This article was published in November 2000 on the Sportsfish Australia Website.
Greg Bethune with the current World Record queenfish on a 10 kg tippet. This fish weighed 20 pounds in the old scale, and was taken while sight casting from a Cape York beach. Lots of people talk about 9 and 10 kg queenies, but few have ever really seen one in the flesh! They're an easy fish to over-estimate the weight of!
The quality fishing enjoyed by many in Australia's remote tropical regions
basically boils down to that one important word; 'remote'. The pocket
Macquarie dictionary left over from my school days (where, unfortunately, I
paid little attention to it!) offers the following definition: remote, adj. Far
away; far distant in space and time; far removed.
This describes my home turf on Cape York rather aptly; far away and removed. "Lucky bugger!" I hear you say. Well, okay, but someone has to do... blah blah blah... You know the rest!
Of course, these remote regions are only far away until you throw modern aircraft into the equation. The space factor is then reduced to air-conditioned cabins and the time to hours.
The economic beauty of Cape York (if there can be such a thing) is its 'accessible remoteness', an oxymoron perhaps, but true. The Tip as it's affectionately known, is situated at the northern end of the populated eastern seaboard of Australia. Cairns lies only three hours and 20 minutes flying from Melbourne, in the far south, then a little over two hours more in a twin engine aircraft will see you in a pristine fishing wilderness.
This is where you catch some serious fish; many and various species, and plenty of them. It's a lot easier and more 'do-able' than you think, too.
The available fishing resource (or lack of it) adjacent to the big population centres is really brought home to you while you are in this wilderness, especially when you think for a moment of the fishing back home while you decide which direction to cast in a boiling sea of fishes! Miles, tens of miles, then hundreds of miles of nothing and no one, except the rivers, estuaries and reefs that have not (yet) been impacted upon by man. This is revealed to me almost daily during our operations as our clientele relate stories of "what it was like back when" and "we used to", and anecdotes of a mate wining a local "fishing classic" with an "unconfirmed bite!"
The Under Rated Queenfish
One of the most spectacular and under rated tropical sport fish species in found here in great abundance is the ubiquitous queenfish. These fish are architect-designed, and by that I mean purpose built. You could not think up a more perfect light tackle and saltwater fly adversary than the queenfish, given the following design brief: Must readily take flies and lures, fight hard, but not for too long, must jump, look spectacular, photograph well and be tough enough to revive and swim away when released.
Starlo with a big flyrod queenfish from the waters of Cape York.
Queenfish are a tall, thin-bodied fish which is one of the things that makes them such tough fighters. Weight is not a good way to describe any fish in my book. Weight generally equals dead. Queenfish do not weigh heavy; a seven kilo (15-odd-pound) queenfish is around a metre long and 300 millimetres deep (bit over three-by-one on the old scale!). It's an impressive creature... With a head on it like a robber's dog and a mouth that would swallow your arm!
Despite what some people would have you believe, queenfish are also very good eating. Their firm, flavoursome flesh is especially suited to specialist dishes like pickled fish or 'nammus', as some Pacific island people call it; also known as 'kakonda' in Fiji and 'ceviche' in the Americas. Basically, it's just quickly pickled or marinated fish, using limes, coconut milk, vinegars and other ingredients, depending on the exact recipe... Fantastic with a beer or three after a big day on the water!
The Trouble With Queenfish
Randall Bryett with yet another Cape queenie.
Catching these fish in the tropics is sometimes more accurately described as trying NOT to catch them. They are so abundant at times that it is impossible to make a cast and not hook one. Hookless poppers and popper-flies are an absolute blast to use on queenies, which are so often in the five to seven kilo range.
Without hooks, they grab your offering and blast off for 10 or so meters, before letting go and allowing another one to immediately grab on. It is an interesting, twist; stripping or retrieving and getting a fish on twice as far out as it is possible for you to cast, thanks to several queenies "dragging and dropping" your fly or lure. Fact is, we have landed many, many fish on flies and poppers without any hooks; a clear testament to their ferocity!
Some Tips From the Tip
You don't necessarily need expensive gear to catch queenfish.
With the popularity of saltwater fly fishing growing at an ever
increasing rate, I would like to offer some general tips, purchasing advice and techniques for catching tropical Australian queenfish on saltwater fly tackle.
Please do not feel daunted or intimidated by the prospect if you are new to the game, it's easy and immensely rewarding. The flowing rhythms of the cast have a Tai-Chi or Zen type soothing effect on the soul... or perhaps it's something more clinical that creates "happy enzymes" in your system that make you feel good, just like marathon runners talk of. (There must be something that makes them do it!) Me, I'll settle for the joys and pleasures that the pursuit of saltwater fly fishing brings to me and a growing number of others.
Basic Equipment
Fly Rods: If you were buying one for the purpose, I would advise at least a No. 8 or, even better, a 9-weight for an average-size person. One of the high-end brands if you can afford them, as the rod is the most important part of the whole equation. All the best rods are around the same price, with slightly different features, so it's your choice. There are also some other brands that are 80% as good for 40% of the price, so it's up to you.
I love 9-weights. Eight and 10 weights are also fine, but I find an 8 can be a little "under gunned" not only for the fish you catch (and you will catch them), but also in the wind you sometimes have to cast against. A10-weight is great in the wind and a great fish fighting tool, but for me a little much to use all day, as they can wear you out. Having said that, some rods are exactly 9-weight, while an 8-weight could, in reality, be an 8.8 or an 8.9, making it more 9 than 8, if you get my drift.
Lots of experienced anglers prefer to run a line one weight heavier than the rod rating, so does that tell you something? That their rod is under-rated, perhaps? It's only a number stencilled on the side of the blank, after all. There's no substitute to threading up a rod or two at quality tackle store and having a cast to see what is good for you. Many stores have this facility, even if it is a carpark. They are happy to do this for you (or should be) and the tips and casting lesson that
go with it do not go astray, even for those of us who have been doing it for years. Remember, new techniques and styles are continually being developed.
Lines: These are the next most important part of the equation. I have a habit of rephrasing questions put to me like; "What's the best fly line to use"", or "What's the best fish to eat?" Instead, read; "If you were only allowed to have one fly line, or one fish to eat, for the rest of your life, what would it be?" (And remember, you can only use one fly line at a time anyway!). Answer. A clear, intermediate Scientific Angler Striper, Bonefish or Tarpon taper depending on line size. Why? Because they are a very good quality line, well formulated for warm tropical conditions that cast well and are easy to handle. Most importantly, they are versatile. You can fish poppers and surface presentations or simply count down to the desired depth (a little boring, but it gets you there), and everything in between. Try doing all that with a full floater or faster sinking line.
Clear lines I like also. I can't see any benefits of Safety Yellow or International Rescue Orange fly lines for fishing. If I can see them well, so can everything else, including the fish. [Disclaimer. The author is in no way associated or renumerated by the aforementioned company... he wouldn't mind, but is not!]
To preparing you fly line, whip a loop into both ends of the line just like you would whip the end of a rope to stop it fraying, except you bend the end of the fly line back on itself for 30 millimetres or so and whip it to itself, leaving a 20 millimetre or less loop. To do this I tie a meter or more 30 pound gelspun or four kilo mono to a door knob, hold your 30 mm loop in one hand and make successive half hitches side by side onto the loop, pulling back against the knob each time. Do this twice with 10 half hitches, finish with a dot of super glue and trim the tag close this will not fail you and will go through the guides as good as any other system. Do NOT use braided loop connections; they can and will fail you...Trust me!
Make a loop knot in your backing big enough to pass the reel through and attach the reel end of the fly line to it (make sure the loops form a figure eight, and not the other ugly thing I can't explain in words). If you have made a mess of the line making the loops untangle flyline completely along the ground and ensure no twists are in it. Never wind it on to the reel with loops spiralling off - or you will have tangles and twists forever after.
Young Tom Starling shows off a typical smaller queenie. Even at this size, they can be a handful on a fly rod!
Leaders: Tie a 30mm loop in two metres of 20 pound leader, loop this to the fly line, tie your flies directly to the other end of this with a loop knot, an you are in business. A 20 pound tippet is tough enough to withstand the small abrasive teeth and the tail of the queenfish (so long as you re-tie the fly often). It is thin enough to be effective as a leader and tippet and, importantly, you can break it if you have to, and not your rod or reel if you get snagged or sharked. Reconnect the fly whenever the leader gets damaged until it gets too short, then replace the complete leader. This works, and catches just as many fish as the fancy, complicated leaders with lots of different knots used for records and special applications. Learn and do all of them after you have caught a sh**load of fish! It's the old "keep it simple" trick. You will never have an Albright or Hufnagle Knot, or braided loop fail... If you never used one in the first place!
Reels: The best quality reels are, with out doubt, head and shoulders above the rest and are probably what you will end up with, but if you have to skimp on any thing initially this is where to do it. A reel costing less than $100 (such as an Abu Garcia 689) is a perfect start on a No. 8, 9 or even 10 outfit. I used one for years, then gave it to someone who is probably still using it. With 30 pound dacron you still get 150 odd meters of backing on, and much more with gelspun. You will not be disadvantaged, I will explain why later under techniques.
It is also good to look at, hold, pull apart and feel the weight of other anglers' expensive reels in the process of selecting one for yourself. The weight is the most often over-looked factor. Many brands and models are much lighter now than they were, while some manufactures are still make high quality reels that you would not put your foot under to break its fall if you dropped it... If you get my drift. (Most saltfly anglers love showing off and expounding the virtues of there beloved equipment. In fact, saltfly anglers generally are a very helpful bunch, most having previously participated in the more conventional forms of fishing they are easily approached for help and advice.
Flies: You can buy them or make your own. A little tip; you will save a lot of money by buying flies initially, but they should also be good ones that work. Fly tying, like fly fishing, sucks you in. You can spend a lot money on a vice and other doo dads, not to mention all the groovy materials that you just have to have, and end up never using. There are good value fly tying kits available for a bit over $100 if you want to make your own. You will need a some instruction or a good fly recipe book if you have never done it before.
Top fly patterns for queenies include Clousers, Deceivers, Pink Things, and Blue Things on size 2/0 and 3/0 barbless chemical sharpened hooks. I like Clousers in pink, chartreuse, and more
recently orange and olive uppers. They are the perfect bait fish profile and the lead eyes help get them down to the fish. Match the length of the fly to the length of the baitfish, either by looking closely at them spraying out in front of the slashing queenies or, having landed one they normally disgorge baitfish. Always look for this, and relate it to the flies you are using, both in size and pattern.
Techniques for Queenfish
This is the sort of thing you should be looking for when hunting queenies with a fly rod. These birds are on busting fish and frightened bait.
To catch queenfish, the first thing to do is find them. Luckily, they are usually very accommodating in this regard. You can often see them slashing at the bait fish or the Terns and other birds will give there position away in the river mouth or offshore. If they are not immediately visible, look for anything different in the water; a current line distinguished by colour or a change in the surface ripples, or anywhere where the water is moving faster than the rest, or flowing over shallow water into deeper channels.
If none of this is immediately obvious, you will have to prospect or blind cast using the knowledge you have from other forms of fishing you have done. Whether it has been beach fishing for tailor or spinning for trout the concepts of fishing, regardless of what style remain the same. You have to think like a fish "If I was a queenfish where would I be, and why?" This is the attitude that leads to success.
Another good option is to position your self where you think there could be fish for whatever reason and start a berley trail. There is not a predator in the ocean that will not respond to berley, and if there are any queenies in the area you will soon have one trying all the aerobatics in the book to dislodge your fly.
Cast at, or in front of the fish if they are visible you will not have time to think about the various types of strip before you are on. When queenies are feeding they are eating everything that remotely looks like the bait fish they are predating. But beware, no matter how good a fly you have on, if it's 45 mm long and the bait fish are all 25 mm you will not have as much success as if your fly is exactly the same size as the bait. In these situations find out what they are feeding on, you can see the bait sometimes or after catching one examine stomach contents or experiment. Refusals usually require a change of fly size, rather than colour.
If prospecting simply cast as far as possible, mindful of what you are doing and why (thinking like a fish). If fishing where fast flowing water drops into the deep, cast shallow and let the fly drift over and into the deeper water. The same with reef or bottom structure fishing; get the fly to where you think the fish are.
Stripping is part of the "vibe", and you should do what you feel is right for the situation. Generally, though, you need a faster strip rather than slow one. At times you can not strip fast enough to set the hook; the queenfish hit with such speed they over run the fly and there is no
resistance to set the hook.
Make sure the rod is pointed directly at the fly and line, and not at 90 degrees so as when you do get a hit you are in direct contact via the line not via the whippy tip section of the rod, which bends and yields to the strike. You need the resistance of your strip and striping hand to set the hook, rod at 90 degrees the strike is absorbed in the tip.
Fighting Queenies
These basic techniques apply to most any fish you could or would catch on a 9 weight rod. The most important thing as in all fishing is to keep the line tight, or more correctly described as keeping tension enough on the fly to keep it in place in the fish's jaw. This is very easy with fly fishing, if you keep the tip of the rod down, and the line in the water, the drag on the line itself creates enough pressure to keep the fly embedded in the fish. Even when it's jumping, the greater part of the line is still in the water. Any one who has trailed a conventional fishing line with nothing on the end of it behind a boat to get kinks or twists out can tell you how much pressure is created by the friction of the water. Fly lines are much much thicker than ordinary fishing line and there is plenty of pressure to keep the hook in place.
Any time you experience slack in the line, like when a fish is running straight back at you, you still have to wind like buggery to get back in touch and continue the fight.
All this leads to the next topic; drag setting. Because of the water pressure on the line you do not need the drag of the reel to keep the hook in place, in fact the fish towing the line around is a large part of what wears it out and brings it to the boat. So, you do not need a strong drag setting, enough to stop the reel from backlashing is plenty . If you need any more drag, you simply palm the reel or, better still, put a finger into the back of the reel and onto the line or backing and apply a little pressure. The latter option keeps your hand away from the spinning handle, which, if it is going to hit your knuckles when the queenfish runs it will not hit them once but more like five or six times before you pull away and it hurts like buggery!
So, set your drag to an anti-backlash setting, this also makes it easy and comfortable to pull line off the reel before casting and trust me, you are not disadvantaged once you hook a fish. The better quality reels have detent clicks on there drags you can experiment and know that you can up the drag by say six clicks to apply more pressure and still be under the breaking strain.
Whenever you adjust the drag either way, test it by pulling on the line off the reel to see that setting you have applied is not too much or too little. A backlashed, over-run reel will loose your fish just as quickly as a too tight drag might pop the tippet.
Use the but section of the rod to pull the fish, the tip section is only for casting and should "fold away" and follow the line while fighting a fish. With the rod parallel to the water, you pull by twisting your hips with no arm movement, your rod hand elbow tucked into your side and you twist at the hips. Twist and wind, twist and wind. You can use the fingers of your rod hand to put a little more pressure on the backing or line during the twist, palm the reel or simply keep hold of the reel handle.
You have a lot of control over the tension on a fish with a nine foot fly rod. If you are locked into the fish and you feel the pressure increase you simply yield with the rod. One sixteenth of a body twist back to the fish gives around two meters of line, you can then poke the rod out in the direction of the run and let the reel run (anti-backlash) free. The fly will not come out, the water friction on the line holds it in.
Let the fish run, palm the reel maybe, then twist and wind back in. Trying to land a fish too green on fly is a sure way to break your expensive fly rod.
Ian Miller of Miller Custom Rods, with another beautifull fly caught Queenfish!
Single handedly landing a queenfish from a boat is one of the most ungraceful, angling manoeuvres and faught with the danger of breaking the rod. If it is done properly with played-out fish the risk is minimal. I like to tail the fish over using a net when on my own. Having a net in one hand and a rod in the other bends the rod into that horseshoe shape that invariably leads to the rod ending up in more pieces than the manufacturer intended. The best option of all is to have someone else with a net but that's not always possible.
In all landing situations play the fish right out, let it have all the runs it wants until it comes in on its side. Do not attempt to tail the fish until it is beat, with the rod tip high and still controlling the spent fish holding it alongside the boat grab the rod half way up with one hand and put the reel and butt end down into the boat the same time move forward your other hand grabs the line outside the tip, preferably with a wrap and never let go. If the fish has a reserve of power and surges off you have to hang on and break the line if necessary. If you let go you will probably break the rod. So play the fish out and when you grab the leader single-handed, never let go.
Wrap more and more line around your hand until it is close to the fishes head as you lead the fish around in circles on its side with its body flat to the water until you get a shot at its tail with your other hand. Get a good firm grip and lift it out of the water. There you have it, your fly caught queenie... Congratulations!
We are doing more and more dedicated saltfly fishing trips and catering to more and more saltfly anglers. We now have a brand new boat and on shore accommodated fishing option available, complementing our live-aboard mothership. Nat Bromhead, an accomplished guide, skipper and fanatical fly angler, is joining us to run the new vessel. Please feel free to E-mail either one of us with any specific questions regarding what we do or anything you think we might help you with in the field of fly fishing. Our e-mail address are: greg@seafaris.com.au or oceangem@seafaris.com.au.
