Tropical Casts

Just spent 4 nights at Whiphandle camp site in Lakefield National Park, Queensland's 2nd largest park. At nearly 5400 km2, it works out at roughly a quarter of the size of Wales. During the ‘wet’, the park is inaccessible, rivers burst their banks, flooding everywhere and eventually spilling out into Princess Charlotte Bay. Come May, the roads reopen and anglers flock from far and wide, to battle with Australia’s most iconic fish, the barramundi.
We left early Thursday morning and was all set up by mid afternoon. Swags, chairs, tables, music, fireplace all in place and even a hot water shower, this is camping at its finest.
It involved a 400 km trip, up to the Julatten turn off and up the big hill to Mount Molloy, driving through the rain forest and savannah, eventually coming down the Byerstown range and meeting up with friends at Lakeland. Quick coffee and then out towards Laura, through the sandstone escarpments, home of ’Split Rock’, a sight of significant importance to the local people and then turning right into Lakefield. Carried on through, passing the Kennedy river bend, where a fishermen was recently killed by a large resident croc. Huge termite hills, dry watercourses, stands of prehistoric looking corypha palms, pandanus and down to the fringing forest of the Normanby river, where evidence of last wet season floods could be seen high up in the branches of the melaleuca.
This was an area of the park that I’d not been too before, so always nice to explore new areas.
We put the boats in and headed downstream, bad move, 50 meters later we were met with very shallow water and rocks, lots of them and they stretched down the river as far as we could see, bu**er! So up river it is then. So different to the upper reaches where I normally fished, here the water was darker, beds of purple lilys, plenty of w**d cover and lots of old trees laying in the water, providing prime real estate for the local barramundi population. As for the fishing, it was not as good as I had hoped, but still fun, partly due to the fact it was a bit cold for the first few days and on the last day of fishing, it became increasingly hotter and the barra responded accordingly.
I fished with my usual method, Zerek prawn, cast up into the snags, allowing it to sink and twitching it back out. After a few tentative taps, it was good to feel a proper wallop and coming up tight to a good barra in the sticks. After a bit of manouvering, I eventually got him out. Wow, I’d forgotten how good this type of fishing was, short, accurate casting, into the tightest of spots waiting for that flash or ‘boof’, knowing the next fish could be over that magical meter. However, only saw one good fish of about 80cm, rocketing out of the snag to smash the prawn just below the surface, but only staying connected for a few seconds...good fun though.
One day we took the boats up as far as we could, electric chainsaw in hand, then slowly walked the banks looking for likely spots. Again a few more small Barra hit the bank, caught in some nice clear shallow water, amongst some incredible scenery. This really is God's country.
Monday morning, saw us all up early to pack up camp, I however was feeling a bit rough, one too many bourbons the night before, had me feeling a bit shady. Big thanks to Kev though, bacon and egg muffins soon sorted it out.
Reluctantly, we headed back out, but this time a different way, through the Nifold Plains, heading west to the Hann river crossing where many years ago we bumped into Steve Irwin and his young kids, 2 weeks before he died. We carried onto Musgrave station, and then Hann roadhouse, back through Laura and then a few more hours till home.
On reflection, camping really is ’soul food’, removing you from the everyday grind and giving you a bit of reset. Rest assured I won’t be waiting 5 years for my next trip, in fact I’m already planning the next one.
Thanks Kev, Steve and Gordon for a memorable few days.

Today I headed up to the upper reaches of the Daintree for some much needed therapy, after a few hectic weeks. The trip up reminded of the last time I fished here nearly 5 years ago with my son Tom. Travelling up along the coast passing through Port Douglas, Mossman and up into the world heritage listed Daintree rainforest, thinking I wouldn’t be doing this again a few years back, but here I was, thankfully. Good memories were jolted as I arrived at the start of the creb track. Armed with a small spin rod and some soft plastic lures, I gingerly made my way across the knee deep clear water to the far bank, keeping an eye out for salt water crocodiles. The fishing didn’t disappoint either, first fish was a small mangrove jack, next was an Archer fish, shortly followed by the distinctly recognisable hit of a Barra, that did exactly what it’s meant to do, leaping clear of the water. Not huge fish, but still pulling some drag. Managed to get a few of them. So much fun in absolutely stunning surroundings. Wow, so good to be back’home’, house hunting tomorrow, but planning for Sunday already.

Currently sat in Heathrow, pondering over the last few weeks in the UK and looking forward to a return move to Far North Queensland.
We’ve been lucky with the last few weeks of weather, only one 15 minute shower, so it was great to see the UK countryside in fine splendour, I’d really forgotten how green it can be. The horse chestnuts and hawthorn were in full bloom everywhere, and the sounds of songbirds and Red Kites filled the air on my morning walks.
As for the fishing, well it was different, firstly it was the closed season, so options were a bit limited. Travelled up to the Kennet and Avon Canal at Froxfield on the RDAA permit a few times, with my good friend Lisa Long. Fishing wasn’t easy by any means, but always fun. Between us we managed a few Perch and Pike on the lures which at least got me out of the house and onto the river bank. Seven lakes Fishery was another venue I visited a few times, especially since I could walk there. I first fished this over 40 years ago with old school mates. Then it was a series of lakes, with lots of standing timber in the water, a ton of vegetation around it with limited access and many, many small carp. Now it’s very different, nicely manicured, all the timber removed and even the Carp have names now😂. I fished a few of the lakes on the fly, with smallish black leechy type things of various weights and certainly caught plenty of fish to 20lbs. Fish could be easily spotted, especially on the sunnier days, then it was just a matter of a good cast infront of the right fish, very similar to the Algarve, where presentation was the all important aspect, not so much fly choice I felt. Whilst the fish were generally bigger, the algarvian wild carp certainly pulled harder. One thing that seemed a bit foreign to me was the amount of ‘Carp Angler Specialists’, so much gear, trailer loads of the stuff 😂😂
What made it all even funnier though was turning up with one little shoulder bag, one fly rod and reel and a few blackish flies. During my time fishing, there had been well over 20 rods fishing and surprisingly not one fish landed between them, so much for being specialists, or maybe I’m missing the point. I however, had some good visual sport, landing about 12 fish and losing a few.
Have to go now as I’m ready to get on the plane to Singapore.

As our Portuguese adventure comes to an end, I spent yesterday fishing a few venues that I’ve really enjoyed coming to grips with over the last few years. The weather was perfect, despite a very strong northerly wind which made presentation a little tricky.
The Odeleite Barragem was the first venue on the list. Large waves crashed against the shore colouring the water significantly, but saw a couple of gypsys cruising the wind lanes a bit further out. Somehow managed to cast in front of them both, let the fly sink a little, then strip fairly quickly, both fish chased and ate straight away. I will miss this style of fishing, in hindsight it's taught me a lot. Good start though, 2 casts , 2 fish.
Second venue was up at San Domingo’s, which can be quite good when the wind is blowing, as the Carp will station in the lee of the eucalyptus trees, feeding on the leaves which are covered in sticky white eggs. Walked quite a while, until we found a few, quickly tied on my very small white foam fly and cast to the rising fish, instant response, with 3 Carp coming to hand quickly. They were the only group of fish I saw feeding on the surface, so spent the next couple of hours stalking fish in the margins. Virtually every fish I saw from then on, ate the fly, with the most important aspect being, first cast had to be on the money. Ended up with 9 Carp in total, all sightcast, with the biggest about 5kg.
Saved the last venue till last, Canais, because it tends to fish better as the light levels drop. Canais, is a beautiful venue, above Mertola on the Guadiana river, made up of weirs and water mills. It’s one of them places where if you don’t catch, it doesn’t matter, as it’s a stunning venue set in the gorges of the Guadiana. Over the years I’ve had some very memorable moments here, and is a fitting place to end up for my last fish in Portugal. Glad to say it didn’t disappoint, first fish was a nice small headed Barbel, caught in a couple inches of water. Had a few smaller gypsys and a nice Comizo, whilst also catching a bunch of Shad.
All in all not a bad way to end my Portuguese adventure, but whilst I look forward to returning to North Queensland and the fishing, a piece of Portugal will always remain in my heart. Thanks.

Had brothers, Nick and James, keen trout fishermen from the UK out recently. Fish could be seen everywhere in the crystal clear water, many were caught and lost, but every fish was sightcast, a truly red letter day.

A little montage of fly fishing for Barbel, Bass and Carp in the Algarve, Portugal.

Fly fishing in the Algarve Portugal for Barbel, Bass and Carp SD 480p Fly fishing in the Algarve Portugal for Barbel, Bass and Carp.

Had Matt, a visiting angler from the UK out on the water the other day. Headed out early up into the hills in search of Barbel and Bass. Called in at the first spot, walked up the creek for a while, but after only seeing 3 Barbel, decided to move to another spot. New venue revealed a lot more fish present, encouraging news anyway. Matt was soon to find out that whilst there was a lot of fish present, seeing them first and getting a cast out quickly and accurately, was so important. Wasn’t long before he grasped it, and his first Gypsy Barbel on the fly was had. Not huge, but a good start nonetheless. We came across a good Gypsy of about 4kg having a feed in about a meter of crystal clear water, Matt put down a nice cast across the river, the fly sank slowly in front of the approaching fish, and in what seemed an eternity, she followed and swallowed, but somehow missed the strike. Whilst it was a bit disappointing too miss, it was superb to watch.
All was not lost though, there was a spot where I’d seen some good Bass lately, so a quick change of fly to a baitfish pattern, and off we went. Slowly and softly we walked approaching the spot, then crouching down behind a rock, peered over the top to see a really good Bass on the edge of the current. One good cast and she sparked up instantly and smashed it on the surface as it was swinging round. After a few good jumps and fast runs in the current, Matt landed her. His best Largemouth Bass on the fly, but wow, what an ‘eat’!

After doing a couple of chores around the house and an afternoon free, there’s only one thing to do, head into the hills. The sun was out and the wind was easing, perfect conditions for spotting. Went to a spot that I hadn’t visited for a while, even in the summer it holds water and I’ve seen a few nice Gypsys in there. There’s a group of 5-6 resident fish that inhabit the hole and whilst I’ve managed a few smaller fish when the creek’s running, the bigger ones always seem to know I’m there. This time, rather than standing up high and looking into the water, I skirted round a bit and approached just upstream from the head of the pool and slowly walked back towards it. There was one good fish, slowly heading upstream towards me and most definitely having a feed in amongst the rocks and stones. I waited and watched, daring not to move, she slowly came out of 30cm deep water and moved up onto a ledge, now in about 15cms on the other side of the river. A good cast headed out in the right direction and landed gently about a metre upstream. She didn’t spook, they often do if you cast too close. I let the small black, very lightly weighted leech pattern sit on the flat bedrock for a moment and then one little twitch. She reacted and jumped straight on it; one strip strike and off it headed down stream, after initially jumping clear out of the water on the hook set. It’s been a while since I’ve genuinely seen my backing. There were a few nervy moments when she headed under some trees, but I eventually got her under control and in close enough to give her a comfort lift.
Couple of quick photos and off she went.
What a start, first cast as well, don’t usually like a first cast fish, but I’ll take that.
Spent the next couple of hours wading, wandering and sticking sharp things into quite a few more Barbel.
Another wonderful afternoon spent fly fishing in the Algarve countryside. I will be heading out again in a couple of days, rain forecast for tomorrow and a rise in temperatures the following day...perfect

Last week saw a slight rise in temps and knowing the creeks were flowing in some areas, the idea of sight fishing for the Barbel had me very excited. From now onwards for a few months, depending on flow, is probably my favourite time of year. If there’s one style I like, sight casting with dry flies has to be it, closely followed by fishing nymphs. However, the main thing is that you need to see the fish and then the eat. Water clarity was very clear, no wind and blue skies, perfect. Walked for about 10 minutes and then discovered a bunch of Pimpao (similar to crucians), spawning in the w**ds; what followed turned out to be a great session. The Barbel were right in amongst them and judging by how they were feeding, they were eating their eggs. Managed to land a few beautifully coloured-up Gypsy Barbel, each one screaming off at a fair rate of knots. It never ceases to amaze me the pure acceleration they have. Caught a fair few Pimpao as well, whilst the fight is fairly sluggish, it’s always good to watch your own flies, slowly fall in front of them, only for them to slurp them down.
The following day I returned, hoping for a repeat of the day before, but, like it often does here in the Algarve things can change on a daily basis. The area I had fished previously was now devoid of life, what a difference a day makes. Anyway, I hopped in the car and headed to another spot. I could see a Cormorant working a small area, so went down and had a look, the Bogas that I’d seen a few days before had made there way up to spawn, and once again the Barbel were in attendance.
What followed was again some world class fishing. 12 Barbel landed, a few lost, but got to see the eat every time. Absolutely superb fishing, in stunning surroundings and not a soul to be seen.
I managed to sneak out on the flats of my local Ria Formosa one lunchtime, not with the fly rod, but a small spin outfit and had a ball with some nice school Bass. Did see a few bruisers though cruising, so next set of tides should be good.
One other bit of news, we have made the decision to return to Australia, I have sold the boat but have plenty of land based opportunities if you’d like to go fishing and we will probably be here until the middle of May, drop us a message for more information. Thanks.

Had Shaun and his dad John join us the other day exploring a few different venues in search of Largemouth Bass. Plenty of topwater action, with both Bass and Barbel chasing down the lures. Still not managed to land a Barbel on the topwater, but witnessed a few of them coming in fast quite a few times only to miss the hooks. It’s only a question of time before one stays connected. A few good bass also shook out the hooks on the first jump whilst fishing a little deeper with soft plastics. All in all a great day. Next time we’ll they’ll be chasing the Seabas

Managed to align the planets and get out for a days fishing with good friend, and fellow guide, Marco from the other day. Tried a couple of spots first, with not much to show for our efforts, that was until the third location revealed everything you want to see as an angler, bait and lots of it, being balled up tight against the bank with plenty of Bass and Barbel in attendance. Amazing sight to watch the bait getting smashed from up high in the crystal clear water. Wasn’t long before we were regularly coming up tight against a good number of fish. It never ceases to amaze me the power of a good Barbel on the hit, especially when you get to see the ‘eat’. Let’s not leave it too long until we go again fella, always great to share experiences and knowledge to get a better understanding of what’s going on.

Took Neil up towards Mertola the other day. Tried a few venues, on the fly in the morning and sat down on the feeder rods in the afternoon. Carp were a bit quiet, but did watch two nice ones absolutely charge in together to attack the fly, only to miss the hookup. First time I’ve actually witnessed Carp behaving like Pelagics. Moved to another location to try for the Barbel on the fly, but again a bit thin on the ground, missed a couple but again interesting to watch them chase the baitfish. Some largemouth bass did put in appearance though and the scenery was spectacular. Mid afternoon into the evening was spent feeder fishing for the Barbel. Didn’t take long for the tips to wrap round with a few Comizo Gypsy Barbel and a few Pimpao(similar to Crucian carp). All in all not a bad day, enjoying the beautiful Alentejo region.

Recently had Allen, professional fly tyer from the States and his mate, Ryan from Lagos on the boat for a couple of days fly and lure fishing for Bass on the Arade Barragem. Lots of fish caught on topwaters, plastics and a multitude of Allen’s flys. A good fifty odd fish caught and landed on both days, plus a lot more hooked and lost. Check out Allen’s page, https://www.facebook.com/BespokeFlies/ Fly on the Water for some great looking flies.

Had the pleasure of taking visiting angler Sam from the UK out again the other day. An early start was necessary to avoid the crowds and heat. Started slowly with just a few taps but eventually lots of schoolies started succumbing to soft plastics and topwaters. Lots of fun and very visual in the crystal clear water of the Ria Formosa, but you can only catch so many.
With the tide starting to flood, now was the time to go in search of the big ones. We found them, quite a few in fact; catching them though was another story. Again the big ones were being there usual tricky selves, but I have to admire Sam's persistence and he stuck with the plan. A few follows and the occasional swirl kept it interesting and nerve racking at the same time, especially when you’re looking at double figure trophy Seabass. After many casts, a huge fish followed to the drop off and absolutely smashed the topwater, leaving a gaping hole in the ocean, somehow though it was on and then off, before you knew it. The pair of us sat there in disbelief, thinking about what just happened but I guess that’s why we call it fishing and not catching. Sam’s already booked in for another trip later in the year, third time lucky I hope with one of these leviathans 😁😁

Had the pleasure of taking out Richard, an Alabama fella, from the Netherlands in search of Largemouth Bass. Headed out with the boat in tow to one of the local barragems. Nothing better than moving along by electric motor searching for the fish, and on approaching an inlet, plenty of Barbel could be seen eating off the surface in the lee of a hill. Small walk the dog lures were cast in their direction, and were met with fairly instant hits, but no hook ups, eventually they disappeared as the sun got up. The usual spots were a bit quiet, so kept looking on the electronics until we found them. A few Bass started to come across the gunwhale, all on soft plastics, minnow and crayfish imitations.
Was quite refreshing to have a quick swim, cool off, and then get back to the fishing.

Have been quite busy with clients lately, which is great, fishing different venues on a variety of methods, catching Seabass, Largemouth Bass, Baila, Guilthead, Zander, Barbel and Carp.
So nice to be consistently guiding again after the last couple of years of uncertainty, and even nicer when you start to get return clients. 😁😁

Recently had the pleasure of taking Ryan from Ryan Hayden Angling and his father Paul out on the Ria Formosa. Started off with a few smaller bass and one huge Sargo, that failed to be caught on camera due to Ryan’s amazing juggling skills 😂😂😂. Moved up onto the flats fishing topwaters and missed a couple of good ones, but it’s always exciting watching the hit in clear water. Spent the last of the session on the edges, sight casting to some better sized cruising fish. First cast to one, saw a brief hookup, but a great eat nonetheless. Sat patiently amongst the salt marsh, we saw a few come and go but eventually a hook stayed in one. Hopefully they can take a few tricks back with them to the UK to target some shallow water Bass.

Great day out on the water yesterday with visiting angler Sam from the UK. Headed inland first, to one of the Barragems in search of Largemouth Bass and Barbel. Usually the Bass aren’t too hard to find, but they were playing hard to get. Frustrating to see a few baitfish getting hit and chased sporadically, but not a sniff, even after changing lures a couple of times. So left my usual hotspot and headed the other way and whilst traversing a steep bank, boof, boof, went the Bass on some unsuspecting baitfish, “Quick get a cast in” I said, “What! From here?” was Sam's reply, “Yes”. Anyway, instant hook up and a nice first Bass for Sam was hooked with a quick scurry down the bank to grab him and take a happy snap. Bit of a relief, because at that point we were struggling for a bite, but, like most things persistence usually pays off.
We then headed to another spot in search of Barbel and were greeted by a fantastic sight of a large group of feeding fish. First couple of casts were met with some very quick hits, but no hookups and eventually they all disappeared. Another quick move and a couple more largemouths.
By mid afternoon the tide was approaching where I wanted it to be, so off down the hill to the Ria Formosa. We arrived at the right time and within ten minutes it started to flood over the sand. The current increased and school Bass and Guilthead came into view. After a few fish we went to explore the flats for the big Bass, no sign of them, bu**er, playing hard to get like the morning. Walked a bit further, and followed some huge mullet up the current and whilst sitting above a snag, all of a sudden there’s a double figure Bass, below us. Sam got a little excited at that point, a quick cast and a couple of smaller ones came out and hit his soft plastic, but no hookup. 5 minutes later an even bigger Bass, jet black in colour appears out of the snag upstream of us, we tried for a while, but nothing, I suspect they had seen us, fish like this don’t get this big by being stupid.
By this time it was approaching the top of the tide and a suggestion was made to have a little walk to the edge of the salt marsh to see if we could find another Bass that was hunting. Walking to the spot, a few tourists were ahead of us. “OK”, I said “Let's wait here and sit down for a while” and see what comes along. Few minutes later a nice Bass comes from our left along the shore line in a few inches of water, “Right, cast 5 meters in front and wait...wait...wait...twitch it...he’s seen it... twitch it...twitch it.” Bang! Fish on, and a nice Bass at that. An absolute text book eat, right in front of us, what a way to end the day, on the last cast. Good on ya Sam.

Had young Aiden and his dad, Graham out the other day chasing bass on the lures. The weather was wet and windy but Aiden(6) stuck to the plan, he casts, hooks, plays and releases like a champion. What a pleasure when you come across young fellas like him.

Some great fishing lately. Plenty of Shad running the river, happily eating the fly and providing some great sport( remind me of the juvenile Tarpon back in Oz), and which should continue for the next few weeks. Plus some good Comizo and Gypsy Barbel, Carp, Seabass, Largemouth Bass, Mullet and even a microscopic Zander on the fly. All these fish however will also eat a well presented lure, so drop us a message if you are interested in a day out targeting some of these species.

Visitor Urs, from Switzerland made the most of the opening of the large Mouth Bass season on one of the local barragems yesterday. No huge fish, but plenty fell to topwater and soft plastics during the course of the morning to keep him entertained.

Had a couple of charters lately, but Canadian resident Maria, spent the day walking the banks of various waterways with the fly rod, in beautiful if not windy conditions. Whilst stalking a carp, this Gypsy Barbel came from nowhere to inhale a black woolly bu**er, and proceeded to charge down the river at a great rate of knots. With line quickly disappearing off the reel, and the fish going round a corner off we went to catch up, eventually after a superb fight, a quick photo, she released her. On virtually the first cast of the day, it surely was a baptism of fire and her best fish ever😁😁

Some great fishing over the last few weeks. Temperatures are rising and the days are getting longer, great time to be here in the Algarve. Have been trying a few different spots lately, by boat and also on foot, one in particular that holds plenty of Bass, Barbel and Carp, lots of timber and good flats areas.

Great day out on the Guadiana at the weekend with Luís Agulhas . We travelled up through the serra, putting the world to rights and solving all its problems, whilst taking in some beautiful views. But we couldn’t help notice how dry everything is. Lets hope for some much needed rains, to replenish all the little creeks and barragems and bring the fish on the chew.
First stop was a spot I hadn’t fished for a while and with an outgoing tide, a bed of h**p and corn on the hook, it wasn’t long before the tips wrapped round and a steady procession of hard fighting Gypsy Barbel came to the net. After a few hours of this our bellies were rumbling, so after a quick pack up, we headed further into the hills to one of Luís’ little treasures where we were fed some good, wholesome winter Portuguese food, wine, coffee and medronho.
Must admit after the feed, I could have had a nice sleep in a hammock in the sun, but the fish were calling, so off to another spot. Here we fished lures, fly and bait and again the Barbel were fairly responsive with some good sport. With the light dropping, now was the time for Zander, with Luis getting a good one of about 3kg, me, just small ones. Good fun was had by us both in a sunset (the Algarve has the best sunsets) that was one of the best I’ve seen, with the reflections seeming to be on fire.

Recently had the pleasure of guiding Robin Howard and his mate John while they were over here, getting away from the cold for a week. Robin writes a weekly blog of his escapades, and this is what he wrote.
https://www.brightoninshorefishing.co.uk/post/brighton-inshore-fishing-catch-report-11th-january-to-17th-january-2022

Brighton Inshore Fishing - Catch report 11th January to 17th January 2022 As anyone that knows me knows, I am no longer a fan of the British winter. It is a season of wind, which prevents me sailing, and rain, which prevent my other fun, guiding pike on the fly on local rivers. That same rain, tends to accelerate the sediment making our coastline a rich brown, often takin...

With challenging easterly winds, I felt the best option to guarantee some decent action for visiting anglers Robin Howard and his mate John was to head up to the Guadiana and chase some Barbel, albeit on bait.
John was keen to catch one, not having caught one before and it wasn’t long before his rod buckled over with a good fish. It turned out to be a nice Comizo, the only one for the day. Not long after that Rob had one, a Gypsy Barbel. For the next few hours quite a few more graced the net and a few more were lost. At about mid afternoon John hit into a good fish, and after a good fight, slid the net under a big Gypsy Barbel. Definitely the fish of the day coming in at close to 4kg.