XOS Sambo's on Fly!

Craig "Noddy" Radford [Western Angler Magazine]

I spent Saturday as guest of Richard Netes from Got One in Woodvale, in company of Peter Morse and Alan 'Fish' Philliskirk aboard one of the Mills Charter boats.

While there were a few jiggers in the group, who did their thing and busted a bit of gear along the way, we spent the day trying a few different techniques to get flies down into the schools of sambos without having to resort to attaching things to a downrigger or a snapper lead!

First Sambo on Fly!

Peter Morse struggles with a Fly Inhaled XOS Sambo!

Heavy lines, at least 650 grains or more with Cobra or Rio mono type running lines and heavily weighted flies saw us getting down near 60 metres. The flies all had a bit of solder or lead wire built into the body and Morsie added some heavy resin cored solder to the head, encased in tungsten putty.

He got the first hookup after also feeding backing out on the drift to obtain a deeper sink to the pointy bit. That fish got sharked and bit through his 60lb shock tippet. Second hookup was a bit later and after a lot of heavy rod work on 10kg tippet - using a Sage 16wt and Gulfstream he got a nice fish around 1300mm / 22-25kg. Fish hooked up next on what turned out to be a Mako about 1.5m long that was hooked in the 'pec’. The hook pulled near the boat after we got a look at it.

Richard Netes used my heavy Comp Dev tuna outfit with a similar weighted fly on an 850 DWE head and got his hookup while stripping running line. That fish was no more than 30m down and he boated it. Weighed about 20kg and change I reckoned.

Around 20kg and change on fly!!

Richard Netes pinned this using an 850 DWE shooting head!

Fish got one a bit later as the wind stared to get up, but both his fish and Richards were hooked while Morsie and I were dispensing berley in the form of cubes of mulies using an old wire cray bait basket, inverted and weighted so the bits didn't fall out until it reached the required depth and we jerked the line. Peter got another smaller fish before the wind made it impossible to get a fly down deep enough.

All the guys were rapt to have got flyrod sambos. Firsts for Morsie, Fish and Richard. It was great to again fish with blokes who were prepared to stick with it to achieve a result that they wanted and see the genuine enjoyment that goes with getting a bloody good fish on the flyrod.

Many thanks for the day Richard and Got One, Woodvale

A serious down deep Sambo!

Richard Netes looks on as Morsie gives it to a sambo!