A Dirty Manly Dam

A Dirty Manly Dam

Bass, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Kayak Fishing
On Saturday afternoon I made a sneaky dash for Manly Dam, eager to flick a fly for a few Aussie bass. After months of drought, Sydney had finally had a week of heavy rain, and I was interested to see the state of the dam. The water level was significantly higher than on my previous two visits and, as expected, was substantially dirtier. That said, looking at the water from the bank, it looked tannin stained rather than muddy, which gave me some hope that it would still be fishable. An afternoon kayak session on Manly Dam I launched my kayak from the ski area boat ramp, and was promptly given a talking to by one of the skiers. Unbeknown to me, the ski zone was for powered boats only,…
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The Freedom Hawk, Freedom 12

The Freedom Hawk, Freedom 12

Reviews
Having done my fair share of kayaking (including the Dusi Canoe Marathon and the 50 Miler) I've spent many an evening contemplating fishing skis and whether they're fly fishing friendly. The thought of combining the paddle with the rod definitely appealed to me and it made perfect sense for both estuary fishing as well as to open the doors to some "deep" sea fishing in the form of nearby reefs. But was the standard fishing ski (or kayak) a genuine option for a fly fisherman? I'd certainly heard of people fly fishing off of them but it sounded both uncomfortable and inconvenient. And then one day, while browsing fishing websites, I came across Freedom Hawk's range of fly fishing kayaks. My eyes widened and I immediately sent them an e-mail inquiring about availability in South…
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