Our Journey

I attempted a resin fly heavy enough for use with spinning gear. The action was tuned with a craft knife to produce a hardbody subsurface stickbait swimming action on a moderate retrieve. The lure performed well in trials but was too resource-intensive for bigger models.

The first order, hand-tied and shipped locally to a man in South Australia. Pre-existing jighead sizes were already perfect for their known applications and so I decided to use standard high-quality jigheads with super sharp and strong Gamakatsu hooks as my base.

The first image of UV activation for the Spin Flies shown to the public

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I used water testing extensively on my first iterations of the Cannon Fodder Baitfish, going through about 5 different types of natural and synthetic fur materials before deciding on the current glow+gloss backfur and matte white underbelly.

The glow+gloss fur produced a brilliant shine and glow effect under UV light. I was very pleased with the results.

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I spent some time whipping materials on a jighead while looking at pictures of Redfin on Google Images.

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The multi-coloured body and orange UV core of the Baby Redfin Spin Flies produced one heck of a glow.  These were going to be dynamite.

Even in murky waters, the Baby Redfin Spin Fly stood out and yielded a dozen good redfin in a short trip. The robust construction held up for the whole day.

A submission by Damon Graham with the first murray cod caught on the Baby Redfin Spin Fly just a day after its release.

The original UV Prawn looked like a Yorkshire Terrier shrimp.

The inner wrap and orange fur stood out brilliantly in UV light and the action was solid but I was not quite satisfied with the profile.

The finalised UV Prawn with orange UV bands for arms and a longer, better-flowing front fur. The jighead was also concealed in a piece of flash tube. 

The first ocean trial of the UV Prawn Spin Fly was exceedingly successful. The local flathead and even yellowfin whiting did not hesitate to maul this lure even in an area with very high fishing and spearfishing pressure. From here I am considering a purpose-built yellowfin whiting lure exclusive from the UV Prawn.

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Due to sales going wildly beyond my expectations, I ran out of materials for UV Prawns. An alternative would be needed to tide me over and so I spent a few nights developing something that would work just as well. The UV Squid were incredible but many times more difficult to tie than the UV Prawn. Eventually, these became so popular that I ran out of material for them as well within a few days.

The Whitebait, Hardyhead , Blue Sardine and Baby Redfin Spin Flies. The backbone of my journey to Spin Flies and only $5.90 to boot!

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Kingfish Spin Flies were a straightforward design, plenty of flash to be seen down deep, and a big eye to give them something to look at on the chase. With 3/8oz weight heads on a heavy-duty 3/0H hook, we have a Spin Fly that can get a ton of distance and speed as well as survive turning the head of a kingfish away from the closest reef.

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The same 1/2oz jigheads used for the heaviest Spin Flies are also used for the Reef Busters. Rather than just changing the colours of Surf Sardines, I decided to double the material for a brighter and more robust silhouette for use in much deeper water. White, pink and chartreuse were all reliable colours for this style fo fishing and plenty of flash was used as well. ​

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The Reef Busters in Lime Yakka and White Candy had a ton of glow and flash in all the right places for a panicking baitfish down deep.

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A Sydney Kingfish caught by Alex W. using one of my earliest takes on a Spin Fly for kingfish. The weight and size of this one was 1/8oz 1/0L and future developments would be heavier and much stronger whilst maintaining the same profile for the prime natural presentation.

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I am obsessed with finesse fishing for Short Finned Sea Pike, what we call Snook in South Australia. I had spent many years perfecting my retrieve and choice of lures for these timid and fussy fish, finding that a slow fall with perfectly matched features to their common prey was the best way to get them to bite. A lighter Spin Fly with a hook shank long enough to prevent bite-offs was necessary to target this species.​

The Snook Crook colour choice was simple. Snook love white as a rule in all conditions and a tell-tale sign of a wounded or panicked fleeing fish was the gill-flare which I added using red fur. The orange glow helped add to its presence when retrieved and the pink flash was a more toned-down attractant to add to its natural presentation.

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My third attempt at a Australian garfish pattern Spin Fly after several years of trying to make garfish streamers for saltwater fly fishing. This was the first time I was actually pleased with the attempt.

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I have caught red mullet on smaller soft plastics before with some work and this very tasty species is rarely one to go for lures and thus rarely targeted with lures specifically. Matching the hatch pays off and this guy couldn't resist a UV Prawn bounced gently on the bottom.

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After making and selling a few Reef Busters, I took the old blue Reef Buster Prototype out for some casual bottom bashing. On the first drop and twitch, I was immediately nailed by a very hard fighting specimen of a Blue Throat Wrasse. Mixed reef fishing is my favourite form of fishing and I could spend a whole week just going for a lucky dip off the tinny for colourful carnivores.

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Weighing in at one-and-a-half ounces with a big 7/0 Heavy Duty Hook, this Spin Fly meant serious business. At the request of the customer, I gave it the largest volume I could using almost an entire sheet of fur and tying in 8 individual tails rather than the usual 2. Plenty of flash and a bloody gillspot finished off what can only be described as a fish that wants to be eaten.

I knew the UV Prawns would be an awesome lure for light jigging off cliffs or off a boat inshore. Using 1/4oz jigheads meant they could be used for some reef bashing as well. The larger silhouette and more pronounced action would also be very welcome for those bottom dwelling trophy fish. If not for the ban in SA, I would be chucking these every week for snapper.​

My first drop with the Big UV Prawn yielded a lovely little Brown Wrasse which was then quickly released. I caught 30 of these little lure and bait destroyers and the lure actually held up with no noticeable damage which I was frankly a bit surprised by given these guys routinely cause scars on even metal micro jigs.

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