With the 2023 RISE Fly Fishing Film screening at Glen Street in September, we caught up with local fly fishing expert and guide at Sydney Fly Fishing Tours, Justin Duggan for all the ins and outs and a couple of tips for finding fish on the Northern Beaches.
How did you get into fly fishing?
I’ve always loved fishing and enjoyed many great times in my youth, fishing bait with dad or on my own. As I got older, I caught my first fish on a lure the very first cast! After that I became fascinated with targeting fish on lures until one day a friend introduced me to a fly rod. I took myself into a quiet backwater in Sydney Harbour and thrashed the water with my terrible casts and managed to connect to a solid mack tuna! It was a true fluke. From then on, I was hooked on fly fishing.
What does a typical day on the water look like with Sydney Fly Fishing?
Early starts! I love to capitalise on low light as this is when the fish are often near the surface and strike flies off the top – it’s very visual, explosive. We search for diving birds, rising fish, ripples, boils on the water surface, baitfish schools fleeing. We are hunting predatory fish, finding them, and casting the closest imitation to their prey that we can find and design. The boat driving requires stealth and skill but the casting and presentation of the fly to the fish is very much the angler’s domain, they live or die by their cast. I take keen fly anglers wherever the action is best – whether that’s under soaring cliffs in a gorgeous national park, a drowned river valley or under towering buildings in Sydney’s famous ‘coat hanger’ – Sydney has it all.
Can you share some good fishing areas on the Northern Beaches?
The Northern Beaches is a diverse area, but Pittwater/Broken Bay is the jewel in the fly fishing crown. You will require a boat here but depending on season you can find schools of aggressive kingfish, surface-churning Aussie salmon and transient surface fish including tuna, cobra, Sampson fish and amberjack. The most spectacular is the late summer anchovy schools that form hairballs that get devoured by hordes of hungry predators. One year we had hundreds of sharks in there eating the bait! For those who are shore-based, any beach with a bit of a gutter and a rising tide can produce everything from bream and whiting to Australian salmon and tailor. A weed fly thrown into a churning rock platform wash can see you tangle with rock blackfish or drummer but don’t forget your life jacket and cleated boots, as well as a line management basket.
What did you enjoy most about the RISE 2023 Fly Fishing Film screening?
The variety of film locations is like a dip into a lolly variety pack. There are so many flavours! I love to see what other people’s fisheries are like around the world, and who is pushing the envelope. There’s always lots of laughs and sometimes even a touch of controversy. The filmmaking and storytelling quality gets better each year and many of the films appeal to people beyond anglers.
Top tips for beginners?
Easy, get casting lessons! Fly casting is super easy but it’s counter intuitive. Teaching yourself results in a long road to poor performance and less enjoyment. The international federation of fly fishers have certified instructors in Australia, including myself. Find someone who can teach you competently and once you can cast well the enjoyment level becomes so much higher. To me, the casting is as much fun as the catching. The challenge, the skill, the problem solving, it’s all what makes fly fishing so thoroughly enjoyable.
Watch the 2023 RISE Fly Fishing Film screening
See the action at the Glen Street Theatre screening, Wednesday 13 September.
Go fishing
To get on the water yourself, contact Justin at Sydney Fly Fishing Tours