Milkfish

Questions about Saltwater Fishing

Milkfish

Postby king2707 » Tue Mar 13, 2007 3:02 pm

Hey Larry,

Rumor has it that with the right fly and the right tide that milkfish can be caught. Have you had any luck with this yet? I know that there are plenty of milkfish in the Seychelles as well as places like Christmas Island. I'd be interested in hearing what you have to say to catching these bruisers. When I was last in the Seychelles, I was startled the first few times these 3 foot long torpedos went by me while wading the flats. My first thought was "that's the biggest darn bonefish in the entire world!" But, alas, it wasn't.

Regards

Paul
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Postby dahlberg » Thu Mar 15, 2007 9:55 am

Hi K,
I too was startled by the first ones I saw. Very cool looking fish, but from what I understand, they only eat algae.
The first mention of them being caught on flies led me to question directly the guide who carried the author of the article and star of the video they shot. I was disappointed to learn they'd coralled a bunch of in a tide pool, snagged them, rehooked them and pretended they were actually caught. tsk tsk.
Subsequent to that some of the hard core fly guys have developed flies that resemble a gob of algae and have had some success at catching them.
No doubt they'd really give you a ride!
I've got a prejudice toward predators and fish with teeth, or at least crushers and just can't get excited about dead drifting an algae imitation when there are Giant Trevallys in the same neighborhood who'd practically climb a tree to get to a popper.
best,
L
Larry Dahlberg
The Hunt For Big Fish
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Postby king2707 » Thu Mar 15, 2007 1:52 pm

I hear you about predatory fish. Nothing like a big GT smashing a fly or the sight of several sails all lit up at the back of the boat looking for anything to grab. The Seychelles are *it* when it comes to the variety of fish that one can get access too in any given day (some of the South Pacific islands aside, haven't been yet).

I do want to relay a short story on my first GT to illustrate the point. I was with a buddy of mine and Seychelles guide, Graeme Field walking the reef at Bijoutier Atoll when we spotted 2 inside the surf line. I made the right cast, one of the fish exploded on my fly but in my excitement I went to set the hook too early. The fly caming screaming out of the water, right at me and that fished tracked it all the way to my feet. It swirled around the fly, didn't get hooked, and then headed straight out towards the reef. Somehow I had the presence of mind to make a cast and I swear that fish cocked his head as the fly went past him and then raced the fly to the point of its landing. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. You can only imagine that when the fish hit the fly, it was headed straigth for the reef with a full head of steam already. It was all I could do to hang on... 30 minutes later I had my first GT, a nice fish of about 40 lbs.

As for milkfish... I've gotta try everything twice (the second time to confirm that I really didn't like it the first time, if that was the case). So, I guess it's on the species list given a chance.

Thanks again for the reply.

PK
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Postby jbird » Thu Mar 15, 2007 5:32 pm

Temple forks rep and flyfishing guide, Don Memmer fishes for milks on his home island of Hawaii. They are indeed a dificult fish but they can be caught under the right conditions. He catches them on small minnow immitations, usually clousers. I hope nobody minds if I paste a report here from him?

jay




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aloha, today I was very lucky to catch and land this 12lb awa, milkfish on a TFO 5wt rod. The fight took over 30 minutes. I had to go under bridge three different times, and wade into the pond a couple of times as I went around trees. I was lucky that an elderly japanese fisherman was there to help me land the fish. I took it to a registered scale, and am going to submit the catch to the IGFA. I hated to kill the fish, but that is what it takes. I was very stoked, it was a real battle. Mems.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/ ... IM0136.jpg
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Postby king2707 » Fri Mar 16, 2007 10:58 am

Hey, no worries, I appreciate the information. One reason I asked is I'm off the the Seychelles in about 10 days and I know that they have a lot of them there and would like to hook into a few. What the heck. I've heard that they've been termed "the fish of a thousand casts."

Thanks again

PK
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