Earlier this week I came out to see Cormorants on my dam. I went out to shoo them away and I reckon 50 took off an joined another 50 overhead. Since then there have been birds here every day. I’ve seen Yellowbelly that they couldn’t swallow on the bank of my dam that they pulled out and picked to bits. I’ve watched a single bird at lakes entrance dive and catch a fish every minute for 10 minutes, dry it’s wings and then go get more. Many times I’ve seen clouds of these ravenous things in approximately 100 number and 3 flocks the same. Natural birds in unnatural numbers. Anyone know where I can buy a used Anti Aircraft gun...Grin~

Great stuff Andrew and Peter enjoyed the podcast....

You should mention that a lot of those rod breaks were where individuals used a loop to loop connection on fly line to leader and so on … a clean smooth knot will flow through the guides much better . If you don’t take the time to learn all the knots involved in fly fishing …. Sell your flyrod and take up bait fishing 😂😂😂😂🙏🏿

Max helped me out to pick my first pair of waders and boots, extremely happy with the LT, so comfortable

Haha what? I’ve been doing some of these things for decades and never had issues. The only rod I’ve broken was because of a beadhead smacking off the blank.

I offer two alternative methods to achieve the same result. The first method is to turn the rod upside down so the line rides on the blank instead of just the guides. The second method involves holding the rod below the horizontal, with about 12 inches of line in your stripping hand. Then, shake the rod to wiggle the shaft, use your other hand, and gently pull the line through the guides until all the knots have passed the tip.

Good Tip Cheers from SW Ontario Canada

Rods a bloody legend 🤙🏻

$5 each damn … well fly fishing is expensive !

Ever had someone put together their brand new, expensive fly rod only to have the ceiling fan knock off the tip top + 3” of rod? Asking for a friend….

Guilty as charged, however, to date (knock on wood) I have not broken one of my fly rods. Great tip! Thanks!!!

I met Jimmy at the great lakes in Tasmania in the 90's. Nice bloke who was solidly invested in the pursuit of fly fishing. My late great uncle Ross had a shack near little pine. Still fondly remember catching 3 solid browns in an hour showing up my dads friend Garry linton who caught none.

Watched them take 35 fish in 2 hours a while back. One trout was so big the cormorant battled to get it down for half an hour.

Only problem is if you get hooked up and do some ripping on your line they pop off and go floating down stream.

Merci 🎉 🌟🎣💫

I have the Mirage 2 on my 9’ 5 wt. absolutely perfect pairing.

What reel did you marry that with? I have a new F 5 wt and put it w a Mirage 2. Is the 3 a better choice? Thx

I agree with almost everything your guest says here! I also use a six weight, 10 foot rod with a wf floating line for most of my streamer fishing. When I want to get deeper, I add a sinking tungsten coated poly leader, add a short tippet and that works for me! I make my own tapered leaders and also fish two flys but closer together, about two feet or so, apart! My dropper is usually a wet fly size 12 or 10 on a short tag, about 4 “ to reduce tangles, with the streamer( lure) on the point! Tight lines!

Not one pocket and it’s the best?!!

Same issue here in Newfoundland.They were not common a decade or so back but now they’re everywhere.Funny our sea run browns have declined or been decimated anywhere they have shown up.Pretty much rats,they just eat and crap no commercial or natural value.Even the eagles won’t eat them.

Thanks for this tip. Another, if your nail knot gets inside your guides and the fish your fighting runs, point the rod tip at the fish. The knot will smoothly clear the guide and reduce the risk of tip damage.

Philip is an excellent writer. I’m in my 40s and grew up reading all his magazine articles, and then bought and read all his books. I hope he continues to write and publish stories. Great episode Gentlemen, keep them coming. Cheers Loch

Always great to listen to Craig imparting his knowledge. A great podcast.

I thankyou so much for the sit down and talk, I will have to replay this again with a coffee tomorrow as my head hurts from all the input. I'm just starting out after 20 yrs off the fly and loving it again 😁

Interesting commentary re the weighting of lines. Given 'line weight' is measured as a function of the first 30' of line, any particular rod would be expected to perform in a certain manner. Would it not be reasonable to expect that 'weight' could be increased or decreased simply by having more or less line outside the rod tip? i.e. an extra two metres of line would effectively increase the weight of the line, less line would decrease the 'weight'. Either option would cause a change in the manner in which a rod functions.

Looks like they are using the same material as the biodegradable air-lock strike indicators, they work the same way as these but the more common one has the adjustment screw on the top of the ball. Looks like Oros has a pretty great product. Gotta keep our water ways as clean as possible of lost fishing gear so biodegradable is great!

More of this please! Love the podcast but also enjoy having something to watch. 😁

Your video is so good, it's really great. I really enjoy watching your videos. Wishing you lots of health and success

So catflys and green machines? Any images available on these from your shop?

I live in Jamieson Victoria and the cormorants have been very busy here during late summer and early Autumn. No fish can be seen now.

I've had trout in the little dam on my farm for over 30 years and the cormorants come every year. The large Black Cormorant has a wingspan of 1.8m and they weigh up to 5kg! The literature says they consume "around 1lb per day" I've watched them eat a 1kg fish then sit on the bank for a rest only to go back and eat another 1kg fish 30 min later! Ann the acid in their stomach breaks down the fish in minutes! This year was the most I have seen for probably 10 years. I dive and film regularly in the rivers here in the Snowies and probably 20% of fish I filmed this year had cormorant damage on their sides

I saw one take a 25cm trout and swallow it in a second or two, straight down the throat, easy as. On a similar note, the small river I'm fishing at the moment is alive with water rats and one or two comorants. I see seven or eight water rats each trip. I didn't like seeing the shags but I never worried about the rats, but a few weeks ago I saw an adult rat swim across the pool with a trout about 30cm. The trout looked freshly caught. Between birds, rats, summer temps and angler pressure no wonder 95% of the trout have disappeared since October last year.

Damn things have wiped out nearly every fish in the Liffey. Not a fish to be seen. Rocks all the way up the valley covered in white faeces.

Great stuff fellas! More of this kind of content would be unreal, true knowledge from one of the best.

"They're there" . . . absolutely. There's a fish along every 10 metres of the Goulburn, always has been. First time here for me. Nice session, thanks guys. PS If the water is dropping quickly, the fish are condemned to finding new hidey holes in a hurry - it can put them under the hammer. If it's rising, the fish can find hidey holes at their leisure - far less stress.

Looks very nice