Fly Fishing around the Oyster Leases Links Menu
Oyster Leases
Old Oyster leases are a great fish habitat that you can target with a fly rod. They consistently fish well and the structures often hold a large variety of fish species and bait fish that are attracted to the rows of oysters, weed and cover.
The Bass Popper - great popping action which
Bream , Trevally and other estuary species love to attack.
The Red Gilled Poddy Mullet - this fly picked up the Estuary Cod ( see Flash video), Bream and Flathead
The Classic Cockroach- a good estuary fly for Bream , Flathead and Pelagics.
The Polar Fibre Minnow - I caught the large bream at the end of the video on one of these little beauties.
The Equipment
An 8wt Apex T&T Saltwater Fly rod is my current rod of choice with a Lamson Lite speed 3 fly reel that is loaded with an intermediate 9wt fly line. The 8wt Apex is the best Saltwater fly rod I have used an matched with an SA Surf Intermediate 9 wt fly line is a match made in heaven, casts a full line in most conditions and is easy to recast in one motion.
Any fly rod from a 6wt up with a floating, intermediate or sinking fly line would be suitable. I always use Blue Sky furled leaders ( heavy for saltwater conditions) and a tippet range between 12lb to 30lb depending on the target species, usually a Platinum brand. This size tippet prevents the fish biting the line off and the furled leader has no difficulty turning over large saltwater flies.
Locations ,Tides and Times
Old Oyster racks and poles that are accessible by boat. We fished the low tide to high early in the morning arriving there before sunrise and fished with berley to bring on the chew. You need to cast well up into the racks and strip the popper or fly back between the rows. The bream sit in under the racks and will attack any fly that comes past and looks edible. You may encounter mangrove jack, estuary cod, flathead, trevally and bream in these locations. It pays to fish with a strong tippet of 12lbs or more and be ready to pull the fish away from the structure before they can cut you off on the sharp oysters.
The Strip
If you watch the Flash video you will see the stripping action for the Bass Popper. It is basically a long, fast strip to make the popper splash across the water and you continue right to the boat. Trevally often hit poppers in these locations and they are real determine fighters. You never know what type of fish may grab these poppers and sometimes they surprise you. We were trying for that elusive Mangrove Jack , maybe next time. The excellent video camera footage and close ups was shot by Rob (Robbo) Anderson. Enjoy the fly fishing video and try out those Oyster leases. They are great fun to fish and maybe that big Mangrove Jack is just one cast away.
I have added some extra footage of catching a good size bream on a Polar Fibre Minnow that was filmed last weekend along the western side of Short Island at the Pin. I lost a good Mangrove Jack there as well, the bugger bite thru my 30lb tippet, hooked on a Polar Fibre Minnow ( my favourite fly ).
Jeff Cassidy - Fresh and Saltwater Fly Designs - Australia