I’m going to Rompin for the 2nd MFN Billfish Challenge (MBC) and I’ll be the only one fly fishing for them. And I (do) hope to get some sails at the end of my tippets. Hehehehe… [:p]
So if possible, here in this thread, we can talk about all things related to this form of fishing. The gears, the leader system, the styles and most importantly the techniques & the flies. I hope masters like Pak Amin, Andrew, Nicky, Dron (please come up with a Kembung-Fillet-Fly) and the rest to point me some tips on how to properly handle this unique creature on a fly rod & reel.
quote:Originally posted by dron.fly Btw... anyone out there have a close picture of a Kembong or Tamban......? will be helpful for me to tie the flies...
quote:Originally posted by oakinn good luck bro...from my vast fly fishing experience, you must listen to me when I give u advise - please wear gloves.
Thanks BOD,
Yes, am lowly creature will remember you saying; “Wear gloves thou shall”… [:p] [:D]
quote:Originally posted by dron.fly OK... No problem...
I will check and get some flies ( possible Kembung Flies.. haha ) ready for you… When is the Sail Event..?
You should check with Andrew.. He have landed a sail before…
The event would be sometimes early August.
But unfortunately, I’ve never seen an alive kembung before. Hehehehe… so no idea.
But you can come up with something new & unique. I know you could… [;)]
Lots of these sailfish “mat salleh” create incorporate a tandem-hook concept. Maybe you can work on that, master…? [:D]
Bro Riki…I’ve also got a trip to K. Rompin planned in October. So hope to land one or two of them again.
And brace yourself for the adrenaline rush when you do hook up with one. [:D]
Anyway…not sure what advise I could give you as my first and only trip to fly fish for them ended up with more misses than hits, though I did manage two hookups. One threw the hooks when it jumped and the other I managed to land.
Here’s some info I’ve gathered so far from my research…
Use flashy profile flies, 6-8 inches is not uncommon, tied on a tandem hook rig… some examples here…
When you get a hookup and the fish is tearing away, remember to STRIP STRIKE. You will not be able to get a solid hookup if you just strike with your rod. This sounds simple enough but when you get that hookup and your spool is being emptied of its backing, the adrenaline is pumping and you will tend to forget this simple step. [:D]
Bow to the fish when it jumps. This minimises chances of the fish throwing the hooks. Of course, this means that you had already done step #2.
Pink flies are supposedly quite popular, so tie some flies in pink.
Make sure there’s nothing that your fly line can get caught on. You don’t want your fly line to tangle on anything when you do get that sailfish at the end of your line.
Pray darn hard the hooks stay on and just enjoy yourself. [:D]
As to the methods of catching them, you will be quite limited since you are the only one fly fishing for them and I’m sure you’re not the only one on the boat who’s fishing.
One of the most popular method, used overseas…is called the bait and switch technique…
Troll with teasers and strip bait…when the fish rises behind the teasers, remove teasers and put fish into frenzy by letting it eat the strip bait and pulling it out of its mouth. When the fly angler is ready to cast, the person handling the strip bait then pulls it clear out of the water and the angler then casts the fly near to its mouth. The fish will be in such a frenzy that it will eat whatever is near its mouth. Of course, this is the theory lah. All this takes tremendous timing and cooperation between all parties.
My last trip, our boatman was kind enough to help us tease the fish close enough for us to cast to, by casting to them with a hookless popper. We did manage to raise more than 50 sails this way but hookup rate is not too good with this method. Firstly, the sailfish will be charging the popper at a fast speed. When we cast our fly, we cannot strip fast enough to keep up. Second, sailfish usually won’t just swallow the bait. They will swipe at the baitfish with their swords to stun it before they swallow. Perhaps a tandem hook rig might work better in this situation. My first trip, I only used single hook flies.
My trip in October, we will probably try the bait and switch technique to see if it works better.
Anyway, hope the above helps. I’m sure some other sifus will jump in and offer some other advise that might work better for u.
Maybe after this round of MBC we can try a fly vs lure for sailfish.
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Anyway, hope the above helps. I’m sure some other sifus will jump in and offer some other advise that might work better for u.
Thanks, Andrew. It sure does help a lot.
By the way, what WT is suitable for these Rompin sails?
And what kind of tippet system do you use? Poundage?
Thanks again… [;)] [8D]
I used a 9wt then. Coz that was the heaviest rod I had. As you can see from the pic that Dron posted (Tks Dron)…mine wasn’t a big one.
Probably better to go with a 10wt or higher. In case you hit one of the bigger sails.
Tippet system? Aiyah…that time, pakai tembak only [:D]…I doubled a 20 pound… that makes it 40…about 4 feet or so, then from there join another 2 feet of 20… at the end, I used about 6-8inches of 30lb to protect against abrasion from the rough surface of the sailfish bill. I kept the leader short as I was casting a big fly and wasn’t used to it.
Right or not…I don’t know…but it did work for me.
Since it was my first try…I wasn’t going for any records or anything…just wanted to land my first sailfish on fly. [:p]
