Being Better

It was a productive morning on the flats of Cape York, Australia. A stunning day and plenty of shots at permit. I was with Christiaan Pretorius, a great South African angler, and his fellow traveller.

Christiaan’s companion was throwing casts at fish, mainly Anak permit, without result. The usual excuses were there. ‘The wind angle is wrong; the Aussie crab flies are heavy and hard to cast; the fish keep changing direction.’

I’m blunt in general, but in this case I didn’t even need to open my mouth.

‘Just be better,’ Christiaan stated emphatically.

I laughed. We all did. And I thought to myself, how true!

We are all guilty of this. So quick to come up with excuses — it was the guide, the weather, the wind, the fish — when sometimes we just need to be better. We can’t change the circumstance, but we can change ourselves. There’s always space to hone our craft.

There are some days when your fly fishing just feels ‘unlucky’. And maybe it is. But sometimes, ‘luck’ has nothing to do with it, and it has more to do with poor preparation, bad habits and poor angling.

Now, while these tips will help with most flats dwelling fish, the renowned tough critters are the permit, as they are generally the tricky ones, and often the most sought-after too.

I am typically not the how-to and top-tips kind of guy. But after spending lots of time on the flats — guiding and angling — there are a few things that repeatedly show up. Generally when I mention them, the response is — ‘Nobody ever told me that.’

So now I’m going to tell you.

IMPROVE YOUR CAST

If you want to improve your success rate, improve your cast.

Browsing through the pre-trip information pack for a permit trip I had booked, it read: ‘We recommend all anglers booking this trip have an accurate cast of 50 to 60 feet, and a proficient double haul.’

And as much as I would love for that to be the norm, it’s not. Add wind, a heavy crab, a 9-weight rod, jiggly knees from the fish in front of you, and my guess is that the average angler can throw 25 to 40 feet with a single haul at best.

Now that’s ok, but if that was your cast five years ago, it shouldn’t be that now.

We are all in different places on our fly-fishing journey — and are in unique seasons of family, work and life — but even small improvements in our casting will improve the success and enjoyment of our fishing.

A big one I often say to guests is ‘Know your cast’. If you’re a regular caster of 30 foot, that’s ok. Just don’t start winding up a cast at a fish that is 60 feet away. Wait for it to be closer. Each angler should know their capabilities.

When it comes to permit, a cast right on its face is typically better than one 20 feet to its left or right, or short. It’s an erratic fish, better to throw straight at it.

Do your best to remove the casting excuses. Learn how to back cast efficiently. Learn how to Belgian Cast to confidently throw a heavy fly with an on-shoulder wind. In general, learn to deal with wind — flats fishing destinations and wind are good friends, no matter where you go. It’s important to learn these skills in a saltwater realm. There is no greater value in fly fishing than getting a casting instructor or guide willing to teach you.

Practice your casting before the trip, with a fly you’re likely to throw on that trip.

Anyone can look nice standing in the park with a 5-weight and a piece of fluff tied on to the leader. But when you hit the flats and the wind is blowing and you’ve got a 2-to-5 gram crab attached to the leader, that’s a different story. The heavier the fly, the slower your casting stroke. Reduce the amount of false casting and maximise your ability to shoot line, to avoid having to throw that heavy fly in the air too much.

There is a perception that saltwater fly fishing is harder than trout fishing. I don’t think it’s harder, it’s just different, and so we need to learn to adapt. Typically, things happen faster in salt water, so practising the speed of your cast is important. How quickly can you get the fly to the target? That can make all the difference.

And when it is a tough day, start thinking, ‘Could I have cast better to increase my chances?’ and ‘What can I practice for next time?’

There is so much around efficient flats fishing that comes down to the cast. Strive to be a better caster.

FOCUS ON THE SIMPLE THINGS

While improving your cast makes a big difference, there are a few simple things that can further sharpen your game. Here are a few quick tips to add to your repertoire…

Strip Strike — Most flats fishing scenarios require a strip strike. And as simple as that sounds, I see a huge variation of what people think a strip strike is. If you use your rod tip in any manner to try to set a hook on most saltwater fish, typically that is dubbed a ‘Trout Strike’ and not the desired method.

To effectively strip strike, continue pulling the line in the manner of the retrieve until you feel the hook has been set into the fish’s mouth. If you have a slow retrieve, that can be a continuation of the strip. If you’re stripping fast and fishing heavy leader, the continuation of that retrieve would result in a ‘forceful’ strip strike, for example on a giant trevally.

If in doubt, just keep the rod tip down and keep stripping until you feel the connection of the fish, then lift some bend into the rod after this point.

Rod Tip Low — I can’t think of a scenario in saltwater flats fishing where there is any benefit in having the rod tip elevated above the water during the retrieve. Yet this is a habit I often see. Having control and line tension is important in order to feel what is usually a subtle bite. Keeping the rod tip low to the water provides instant tension to the fly and dramatically increases the feel during a bite and the connection thereafter.

Check your leader, check your knots — I can’t stress how important this is. Do this all day, every day, every morning. Again and again. Flats fishing is not about randomly blind casting, so there is typically plenty of time spent searching and hunting. Use that time effectively to check your fly, leader and knots.

Be Patient — Fishing the flats can take patience. Hours of nothing, can be followed by a flurry of activity. Catching permit is typically not about cricket scores.

Fight the Fish — It’s ok to pull on the fish, provided there are no unwanted knots in your leader. You’d be surprised how much pressure you can put on 16- or 20-pound leader.

Update Your Gear — Salt water wrecks even the best of gear over time. If your fly lines are cracked or seem hard to cast, replace them. If your reel is squeaky or jamming up, service or update it.

Have Confidence in your Fly — Everyone has their favourites. For Australian flats I can’t go past an Alphlexo Crab. Varied colours for different circumstances, but what makes that crab so effective to me, is its versatility. It can be fished quite quick, and super slow. It lands softly on the water, sinks straight, and fish love them.

READING THE FISH

When it comes to successful permit angling, there are so many different scenarios — schooling fish, daisy chains, solo fish, high travelling fish, stationary feeding fish, tailing fish. Reading the context and fishing it appropriately can make all the difference.

A few rules I go by…

• When possible, I will try to throw directly at a permit, not right or left. It reduces the likelihood of the fish spooking on your line and leader. And the hope is that the first thing the fish sees is your fly.

• Fish that are moving fast along the bottom. Lead them by five to eight feet, or enough time to let the fly fully sink. Fish slow, with long strips when the fish reach the fly.

• Fish that are moving fast under the surface. Throw straight at their face. One to three feet in front. Have immediate tension, while slowly pulling the fly.

• Fish that are stationary, feeding on the bottom. These fish are often the easiest to get an eat, if you don’t spook them on the cast. I tend to try casting quite close, landing the fly two to three feet from the fish. Let the fly sink to the bottom, and strip super slow.

• Daisy chaining fish. Pick a few fish and try casting in front of them. But in general throw two-thirds of your leader and fly into the school, and avoid lining the fish with your fly line.

• Pick your moment. If a fish is feeding erratically, do your best to wait for the right moment when it is feeding towards you, before casting.

• In Australia, both T. anak and T. blochii will eat flies from the surface, midwater and on the bottom. More often than not, I find fish that follow for a long time before committing, wanted the fly hard on the bottom.

• There are so many scenarios that can occur here. The main thing I would say is be confident and throw the fly right at the fish. Too many anglers I have noticed are very timid with their fly placement near a permit. Let them see the fly.

• Try to keep an open mind, and don’t get stuck doing the same thing all the time — mix it up.

LIKELY PERMIT AREAS

Finding permit and trusting yourself comes from time spent on the water — observing patterns, watching behaviour during different tides and weather. For example, on cloudy days when visibility can be tough, I often look in shallower areas, hoping to see a tail or sickle fin break the surface. From my experience, calm and cloudy days are quite productive, as notable bow-waves form when permit push close to the surface.

Spring and neap tides often bring out differing behaviour in the fish. I have learnt that during a spring tide fish may do one thing, then inhabit completely different areas on a neap tide. But behaviours and feeding areas are often consistent to those tide cycles.

Creek and river mouths, beach fronts, small gutters in the sand, sand bars, reef edges, algae patches, and turtle grass are renowned permit haunts. And of course, the thrill is shallow water sight fishing, so I tend to focus on one to five foot of water at most.

Being better at finding permit, often just means sticking it out — putting in the time to see what shows up in different areas.

GO FOR GOLD

I am a believer in chasing the dream fish. Permit can be perceived as being unattainable. But a little patience, preparation and practice will take the permit off the pedestal and into your hands. All you need is a few willing fish.

Challenge yourself — be better. Your fishing mates will thank you.