Tackle and Tactics
Mike Ladle

Information Page.

Piper and kahawai.

A week or two back Alan Bulmer and his pal Tim Angeli went fishing on an idyllic New Zealand shore. The fishing was clearly very good but Tim’s pictures were even better and well worth a look so here’s my version of our correspondence - Alan first:-

Hi Mike,

Tim Angeli and I hit the Manukau this morning. Probably my best session on Manukau ever. Bait (Piper Hyporhamphus ihi) everywhere and regular carnage in the margins. Between us we hooked 10 kahawai and landed 6. Kept 3. I hooked six and landed 3. Lost 2 massive munters. Magic!

Alan

Hi Alan,

Fantastic! Wish I'd been there. How did you lose the ones that got away? (sorry I can't help asking - I'm always thinking about 'next time')

Mike

Hi Mike,

Jighead fell out when they jumped in close. Hard to stop that happening.

Cheers,

Alan

I wrote again to tell Alan that I’d just got back from the coast after fishing an early morning session and catching a few bass on a big Redgill. He responded with a bit more information.

Hi Mike,

Coincidentally the kahawai I landed on my double handed fly rod yesterday was hooked on a 11.5 cm Redgill (4.5 gram). Casts a treat on the 11' fly rod. Three kahawai hit the lure at the same time. Was only two rod lengths away so saw the take. Fantastic! Will write it up once I get the images from Tim.

Cheers,

Alan.

Hi Alan,

As you know I think that Redgills and the like are better than most (if not all) wet flies. Look forward to seeing the pictures.

Cheers,

Mike

Hi Mike,

Agree completely about Redgills. The purists do not class them as a fly though. This is where I disagree with them. Does a fly have to be made of fur and feather? Most modern flies do not have fur or feather in their construction either. I'm a pragmatist, if you can cast it with a fly rod then it is a fly in my book. Love the way the Redgill looks in the water (so did Tim and the kahawai) and they work without having to strip retrieve like a dervish.

Cheers,

Alan Bulmer

Can’t wait for his next session!!! All the excellent pictures were taken by Tim Angeli

If you have any comments or questions about fish, methods, tactics or 'what have you.'get in touch with me by sending an E-MAIL to - docladle@hotmail.com

Manukau.

What a magical place - who wouldn't want to cast a line there???.'

Wonderful.

Fly fishing at its best.'

Crease fly.

When they're in the mood they take well.'

Redgill.

I'd have been using a bigger one on the spinning gear but AB knows about my obsession with big lures.'

Piper carnage.

This is what every lure angler dreams about.'