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- Holy Crap Batman
Holy Crap Batman
- By Al Simson
- Published 03/22/2008
- Fish Species
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Al Simson
I'm a guide working on Cape York at the top of Australia. My biggest love is sight fishing. Whether it be big trout or permit on the dry !!! It's all about the take.I grew up in Vancouver and Whistler B.C. and have been fishing in Australia for the last 12 years on and off and guiding here now for 4. I have been flyfishing for 30 years , commercial fly tying for 26 and have fished extensively through out B.C., the Yukon, Alaska, Hawaii, Australia, North and South Islands of New Zealand and Tasmainia.
View all articles by Al Simson
“Come on Phil hurry up and finish that cup of coffee. I need some
berley out back here". The hulking skipper of “Tropic Paradise” downed
what was remaining in his coffee cup and then sauntered his way into
the toilet do his usual morning business and provide me with a chum
trail. Yes you read this right. I was standing on the back deck
enjoying the coolness of the morning before the fierce Australian sun
would rise above the mangroves and be upon us. Ronald the fourteen foot
crocodile swam leisurely by on his way out to sea as he does every
morning. Queenfish and small trevally were busting baitfish along the
edges of the beach. The massive Queensland Groupers that hang at the
back of the boat were eyeing me like dogs waiting for a free meal.
Right at this moment I heard the toilet flush and a couple of clients
came out of the galley to see what I was up too on the back deck. "Hey
Al, what are you trying to hook now?" "A Batfish" “What!!!? Aren’t
those those fish that eat poo and everything else that gets thrown over
board? ” “Yup and they are super hard to fool with the fly, they have
excellent eyesight and a wicked sense of smell.” I replied. At that
moment movement caught my eye in the water as three large brown and
yellow finned fish were swimming leisurely up to the back of the boat.
I unhooked the small brown yarn fly, stripped off some line and made
the cast. I could see that the Batfish where now feeding on Phil’s
offerings as my fly drifted toward them. The first fish saw the fly and
raced forward mouth open only to turn away at the last instant. I cast
again, letting the fly drift naturally amongst the berley. Again, same
response. One could say that these fish know their shit (no pun
intend). Phil came out of the toilet as I was frantically making cast
after cast and asked “ So you hook one yet?” “ No” “Well, that’s all I
have to offer till tomorrow” “ Ok, cheers Phil”.![]()
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I continued casting at the Batfish till they had enough and slowly cruised off into the depths. I can see you asking “ What the F#*ck?” Why would you want to hook something that eats poo? Well, they are super cool looking, are really, really selective and pull like the devil. All the right elements in a fish worthy of targeting. This species of Batfish are found in the tropical waters of Australia. Typically you will find them hanging around the back of moored boats, feeding on most bio- degradable things that get tossed overboard. From bread, vegies, fruit and as you already know, poo. Occasionally I see them on the flats or on off shore reefs and rubble patches. Again, very hard to fool even away from their usual food source. They are very timid and weary of anything they eat usually inspecting it several times before committing to eat it. Most of my flies are tied to represent the food that they eat at the back of the boat. I have flies that represent pancake pieces, banana chips, cereal, poo, and toilet paper. It’s kind of like matching the hatch to an extreme degree. The batfish that we catch average around six to fifteen pounds. Though off shore on the Barrier reef they grow much larger. It took three seasons of trial and lots of error before finally hooking and landing one. Many were hooked, but between getting sharked, eaten by a groupers or just tackle failure it took us this long. We have it pretty dialed in now, but they are still a very hard fish to fool with a fly. Last season I managed to land several of these hard pulling fish and we now have clients that request that they would like to try and catch one during their week stay on the boat. So, if you ever think that you will find yourself on the back of a boat in northern Australia tie up some poo flies and put on a strong brew of coffee.
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1 Response to "Holy Crap Batman" 
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said this on 24 Mar 2008 3:58:10 PM CST
Very entertaining M8. good mix of humor and factual info. Caught Batfish whilst trying to get Permit with a crab fly. The Pearl farm at the south end of Croker Island had a mother ship (the Territory Commander) in cleaning pearl shell and I was casting into the berley trail and letting the fly drift naturally down targeting the Permit when I got busted up time after time. After 4 failed attempts we landed a Batfish. Was an amazing fight, tho I was a little disappointed that we didn't get our targeted Permit. The Batfish more than made up for it. I must say I never knew they where so hard to entice to a bite. I now realize how lucky I was . Good one Al
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