Fly Blog

The Tasmanian Highlands is one of those places where as soon as you arrive, you breath out, stress gone, nothing to worry about here. My appreciation for this place is as much for the people and the way of life as it is for the fly fishing. People visit each other here. Not a text or facebook, but a visit in person. Quite often a number of people visit the same house at the same time, totally unplanned, and the outcome generally means the planned early start on the water becomes a late one! The one thing everybody has in common here is fly fishing. Just about everybody fly fishes, locals and tourists alike and this I believe brings the people together.

I’m getting back on top of the fishing after a slow start. I mentioned in my last blog that I thought other methods would work well and I still believe that, However, dry fly fishing is the way forward here. It’s all about spotting a cruising trout and making him come to the surface to eat your fly. A nymph might be better at times but I want to catch them on dries, at least that’s how I feel here in the central highlands.

While in NZ, Stefan gave me a beautifully tied and constructed Swedish balsa wood wasp pattern. I put the fly in my box without giving much consideration to when I’d use it. 4 days ago I had none of my Tassie beetle patterns tied, so I was looking for inspiration. “The wasp” I thought, “Perfect!” I put it on the point and before long a 4lb brown sipped it down. Terrestrials are essential here.  On the 19 lagoons and farther out into the wilderness I find them better than dun patterns. Beetles in particular, I see them on the water every day in good numbers so it makes sense. Colour is less important than silhouette. I have never seen a wasp on the water here but from the time I put the wasp on, 8 out of the next 10 fish ate it, (I fish 2 dries) then I left it in a fish. What makes this fly so good? I’m not sure but I think it generally looks like food. Terrestrial food! Stefan, please send me one or 2 more!!

My day consists of heading out to the Western Lakes, usually the 19 lagoons which are accessible from a rough track. I look at my map and make a plan for the day which often changes as the day progresses. The terrain between lakes is tough going. Stumbling over tussocks and spiky plants is the order of the day. A few days ago I walked a few Ks of river which took me over some of the toughest terrain I’ve ever walked. I fell down about 10 deep river eroded holes hidden by tussock. I think the risk of breaking a leg down a hole is far greater than being bitten by a snake. By the end of the day a cold beer always goes down well. 8 fish was the most I had in a day so far and my worst day was a blank! Today I had 3. A 2lber, an impeccably conditioned 4lber and my best Tasmanian fish to date, a 5.5lber. 4 lakes for 3 fish in about 5ks in 7hours. Aside from falling in and then feeling the wind chill it was a great day to be alive!

Don Ogden, A fly fisherman on a break from the sport, has kindly put me up for a while, so in the evenings I have a place to kick back, tie flies, write blogs, drink beer, eat spuds, enjoy visitors, etc.. Thank you very much Don!

Fish hard. Stuntman Ronan..

I’m back in Miena in the central highlands of Tasmania and it’s just as I remember it! It’s been difficult so far, reliable lakes and methods seem to have changed slightly so I’ll have to adapt. That’s my first observation and it could be wrong, time will tell.

After I left kevins company on the morning of December 26^th I went to Te Anau. Feeling a little lonely and unmotivated I went to the Waiau River and quickly became motivated and content. There were fish about and they were feeding. I had excellent sight and blind fishing on both nymphs and dries. I had lost a lot of interest in this river of late because I thought fish quality and quantity had deteriorated. I was wrong; the fish were in top condition so I was in no rush to any other river for the time being. I had a few days fishing alone averaging 11 a day before Sean arrived to join me for a few days from Railton in Tasmania. You may know Sean from such films as “Big Fish Week part 1 & part 2″. We tried some lake edge fishing which was pretty unproductive so it was back to the river! Stefan from Sweeden was not too far away so he came to join us for a while.

On the last day of 2011 Stefan and I fished together. That morning session on the Waiau with Stefan was everything I love about fly fishing. Stefan was easy to fish with and sharing the water was a pleasure. So I guess that’s the first thing, good company. The second thing was the weather; we had a perfect blue sky day with a gentle breeze in our favour. The fish were out in great numbers and feeding. The condition of the fish was as good as I’ve seen on this river. Sight fishing with nymphs accounted for most fish but the dry also worked. My “Standard nymph for NZ” nailed ‘em, particularly a size 10 grey version. (There’s a blog about it’s tying from about 2 years ago!) I gave one to Stefan and he started cleaning up with it after a slow start. It was pretty much constant action with superb fish; many of them were around 5lbs, both browns and rainbows, which is 2lbs over average. I had one of about 7.5lbs which is a trophy on this water and my personal best off it. Another angler came to fish the same water and since we had such top class fishing already we left it to him with half the water untouched. We blanked on the section we went to next! Perfect!

This was of course the festive season so Sean, Stefan, Myself and Ruth (a friend from home working in Te Anau) took part as one would expect. Good food, friends, fishing, festivities and The Redcliff Bar made it a Christmas and New Year season to remember.

And so after a very fast 3 months in NZ my visa was almost up, so I was Australia bound. Melbourne for 10 days catching up with my brother Conor, Matt (also in “Big Fish Week”), Paula 22, Tim, James “the rock” Simpson, kate and Jess. Lots of good times, eating out, pints and pubs. The highlight of the trip was The Great Ocean Road. Some say it should be renamed The Good Ocean Road or even The Ok Ocean Road but I thought it was pretty great.  Conor and I borrowed Matt’s car and spent 3 days driving down the coast. We got lost briefly while wandering off a marked track to check out some serious ocean swell and stunning cliffs. We had to bush bash back to the car which is not a good idea in Australia.. Especially if you’re wearing shorts! All’s well that ends well… Sincere thanks to you all for all your help with accommodation and lifts to and from the airport! Matt, when I visit you in Canada I’ll expect my own bed!!!

The next blog will be up soon and it will be all about fly fishing in the Tasmanian Highlands.

Do what makes you happy!

Ronan..

Ps. My good friend Bob Toffler broke his leg recently but this has not stopped him fishing. River access is a problem however! Bob lives in Balfour. I have a favour to ask any of you who can help. If you know of any river in the Balfour area or beyond where a fella could easily drive to, set up a chair and sit on it and wait for a fish to rise please let me know. roundstoned@yahoo.co.uk or facebook me. I’m the only Ronan Creane.

Thanks in advance!

A couple of trips out last week in Hungary. The first was an Asp fishing trip down the Drava, which seems low and perfect, but we couldn’t find any fish whatsoever. Winter has been very mild for Hungary this year – I believe this is the case all over Europe. Night times are sub-zero, true, but the lakes haven’t frozen yet. Or actually they hadn’t until I went fishing with Erno for pike. The water we wanted to fish had frozen, so we went somewhere else, and while we had an enjoyable time fishing a small snowstorm, we caught no fish! Anyway, it was nice to be out.

After a spectacular meal and a good few beers I slipped into a food coma. Kevin managed to wake me on the 3rd attempt and I eventually motivated myself into getting up and going for a fish. We spent 90 minutes on the river and had a brown and a rainbow each. We earned our desert which is yet to come. More to the point I have earned this second can of Guinness I just cracked! Happy Christmas to me! All you folks in the northern hemisphere will be sound asleep now I expect.. I hope Santa left you the mother load. Happy Christmas everyone!

Ronan..

Since Dad left almost a week ago I’ve been staying with my good friend Kevin Alexander in Fairlie. I’ve been busy online with organising flights to, from and within Australia, writing my first ever CV, contacting recruitment companies, visa applications, Christmas shopping (unsuccessfully) as well as staying in touch with family and friends. I still made time to get out on the water though, mostly on the local reservoir.

The fishing has been hit and miss. Some days the river mouths have been fantastic and other days, for no reason I can deduct, they’ve been dead! That’s fishing though and it’s all good. On one evening of note I had 3 fish in about 3 hours. A salmon, a brown and a rainbow, The next day I blanked but Mark Adamson managed a couple. All of the lake fishing were doing is from our boat (mine and Kevins). She has a few small problems but without doubt it was the best 400 nzd (thats 200 each!) we’ve ever spent. I doubt an outing in her goes by without mentioning what a bargain we got.

When travelling around the south island catch and release is what I do 99% of the time. The main reason for this is conservation but I eat fish so sometimes I take one or 2 when I know the body of water I’m fishing wont suffer from the loss of a fish or 2. this is generally true on lakes and large rivers. I really enjoy fishing for the table. It’s different because its not about deceiving the fish, It’s about food. I still have hunter gatherer instincts. Yesterday Kevin and I went out on the lake in the evening. We got 2 fish; the first one we took, the second went back.

I’m spending Christmas with Kevin, His Partner Freddie and her family and their baby Macy in Te Anau. Thanks in advance for having me. I have bought you all exceptional gifts so I’ll be expecting the same!

In case I don’t get a blog up on Christmas day I’ll say Happy Christmas to you all now! I hope its a good one. I know Kevin and I will sneak away to the river for an hour or 3, tight lines if you do the same!

Enjoy the festivities! Stuntman Ronan..

After 5 internet free weeks travelling around the South Island with my Dad, I’m back.. Dad flies out today after 30 blank free days on river and lake. The fishing was great because we worked hard for it. New Zealand fishing rewards an angler for effort as much as having the fundamentals correct. Our day’s together were simple. We got up at 7 or 8 and had a quick breakfast. One of us (usually Dad) would make us a sandwich each for lunch. After 8-10 hours on the water we would return to our accommodation and one of us (usually Dad, but this was less one sided than the sandwich making!) would cook dinner. A few beers and then bed.

We changed the format of this trip a little. In the past we would spend a lot of time driving to many different waters. This time we tried to find good locations within easy striking distance of good water and stay put for a while. Mossburn for example, A great location but the holiday park was pretty average at best. I like basic but the cold concrete floor, uncomfortable old school chairs,tiny flickering  tv and a door that sounded worse that a cat being stepped on every time it was opened and closed eventually broke me down. The fishing was great though. Dad had his personal best brown not too far away. He was almost 8lbs. We had about 50 big browns that week.

Another place we spent some time was at Buscot Station Backpackers 9ks North of Omarama. This is one of the best Backpackers I have stayed in anywhere. Tony owns the place and Kev helps out. After a long day on one of many nearby rivers or lakes we would come “home” to Buscot. Dinner was never a problem in the well equipped kitchen. Steak, veg and roast potatoes every night, usually with a bottle of wine and, if we were lucky, Tony playing the Piano. The beds were comfortable and the rooms spotless. We had freshly laid eggs for breakfast every day. Take my advise and stay here! You will not want to leave..

Back to fishing talk.. Still water fishing has been teaching me lots lately. I have been successfully using many methods and developing new ones. Let me elaborate! All the usual methods have been working so I wont bore you with those but one of the new things for me is fishing at close quarters to the fish using spiders. Suddenly for no apparent reason I knew spiders would be deadly even though i never really used them before. I fished them around lake edges instead of my usual #16 unweighted nymph suspended under a dry. Now I had no dry as an indicator so I was watching the fish more closely than ever, sometimes striking only because the fish was in roughly the right place, or it changed direction and slowed down, or stopped, or something obvious like i could see it’s mouth open and close. Then I started to notice mannerisms like one kick of the tail to approach the fly usually ended in a take, Slow constant swimming movements were less sure and sometimes ended in a refusal. This close quarter fishing was fascinating and I wanted to get closer and thus the “Huckleberry Finn” method was born. In my head Huckleberry Finn is an adventurer with rough clothes and a cloth tied at 4 corners draped over a stick to carry his belongings. Sometimes he sits beside a lake under a tree with a bit of string tied to the stick trying to catch a fish. That’s what I found myself doing to get closer than ever to the fish! I used the willows which line many lake edges as cover. This heavy cover makes casting Impossible but it makes it easy to get very close to the fish. Once in position unhitch the fly, reel in until 2 or 3 foot of tippet is under the rod tip and then put the fly right in front of the fish or in his beat and wait for fireworks. The direction of the strike has be considered before the take to avoid smashing your rod off a willow limb. I learned lots from this method and on one great morning I had 11 on the HF while dad also had 11 while blind wolley buggering!

That same day another type of close quarter fishing presented itself to us. With 11 fish each and the wind getting up to about a force 6 we decided to go somewhere more sheltered. I was just about to put the rod in the car when I noticed a fish feeding in the swash of a breaking wave right beside me. I unhitched the fly and slammed it down beside him and he nailed it.. We walked on and realised this was not a once off. There were lots of fish doing this and we started catching them. We finished up with 18 each for the day on 3 completely different methods!

I have seen these “surfers” before but never to this extent, Partly because I didn’t look no doubt. I needed more and luckily this wind got up from the same direction every afternoon and the fish were there on cue. A lot of the fish were on the thin side and very opportunist but there were plenty cracking fish to keep us interested. On the days when the waves were not too big, dries provided great sport. Nymphs and spiders worked equally well but were not as much fun. On one insanely intense afternoon when the wind turned into a gale and one could dam near bodyboard on the swells breaking ashore, the fish were still there being pounded by the waves feeding away. No skinny fish though, All good ones with occasional Rainbows coming in from the back from time to time. It was unreal to see where the browns were effortlessly feeding. We could only see them every so often through the white water breaking onto shingle and large rocks. The fish were hard to spook and casts were short and aggressive into the gale with large weighted flies. The fish just needed to be able to get the fly into its mouth before the wave whipped it away.

I have never heard anybody talk about my Huckleberry Finn method or Surfing Browns so I’m learning those methods from scratch. I reckon the HF would be lethal for willow grubbers!

If you get a chance fish with your Father, Son, Mother, daughter whatever.. It’s Important!

Stuntman Ronan..

By the way, I filmed the HF method in action but my piece of shit laptop can barely play it let alone edit it. If there is a philanthropist flyfisherman among you please sponsor me a mac. It’s never easy being self sponsored!

Tom was a cat, he ate cheese and died.

We cannot all, live to fly.

Tommy. Tommy. Be an Asp Fly.

Shots from the week!

A few shots from the weekend…