Simon’s Bream Baitfish

Whenever talk turns to a quick trip down to Tasmania, the assumption is that chasing lake trout is on the cards. Revealing that our true target is the humble black bream always raises more than a few eyebrows.

I have a particular fondness for targeting black bream, and a recent trip to Tassie offered the perfect chance to wrangle with a few bream and reconnect with Simon Ellis from Rivulet Flies.

My conversations with Simon over the years have consistently demonstrated qualities that make collaborating with him a pleasure. He is always supportive, offering encouragement and assistance whenever needed. Simon is highly informative, sharing his knowledge of fly tying with clarity and openness. His honesty stands out, as he provides straightforward feedback and advice.

These admirable traits are reflected in the patterns that Simon creates. His flies are practical and efficient, without unnecessary embellishments. The effectiveness of his designs stem from his genuine approach and commitment to delivering results, making his work reliable and respected among fellow anglers and fly tyers.

Baitfish dominate Hobart’s estuaries, and in this column we explore one of Simon’s latest innovations. Although the wild colour patterns target black bream, they can be adapted for other locations.

The effectiveness of purple and orange, which is my go-to upon arrival at the water’s edge, may relate to local red and orange features in rocks and weed beds.

TYING NOTES

1. Place a hook in the vice facing point down. Wrap thread along the shank from behind the eye to above the barb. Return the thread to the hook eye and tie your dumbbell eyes of choice with a series of tight X-wraps. A small drop of Gulff Gel glue will aid in keeping the dumbbells in place.

2. Secure a pencil-lead sized portion of Bleeding Sunset H20 Sculpting Fibre behind the dumbbell. Loop the remaining fibre over the hook eye, rotating the vice as you complete this step and fix it again behind the dumbbell to form the fly’s belly colour.

3. With the hook point now facing up, take another pencil-lead sized portion and tie in your second colour of H20 Sculpting Fibre — Bleeding Purple — to form the top colour of the minnow body.

4. Take a sparse amount of Hends Angel hair in black and tie in front of the dumbbell eyes laying it backward so it is positioned on top of the purple. Trim the fly to shape using horizontal cuts of the fibre.

5. Whip finish. And to complete, coat your thread work with a layer of Solarez Bone Dry Ultra-thin formula UV resin.

6. While pulling taut on the fibres, apply vertical stripes along the length of the fly with a brown coloured Copic marker.

7. Remove the fly from the vice jaws and make the final body shaping trim.

Simon’s Bream Baitfish is quick to tie, uses materials that are easy to obtain, and like most fly boxes, should feature an array of colours and ‘eye’ weights ranging from bead chain to tungsten.

Secure the hook in the vice with the point facing down, then attach the dumbbell weight approximately two hook-eye lengths back, using tight ‘X’ wraps and firm thread pressure.

For added durability, apply gel glue to the area where the dumbbells are placed. Black bream have powerful jaws with oyster crushing teeth, so extra attention placed in the first step will save your flies from certain destruction.

In the water, the body H2O fibres move with a lifelike pulse. Avoid tying with too much material — a subtle translucent effect imitates baitfish evading predators.

Taking a thin length of sculpting fibre in orange, tie in tightly behind the dumbbell. Take the remaining length over the hook eye and back behind the dumbbell eyes and tie down. Density is important here, as the fibre is essentially doubled over, so you do not require a lot of material to form the belly.

Rotate the hook in the vice so that the hook point faces upward. Tie in a bunch of purple sculpting fibre in front of the dumbbell eyes using the doubled over tying technique. This method ensures that the material cannot be pulled out from the threads when a fish grabs the tail.

A minimal amount of Hends Angel Hair applied over the purple section is sufficient to add subtle contrast and a varied colour flash beneath the water. Trim the body to baitfish shape with a taper to allow those fibres to move.

Add contrast markings with a brown Copic or Sharpie by pulling the fibres tight and spacing lines evenly. Black bream seem attracted to contrast, possibly because young Australian salmon often have similar distinct markings.

Throughout various excursions to Tasmania, a 7-weight outfit has proven the ideal choice with a 12lb leader. To avoid the razor-sharp oysters, a floating line with a taper designed to throw streamers and to cut through wind are ideal features. Once a bream is hooked, keep the rod tip high to clear the sharp structure.

Kits to tie this pattern are available at bwcflies.com.au