per fly.....sometimes more.....sometimes less. Only fish that can truly stuff a fly in one go is a dogtooth! I rate them as the best fish on the planet.

As always, opinions vary, but that's just my take.
Cheers


This was 'hoo number 4 or 5 from memory on the same fly. Check out the messed tangle.


Sometimes when we chase the mako's we lose one fly per fish.
Big buggers don't play fair and keep the jewellry firmly stuck in their faces when they race for the horizon.

(Excuse the poor quality pic's....it was the best we could do in the ensuing mayhem)



Please excuse my ignorance....but what is a Katonkel?
Is this the same as the Natal 'couta (Scomberomeris Commersoni sp?)

[Conrad Botes]

Please excuse my ignorance....but what is a Katonkel?
Is this the same as the Natal 'couta (Scomberomeris Commersoni sp?)

Hi Dogtooth

I'll try to answer this question, but I'm probably wrong. Maybe someone in the know can varify.

Katonkel is the Cape name for Sarda Sarda olso known as skipjack or bonito. I for one refer to them as bonito. They are related to tuna, but are not true tuna. They look a little bit like Kawakawa and they avarage at around 3kg's, sometimes smaller. There are usually lots of them around and have healthy appetites.

Further up the coast one finds a closely related fish also known as skipjack in some areas - scientific name sarda orientalis - but I have no experience with them.

Attatched is a pic I found on Flytalk catch reports - fish caught at Struisbaai.

Could someone varify bonito/skipjack?

[Conrad Botes]

Lets try posting that pic again

[HolyGT]

Sarda sarda is big boy Doggie's, little brother from down south in cooler temps like you find in the Cape. But he has all his front teeth though... And he is also a real Bonito like brother D. And almost as ferocious, Maximum Respect...

I am happy to tie one fly per fish for larger species - its part of the addiction.

As far as materials go, bring on the synthetics. Lots more realism, but downside is sometimes lack of movement, ie stiffness.

Hooks - mustads up to size 2 OK, bigger ones bend to easy. Prefer the chemical sharpenend alloys like Gama SL12 and Owner Aki. Real awesome hooks, just look after them well. And they will look after you on the business ens of your flyline.

[Kevin James]

Thanks lads,

I think it is the same species as our bonito as we call them here.
They make awesome skip baits for the marlin and we look for them especially when switching for fly caught beakies!

Cheers for the info Conrad and HGT.

CHUR

[HolyGT]

we all know what tough going it is in the salt and i would be happy if i land one decent fish on each flie i tie.....

whats the rest of the feelings out there?

Sometimes I think I would happily tie 100 flies for that one fish...

ie... picture this morning... Bus Leerie, he chasing big mullet 10 m away, me casting Gurgler, if only I had that special 30cm long silicone mullet imitation ready...

[poppernel]

HI Dogtooth,

Katonkel is the AFR. for King mackerel.

Langvin- tuna. Albakoor.- ENG. Longfin tuna.--Albacore.

Streep-bonito. Striped bonito.

Streeppens tuna.--Skipjack tuna.

Oostelike klein tuna.-- Eastern little tuna.

Koeel-tuna.--Frigate tuna.

Dave

[Conrad Botes]

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