It takes at least 300 days to catch a trout over 10lbs. At least it does if you fish like me. I don’t target them all the time of course, just when the mood hits me. It’s all about the fish, not the fishing so it really is mood dependant. Every one has been a super high. The emotions and feelings have been a bit different for each one. Some have been strangely anticlimactic (but still great!) while most have been utterly fulfilling, thrilling experiences. There are a few big fish around this year. Jeff Forsee and Paul MacAndrew have also cracked a double already this season. Some mousy stuff happening too so this might be a year to spend more time chasing the elusive doubles. Lets see how it pans out as the season progresses..
I haven’t guided many days so far but the days I’ve been out have been superb! Plenty fish, super quality and big! Between guiding and fishing I’ve had 4 over 8lbs to the net. It’s been a pretty wet spring. Some rivers had just come right and were fishing really well but recent rain has put them all out of commission again. They should bounce back quickly as long as the rain eases off. Come what may I’m excited about the season ahead..
A few days ago I took out Oliver and James. Oliver had never cast a fly before so we had a 1 hour casting lesson before advancing up river. It was enough to get him throwing a decent line and he managed 3 for the day. A great achievement for someone fresh out of the gate!
My season is starting to fill up but I have plenty spots available for the season to come. Contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight Lines, Ronan..
Only my 8th NZ trout over 10lbs since 2002. I had my first in 2008.
River keeping is always on the cards.
A great start on a new river..
Bryan casts to a rising trout..
We had a super hatch..
What a trout! Just beautiful..
Lovely small water..
The bridge fish!
This on the way back down. Bonus fish!
First trout for Oliver after a one hour casting lesson..
A memorable moment..
James into a solid trout..
..very solid! Over 6lbs.
Number 3 for Oliver.. Over 5lbs..
The lads had a suoer day landing 7.
Biggsy!
He just loves it.. 3 trout for day one on a cold, wet day.
The rain coloured the river for day 2..
But it didn’t matter! A super 6lber..
..followed by a 7lber from the same run. A new PB.
Stunning..
Lovely place to be..
One for me. The 4th time I’ve seen this old battle axe. He’s been the same weight for the last 5 years.
No stranger to big trout! Robbie with another brute..
Rescuing a lamb.. A regular activity!
Roger with a great trout..
and another..
Tough conditions with 60kph N wind but we got just enough protection from the willows.
Roger and Herb.
They really wanted the streamer in the morning but not the afternoon..
One of the highlights from my recent trip home was taking my godson, Macdaragh, fly fishing. We went to the same lake where it all began for me. Ryan’s Lake as its known locally or Ranachaun in Irish. Macdaragh’s auld fella and one of my best friends came too. Justin. He’s been on here a few times over the years. I attempted to teach Justin to cast a fly on Ryan’s Lake at least 20 years ago. I may have told him that he was one of the worst casters that I had ever seen. I think I put him off a bit. 20 years later he did much better. Maybe I did too. His understanding of the mechanics and physics of the cast meant that it was just a matter of time before his casting really clicked into gear – and it did, although he didn’t manage to catch a trout. Macdaragh did however! He did incredibly well. He took to casting like a duck to water and progressed consistently throughout the day. Most importantly he hooked, played and landed 3 trout. They were a good size too; big enough for dinner. After a great day out, Justin and his son had the added bonus of a feed of fresh, wild trout from a wilderness lake. Thankfully the open cast mine that was proposed for this very area was denied, so this stunning and sacred environment is safe for the time being…
True to my word in my last report, I have been out exploring new water. I’ve had some success too. I fished at least 8kms of water I have never fished before. Some of it was guiding a like minded angler who never minds taking a chance to learn new water. He landed fish to 7lbs in new water and many more in tried and trusted spots. We had 3 days in Southland with a couple more days on the cards once this rain stops. Maybe north next. One day exploring, one day not. I fish too with Bryan so needless to say I can’t wait!
The season is going great! between guiding and fishing myself I’ve had many 6 to 8lb fish to the net, some of them cartwheeling powerhouses – such strength! What a month October is. Certainly the best of the season if the weather plays ball… and it usually does!
Plenty spots available this season! Contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website. I’d love to hear from you!
Tight Lines, Ronan..
Ryan’s Lake
The fish are not big but they are plentiful.
Macdaragh’s first on fly!! This is a good one.. Probably at least 4 years old.
I have spent many happy days here. I know every inch of it!
A fly trapping plant with a sedge in it..
Macdaragh sends in a nice cast..
One of 3 landed for dinner!
No mining here!!!
This brought back a memory! Damien O Malley had 12 to my 2, then I got a terrible tangle. I lost my temper and picked up the rock on the left and smashed the big rock with it! I was about 15.
Justin and Macdaragh.
The 3 of us..
Dinner!!
Deserved! Well done Macdaragh..
Nothing wasted!
Such a tank.. small, lightly weighted flies..
Shotgun Kevin on the other bank. He got one too!
Heading south for a few days with Bryan..
Some stunning water..
..and plenty fish!
Most fish ate..
This fish went absolutely nuts! And why wouldn’t it!
Magnificent!!
Wilderness!
Bryan did well here.. Multiple fly changes before getting the fish on a single nymph with no indicator. It may have been agitating the fish so he removed it. Struck by watching the fish.. 7lbs.
Then this brute! 3 super fish for Bryan, one for me.
Look at that!
And what a place.. new water too!
About a dozen one day on the Mataura. We got a super afternoon hatch!
I thought when I was writing my last blog that the weather would change for the better before too long. It didn’t. In fact, it got worse. I have never seen a spring like this and neither have any of my fishing buddies. It’s been thunderstorm after thunderstorm. Many rivers have not had to chance to drop in the last month. Guiding has been hard because of this. The difficulty has not been on the water – that has been surprisingly good and even great! The difficulty has been in the decision making. Watching river flows and looking for windows where a river might drop enough to be fishable before the next rain knocks it out again. Many times I simply avoided the rivers and fished the lakes. Rising rivers, even if they’re clear, often produce poor results as fish “go to ground”. As reliable as the lakes are, some of them have suffered a bit too. With such huge volumes of muddy water entering some lakes even they have become unfishable, at least in parts. However, no matter what mother nature throws at us there will always be clear water to fish. I just have to find the best, most interesting and enjoyable bits! So far it’s worked out pretty well.
It’s funny how fate takes over some times. I drove out of Omarama and took a left towards the Upper Ahuriri. That’s where we intended to fish. Chuan and Kim were following in their car. Wei Chong was with me. Chuan called me on the phone because he was unsure where we were headed. Wei Chong told him we’d slow right down so he could catch up. I had told him where we were going and he’d been there before so I wasn’t too worried about him loosing his way but something must have gotten lost in translation. We got to the turn off, parked up and got out. We stood by the road and waited – only for about a minute. As they approached we waved our arms in the air to be seen. Neither Kim or Chuan saw us as they passed at a good speed trying to catch us. We got back in the truck and followed. There was no point trying to catch up with them as I expected they’d pull over when they realised they’d gone too far. That they did but not till Tarras about 50ks from the turn of to the river! No phone coverage til that point didn’t help matters. At that stage we’d all been driving for 40 minutes putting us in a different region altogether with different fishing options. I had a quick check of the forecast and it suited a local high country river. Plan A was abandoned and we hit for the the hills!
The river was high with a little colour as I expected it would be. The sighting conditions were good but pool after pool went by without showing us a fish. Finally I spotted one in a very reliable pool. We had 4 rods, each with a different rig. The first shot went to the person with the correct rod in hand. Chuan was up! I adjusted the rig slightly to suit this opportunity exactly. There could be no mistake here. I had a feeling this might be the only chance of the day. I got into position with just my eyes popping over a mound of gold tailings to keep the fish in view. Chuan got into position but could not see the fish from river level. I relayed directions as clearly as I could. After a couple of casts Chuan knew where his fly needed to land. One cast almost spooked the fish but he returned to station, the next was on target and down went the dry. A little chaos ensued with quite a large jumping fish, then it tore off down river. We were on the outside of a long bend with nowhere to land the fish. Before we got too far down the bank into deep water I suggested we jump in the river and cross. “yes, yes lets do it” said Chuan. In we went. My waders took on a little water as we bounced on tippy toes across the river. I almost floated off but we made it across and then easily landed the fish. For me, that was the best fishing moment of all the days we fished. Chuan and I pushed to the limits but we came out on top. We saw no more fish that day which makes a fish like that all the more important. Not often do we come off a river with a 100% success rate! Who knows how the day would have gone if plan A had worked out. Sometimes we just go with the flow…
I wrote this 5 days ago. Since writing there has been an improvement in the weather and many rivers have had a chance to drop, some right back to normal but others will be high and unfishable for ages yet!
The highlights from the past month are in the photos below. Quite a lot of big browns in there!
If you’d like to talk to me about guided fly fishing in the lower South Island you can visit my website or email me ronan@sexyloops.com. I still have availability from mid March to late April.
Tight Lines and Happy Christmas if I don’t get a blog out before then!
Ronan..
Singapores finest! Chuan, Kim and Wei Chong. Great fellas to go on the road with!
Bryan and I fished 2 days! Hers the first of 8. Just caught the river at a good height between floods.
Another for Bryan..
..a most perfect 7lber.
Same fish! Just beautiful..
A 6lber for me..
A small stream. New for both of us! Fish in almost every decent pool.. and there were lots of pools!!
Watching the farmers and dogs at work..
Plenty fish like this one. 9 total I think. Mostly on streamers as the river was a little coloured.
There was one here!
The heavy rain starting to rise the river..
We went hard to explore as much water as possible.
5.5ks up river from the bridge were deep in the rainforest.
One more pic before we bail out. The rising river switched the fish off!
The spring from hell!
When will this end??
He may be 86 but that will not stop this man learning to fly fish – in any weather!
2 for dinner for GK!
First cast on a club trip! The going was tough but Mike and I managed 6 in about 4ks of shoreline.
Big wind, waves and some surfing browns!
Lunch!
The crew back at camp..
More snow..
..but a lovely day followed! Helena shoots the bow and arrow..
..and the trap is set..
..successfully!
We got the lake as it was clearing after a major flood made it filthy! The fishing was the best I’ve seen on it..
19 trout for the day. This was the best one!
Chuan. “if only I had a net”
Quality fishing on dries, nymphs and buggers.
We got a window between floods to fish a river!
It was super!
A 6lber for me (yes, I was guiding! great clients.. I’m not one to turn down a “go on, you have a go”
A big fish for Wei Chong..
Chuan and Wei Chong..
Chuan is in..
Another big brown..
What a fish!!
Plenty action over 3 days.
A 7lber..
At #4 is Wei Chong. This fish went 8lbs. He lost a much bigger through strip striking too hard on a very short line. “The curry fish head” as he called it! Wei Chong landed a 7.5 just 10 minutes after landing this one..
A really stunning fish this was.. Well done Wei Chong.
20 minuts later this hen almost as big..
Back she goes..
Chuan in..
Not bad..
Floods have knocked out some roads removing some accesses.
Chuan in again..
Then Wei Chong..
Yet another big brown. They landed 12 over 3 days with most between 6 and 8lbs. Thats seriously good fishing in my book!
Stunning place and the blue skies were most welcome!
Heaven..
More floods during our day off so its back to the lakes!
These fellas will fish wherever trout swim! Kim joined the team today!
Not a bad spot for a few friends to hang out and fish!
The next day! While setting up I spotted this cruiser. Chuan “threw me a bone” and gave me the shot. 7lbs. He thought it was small!!
The sun came out for mostly great sighting conditions.
The lads got a dozen of these.
Trout flats! I love ’em. Some of NZ’s best fishing in my opinion.
Wei Chong playing a trout as the other look on!
Kim fishing amongst the flowers..
Through very unlikely circumstances we ended up here!!
The river was very full but sighting conditions were good.. We spotted one for the day and got it! (Note Chuan’s serious face – don’t see that too often!)
The next moment we jumped into the river to land the fish on the other bank.. we nearly floated off!
Got the fish! Just a smidgeon under 7lbs! The moment of the trip for me!!
Tough day! Landed 2..
Thanks Chuan, Kim and Wei Chong! Here’s a flower for you.
Some buzzers for a still water I’m going fishing on..
..I had a great day to bring the balance back!
They weren’t on buzzers!
I landed 12 up to 7.75lbs. All on dad’s unweighted hares ear nymph.
I love the flat calm! Most of the fishing was casting to rises.
Speed and accuracy was key.
The last 2 hours in the float tube! Only got one.
The worst grass on earth! looks nice but its razor sharp and incredibly uneven to walk on.
Always leaves me with a few of these!
I ran out of beads so I’ve been tying my streamers with lead. I prefer them! Possum and marabou.
I wanted to chat briefly about the Damselfly nymph and how most anglers standard pattern makes no sense to me. I had some great photo’s of a damsel nymph which was still alive inside a trout I took from Lake Dunstan recently, but I deleted them by mistake!! I put the green nymph in a jar of water with a sprig of rosemary (haha) where he lived happily for a week or so. I watched how it moved, how it swam (or wobbles!) etc. The one thing that struck me was how similar it was to mayfly nymph. I thought this before, but I though I was missing something that everyone else seemed to know because most damselfly nymph patterns have a long marabou tail. Why? A mayfly nymph representation generally has no marabou. I see some merit in a short marabou tail matching the length of the 3 strands in the real nymph. I’m not one for perfect representations of what fish are eating, far from it actually. However in my opinion, a damsel nymph with a long marabou tail is a woolly bugger, not a damsel! I use a long shank #12 PT or similar as a damsel nymph.
Guiding has been happily chaotic! I’m out most days at the moment but I did manage a few days for myself recently. Iza and I fished together for a day and a half too. Next season I’ll do things a little differently. I’m going to put blocks of time aside for me to fish each month. I need it!! I get a lot of what I get from a days fishing during a day guiding but not everything. Fly-fishing is my life and I must make this work. I know some guides who don’t fish at all during “silly season”. I must not let this happen!! This is only my second season so I guess I’m still finding my way a bit. Guiding continues to teach me a lot and I believe the most important thing it has taught me is how much I don’t know!! A great lesson. Therefor time must be put aside to explore new water and simply get better and better at this.
Recently I explored some new water to the north and the east. Some of it was re-familiarising myself with old haunts and some was totally new. Fishing new water is such a thrill! Absorbing everything the river has to offer, the excitement of seeing whats around the next bend, piecing it all together. Putting on wet socks in the morning means you’re in the thick of it!
Guiding has been lots of fun! I recently took Tim Kempton out for a few days. Great craic with him and his mate Fergus. Tim has fished with Paul in Malaysia which makes him the second (I think) to have been guided by both Paul and I in our respective countries (the other being Chuan Tay!). I hope more anglers do this! On the topic of Malaysia, I’m going there this July to fish with Paul for 2 weeks. I’ve been practicing a little from Paul’s instructional video on youtube so when the time comes I hope I’m on form. Speed is very important with trout fishing too so if I can make one second shots for snakehead, I’ll do it for here for trout too!!! Back to guiding, what else.. Some great heli stuff lately with Nick Mills and a fantastic West Coast mission with local regulars Bryan and Tim. That was a real adventure! One thing about heli-fishing.. The chopper takes a lot of the hard work out of it but the best results come if you’re willing to go hard while your in there. That we did! I think we had 14 trout in total for 3 days with the best fish of the trip going to Tim just before the chopper came to take us home. Many thanks to Greenstone Helicopters! Also a new personal best for Bryan, Bob and his birthday fish, the list goes on.. The pics tell a better story anyway!!
Time to prepare! I have an afternoon mission in an hour..
The first series of Pure Fly NZ is out on DVD! Jeff Forsee and I host episode 6!
Iza in the water! We haven’t had a chance to fish together for ages! We did some exploratory fly fishing on a trip to the Catlins..
Some great reds spots on these fish. The river beats we spent 1.5 days on were extremely tricky! No easy casts from long grass, thistles, willows, high banks etc.. The challenge made it some of the most fun fly fishing I’ve had in a while.. Plenty fish to the net.
The Catlins..
Breandan?? You were a bit slack on the last blogs Flora & Fauna!
Small but lovely!
Fishing in the willows! Not much pressure in here and the fish happily ate a well presented Banana Fly ..
This was the best fish of 9 landed in 1.5 days.
Another sharp finned beauty goes back..
A recent day with Bryan Wrighton. A cloudy start!
With the sun out we had water to fish! Here Bryan is into his new personal best!
8.5lbs.. Tim, you’re going to have to up the ante! He’s beaten your PB by .25 of a pound!
Cicada time!
An 8lber for me on one of Stu’s cicada patterns.
http://www.stusflyshop.com
A great fish!!
What a day.. Summer is here at last!
A little more exploring and re-familiarising myself with old haunts. The most stunning trout come from tannin water.
Absolute perfection!
2 days on my own on the Maniototo. This 5.5lber was the best. More vibrant red spots! Tannin water produces more red spotted trout than clear water.
Back he goes..
The amount of water around this summer was incredible!
Up bright and early but very few fish about..
..so I went to check out some small still waters. If you have Bob Wyatts latest book, check out the back cover.. that was me down there! No joy on this day but there are about 4 good fish in there. One I recognised from about 6 years ago! Still alive.. Browns are amazing creatures.
This was one of the most exciting places to fish 15 years ago. Not so good now but still has potential.
I got a couple of beauties here. These dams are not on the F&G brochures.
Mathias’s Dam. 2 quick fish then off to another..
The only cloud in the sky parked itself in front of the sun for about 2 hours!
October has been a difficult enough month! Mainly due to lots of rain and snow-melt keeping many Otago and surrounding rivers high and difficult to fish. I saw this as an opportunity to go well away from home and try to lock in and learn some new water. I had a hunch about an area to try and what I found blew me away. On my first visit to the powerful beast that is mystery river X, I found quite a few really big rainbows.. huge actually. I landed one of 14lbs and lost 7 more (shit happens!). I took my good friend and big fish specialist, Robbie Mcphee for a look recently. He managed an 11lber, a 7lber and a 4. I landed an 11lb salmon, totally unexpected and immensely powerful. I passed the pocket water where he was hanging out having not seen a sign of life. Then something splashed behind me. I thought it was Robbie stumbling on the slippery rocks but when I turned around I saw the remains of a splash on the surface (not Robbie falling in, but a fish!). I went back, changed my fly to Stu’s Sonic Minnow and made a cast.. First cast I had a follow from a big grey ghost. I kept working the water.. 10 casts later I was connected to the biggest New Zealand salmon I’ve hooked. After a great battle Robbie put him in the net. I also had a few normal sized trout. This piece of water is still good but I expect these big fish will get off the shallows and back into the deep, heavy water before too long..
If you’d like to get in touch about guided fly-fishing in the lower South Island then drop me an email ronan@sexyloops.com or check out my website, http://www.ronansflyfishingmissions.com
Some exploration has led me to some water where monster rainbows live! This psychotic looking brute hit the scales at 14lbs..
Like a morey eel!
Back he goes..
Huge rivers can produce huge rainbows! A 7lber for Robbie.. maybe not huge, but just wait!!
And this for me! What an animal.. A total surprise to meet a salmon so early in the season. 11lbs.
A stunning fish..
Back he goes into his bouldery pool..
Really striking black spots.. This made my day!
The salmon couldn’t resist this big eyed streamer from Stu’s Superior Flies..
Robbie into a huge rainbow..
11lbs
A box of high viz dries from Stu’s Superior flies. I dont use strike indicators, I use a dry instead. These are perfect!
Some of Stu’s streamers. Kahawai won’t have a chance against these!!
Some disappointing exploration on a high country stream which I haden’t fished for years..
GUIDING HIGHLIGHTS
If not for local anglers and regular clients, Bryan Wrighton and Tim Proctor, October would have been a lean month! We recently had a 2 day mission on two very different rivers down south. With a narrow weather window between one front and another, I made the call to take it on. Thankfully it worked! Day one had us fishing on a river which was high and a little coloured. I chose this river for day one because these conditions suit it, it would also give day two’s river a chance to settle and clear a bit. The common denominator over the 2 days was high, slightly coloured water. Perfect for streamer fishing.. well, usually. The streamer barely got a chase over the 2 days. I don’t think I’ve ever seen these conditions not suit the streamer down to the ground! Fishing is always able to throw you a curve ball! Thankfully there were good numbers of fish out feeding and reasonably easy to spot. They were not easy to catch however, (they rarely are!) but Bryan and Tim did well to land 9 quality trout over two days all between 3.5 and 5lbs. Most fish were beautifully marked, in great condition and very strong. We’re out again soon so hopefully we’ll produce the goods again..
Tight Lines all!
Ronan..
Ps. Dont forget to check out Sky TV this October 31st. Jeff Forsee and myself will be doing what we do best on episode 6 of “Pure Fly New Zealand”…
Walking down to fish back..
Dont look a gift horse in the mouth! We spotted a group of trout feeding during the walk down, we put on a 16 nymph under a dry and Bryan landed this on his 3rd cast of the day!
Great conditions..
Tim with his first of the day.. A magnificent specimen!
Blind fishing a likely drop-off..
I spotted this fish but then lost sight of it.. I was hesitant to look again in case I’d spook it. Bryan fished to where I’d seen the fish and after a while the dry went down!
A great moment! A very difficult fish to catch..
A big brown lives here.. we didn’t get him today..
Bryan and cows. Day 2.
Tim with first blood. This was the only fish on the streamer over 2 days. A great moment to see him nail the fly from a swirling eye. No place for a nymph as a drag-free drift was impossible.
Bryan into one.. all powerful trout!
I’m trying to scare the fish back up river away from snags!
Landed! Tim’s turn again..
I took my netting opportunity when I got it, dipping the net deep!
A beautifully marked fish for Tim!
Ready with the net once again!
That great moment for both the guide and the angler when the fish is safely in the net!
Everyone’s happy!
A birthday beer for Robbie (and me) he just turned 43.
A pine tree with its flowers..
Some exploration has led me to some water where monster rainbows live! This psychotic looking brute hit the scales at 14lbs..
Like a morey eel!
Back he goes..
Huge rivers can produce huge rainbows! A 7lber for Robbie.. maybe not huge, but just wait!!
And this for me! What an animal.. A total surprise to meet salmon so early in the season. 11lbs.
A stunning fish..
p1100750
Back he goes into his bouldery pool..
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Really striking black spots.. This made my day!
The salmon couldn't resist this big eyed streamer from Stu's Superior Flies..
Robbie into a huge rainbow..
11lbs
A box of high viz dries from Stu's Superior flies. I dont use strike indicators, I use a dry instead. These are perfect!
Some of Stu's streamers. Kahawai won't have a chance against these!!
Some disappointing exploration on a high country stream which I haven't fished for years..
Walking down to fish back..
Great conditions..
Tim with his first of the day.. A magnificent specimen!
Blind fishing a likely drop-off..
I spotted this fish but then lost sight of it.. I was hesitant to look again in case I'd spook it. Bryan fished to where I'd seen the fish and after a while the dry went down!
A great moment! A very difficult fish to catch..
A big brown lives here.. we didn't get him today..
Bryan and cows. Day 2.
Tim with first blood. This was the only fish on the streamer over 2 days. A great moment to see him nail the fly from a swirling eye. No place for a nymph as a drag-free drift was impossible.
Bryan into one.. all powerful trout!
I'm trying to scare the fish back up river away from snags!
Landed! Tim's turn again..
I took my netting opportunity when I got it, dipping the net deep!
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A beautifully marked fish for Tim!
That great moment for both the guide and the angler when the fish is safely in the net!
I’m adjusting well in to my new lifestyle. Not working as a woodworker for 44 hours a week means I have time to think, time to consider my new job as a fly-fishing guide and do whatever it takes to make it work. My guiding season has been slow to start as I expected, but I have a busy period coming up which I’m really looking forward to. My website is not off the ground yet but its happening. I’m at the beginning of something great and I’m enjoying it. I’m excited about where it will lead. Exploring new water is now more important than ever before and I’m lapping it up.
I’ve been enjoying quite a range of fly-fishing lately. I’ve targeted a few big fish, mostly average sized fish, some salt-fly and quite a bit of exploration. Tomorrow I’ll be checking out a river that I have fished before but not for a long time. I’m looking forward to it. More on that on my facebook page tomorrow evening. (https://www.facebook.com/ronans.flyfishing)
One thing I’d like to share from a recent trip to the coast is the story of a challenging brown trout Iza caught. We were walking along a high bank together and I spotted a big fish down below happily feeding in a deepish riffle. The wind was blowing hard up river. The only place to take the shot from was on top of the high bank about 10 foot above the river. Because of our elevation we had to stay well behind the fish so as not to spook it. The cast was a difficult one. Quite long and from a hight, so leaving it very open to being whipped away by the wind. I suggested that she compensate for the wind and cast well left of and to the back the fish and let the wind carry it up. She said that I should take the shot but I convinced her to take it. She did, the first cast fell short but the second one was a pleasure to watch. The cast went left, the wind caught it and carried it up in a curve to the fish. The dry and nymph landed about a meter in front and the trout started to rise to the dry immediately; sailed up and confidently ate it. The strike was bang on and battle was not an easy one. Between scrambling down the high bank to the river, and being connected to an extremely strong fish she did well to land it. A fish like that makes any day a really great one.
I’m at a transition of sorts with my blog. For the last 5 years my blog has been about my own experiences, trips with my friends, my observations in and around the sport of fly fishing. To a certain extent I want to keep it like that but I also want to share my guiding experiences. I guess for the moment I’ll use what ever content and photo’s I feel like and in time a healthy balance of my guiding and my fishing will evolve.
If you’re planning a trip to NZ and need a guide why not get in touch! You’ll be in good hands.. ronan@sexyloops.com
Tight lines everyone.
Ronan..
PS.. If you like this, please subscribe!
NZ is not all about big trout, far from it. Some of the best fishing you can have is for trout in the 2 to 4lb range.
This sighted from a shallow riffle..
Rosy red cheeks!
The man and his best friend..
A bright fish for Jeff Forsee..
On the way home after a day on the lake..
To be a good guide means I need a huge bank of water to choose from, this was some exploration..
..on a pretty little stream..
..which paid off! Wind, rain and cold didn’t put the fish off but it might deter many anglers from venturing out.
A few flies for a mission to the coast..
A great cast from Iza where she had to compensate for the wind got her attached to this great fish.
The fish put up some scrap!
What a fish! Simply stunning..
It took me all day but I finally Got one too!
Not as pretty but not bad at all!
I love the coast!
No visit to the coast would be complete without a visit to a river mouth. I hoped for a big sea-trout but I was very happy with 5 of these!
There’s feck all a “MR Glister” wont catch!
Ready to settle in for the night, spuds on the boil and steak and mushrooms ready for the pan!
Dinner for two.
Some exploration paid off. I landed 2 and saw one more on a 1 hour scout.
A mighty west coast river..
A recent exploratory chopper flight, what a great way to view a river!
Bryan Wrighton enjoying his red letter day. He nailed it. Lots of fish all between 4 and 5.5lbs.
Very striking..
I explained a lot about fly choice and how to approach a pool with Bryan, all of which he put into practice successfully.
Fat and strong..
Perfect..
Bryan’s best fish of the day.. He had one heavier but the condition of this fish is outstanding.
Back he goes..
Another swims away..
NZ is not all about big trout, far from it. Some of the best fishing you can have is for trout in the 2 to 4lb range.
This sighted from a shallow riffle..
P1040041
Rosy red cheeks!
The man and his best friend..
A bright fish for Jeff Forsee..
On the way home after a day on the lake..
To be a good guide means I need a huge bank of water to choose from, this was some exploration..
..on a pretty little stream..
What a fish! Simply stunning..
The fish put up some scrap!
A great cast from Iza where she had to compensate for the wind got her attached to this great fish.
A few flies for a mission to the coast..
..which paid off! Wind, rain and cold didn't put the fish off but it might deter many anglers from venturing out.
P1040138
It took me all day but I finally Got one too!
Not as pretty but not bad at all!
I love the coast!
No visit to the coast would be complete without a visit to a river mouth. I hoped for a big sea-trout but I was very happy with 5 of these!
Some exploration paid off. I landed 2 and saw one more on a 1 hour scout.
Dinner for two.
P1040177
Ready to settle in for the night, spuds on the boil and steak and mushrooms ready for the pan!
There's feck all a "MR Glister" wont catch!
A mighty west coast river..
P1040211
A recent exploratory chopper flight, what a great way to view a river!
A happy client! 4 fighting fit trout for his morning on the river..
Bryan Wrighton enjoying his red letter day. He nailed it. Lots of fish all between 4 and 5.5lbs.
I explained a lot about fly choice and how to approach a pool with Bryan, all of which he put into practice successfully.
Fat and strong!
Doing battle!
Very striking..
All in perfect order..
Fat and strong..
Perfect..
Bryan's best fish of the day.. He had one heavier but the condition of this fish is outstanding.
