Flick and Fly Journal

A collective of passionate fishermen, chasing anything with fins on lure and fly. flickandflyjournal.com

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Tournament time - a litmus test for us anglers

Tournament time – a litmus test for us anglers

The annual Tuross flathead and bream tournament is just around the corner. Never heard of it? That’s understandable. This tournament on the south cost of NSW is a relatively low-key event run by the local fishing club to increase visitation to the small town of Tuross during non-peak periods. There are a stack of rods, reels, lures, an electric motor and a sounder as well all of the other usual…

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Rethinking trout and Australian native fish

Rethinking trout and Australian native fish

An ongoing topic of discussion in fishing circles, at least around the south-eastern Australian region, is the trout vs natives debate. It’s been raging for years — some might even say centuries — so we thought it about time to chip in and throw the proverbial two cents into the fray. Trout aficionados, with whom we often empathise via a controversial affection with these undoubtedly beautiful…

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Carp in Googong Dam

I’ve been fishing Googong a fair bit recently and enjoying good success on the yellowbelly. It has been a lot of fun, and with the lower water levels at the moment it has been possible to explore a bit more water than when the dam is full. I was recently fishing a shallow inlet and came across what I thought were spawning yellowbelly. Yehhaaa! I thought, until I realised that what I was…

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The value of birds as indicators when fishing

It’s something we read about time and time again: find the birds – find the fish. But what does it really mean, and what should we look for when we’re on the water? There are lots of different birds doing lots of different things, and it’s important to know which birds provide the cues we need in the multitude of situations in which we find ourselves on the water. It’s also important to consider…

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Trolling up a storm - kayak trolling for estuary staples

Trolling up a storm – kayak trolling for estuary staples

Trolling is a really effective way to cover LOTS of water and catch fish. But when you’ve spent years casting lures or flies and constantly hunting and searching for fish as I have, trolling seems like a really passive way to go about our passion.  Put the lures out, start moving and wait for the fish to climb on. Trolling doesn’t reward accurate casting. Trolling doesn’t reward subtle twitches…

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Secret creek #2

I wrote a post a while ago about a secret creek. The creek I wrote about was secluded, unknown, wild. Or so I thought. I now know that some others have fished it, but it remains as much of a secret for them as it is for me, as far as I can tell. But it’s not really a true secret; a bit of research on google provided the hunch, and the hunch paid off. It’s 300 metres from a major highway…how…

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It's the vibe of the thing - Bream on vibes

It’s the vibe of the thing – Bream on vibes

One of the most famous scenes from the classic Australian movie ‘the Castle’ is the courtroom scene. A small town lawyer tries to stop an aussie family’s house from being re-possessed by the nearby airport. He constructs his case around ‘the vibe of the thing’ and a tenuous link to Mabo (a famous native land title case for indigenous Australians). What’s the relevance of this scene to a fishing…

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Big isn't always best

Big isn’t always best

A few months ago I was in the mountains doing nice things; things unrelated to fishing, like eating at nice cafes and restaurants, sleeping, reading, doing crosswords, looking in shops and so on. It was really lovely, and I also managed a few hours of fishing. When confronted with a limited window of opportunity the decision can be tough – do I want to put a bend in the rod, do I want to try for…

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Minus 8 in the morning, cod in the afternoon. Winter in the nations capital ain't all bad #lakeburleygriffin #lbg #murraycod #goodoo #winterfishing

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A winter fishing wonderland

A winter fishing wonderland

It’s winter. It’s cold. The trout streams are closed, the ski fields are open and there is nothing better to do that curl up in front of the fire with a nice glass of something warming and hibernate until the spring. Right? It’s only a couple of months to go … What if I told you the last few weeks across south east NSW have been filled with clean, crisp days and mirror-like finishes on the…

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Morning Tay Tay

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Not a bad way to spend the morning.

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Fanatik soft plastics: product review (plus a few photos from a recent high country mission)

Fanatik soft plastics: product review (plus a few photos from a recent high country mission)

One nice thing about having a fishing blog is that, from time to time, we are sent a bit of gear to review. We have always been completely honest about this, which I think is great in terms of maintaining a sense of independence and objectivity. It allows us to be really critical of certain things, while others may be wedded to certain brands, product lines, contracts and allegiances. The latest…

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Super chuffed to get this fish off the surface tonight. It doesn't get much better than winter cod half an hours' drive down the road! #cod #murraycod #murrumbidgee #goodoo #codwhalloper #winter #cold #fishing #kayaking

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Interview with @mattyjrees of @fish_thinkers up on the blog (link in bio). Matt is super interesting, so you should totally go read it :)

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Guest interview: Matt Rees from Fishthinkers

Guest interview: Matt Rees from Fishthinkers

Welcome to the first of hopefully many posts where we interview our peers, including fellow anglers, fishery scientists (0ften 0ne and the same) and other personalities involved in fishing about their backgrounds, research and perspectives on recreational fishing. Our first installment is from Matt Rees from www.fishthinkers.wordpress.com. I can’t thank Matt enough! Hope you enjoy the read as…

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Chased squid on the Portsea pier with the wee man yesterday. Little dude had a great time exploring and even hooked a squid (not that he knew what the hell was happening)