โKayden, once you get da taste foโ ulua fishingโ,
you no can tink of anyting else!โ
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย – From Ulua: The
Musical, by Lee Catalun
No amount of reading will ready you for the first time you come face-to-face with a bruiser fish in shallow water. No amount of day dreaming will help you understand your emotions the first time that the water where your fly was erupts in an explosion of aggression. Nothing can ever prepare you for this; the first time you do battle withย Caranx Ignobilisย in shallow water.
To define a piece of water as a flat, the said piece of water needsย to be of substantial size and should have an average depth, depending on tide,ย of between ankle and waste deep. If you canโt comfortably wade and cast a flyย across them, they are no longer flats.
As far as the imagination… Nick Filmalter prospecting…
Flats fishing of any kind, whether itโs that shallow area at theย head of the big lake up the road or those endless areas of tropical sand andย grass of the Seychelles, seem to send flyfishermen into a quiet revelry inย which day dreams of sight casting to big cruising fish proliferate. I have hadย an infatuation with flats since I started fishing, which pretty much adds up toย my entire life. I remember chasing trout fingerlings around the tails of Natalย trout streams. And I do realise that the shallows of a trout stream probably donโtย qualify as flats but in the mind of 4 year old, they stretch to imaginationโs
end. I still canโt get enough shallow water fishing – hence the reason for moving out to the Seychelles for awhile!
Now couple the endless flats of a tropical atoll with big, angry GTsย and you have a fishing spot built for those with strong hearts and adventurousย souls.
The GT is THE man on the flats. He swims around with the attitude andย swagger of the top dog. Heโs King Rat and he knows it. The split second changeย in temper as cruising fishing becomes hunting fish. The unbridled aggressionย when he smashes baitfish. The absolute distain he shows for anything smallerย (or larger) than himself highlights why he is the apex predator of the flats.
The ulua, as it is know inย Hawaii, was so believed to be such a fine warrior that women were banned fromย eating it. It was believed to be a god which the commoners were not allowed toย catch. ย Such was the respect and aweย lavished on the ulua by the ancient Hawaiians that it was evenย used as a human sacrifice when no satisfactory human was available! *
This is truly a fish of mythic proportions. Growing to 1.7m and upย to 80kg it has the ability to not only make a fly fisherman go weak at the kneesย but to also give his ego a severe thrashing. Stories of smashed leaders andย rods are not uncommon and many a fisherman has paid the price that isย inevitable when doing battle with a god.
Top LandR:
Middle: GT rage.
Bottom: Peter Coetzee: taming the gods!
Fishing for him can seem a foolโs errand. Armed with thin piece ofย graphite, some Teflon or cork to slow the screaming run and a curved piece ofย metal that just seems too fragile to halt the beast you slowly stalk the vastย expanse of turtle grass and sand. Wading along the push of the tide, you needย to read the water and ask where the king will find his meal โ heโll be swimmingย against the current, into the oncoming bait. Your fly needs to be big. Myย personal favourite is a Black Brush Fly tied on an 8/0 Gamakatsu SL12S.ย However, a hungry GT will eat most wellย presented patterns. When you are hooked up, the best advice is to give as goodย as he gives: pull him as hard as you dare and try not to let him run. If he gets
some head, consider the fight lost! Best make sure that your knots areย perfect…
Cradling addiction.
I have experienced this primal predator in a personal capacity and canย only say thatย I’mย addicted to hunting him.ย I’veย been brought to my knees by $this fearsome fish and I know that I wonโt always win the fight. But just asย nothing will prepare for your first time, after your first battle is over,ย nothing will take away the nagging need to fight and beat this fish in the shallows of the flats.