Luderick on the Weed Fly

I am going to start by stating that we are not experts in targeting Luderick on the fly. Whilst we both have had some success in varying situations and locations, the information below is provided to help you form the foundations to working out your own locations and styles.

I know that we have had to ask the questions along the way to put the puzzle together, and to those who have taken the time to answer and share their knowledge, I am eternally grateful. There have been many fishless outings along the way, so take what you can from our experiences and apply/modify and tweak them to suit your own locations. Learn from each trip to the water, learn from other anglers, learn from local anglers and piece it together until the formula for success is consistent.

Luderick (Girella tricuspidata) are a very accessible species for most of the estuary anglers along the East Coast of Australia, ranging in distribution from Southern Queensland through to Tasmania. Often found in large schools in relatively shallow water. During the cooler months, large numbers of Luderick form up and occupy most estuary systems, with a strong following of anglers who are dedicated to targeting the species.

To begin your search for Luderick, start looking around rock walls, jetty pylons, ocean platforms and weed beds. Concentrations of available food in the area will help you out, so look for the bright green weed and cabbage often found attached to rocks. Fish need to eat, and their primary source of food will not be far away.

The Outfits

A saltwater fly-fishing outfit in the 6 to 8 weight class would be what we suggest as ideal. The majority of fly rods are 9ft in length and of 4 piece construction. Luderick will put up a nice account for themselves on those outfits when matched with a floating weight foreward fly line.

Fly rods with a Medium Fast action or Fast Action are well suited and often stay under load when a fish is hooked, resulting in fewer lost fish. When starting out, a fly rod with a medium fast action will be beneficial to your enjoyment and learning a new fishing technique. Typically, the fly rod blank will bend easier, creating a nice feel of the flyline loading the blank.

Floating lines are my preference as the line can be managed and mended easily from the surface film. It results in a cleaner fly presentation during the drift, reduced amount of belly in the line and allows for a quick hook set.

The leader length is often determined by the water depth; thou we are around 9 foot as a starting point and will either chop it or add tippet material to lengthen depending on what is needed at the time or during the tidal changes.

Remember, the above is the type of set up that we are using and have confidence using it in our locations. There is a whole range of options available in the area of lines and leaders that may suit you better. Full intermediate lines or sink tip lines would also be worth considering for when the swell is up.

The Flies

Weed flies, with a few variations in your kit to be prepared to present the fly in varying water depths.

Starting with the colours; Green, Olive, Blended and Brown designed and tied to replicate the ‘colour’ of the real weed in your local area.

Tied on size 8 Gamakatsu Panfish hooks delivers most of the success in our experience. The green finish of the Panfish hook blends in nicely with the fly-tying materials used to tie Weed flies.

Moving into weighted options for weed flies, which are an important consideration so you can drift the fly through the water column and therefore range from zero weight (unweighted), brass bead, lead wrap and tungsten bead. Tungsten beads being the most reliable for their durability and weight to size ratio.  An ideal match is the size 8 Panfish hook and 3.8mm Tungsten bead from Hareline or FlyFinz.

The choice of weight will have a significant impact on your fly presentation. Essentially, the choice needs to be based on the sink rate required and depth you want to present the fly to the fish.  Depending on the tidal strength, a brass bead fly or a tungsten bead fly will be used in conjunction with an unweighted weed fly trailing behind.

To check out our range of Australian tied Weed flies, head to the Link below.

Weed Flies

Tying of your own weed flies has become quite popular and an easy way to keep your fly box full. Common materials used include Tiewell Weed Dub, Yarns and Chenilles. You can really get quite creative with the types of materials applied and colour blending to suit your local conditions.

Tie Your Own Weed Flies

We have taken the guess work out of where to start with the essential elements of tying weed flies by assembling a kit, ready to go. The Link will take you to our inhouse BWCflies Weed fly Tying Kit.

Weed Fly Tying Kit

Same goes for a beginners fly tying vise and tool set up to roll out of few Weedies. Here is one that we recommend, the Link will take you to a price friendly set up that will have you tying weed flies in no time. Perfect for a Sunday arvo, when the tide is out or the wind is howling, take a break and top up the fly box in preparation for the next session.

Fly Tying Vise and Kit

Leaders and Indicators

When we are targeting fish in shallow water, the set-up has a minimalist approach. In our Luderick set ups, we are running Fluorocarbon leaders as the main leader, with a length of tippet material attached of around 2 feet, usually in the 8lb to 12lb braking strain space.

In the deeper water, an indicator set up is employed, much like setting up an indicator rig for Trout nymphing.  Whilst still maintaining the 9-foot leader, an indicator is attached and set to the depth that you want to fish the flies.

Indicators create little resistance and are easily adjusted so you can make a depth change whenever necessary. They are also available in a variety of sizes depending on the buoyancy requirements of your location. Several options are available on the market, including Oros Indicators, NZ Strike Indictors which we find these to be the better solutions when required.

In the stronger currents, heavy washes or wind-blown rock walls, the next size is required. It would be a wise decision to have a few indicator options in your kit.

Two Fly Rigs

In almost all situations, we will set up the two fly rig. The simplest method is done by attaching the weighted weed fly at the end of your main leader or tippet and then an unweighted weed fly tied directly from the head fly hook bend with a length of fluorocarbon tippet material.

An option is to tie a traditional dropper style rig, retaining each fly independently. Experiment to see where you feel the most comfortable with the ‘Bomb’ fly position. We have fished the Tungsten weight fly on the dropper and on the point with success on both. Personally, when the wind is blowing and the water cold, tying the first mentioned option seems easier for me without sacrificing hook ups.

See in the image above; the tungsten bead is the lead fly (often referred as the Bomb Fly), with the unweighted weed fly trailing behind.  In most cases, but not all, the eat comes from the trailing fly.  Distances between both flies can vary dependent on the situation of the day. Separations of 20cm to 40cm are seemingly the most productive. The length is influenced by water depth, swell, where the Luderick are present and most active.

The Drift

The presentation of the fly is up and across the current, allow the rig to drift with the tidal flow and swing until the drift on your fly becomes unnatural.  Flies replicate weed or cabbage that has broken away from rocks and should be presented in such a way to allow for a natural drift without tension.  Often ignored in a saltwater situation, the skill of mending your fly line becomes an important aspect in an environment with moving water to reduce and minimise the water drag on the team of two flies.

Other areas to search, are through the tidal current eddies and pockets of slack water just off the main flow where food can be concentrated with water current.

I hope this helps you out with your pursuit of Luderick on the fly.

Enjoy!

Brett and Cherie