Oh dear, Harrington must be cursed as far as our Club outings are concerned. Our last two outings to this venue have been accompanied by the heaviest rain for the month. This time it was too wet for even our hardy and optimistic members who nonetheless made the journey.

Our featured fish for this month is the favourite of both my co-editor and me – the Mangrove Jack. The Mangrove Jack is a favourite fish as it was readily available and a real fighter, one fully deserving its nickname of “Tropical Assassin”. And Bonnie’s favourite because she regards it as the tastiest fish in the sea.

Unlike Ern Grant, the author of Grant’s Guide to Fishes, who states “(It) is very far from being my favourite fish. It is a violent ruffian; a hooligan; a thug; a close associate of terrorists.” Although I can’t argue with his description of Mangroves Jack’s character I love them and, like most anglers, I thought of jacks as being a more tropical northern species so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw one caught (on the dark side) in Stingray Creek. Although I haven’t had any success as yet I have seen other reports and photos on the internet of Jack being caught in the Camden Haven River and the creeks feeding Queens Lake. I have no doubt they would also have to be present in the Hastings River; perhaps one of our members can supply a little more information.

So, there are Jacks in our little slice of heaven and although they may be few and far between this could be because local anglers don’t specifically target them. Give it a try guys and gals, you would be almost guaranteed to win the “most deserving saltwater fish” trophy.

Thanks to Paul for his article on David Smith’s Sixty Second Bream Fly Variant and also to Peter Glasson who sent me all the information on tying and fishing Vince Margossian’s Loudmouth Popper, just in time for us to tie a few before bass season.

Thanks go to Bonnie for her report of our monthly outing again this month, second report in a row due to two attendance prize wins.

Iain

View/download August 2020 edition