28Jul 2019 by Warren Prior No Comments
Crooked in the Crooked River

Crooked in the Crooked River

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
A Deluxe Cabin at Discovery Parks, Gerroa The family and I recently headed down to Kiama, predominantly to show the kids the famous blowholes. We ended up staying at Discovery Parks, Gerroa, which is a lovely, lesser known park. It had been recently renovated, and the Deluxe Cabins were absolutely amazing. The park also boasts a great little playground, mini golf, and a swimming pool, so it's well worth a stay. In terms of fishing, I only managed to sneak out once with the fly rod. The Crooked River looked like a prime spot for flathead, so I headed out with a lot of confidence. There was a deep channel on the far side of the river, as well as 50 or so meters of "shallows", which were completely exposed…
Read More
24Apr 2019 by Warren Prior No Comments
Trevally at Dammerels Head

Trevally at Dammerels Head

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
While camping at Emerald Beach, the lure of the many beautiful beaches surrounding us was far too great, and saw us heading north to explore Woolgoolga Beach. This proved to be a good decision as we drove onto the sand at the incredibly picturesque Flat Top Point. From there we headed south, looking for a good spot to setup camp for the afternoon. On route we passed multiple promising looking holes in the surf, all sure to hold fish, before coming to a stop at Dammerels Head. We selected the rocky point for both it's aesthetics as well as the promise of species other than dart, which we were beginning to tire of. Aerial photo of Dammerels Head While our kids chased (and amazingly caught) crabs, we kitted up our…
Read More
21Apr 2019 by Warren Prior No Comments
A Quick Flick at Darlington Beach

A Quick Flick at Darlington Beach

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
During a recent trip to Emerald Beach we decided to have some fun, and put the 4x4s to use, by doing a little sand driving on Darlington Beach. After spending a confusing 30 minutes trying to find the very well hidden road onto the beach, we drove out onto the sand and headed south. The sand was solid underfoot (tyre), thanks to the many days of rain, and made for easy driving. Having explored the small region zoned for beach driving, we found a secluded spot and settled in for the afternoon. The girls got straight to business, building sand castles and collecting shells and rocks, while Nick and I kitted up our fly fishing rods and headed down to the surf. An aerial shot of Darlington Beach The water…
Read More
20Apr 2019 by Warren Prior No Comments
Dominating Dart at Emerald Beach

Dominating Dart at Emerald Beach

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
A rainbow over Emerald Beach The family and I recently headed north (for 7 hours) to Emerald Beach, to spend a week camping with the Nortjes. The Baha Reunion had been long anticipated, but got off to a rocky start when the salt water flies I'd ordered online never arrived. This meant that the trip started with a quick visit to Coffs Harbour where we thankfully found the most incredible fishing shop, MOTackle and Outdoors, which was also home to perhaps the best camping shop I've ever seen. If you're even in Coffs Harbour it's definitely worth a visit. With my fly box replenished we headed back to Emerald Beach and kitted up for our first session. We opted to head south and to fish off the rocky point into…
Read More
30Mar 2019 by Warren Prior No Comments
A Windy Fingal Bay

A Windy Fingal Bay

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
Warren fly fishing the rocks at Fingal Bay During a recent trip to Fingal Bay (Port Stephens) I snuck away for a quick hour on the water. I chose to head to the rocky point at the southern end of the bay, as I believed this had the best possibility of holding good fish. The beach was devoid of wave action, which made me believe it was unlikely to hold any good fish (or at the very least, they would be widely spread out and difficult to find). In theory this proved to be a good choice as I had access to good structure, deep water, and multiple impressive gullies. Sadly, the 40 km/hr winds made fly fishing exceptionally difficult. In fact, at points the wind actually lifted my fly…
Read More
19Jan 2019 by Warren Prior No Comments
Shredding the Slopes of Heavenly

Shredding the Slopes of Heavenly

Skiing
During a recent trip to Silicon Valley a colleague and I decided to sneak away for the weekend, and headed for the ski slopes surrounding Lake Tahoe. The journey to Heavenly was, well, less than heavenly. It all began with an Uber ride to Sydney International Airport, followed by a flight to Los Angeles, another flight to San Francisco, and yet another flight to Reno. Three flights, a bus ride, and an Uber in, and we were adequately exhausted. As such we decided to skip the hour long wait for the bus, and instead paid the extra money and Ubered the remaining 45 minutes to Heavenly. We checked into our truely American motel, Bluelake Inn, before heading out to the local ski shop to hire our equipment in the hope…
Read More
31Dec 2018 by Warren Prior No Comments
Prospecting the Spit West Reserve

Prospecting the Spit West Reserve

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
Sunset at Spit West Reserve Having moved to Sydney just under a year ago, it was truely amazing to realise that I had not flicked a fly into the abundance of water available right at my doorstep. Eager to put a stop to this poor behaviour, I grabbed my fly rod (and the 6 salt water flies I own) and headed down to Spit West Reserve. On a previous visit (to the park) I'd seen a few trevally shoot out from under a yacht to chase some baitfish in the shallows. Unfortunately, fishing this part of the reserve was near impossible due to the many joggers, walkers, kids, dogs, and so on. I was therefore forced to fish the southern end of the reserve, closer to the rowing club. On…
Read More
08Dec 2018 by Warren Prior No Comments
Trying My Luck At Turon Gates

Trying My Luck At Turon Gates

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trip Report, Trout
My family and I recently spent a magical weekend at Turon Gates. Despite not being considered a top trout water, the Turon River is apparently stocked with around 7000 brown trout fry per year (according to unreliable sources). The river is better known for it's carp population, and also holds the odd bass. Despite poor fishing reports I was excited to get knee deep in a crystal clear stream, missing my home country rivers, like the Bushmans and the Pholela,  In preparation for the trip, and at the advice of local fishermen, I invested in a pair gaiters to protect me from the various venomous creatures Australia has on offer, and bought a fresh supply of dries, nymphs, and other trout flies. A new trout net sadly eluded me. The…
Read More
30Sep 2018 by Warren Prior 1 Comment
My First Session in Australia – Toowoon Bay

My First Session in Australia – Toowoon Bay

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
According to my blog the last time I flicked a fly was at the 2017 Xplorer UHTFC Festival, which was way back on the 24 September 2017. WOW! I'm truly embarrassed. How can it be that for well over a year I never flicked a fly?! Putting the embarrassment aside for a second, I was massively excited to step out onto the beach, fly rod in hand, with the only 6 flies I own in my pocket. My target? Tailor (that's shad for my South African friends)? Luderick? I wasn't really sure to be honest. I just wanted to wet a fly. My family and I were in Toowoon Bay on camping trip, and I'd managed to sneak away for an hour in the early afternoon. The wind was howling,…
Read More