The Intermediate Line Podcast

Whether its Voltz getting those 2am phone calls or messages to either of us over social media or even in person, we get a lot of people asking us questions. On this episode, we get through some of the more popular ones or commonly overlooked aspects of fly fishing that could make your life so much easier.  Topics include (but prepare for typical digression); Loop to loop connections - you could be ruining your fly line Ever had your rod ferrules stick ? we talk about proven way to get them apart Weedguards - Are they fish guards are they gods gift to fly tyers or are they the dumbest things ever. Flies that teach technique to beginners that also are worth tying to catch fish  Selecting a fly reel - The shops are going to hate hearing this... but we want to further the sport. A beginners guide to reel selection Feathers - The difference between Saddles, Capes, Necks and Schlappen also Grizzly and non Grizzly How to fish a Crab fly - To move it or not to move it... that is not the only question.  A strong and definite description to what is sight fishing... An over used phrase that when used incorrectly is like nails on a chalkboard to a lot of people.   Stacks of info on this show, we haven't had a meaty educational show for a while, we hope you get a bit out of this one.  This show is brought to you by Nervous Water, Kettafly, Power Pole, Beast Brushes and Flats Craft

On this weeks episode, Flyfishing guide / International Rock Star/ Commercial Fly Tyer, Shane Wakker from Baw Baw Fly Fisher joins us. Shane is the drummer from the band Bodyjar, a band who's accolades and long list of studio albums are well known all around the world, he is also a very successful Trout guide from the Gippsland hinterland region. Shane is also well known for his intricate fly tying. On this episode we talk about how Shane mixes punk rock and guiding, how he got into it, and a bit about Bodyjar. Also a very detailed account of the Baw Baw mountain region and why Shane is a black belt in Machete. If you have been living under a rock and not here one of of Australia's finest exports in music, the intro song "One in a Million" and outro "Hazy Shade of Winter ( Bangles cover)" are in the intro and outro respectively. You can book Shane for guiding through his page Baw Baw Flyfisher or you can find Bodyjar on Spotify and other places where you buy music that doesn't suck. This show is brought to you by Nervouswater Kettafly Power-Pole Total Boat Control Beast Brushes Inc Flats Craft #theintermediateline #flyfishingpodcast #bawbawflyfisher #bodyjarband

We are very please to present to you, the second instalment of our interviews with Gordon Dunlop. It is next to impossible to try and cram 50 years of fly fishing into just 2 episodes, and although we all feel we didn't leave it all on the table, we gave it a bloody good nudge. On this episode we get into some of the stories, like having to break wedding anniversary dinner plans while hooked up to VW beetle sized YFT, or Milkfish on worm hatches proving themselves to be the hardest running fish Gordon has ever experienced, to putting that much pressure on Abel BG 5 reels it expands the frame. And as you would expect, more marlin on fly stories than most will have.  We genuinely hope you enjoyed the first one, and if you di, your going to love the second one.  This show is brought to you by Nervous Water, Kettafly, Power Pole, Beast Brushes and Flats Craft

It’s a rare privilege to be able to speak with one of the pioneers of anything, let alone the Australian flyfishing scene. Today’s guest Gordon. Dunlop certainly qualifies as a guy who has been there and done that. We are very fortunate to have Gordon with us today, to share with us, his knowledge and perspective on Australian flyfishing scene right from the beginning.for those “who  know”, Gordon certainly doesn’t need any introduction, and for those who have no yet to have the pleasure, Gordon  is a true gentleman and pioneer of the scene in Australia. Gordon’s passion for flyfishing really comes through in his podcast and his knowledge of local and global fisheries is incredible. This one is worth 2 to 3 listens at least. Molly Meldrum would say do yourself a favour and have a listen. This show is brought to you by these sponsors Nervous Water, Kettafly Apparel , Power Pole, Beast Brushes and Flats Craft 

You asked for it, we brought it... you told us you want more technical fly tying chats, well this is it !! On this episode, we present for the second time, the honourable Chad Plooy from Ploy Flies. We get Chad on to talk about the flies that he specialises in as one of Australia's premier commercial fly tyers.. All the good stuff about Bucktail flies, Game Changers, Slow Water Game Changers, Crab flies (floating sinking, deerhair, suspending), Angry Adams Flies and his own innovations. Its likely you have purchased flies from Chad, many from around this big blue blob have purchased from Chad, and if you have, you might be interested to know the technical side of what goes into making a Nickleback song... oops.. I mean productive flies.    This show is brought to you by Nervous Water, Kettafly, Power Pole, Beast Brushes and Flats Craft   

On Episode 178, we chat to Captain Kurt Rowlands of Fish's Fly and Sportfishing. On this sort of Australia day special episode, we thought you couldn't get more of an Aussie Fly Fishing dream than giving up everything moving to Weipa and working with one of the oldest and most respected guide outfits in Australia. Kurt, a former Hervey Bay Guide, had the universe show him that it was time to bail and head to Weipa, that was over a year ago now and we catch up with Kurt to talk about this huge life change. Yep, we defiantly still talk about the fishing, we also talk about the changes in the scene up there and finally, someone with common sense talks about stepping in the water in probably one of the most dangerous places on earth do so.  Fish's Fly and Sportfishing is loved by the local community, all the guides live there full time and in a place where everyone knows everyone, that makes for a very seamless operation that the punters benefit from. If your heading to Cape York Australia, you'd be crazy as a dedicated flyfisho to look at any other operation other than the oldest flyfishing operation in Cape York that is staffed by absolute wizards on the floppy stick. Also on this show, we bring up Australia enterprise, and some of our contributions to fly-fishing products world wide. We have a lot to be proud of regarding our Fly fishing product exports, we urge you to support those building us up, and look to not support those attempting to tear it down... that rising tide definitely lists all ships... support Australian based companies along with Aussie made and happy Australia Day!!

We are back folks !! We took some time off and we come back guestless for another year of banter, and real experience based Fly fishing info. On this show... Death to Follow the Beef !! That's right... they win.  We also do a bit of a recap, we talk about Voltzy's brush with Bream Venom, and the new Beast Brushes shop dog and its intimidation techniques to secure itself as an alpha.  Have you tried to send us a message ? Its not that we don't care... we explain on the show.  Its likely to be underwhelming, but lets try and be supportive as we kick off 2024 !! Yep, these guys are still with us... please support those who support the show !! Nervous Water, Ketafly, Power Pole, Beast Brushes and Flats Craft

On this show, we have the honour of interviewing one of Australia's most legendary personalities... Robert Mills. Millsy as he is known around the country has many achievements off the water, but what many people don't realise is that Millsy is a Darwin resident who is a student of the Darwin shallow water flyfishing opportunities. We chat to Millsy about the little known skinny water of Darwin harbour and surrounding bays and harbours. Darwin is a Barra town.. its rife with High Viz dudes in tinny's with a full esky of VB's, trolling hardbody lures around for some of the best barra fishing known to man.. but, we don't see a lot about the cloak and dagger skinny water opportunities... When Millsy isn't belting out a tune at a the local Karaoke or hanging with the Hilton family, he's is husbanding Barra and scanning the flats for NT tails.  We are lucky that such and Australian Idol is willing to expand on this fishery with us.  This show is brought to you by Nervous Water, Kettafly, Power Pole, Nervous Water and Flats Craft

On this episode we talk to Martyn White from Flicking Feathers. Martyn is a Scotsman who is living in Japan and is a very much a traditionalist fly fisherman. Martyn, although is very open to modern innovation, is somewhat of an educator when it comes to traditional flies, both Salt and fresh water flies. One of the main things that separates Martyn from others who are also so consistent at making educational content on YouTube and social media, is that he fishes.. In fact, Martyn is arguably one of the most well rounded content creators when compared to his content creating piers on the before mentioned platforms.  On this show, we chat to Martyn about this approach to his content, we also talk about fishing in Japan. The chats about Japanese Sea Bass and the infamous Japanese Permit are very interesting. The fly tying talk is something that any aspiring fly tyers should not miss... Martyn's approach to tying such a huge variety of flies well, and knowledge of patterns that have come before us is phenomenal.  Also... Voltz is back !! This show is brought to you by Nervous Water, Kettafly, Power Pole, Beast Brushes and Flats Craft

On episode 174, we get deep into Saltwater Flies as we chat to Sam Sumlin of Spacecoast Flies . Spacecoast flies is one of the USA's largest retailer of Saltwater Flies. Sam and his business partner tie a lot of those flies, but they also host a Co Op of sorts for local fly tyers as well as a huge range of mas produced flies. These guys are the real deal and we get Sam on to tell us all about these style of flies ( Crabs, Kwaans, Redfish Crack, EP minnows, Sippers, shrimps and poppers). If its lower states saltwater flies... these guys are the experts. A second week in a row that we nerd out on fly tying... you guys are in for a treat.  We also talk about local species that Sam has on the Alabama coast and the panhandle in general. Species such as Redfish, Black Drum and Jack Crevalle to name just a few and how the fishing and flies is thought out. Its an interesting listen that will no doubt translate into any fishery around the world.  This show is brought to you by Nervous Water, Kettafly, Power Pole, Beast Brushes and Flats Craft

On episode 173, we nerd out hard on Pop Fleyes. To do this, we have August West from August on fly, on the show. August is an up and coming commercial fly tyer from Minnesota USA, who specializes in all things Bob Pop. On this show, Voltz isn't with us, which enables Chris and August to deep dive on some of the tying techniques, how to achieve what you want to in the water, the history of some of the patterns, different feathers used in these fleyes, the fusions that have accentuated some of the pop fleye patterns further, Bucktail and Bucktail alternatives and so much more. If you are into tying these sorts of flies or just wanting to have more command over natural materials on a hook, than this show is definitely for you.  This show is brought to you by Nervous Water, Kettafly, Beast Brushes, Power Pole and Flats Craft 

On this episode, we are proud to present for a second time, Jimmy Barwick. Jimmy, has just gone out on his own with his new guiding outfit Snowy Valley Fly Fishing. On the show, Jimmy briefly talks about the events that led up to this new chapter in his life, and shortly after we talk about what SVFF offers its clients, we get into talking about the fishing. For a big part of the show we are talking about the huge Cod Jimmy is catching... 25 over a meter this year ( that doesn't count the ones under a meter)  !! We talk about the flies, the lines and tackle the big issue about live scoping. Live scoping is a hugely polarising issue in still water, and we chuck out hat in the ring regarding this debate. We then go onto to talk about the drift boating that Jimmy does on the Tumut River, and what's involved with that. Jimmy offers a well rounded operation that caters for both Natives and Trout.. Be sure to listen in and also go back and have a listen to the first one with Jimmy Episode 150. This show is brought to you by Nervous Water, Kettafly, Power Pole, Beast Brushes and Flats Craft

On this episode there is just a lot.... Here is what we talk about The rise of Freshwater Voltz A review of the new Power Pole Move PV motor Fibreglass boat repair... Do as we say, not as we do  The new Ahrex SA258 CA Bendback hook Pointers on how to teach a beginner to cast  If your into sledging, learning from ones mistakes, carp and national pride... This one is for you.  Brought to you by Nervous Water, Kettafly, Power Pole, Beast Brushes and Flats Craft

Jamie Howard, a man who shaped a genre of Fly-fishing films, set a mood, taught us stuff and showed us things that those who may not ever get to fish for Tarpon, Striper or Bonefish will never see. Still to this day an unmatched filmmaker as far as quality of fly-fishing footage and story telling, Jamie is best known for his iconic flyfishing movies, Chasing Silver, Location X and Andy's Return films. Recently Jamie underwent a mammoth task of documenting the migratory run of Striped Bass in his latest film "Running The Coast" that Jamie describes as his Magnum Opus. Featuring interviews with Bob Popovic, Lefty Kreh and Dave Skok to name a few as well as  incredible footage of Stripe eating crab flies and wild blitzes.  We chat to Jamie about  his personal fishing, the fisherman he films, the birth of the location X concept, how Andy Mill got caught up in Chasing Silver, and the sheer epicenes of how Running The Coast was made as some of the highlights. For this of you who have never seen any of Jamie's work... let these two hard arsed pragmatic fisherman tell you that Jamie makes films for those that are not easily impressed... You would have to be made of stone not to want to sell everything and fish forever after watching these films. Checkout HowardFilms.com and do your self a favour instead of watching the bloody masked singer garbage.   This show is brought to you by Nervous Water, Kettafly, Power Pole and Beast Brushes 

After 4 years of being closed due to Covid, Kiribati ( Christmas Island) since May 4 2023, anglers have just experienced their first season on CXI. Our guest on this show Andy Vockler has just come back from 9 weeks on CXI. Andy is the proprietor of IN2FLY, which is the Australian agent for arguably the best lodge on Kitritimati "The Villages".  On this show Chris discusses with Andy how he got involved with the exclusive agency with The Villages, and a little about this community building project. Shortly after that we hit the big questions like how good is the Bonefishing after being closed for 4 years, how far has angler prep come, chumming for GT's WTF !!, is the GT fishing better now ? New recreational fisheries legislation that may affect some, Biggest Bonefish this season/ever and we go there with fly lines.  If you have just been, or planning on going, there is no one in this country (possible even globally) that knows CXI like Andy Vockler, the Barron of Blend 43  This show is brought to you by Nervous Water, Kettafly, Power Pole and Beast Brushes

Episode 168 - Fly Design, an Innovators Special. As the name suggests, Voltz and Chris break down the approach for innovation in future fly designs by looking at past designs and world class innovators in fly design. The hosts have both been involved with internationally influential fly design, and have first hand insights into the problems these flies were designed to overcome, these are discussed at length during the show.  For those that like to let the creativity of fly design flow through them, or to those that would like to stay true to the original innovators motivation when tying flies, this show is action packed.  There are so so many distractions in this modern era of fly tying that mute the understanding of a fly's original design, so we hope that this show offers the listener a re-approach to the way you view the flies you choose to maximise your results on the water... Sometimes following the beef is not enough, and the ability to adapt to your unique species, or a situation you find a common species can mean the difference between fly fishing being a hard thing, or an effective way to catch fish. This show puts a big part of that puzzle in place for any level of fly tyer, fly designer, or fly consumer.... We both agree, that this episode is core information for improving your results on the water. Fun fact, the picture shown here is the very first fly of what is known as the Slow Water Game Changer, no others came before this fly anywhere in the world.... it is now a very popular fly internationally.  This show is brought to you by Nervous Water, Kettafly, Power Pole and Beast Brushes. 

On episode 167, we are stoked to finally bring you the legendary Brett Wolf. Many will already know about Brett as the guy who put Exmouth on the map as one of Australia's premier fly fishing destinations. It would be fair to say that Brett is the one, who as a guide, developed Exmouth as Australia's most consistent Bonefish fishery. In more recent years, Bretts achievements with permit are hard to ignore. Having both Blochii and Anak Permit, and the incredible biosphere that is the Exmouth Gulf, makes Brett one of the leading operation in OZ to offer many shots at single and small schooled fish, which is what anyone who aims to test themselves on Permit aspires too. On this show Brett offers up some great insights from a guides perspective on fly placement and reading the fishes mood. This show turned out great and is not one to be missed by any self respecting Permaphile.  Exmouth is definitely not only about Permit and Bonefish, and we don't ignore that either as we delve into Bretts experiences with the other great species that are on offer around the Exmouth Gulf and Ningaloo reef.  If you keen to see more of what Brett offers, checkout his website www.ningalooflyfishing.com.au  This show is brought to you by Nervous Water, Kettafly, Power Pole and Beast Brushes

On this episode, we present a definitive look at marine lithium batteries. We are joined by industry expert Steve Whapham, who is the proprietor of Green Marine batteries. On this episode we hit Steve with the big questions... Can Lithium batteries catch on fire? Do they last longer ? What's with the huge price difference? Are they compatible with any charger or AGM batteries? Plus so much more.... There are so many fears and mistruths surrounding lithium technology and we feel as though this show covers it all as we address ours and your listener issued questions.  Also on this show, we go through the top 10 way that you can improve your flyfishing... Some of this might sting a little. This show is brought to you by Nervous Water, Kettafly Apparel, Power Pole and Beast Brushes.... oh and Keef from Caboolture. 

On this podcast we chat with gun angler Mark Davis about the plethorus of Flyfishing options in the North West of WA. Currently residing in Broome and having fished the Pilbara since pussy was a cat, Mark has enough beef for a cattle station! He is well versed on the flies, techniques and locations. It’s clear from talking with him that he invests a lot of thought and effort into his fishing and flies. A quick perve at his IG page @flying.foam will no doubt make you agree. It’s a good chat, and one our longest. You will need at least a 6pack of veebs, bush chooks or whatever your poison is to do this justice. Also in the intro, Chris and Voltz exchange the usual banter, discuss some exciting new kit on its way, and Voltz rediscovers the joys of fishing for people on IG. This show is proudly brought to you by the usual, yet great Nervous Water , Kettafly Apparel, Power Pole and Beast Brushes

On this episode we chat Eugene Pawlowski, one of Australia's most travelled and experienced guides. You will learn on this episode of an amazing life, one that consists of fishing over 20 countries for some of the world's most sought after fish. Eugene originally a Blues supporter, now living in West Oz, is not short on experience, from the jungles of Bolivia for Golden Dorado, to the pristine Back Country NZ and from Cuban Tarpon to Cape York Australia all the time acquiring a huge repertoire of species and racking up many hours guiding. Some people travel picking fruit, Eugene has hit the road as a professional guide and has not stopped yet. Find out what a life well lived sounds like on this episode.  Also on this episode, yep... we talk crab flies yet again, and the development behind the new school crab flies. We also revert from the new school in the outro and put a difference of opinion of the table as we talk about a $100 6wt Glass Rod and some Jewfish.   This show is brought to you but Nervous Water, Kettafly, Power Pole and Beast Brushes