June 02, 2025Angler Profile

Who is Steve Kirkham?

Steve Kirkham | Angler Profile

Where are you from?
North Queensland

What is your favourite species to chase on the flats!
Golden Trevally - They school up, tail hard, get you into the backing, are dogged fighters, grow big, will eat off the bottom, mid water and even off the top, you can sight cast them on the flats or dredge em deep. Pretty much ticks all the boxes when looking for a great Saltwater Fly Species in my opinion.

Top tips for success on the flats?
Preparation is key. You honestly can never be too prepared for the different species and scenarios likely encounted fishing the flats. Having multiple rods rigged up and sometimes even stripped out at the same time with different rod weights, line and fly combos means that the presentation and approach can be switched up quickly depending on species and water depth.

How did you get into photography and videography?
A good friend of mine and an excellent photographer, Shaun Quinlan, always had a camera in the hand and especially on the boat when we would fish Hinchinbrook Island. Seeing the difference firsthand in quality between a professional DSLR and lens combo vs my phone camera made me deep dive into camera specs and the settings used for correct exposure and techniques that gave an image a certain aesthetic feel, look or quality. I then started looking closer at magazines and other fishing photographers and was inspired to try and capture the best images I could, based on the type of fishing I like doing and it snowballed from there.

Dream destination or species?
Dream destination – The Seychelles
Dream species - All 4 permit species would be pretty cool.

Most memorable fishing experience?
Watching my then 8-year-old daughter, Poppy reel in her first Golden Trevally. It was a team effort, with Goldies tailing pretty hard in calm conditions as soon as we got onto the flats. She spotted the pod, when one tailed in front of us as I was stripping off line. I made the cast, the fish tailed on the fly, came tight and handed the rod over and she fought the mid-sized fish before landing it. We were pretty stoked, although I was probably more stoked out of the both of us and it was followed by a comment of “I thought you said we might not even see a fish Dad, that was pretty easy!”.

Which combo have you enjoying on the flats lately?

For the last few months I’ve been running a Primal Mega CCC 9ft #10, Lamson Litespeed M8 & Airflo Ridge 2.0 Flatsmaster WF10I. The Mega CCC is light in hand, has plenty of feel and can punch heavy shrimp and crab flies into the wind, yet make delicate presentations to tailing fish. I’ve always been a fan of the waterproof Lamson drag, I still run some of the Lamson Cobalt reels on my other flats setups, they’re smooth as silk. The large arbor of the reel is great for picking up line in a hurry. The Airflo Ridge 2.0 Flatsmaster is a great all round flats line that casts a variety of patterns with ease, especially in the wind. The 10ft Intermediate tip is perfect for keeping your fly in front of the fish, when they’re mooching along the bottom.

Tell us about your skiff, it’s a weapon!
It’s a Haines Signature 485sf hull with a tiller Suzuki DF60A, custom casting deck, poling platform, 8ft power pole and yeti cooler seat with a standup grab bar. It’s also fitted with a 80lb Minn Kota which might seem overkill for a 16ft boat, but honestly I couldn’t have anything smaller now. It just gives you the ability to get in front of fast-moving fish on the flats, especially when it windy.

Interview by Josh Power