Fly fishing for mullet

[Dude]

With my last few trips to the Dart being very quiet and the river wye unfishable i thought i would share The amazing fun i have been having fly fishing for mullet.
After blanking the first five trips but hooking a couple the last one, I finally started finding big feeding shoals in the creeks with the incoming tide. Fishing small pools and then retreating with the tide to the next pool wading in shorts and casting 10ft to lots and lots of fish. First trip i found them i hooked 15 and landed 3.
Great to know that in this heat something is feeding hard! That feeling of watching a mullet chase down a red tag takes some beating and the quick furious first run as they speed off in a foot of water is super exciting.
Have been having sucess with spectra shrimps, mullet bachs, red tags and ghostbuster flies all in size 12.
Turns out the bass love a red tag and specta shrimp as well!
For anyone who is a bit dispondent with the rivers the fish are there day and night, weather doesn't seem to effect them nor does bad casting! Just find the feeding fish ....

[Andrew Pieterse]

Well I'm impressed; I've spent days chasing the mullet in kingsbridge estuary with similar flies, but have never had any luck. What is your leader setup ?

[Dude]

Hey Andrew,
I have been using 4ft 3ft 3ft 6lb fluro but i'm thinking about stepping it up as i had a snap off yesterday but also a snapped hook. Two deoppers with a ghostbuster or a red tag on the point.
I'm happy to show you the creek i've been going to if you wana join?
Any luck on the dart?

[Andrew Pieterse]

May have to take you up on that sometime, but there are tons of mullet around here, just 10 mins drive from my house, but I can't get the d**n things to take a fly (or anything for that matter) !

No ST as yet.

Sorry for all the queries, but what rod are you using and are you retrieving ?

[Dude]

Cool, think we may be fishing the same areas, i am kibgsbridge estuary too and fishing the Dart.
Using an old soft shakespeare 6# that i am haopy to get salty and muddy.
Generally dead drifting with a little twitch every now and then a slow figure of eight. If that dosen't work i try pulling a red tag and spectra shrimp in short sharp pulls.
for some reason haven't had a touch on worm flies in the estuary maybe because there are a ton of shrimp and small fish in the estuary for them to feed on?
If you haven't read it try and find any articles written by Colin Macloed.

[Andrew Pieterse]

Thanks, I'm similarly using an old hardy 6wt.

I've read just about every article on mullet and tied a dozen or more flies , but to no avail.

Have you had any luck on K'bridge estuary? There are loads about up Bowcombe creek mid to high tide; seemingly feeding away.

Should "hook-up" sometime on the estuary and see if we can find any magic flies.

[Ray Kendrick]

Jul 10, 2018 13:58:59 GMT Andrew Pieterse said:

Well I'm impressed; I've spent days chasing the mullet in kingsbridge estuary with similar flies, but have never had any luck. What is your leader setup ?

Ah Kingsbridge Estuary......I'm aging myself, but I recall when I was attending Kingsbridge comprehensive in 1970-1, (2nd yr) we would visit a floating cafe (on old boat of sorts) on our lunch hour. It was moored at the very tip of the Estuary. Sorry.....back to Mullets.

[Dude]

Yep only been fishing the kingsbridge estuary.
I would suggest getting there earlier 1 1/2-2 hrs after low as the first push comes up , walk down from beaucombe bridge to the fork and target them when they are confined to the channel then follow them up the creek. I have fished the same creek at 3/4 high tide and they weren't interested and fished round the corner at pumping station and they were feeding but 2hrs after low on the push.

[mojo]

Had my first Mullet of this year on the Exe Estuary yesterday, forgotten how hard they fight.