Video review: Fly Fishing for Mullet
A really fascinating view on a new type of fishing in he Baltic area. Some great action scenes and excellent instructions in fishing for thick lipped mullet.
Mullet Fever
The mullet season is here in the Baltic, and this excellent DVD just turns the mullet fever up several degrees.
I have just been out fishing the past couple of days - both days in pursuit of thick-lipped mullet, a fish that we see in still growing numbers every summer and autumn here in the Baltic.
Brian Kjaer, an old friend on mine, has been hunting mullet systematically for many years. The rest of us just fish for them when they are there by coincidence. Brian has targeted them very intensely.
That has led to an expertise in the area, which to my knowledge is unsurpassed by anybody, and Brian and his girlfriend Jane have now produced this DVD, which sums up most of Brian's knowledge and shows some great mullet fishing footage too.
The DVD is one long drive through a great type of fishing with lots of action, lots of tips and lots of sheer fun in fishing. After having watched this DVD I cannot wait to get out hunting mullet again.
Brian hooks about 20-30 fish in this DVD alone and gets more than I care to count to hand. He also manages to show different fishing methods, flies and a bunch of tips.
Brian Kjaer's very obvious enthusiasm is a fantastic asset to the DVD. His excitement when he sees fish and his disappointment when he can't hook them, makes the production stand out from many usual fly fishing videos, where the main characters are often very impersonal and neutral in their appearance. Not so here. There's no doubt that most of these scenes are very genuine and that the action and Brian's comments is just what was in the can when the day was over.
Now, don't misunderstand me and think that this is a random collection of film clips. That is not the case. The DVD is well structured, generally well edited and has a lot of very calm and useful scenes where Brian Kjaer tells you how to target these elusive fish. A lot of knowledge is passed on regarding flies, leaders, casting and much more. Both the seasoned mullet angler and the green one will learn a lot here.
But I still love the action scenes best! There are so many hook-ups, so many fights and so many landings that you suddenly believe that you yourself can catch a mullet.
I at least am sure that I get one every time I cast to one. When Brian can, so can I!
But I still have to land one... I have fished for them the last 2-3 years, and last season was my best with four hookups - all fish lost. But that's a lot better than the season before that, where I spooked hundreds of fish, but didn't hook a single. This year is going to be different, not least because of the inspiration from this DVD.
The geist and inspiration is what makes this production special. And that enables me to forgive some of its flaws. This is not a top-notch professional production.
You will see the photographer's shadow, see the microphone pass a corner of the picture and hear a lot of wind noise on the sound track.
You will also see some peculiar cuts and some mixed in images of flies, which are not exactly state of the art.
But it's easy to forget that when one big, fat mullet after the other is caught in beautiful settings.
It's easy to suppress when great underwater footage adds to the visualization of this fish and how to fish it.
And it's easy to get sucked into the DVD and get infected severely with the galloping mullet fever when Brian sneaks in on his knees and casts to very large fish clearly visible in a foot of water only a few feet from the shore.
The DVD was originally a Danish production, but has been re-edited and subtitled in several languages including English, German, French as well as Swedish. So foreigners can now be smitten too when they see what a fantastic fishing there is to be found on the Baltic coasts.
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Comments
Thanks Martin, Job D
Thanks Martin, Job Done a steal at the price It arrived quickly and now for some Danish Fish P***. Thanks for the link.
Jim, The DVD can
Jim,
The DVD can be found here and there. Here's a German shop that has it for sale online.
Martin
Hi there, this is pr
Hi there, this is probably a forlorn shot in the dark but , looking at the age of the conversation does anyone know if and where the DVD is still available to puirchase New or Sec Hand. Google took me to the USA but having purchased I was refunded as out of production. Thanks for ny advice Jim
Hi Martin, What s
Hi Martin,
What sort of line does Brian use?Is it weightforward or DT. And also what type wax is applied to the leader.
Regards Joe.
I watched this DVD a
I watched this DVD and enjoyed it. I flyfish for mullet in estuaries in Japan and they can be very difficult to fish. Sometime I have to use a 6X tippet and size 12 fly when I fish for them in clear shallow freshwater on sunny days.Muttet have very good eyes, and that seems to make it difficult to catch them with a fly. I used the fly used in the DVD, but it didn't work. Maybe too big for mullet here, but I'm not sure.
Hi! I am new to thi
Hi! I am new to this website and west coast fly fishing. I have fly fished before for trout only in Colorado & New Mexico. I just got my own fly fishing rig and I'm 200 steps from the back bay in Newport Beach, CA. I see mullet fish jump out of the water all evening long after work. I have been down the last two evenings with no fish. these fish are way too close to my home not to catch. I haven't fished any topwater flies at this point. any suggestions? thanks!
I've tied so many fl
I've tied so many flies and thrown so many since I viewed the DVD that I'm exhausted thinking about Mullet. They jump over my flies, they swim underneath them, they taunt me every second that I spend hunting them. I lay on the rocks, casting on my back, crouching like a crab and walking the same, and still no Mullet.Why? Why? Why? HELP me please.
How can I buy this d
How can I buy this dvd in the United States? I would be pleased for any tips on cathcing mullet on the fly. I've chummed with bread.......and threw exotic looking bread flies......I've worked every color of green insect species along floating grass......no mullet.......Help me Please.
Joe, Str is short
Joe,
Str is short for storrelse in Danish, which simply means size (hook size in this case).
Hope this helps.
Martin
In relation to hook
In relation to hook size - can anyone tell me what (str ) stands - for.
I had one of these D
I had one of these DVD's. Very good one. Brian is very skillful person. Any idea what weight rod has he been using? Is this 8 weight?
Finally got to sit d
Finally got to sit down to watch this superb video. I learnt a great deal and will be applying some of the tactics this year. Thanks for some great action shots. www.ukswff.co.uk
The photos I can see
The photos I can see in this article are really very beautiful, but I'm not so surprised because I'm used to spend my summer and spring days fishing mullets in fresh water with flies in a river in Tuscany, in Italy (I'm Italian...) and I must agree... it's a wonderful fish... I don't know... maybe i will buy the DVD... so i will be able to learn how mullets are fished in Baltic!!
I love fishing but i also love fish,
please, always catch and release!
P.F.
Wow, I thought mulle
Wow, I thought mullet were confined to the southeast U.S.! We fish for them in saltwater with cast nets and in freshwater with earthworms and dough baits.
It seems they can only be caught on the rod when they migrate to fresh water.I will try the fly now. Thank you for broadening my mullet horizons.
Do not view this DVD
Do not view this DVD if you aren't ready to contract a severe case of mullet fever (which cannot be cured by anything else than an immediate mullet fishing trip).
Cheers,
Svend
Hi Martin, I saw thi
Hi Martin, I saw this DVD a couple of weeks before and I absolutly agree with you. It seems to be not so difficult to catch any mullet according to this DVD but reality is different. The DVD is well made and I would recommend it. BTW a friend of mine caught a 62cm long mullet on Fyn a couple of days before:-)