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Fly Fishing With Robert Jarvis
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Flying Saratoga Copyright © 2002
Robert Jarvis
All fisherman are different and they all have their own reasons for why they take up fly fishing. Some may like the idea of fishing with a different techn I was hooked after watching Rod Harrison`s fishing video “The New Frontier” where Rod introduces Lefty Kreh to Saratoga at Goose Creek. Watching Lefty cast a Dahlberg Diver to lily pads, stripping the fly and have a Saratoga follow before nailing the fly had so much appeal to me. I have since taken up fly fishing and have had the privilege to meet Rod Harrison at a seminar where Rod put on a slide show and conducted casting tuition afterwards. Thanks Rod, for as much as lure fishing is fun, fly fishing just keeps on giving. After catching some fish on fly and practising casting a Dahlberg Diver and a weighted Woolly Bugger about 20 metres, I headed off to Lake Borumba to try and land my first Saratoga. Lake Borumba is 2 hours north from Brisbane and has a healthy population of Saratoga. At the top end of the lake is a large area of drowned timber which looks very Bassy, and the area is also dotted with sheltered bays where Saratoga prefer to live. We started fishing in a sheltered bay near the mouth of Yabba creek where I saw a Toga cruising. After choosing a likely spot and then manoeuvring the boat so a cast could be made without fouling on one of the many dead trees rising from the water behind me, I landed a weighted Woolly Bugger under an overhanging branch where insects may fall to the water. After about 3 strips, the line came up solid and a 3 foot long Saratoga jumped out of the water about 5 metres from the boat, showering my wife as he splashed back into the water. On his re-entry, the leader popped and some nasty words flowed out of my mouth. That was the last fish we saw on that trip. On inspection of the leader I could not determine if the tapered leader was not up to the task. Alternatively, when I had cast I may have produced a wind knot in the leader and the force of the fish jumping had tightened the knot to the point of failure. As a rule I now check my leader after every 5 casts for wind knots. The next sortie to Lake Borumba only produced some Bass. We had 20 knot winds blowing from every direction and the water skiers were in plague proportions. On our third trip to Lake Borumba we decided to fish a cove known as Toga Bay. I was determined to land a Toga on this trip so I tied on a Woolly Bugger and started casting to any likely area. My persistence paid off about a hour later when a 520mm 1.5kg Saratoga pulled the loops out of my fly line and jumped all over the place. This fish tried everything to get off - even swimming under the boat, coming up on the other side and then jumping out of the water, but after all the effort we had gone through we landed this very special fish (the fishing God was on our side) third time lucky. Fly Rod A fly rod for Saratoga has to be able to cast a weighted Woolly Bugger or Dahlberg Diver and be light enough to be able to be cast all day. I find a 9wt fly rod suits the bill because some times on these waterways the wind can spring up and make casting a real chore. Fly Reel A trout type fly reel is all that is needed as Toga do most of their fighting in the air. Fly Line A floating, weight forward fly line is the ticket for most situations. I use a Scientific Anglers Head Start 9wt which is yellow in colour and easy to see in low light conditions of early mornings and late afternoons. The Leader After my leader failure on my first Toga hook up I started tying my own. I can use different materials like Fluorocarbon and techniques such as creating a twisted butt section to provide shock absorption. Another benefit is that of the cost as I go through about 2 leaders for each day’s fishing. The Butt section is a twisted shock absorber of 10 kg Fluorocarbon 1 metre long with a 6 kg fluorocarbon class tippet 1 metre long. Being only 2 metres long in total length makes casting weighted flies easier than say a traditional 3 metre long leader. Saratoga Flies The flies I started out using for Saratoga were a Weighted Woolly Bugger and a Dahlberg Diver but there are other fly patterns such as GT Bubblegums, Bugs and Muddlers etc that will also catch Toga. Just about anything that pushes water will attract as they seem to hunt for food by sensing vibrations. Saratoga also have incredible eye sight and can track a fly or lure in flight. If I had to use just 2 flies to catch Toga I would pick a Woolly Bugger and a GT Bubblegum, as these two flies will cover surface and deep water fishing and they are all so easy to tie. Did I mention that while working these flies for Toga I have picked up some Bass which is good stuff if the Toga do not want to play. Saratoga bulk up just before they spawn, usually in the warmer months of the year and this is a good time to catch one on fly. When you land your first Saratoga on fly and witness their yellow fins, pink spots and bluish tinges I am sure you will have the same feeling that I did - all the money spent on your fly fishing gear was worth every cent. Admire your first Toga, take some photos, then release this great sport fish so you can try for him another day.
Copyright © 2002
Robert Jarvis
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