Exmouth Milkies

[Sammut]

Hey guys,

Just wondering if anyone can give any advice on chasing Milkies in Exmouth. We always see them when we are up there so if anyone has any pics of flies that they use or tips on presentation etc it would be appreciated

[Hirdy]

I find this to be the most satisfying thing to throw at Milkies. As far as presentation goes, try not to let it drop delicately on the surface of the water: you need a really big splash to vent properly.











Cheers,
Graeme

[Tony Ong]

Hi Mike. I'm assuming that you're talking the open water milkies, as opposed to the ones at Bundegi in the summer months feeding on the bottom.
Have had a few shots at the open water milkies. Will have to give it a better go this Christmas.
Have a look at below video for some tips to target them.
http://saltwaterjaws.com/2015/06/13/vid ... -milkfish/

[troy]

It does help if you bang your head against the brick for a couple of hours before you throw it! As you then throw it with a greater level of vengeance!

[Rudi]

Hi Mike. I'm assuming that you're talking the open water milkies, as opposed to the ones at Bundegi in the summer months feeding on the bottom.
Have had a few shots at the open water milkies. Will have to give it a better go this Christmas.
Have a look at below video for some tips to target them.
http://saltwaterjaws.com/2015/06/13/vid ... -milkfish/

Nice clip Tony, I like the grass on the deck

[Stephen Bradbury]

With Milkies mostly feeding on such tiny Planktonic food sources such as Algae, small invertebrates, coral spawn etc they can be near on impossible to target ! especially in Exmouth from my experience, tried and failed ! , but if you have run out of bricks and still really have a hankering for torturing yourself ? (as most fly fisherman do !) try some sort of sparse weed/algae imitation fly in brown, olive, green through to light chartruse colours on a small but very strong hook, say a 2# Mustard Tarpon ? (I've seen them hooked and they do go like stink !) probably need a longish leader say 10 - 12ft with a 16lb fluoro tippet I would say ? they are pretty spooky most of the time. First find 'feeding' fish then judge the area/direction they are feeding in and try to lead the fish by a distance related to your fly's sink rate and their speed (they ain't going to chase it down!) then stay connected to the fly and cross everything and hope one of the dumber/hungrier ones blunders into the fly and hooks up ! good luck.
Below are some flies that others have used with some limited success.

[Rohan]

The Bundegi fish feed on the bottom when the incoming tide hits hot sun baked flats, so a well timed trip late summer can find them catchable. A sinking fly in olive called a spook can catch them. Needs to be tied on a strong smallish hook, we always tried #6's but straightened them, so a 4 tied sparse might work. Peter Morse point out that when they are "Mudding" here try to target the middle of the "mud ' where the utmost activity is.

[troy]

When they are feeding in oceanic current lines I have had some luck with flies with a bit of red and flash in them like the attached. But I still find a brick more reliable.

I gather Jono Shales does ok targeting them in the current lines outside the reef and off the islands. Don't know what fly he uses though

Rohan, do they still come into Bundegi on warm summer days? Haven't fished the summer trips for years but I recall they were pretty reliable in the early days

[Tony Ong]

The last time we fished for them was a couple of years ago. They're still around. Late January, into February would be prime time. Just need to have the right tides.

[Rohan]

Can come in there any time of year so long as the weather is hot enough and the tides are midday to mid afternoon but that is usually late summer. The flats need to bake in the hot sun for a while, if the water comes in on cold sand the shallow water will be too cold. I suspect that spring tides would be better.