My West Coast plans were dashed last Saturday morning when I got to lake Hawea and saw a “Haast Pass Closed” sign… I should have checked first I suppose, but I heard during the week that it was open so I didn’t question it. It really knocked the wind out if my sails. Where to go instead? I tried the makerora mouth but struggled to cross a shitswamp. My heart was simply not in it and this was enough to deter me. I looked at The Neck on Lake Hawea on the way back but I was not in the form for blind buggering. Sight fishing was out of the question with the conditions. I hit the Clutha Channel where it enters Dunstan on the way home. I gave in maybe 40 minutes and I’d had enough. It’s funny, I had my heart set on the coast and nothing else would do.
On Sunday I had a productive day sorting out my tying kit and tying a few flies for the rivers, many of which are open again today. Today being opening day is a big deal for the many who put the rods away for the winter. For me, and a few others around here like me, the season just continues. I didn’t miss a weekend on the water all winter! Maybe one come to think of it..
Have a great 2014 season everyone.. I plan to go harder than last year.
Ronan..
This put an abrupt stop to last weekends plans!
I tried the Timaru Creek mouth for about 40 minutes to no avail..
My dedicated “Dore’s Mr Glister” box!
The Clutha where it enters Dunstan.. The deep channel is always good for a fish or 2.
One from the channel..
On Sunday I tidied up my tying gear and tied a few flies.. A lot of that tangled mass went in the fire!!
My NZ nymph in a rusty colour..
My Nymph again.. I plucked out some fibres on this one to give some leggy movement..
This is my main NZ dry, Inspired by something I saw in Bob Wyatts fly box years ago. This can easily suspend a nymph or 2 and will take plenty fish itself.. even in October!
Long time no report! My laptop was out of action for a while, then I lost my writing momentum and I had some other stuff.. It’s not always easy to keep this going! Lot’s has happened since so I’ll just skim over it… Actually I wont, the photo’s below the text will!
Daltona’s 1978 Johnson outboard would not start the last time I tried. After work today I drove to Queenstown to pick her up.. I had it parked up at Chris Dore’s place. She’s home now and I’ll fix it soon. My guess is something simple like spark plugs.
I want to talk about a few things but It’s just not happening. One of those things is the differences and similarities between sight fishing a lake edge and sight fishing a river. I’ll bring it up another time.
West coast tomorrow morning. I’ll leave here at 6am and get there a few hours before low tide. Weather is promised to be a mixed bag. Fairly light winds, huge swells (over 7m), sun, rain, clouds, all sorts! I’ll go and give it hell.. hopefully It will be fishable…
Next week I’ll get my writing momentum back…
Tight lines all!
Ronan..
Tackling up!
Chris Dore catches a fine stick!
He got one in the end!
By having 2 rods set up I was able to fish the deep holes at a moments notice..
Drinks, Absinthe and Pizza with Chris at V-know… One of Queenstowns best kept secrets!
We had a few of these! Powerful stuff…
Mike and I at the start of our mission..
Mike releases a quality brown.. The Winston is christened!
A good start for me..
Fishing for lake edge cruisers is a very exciting form of fishing.. It’s always just a matter of time until you spot one then the game is on.
A nice lake in central.. Benmore was too dirty so we had to look elsewhere..
Mike with a superb 5lber
Admiring the bend in his newly acquired old Winston!
Mike did well with his chances.. another quality fish!
Back he goes..
This one took me blind. I had the fly in the water while I was spotting ahead of me..
A bright fish..
Back he goes…
The fishing went off in the evening so I changed to a clear intermediate and a bugger. I had a couple of these.
Guinness time!
Mike being rewarded for setting up very quickly!
We had a few small fish too..
Back he goes with a kick of his powerful tail..
Mike’s crazy fish! That’s quite a beak!!
Beautiful too though!
Setting up an ambush…
This was a strong fish!
The presentation..
The strike!
The loss… but there will be another along soon!
At times the fishing was chaotic!
A very happy angler!
2 perfect days spotting cruisers.. Thankfully the snow which was forecast never came!! Not even close..
A dunstan buzzer.. Size 12, maybe even a 10! Shuck only.. The fly had emerged.
Some nice dunstan water which I never explored before… Exciting water to prospect this summer..
Last weekend I took on the mass of water that is Lake Wakatipu once again. It is a massive body of water at 80ks long and averaging 230m deep, 420m at the deepest point. Like all the Southern Lakes it demands respect. That’s not to say a fella can’t enjoy tearing along a trough, and then powering up and over a crest into another trough. At the end of day one, crossing back through the rolling swells was really exciting. Looking ahead, reading the waves and planning my route based on what I could see and feel all at 50kph. I could not photograph or film it because I needed both hands on the wheel and throttle. I’m sure I was having as much fun as the folks sliding down mountains..
I had 13 fish over 2 days. Day one was pretty choppy and the conditions cut my day a bit short. Day 2 I got out earlier and finished later. I had to deal with a sloppy wave at first caused by multiple wind directions. Once I got across the lake the water was pretty peaceful and the exploring began. I basically fished the mouth of every trickle, stream and river that I found. Most produced a fish or two. Tactics were simple; a Di7 with a weighted streamer fished over the drop-off. If I didn’t hook up very quickly I’d leave again in search of another mouth. The wind was dropping all day and the temperature was rising. It was a fantastic day on the water and I made the most of it. I checked the topo map at the end of the day to see how far I roamed, about 85ks! Now I know a full tank will get me about 86ks. Good to know.
I have a different plan for next weekend. More new water. Watch this space, I think something great will be in it!
Congratulations to my Dad, Joe Creane, on winning the McConville Cup on Bilberry in Co. Mayo recently. There are not many that will worry him on an Irish lough, and that’s a fact!
Tight lines all.. Ronan..
Thankfully the mist cleared as soon as I got out of Cromwell..
A typical small stream tumbling in over a gravel beach..
A beautiful blue backed Wakatipu rainbow..
No blue skies but it was pretty warm for July.. And most mouths fished well!
I traveled about 85-90ks all day.. burned a full tank! Got in on fumes..
A decent brown but there is always a chance of a really huge fish at these mouths in winter!!
A bay with a river mouth sheltered from the wind.. perfect!
Good water for summer cruisers..
It would take a brave climber to scale those peaks!
No need o buy firewood in NZ.. It’s free to those who make just a little effort!
Strong little fella..
A good rainbow.. and a good photo if I say so myself!
most fish lie close to, or under the moving water on the drop-off..
There are lots of stream and river mouths to check out.. They are all worth a stop, even if it’s just for 10 casts! Nothing in 10?, not worth fishing any longer..
Driftwood makes an interesting fire!
This week on SLTV, Ep 13. Backcountry Fjordland. In this episode Chris Dore gets married (Paul and I are groomsmen), we all get drunk a few times and we catch lots of fish.. even while hung over! Seriously though, some good footage in this!
The season ends tomorrow on most rivers but plenty are open until the end of may. For those who enjoy the lakes, most of these are open year round. Many rivers are open year round too and it’s often the case that rivers between the sea and the first bridge are open year round even if it’s closed above the bridge. Therefore, you can fish all year round over here and the winter fishing can be excellent.
Last year a group of angling friends and I descended on Lumsden for a few days to finish of the season. The fishing and the craic was great so we decided to do it again this year. Unfortunately this year due to coloured water, adverse weather and a very limited hatch every day the fishing was poor for the most part. Simon Chu and Mike Wilkinson put in some great performances catching lots of fish when the going was tough! Simon’s trout cottage was where we stayed. After each fishing day we ate well, drank well and told fishing stories.
Thank you Simon for your hospitality!
Ronan..
Ps. If your new to this and you enjoy it please subscribe. The link is at the top right of this page.
This week on SLTV. Episode 7, “Squids, Kahawai & Mugwai”, check it out below the photos..
One last Gorge before close of season…
Mike makes a tricky crossing in high, coloured water..
The best of 2 for the day..
Back she goes..
I have devised some new flies and methods for next seasons gorging. One is to bring a rope.
Some preparation for Lumsden 2013!
Mike in action on a coloured river..
A couple of these before the weather took a turn for the worse and the sparse hatch ended..
Chris Dore and Simon Chu..
A little one about to take off!
Which approach??
A beautiful, strong fish to end April!
In this episode Paul, Hairy and I try to target squid on fly at St Helens in Tasmania. First we compete to see who can tie the best fly! Paul cooks his annual lasagne feast.. We catch lots of fish but there was a disaster…
Dad and I used to joke about how trout in NZ would live in a puddle. The truth is that this is only a slight exaggeration. Farm irrigation dams, duck ponds, oxbow lakes, ditches, gold diggings, and every other imaginable body of water can and do support thriving trout populations in NZ. What’s in the water over here that makes this possible? Fish & Game introduce fish to some of these small waters but trout often find their own way in either through times of flood or little rivulets and streams. Either way, once they’re in they live there for years and have no problem surviving the winter months. In Ireland stocked lakes have to restocked at least once a year because so few fish survive the winter in their new, unfamiliar home.
Kevin was working on a farm last year which had 2 small dams on the property. The location was kept secret but finally he brought me to fish them this weekend. I’m forbidden from bringing anyone else there and I can only fish there with Kevin. This is fine by me! One could walk around each of the dams in 5 minutes. There is a small water race connecting the dams to a nearby creek and the ever opportunist trout have made their way into these waters. Over Kevins 2 weeks working there he picked up over 30 trout on lunch breaks and evenings with only 4 under 7lbs. This is an exceptional average even for NZ.
We had beautiful blue sky days during the working week but Saturday brought heavy cloud cover making spotting very tough. Thankfully the morning on the dam was dead calm and we managed to spot a few even in the low light. We did well with our chances. As the wind picked up we went to the creek which feeds the dams. We hooked a fish each. A 6lber for me and one about 8lbs for Kevin which he lost around a snag after taking my advise on where to beach the fish. We know where he lives!
Tight lines all.. Ronan..
Were having a potato growing competition at work. There were 2 eyes on my spud so I cut it in half and pointed the 2 eyes up. Twice the crop I’m thinking! Back to fishing!! just thought I’d chuck that in…
Last year Kevin had over 30 trout from a secret farm dam and only 4 were under 7lbs. The best was 9.5. Wild fish. They make their way into the dam through a water race from a nearby stream. This year the average is less but there are still plenty big fish!
6.5lbs
All the fish had superb markings. A sign of healthy, stress free fish.
That’s about half the dam in the background!
Kevin with a fish that took him almost to his backing!
Back she goes..
One of the best things about driving is not having to open gates!
Another puddle with big fish in it!
We covered 4 or 5ks of this creek and saw a few good fish. Kevin lost one around a snag of about 8lbs.
Snowmelt prevented us from spotting the deeper holes so I threw a “Dore’s Mr Glister” into some of them and got this result.
Deserved after yet another great day fly-fishing in NZ..
The weather was pretty bad all Labour Weekend. I took a chance and went to one of my favourite rivers on Saturday, It was coloured as expected but fishable, only just though! I made a poor choice to start with and went upstream. The reason I went up was to get above 2 feeder streams that pump a lot of colour into the main river after rain or snow. I thought it might be reasonably clear above them and it was, but crossings were difficult and I knew they would get harder and more hazardous in the gorge. So after not seeing a fish all day I walked half an hour back to the truck, then drove down stream a bit, then walked an hour down at 3pm. I considered getting out because it was so late in the day but that would be losing!
With renewed optimism I took on the river again. While getting a read on the river I hooked a fish blind and lost it. Then I sighted a fish on a sand bar, it took a number of casts but I got him. 7lbs. I decided to give up on the blind fishing and concentrate on spotting the edges which I could just about see into. I found a fish in a similar position to the last, on a sandy edge inside the eye, so I figured I was on the right track. This approach worked. I sighted 7 for the day, all in similar water. I hooked 6 of them and landed four. 7lbs, 5.5lbs, 5.5lbs, 8.25lbs. All on nymphs. This day would have been well suited to streamers but I prefer to nymph fish when I can. It would have been interesting to have been fishing with another angler using a streamer to see which method was more effective. Certainly the streamer would have dragged a few from the body of the pools blind… well, maybe!
I caught up Chris Dore and Simon Chu for the rest of the weekend, We discussed shipping a Irish lakeboat to NZ amongst other things. It will happen! Just not now..
Ronan..
A stone-fly to greet me on the river..
Cows in the river..
The first fish. Persistence after a bad start!
And another.. They were holding on sand inside the eyes..
Another from the same pool..
Pretty coloured!!
The last and the best of the day! Over 8lbs..
Day 2. Blown!!
Tried a lake edge for an hour.. no joy.
So we tried this spring creek.. it always runs clear!
Chris Dore and I failed miserably but Simon Chu nailed 2 of these!
Back he goes.. straight into the security of the weed!
The end of the season was a thoroughly enjoyable fishing and social event! Superb fishing, lots of fish, good friends, plenty good food and drink and a fantastic “Trout Cottage” to kick back in when evening arrived. From about April 20th to 30th myself, Chris Dore, Simon Chu, Bob Wyatt, John Mclean, Quenten Donnelly and Mike and his brother James Wilkinson fished the Mataura nearly every day. For the most part it was challenging and that is a good thing! There was an intense hatch every day for 1.5 to 2.5 hours and the bulging rise forms made it clear to us that the fish were taking beneath the surface. Emergers were the way to go. We fished the glassy water during the rise because that’s where the fish were. Fishing glassy, flat calm water is never easy. An up stream cast to a rising fish simply didn’t work! It was essential to lead the fish well with a cast 90 degrees to the lie of the fish. Fine tippet, long leaders, reach casting, neat distance presentation casting and slack line presentations made the difference between a good day and a great day! We all caught lots of fish and probably averaged about 8 or10 each per day, mostly around 2lbs. Quality fishing!
Chris and I fished together on the last day of the season. We got off the Mataura and went in search of a big fish. We found a few in a river that was rising and colouring after rain and snow but they were chasing each other around, pairing up, anxiously moving around pools, even spawning! Some appeared to be feeding and I got one of those, an absolute cracker and the perfect end to the season on a freezing cold, wet and windy day.
On May 1st Chris, James Wilkinson and I went to the Oreti bike track hearing. Fish & Game spoke very well and the witnesses they had expressed many excellent points. I had an opportunity to speak myself so I did. Many submissions were read out, All but 2 strongly opposed to the track running alongside the Oreti River. Those who spoke in support of the track really had no point to make at all. If the 2.5m wide track goes ahead it will be a travesty and a wrong doing. Most people oppose the track so lets see what happens next. Thanks to all of you who wrote to the editor of the Southland Times. It’s still not too late! 250 words or less..
Ronan..
Some spectacular gorgy headwaters.. I managed one fish on this day.
Bob Wyatt and Chris Dore.. Angling legends!
Cold mornings were the norm during the final week of the season!
Bob taking on the glassy water..
Photography is a big part of fly fishing for many anglers..
Chris with a nice Mataura fish..
These were my flies tied specifically for the mataura. Size 16 claret emergers and nymphs. They worked.
A good mataura brown.. the average size is down a bit this year I think.
Simon Chu with the best fish of the end of season mission..
About to swim off…
Glassy, flat calm water provided some very challenging and enjoyable angling.
The end of the day.. As usual I was “Paddy last” off the river. My primary school teacher Mrs Ryan used to call me that!
Last day of the season.. Chris is not too happy about the snow on the ground!
Chris not catching a very big fish!!
Me catching a very big fish!!
A very big fish!
Chris’s truck, the transport home!
The sun goes down on the last day of the season as we head home…
It’s hard to find the time to write this now that full on fishing has commenced. I’m wrecked after a very tough gorge.. ready for bed wrecked and tomorrow will be all go once again. Dad arrived on Tuesday and we fished yesterday and today. Yesterday was on an easy river with lots of 2-3lb rainbows and browns. A good place to get the NZ fundamentals sharpened up. Dad did that successfully. Today was more like a military training exercise through a gorge. There was a lot more water in it than 5 weeks ago and that made it seriously hard going. Scrambling through dense bush, deep crossings and rock climbing was the order of the day. As the day progressed more emphases was put on getting out of the gorge than fishing and some opportunities were missed as a result. We had a couple hard earned fish.
Chris Dore, Greg Milo Elliot and myself spent a day chasing rainbows and browns. I did no good but the lads had a couple each. I lost a very big brown on a streamer and Chris missed a big fella on a dry… Twice!
I met up with Camo Guy a few days ago as planned. We fished on one of my favourite waters. Guy fished for half the day a took pictures for the other half, unfortunately I don’t have his photo’s! I do have my own though. I had a spectacular day! I made very few mistakes and caught lots of big fish.
I picked up John O Malley’s Nissan Terrano from Mossburn and drove it to Fairlie to meet Dad on Tuesday. There seems to be a problem with fuel consumption. 400ks cost 130nzd. I might have solved the problem simply by putting the correct air pressure in the tires! I’ll know for sure when I take it for another decent drive in 5 weeks..
Kevin Alexander and Myself took our boat “Daltona” out for a spin last night. She is still going like a rocket and a pleasure to fish from.
Dad and I are going to fish a lake tomorrow before heading to Buscot Backpackers tomorrow night. Guy will be there too. We may drink some wine and eat crackers with fancy blue cheese.
Ronan.. (stuntman)
Joe Creane back in New Zealand
First fish!
Lots of standing dead wood on the bank. Great for campfires!
The result of a hard day’s work!
Dad getting himself back together after falling in and filling his waders!!
One for me..
Chris Dore wet wading the flats..
I lost a big brown in the right foreground!
Chris decides what approach to take..
Some of the best fish from my big fish day!!!
This was the best one, A deep tank of a fish and the last one of the day.. About 8lbs
Daltona at 30mph!
Pulled up on a sand bar to fish a river mouth..
Christened my tcx on its first evening out.. 9′ 7wt and i love it!
The weather has been shithouse as they say over here for the passed while. Some serious gales (blowing the roof off our neighbours house, over ours and landing on another neighbours house!) and torrential rain blowing out all the rivers. Perfect blue sky days were regular enough but most rivers were too high and coloured to fish. I had some great fishing before the weather broke with Chris Dore (NZ’s #1 guide!!) and Fraser Hocks. We had many fish in the 2-4lb bracket on small nymphs not too far from Queenstown. It’s important not to give away exact locations. There’s plenty water for everyone so there’s no point putting undue pressure on the specific rivers. Explore. It’s more fun anyway!
I had some very enjoyable lake edge fishing near Glenorchy targeting cruising browns with woolly buggers in shallow water. Spot the fish, leave the fly lifeless on the bottom and strip it away when the fish is in attacking range. The result is a manic chase usually ending in a strike. Fun.
Tomorrow Mark Adamson and I are heading towards Te Anau where any amount of water awaits. The Redcliff also awaits… My joint number one bar in the world!
Happy Halloween!
Ronan..
Fraser Hock, Chris Dore and Myself..
My first cast of the day and the first ever cast with that rod!!
Nice place to be!
Not sure what damaged this fella but he was fighting fit and healing well!
Some colour in the water made spotting difficult..
Shallow water.. Good numbers of browns cruising the flats.
Fraser into a good fish!
I watched this fish for a while feeding away.. Casting was difficult and i spooked it!