There was a nice mix of fishing to be had in April. At times the rivers were in great shape between rain events and I made the most of those opportunities for myself and my clients. There were a few days where the rain pushed me away from the rivers to take on some lakes – this worked out very well. As anyone who reads this knows by now, I love any opportunity to fish the lakes. Generally my clients prefer rivers but for one reason or another, most of my regular clients have fished lakes with me by now. Some are a little bit on the fence with some aspects of still waters but the majority now love it and usually request at least one lake day on a multi day trip.
Later in the month my streamers really came into their own. As some chunky browns congregated around some high country stream mouths, it was time to get stuck in. I had some great fishing for myself and for my clients landing trout with a few over the 7lb mark.
After 7 months looking after Adaline and Lochlan, our Au pair, Ilana wanted to catch a trout. We got out for a day on Dunstan where I figured trolling sinking lines would easily do the business. It didn’t! She lost one right away, then got a few hits before finally (after many hours!) getting stuck in a 1lb rainbow. She was delighted and relieved, we all were! I prepared it for dinner, crudo style with lemon, salt, olive oil and capers. A lovely way to eat fresh, wild trout.
It was great to see many of my regulars over the month and a few new recruits too. Seeing people coming back for more certainly makes it all worth while.
If you’d like to check out my range of flies for NZ you can do so on the Fulling Mill website. It’s winter now so I recommend my hotspot nymphs for the larger rivers which remain open and my range of streamers for the rivers and lakes. You can see them all here.
Next season is filling up fast but feel free to get in touch to lock in a trip. You can contact me at ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines. Ronan..
The start of a few days with Craig and Peter.It didn’t take long to get a few on the board.Back he goes..A solid bow! My trusty hotspot visible hanging there!A tough day here with high water and limited opportunities.A healthy trout on my Tussock Cicada size 8.Lovely little trout..A deadly pool!Peter with a perfect browny.Take it!He did take it in the end. A super trout..The end of a very good few days.A day trip with a couple of nice Aussie fellas..A few nice browns to the net.Perfect blue sky day.Happy anglers!Not a bad spot..The start of a great day with Luke and Harvey..Harvey into one..Luke had some weird bad luck.. The fish just kept getting off!!Always a great spot..Lovely water..Luke with a good cast..A great bow for Harvey..Off to the highcountry!Late season stream mouths are always worth a look.I had a great day with my streamers.. This one on the Midnight.Then this beauty on the Pyrotechnic.. Another on the Pyro. Primal Bold 6 weight..The Bruiser.. hard to beat.A very fat trout on the Green Machine.Another on the Green Machine.Magnificent spots on this one.Off home after a great day..Back up again with Roger.. The rivers were in flood, but I knew where there were a few trout!A brilliant 7.25lber for Roger.Love the late season colour..Our Au pair, Ilana. She wanted to catch a fish before she left us!These little feckers came too!Ilana did not want to give up – so I had to give in and turn on Netflix for these two. Their patience were running thin!Finally! Persistence paid off. We have dinner.. well, maybe a starter!A nice day on Dunstan with Bruce.His first on fly after a lesson..Not a monster but great to get one on the first day.Enjoying the view..Out with Andrew.. The rod often looked like this!The best fish came in the morning..Another..And another great trout almost in the net..interesting spiky tree.A lovely riffle.Worms are always useful..In again..Another beauty..Same fish just before going back..A great day with lots of trout to the net.Adaline reeling one in..Lochlan and Adaline. They love the river. Hopefully it’ll always be there for them.Success. She decided to return this one.Off home with wet boots and a fishing story!Out myself for a day exploring new water..I had great fishing. After a quiet start it all turned on!Super trout. I recently got some Primal Bold rods for guiding. They are great rods! I got the 5,6 and 7. They all do what they’re meant to do.
I recently did a podcast with Daire and Tom from Ireland on the Fly. I never met Daire but I know Tom quite well from fishing at home. He also spent a good chunk of a season here in NZ where we spent some time on the water together. I enjoyed the craic with lads during the interview and shared some of my thoughts and tactics about NZ fly fishing and told a few stories. One of the topics we chatted about was Irish Lough Style in New Zealand. I’m sure I’ve covered this before on my blog – there’s over 300 entries so I’m bound to repeat myself from time to time. However, I’d like to further explain the rapid evolution away from Irish Lough Style which I experienced here in NZ… This is how it went for me.
As soon as I saw the NZ lakes on my first visit in 2002 I wanted to try lough style on them. I assumed that not many people would have tried it. I assumed it would be deadly. Before I go on, I want to explain what lough style is to me. Basically, it’s a way to cover a lot of water quickly and efficiently – similar to streamer fishing in this regard. To me, it’s a team of 3 or 4 traditional wet flies (a dabbler on the bob, bibio in the middle and a Peter Ross on the point for example) on a 15 to 20 foot leader. It’s usually fished on a floating or intermediate line. It’ best fished in a good wind and wave so that the angler can cover a lot of water quickly (if drifting) with imperfections hidden by the rolling wave. When fishing in little or no wind when the angler needs to slow the retrieve, fish lighter tippet and smaller flies, even if they’re traditional patterns, to me, this is closer to nymphing than how I perceive lough style. This is not what I was talking about in the podcast, I was referring more to fishing in the wind and wave. This is lough style in my book although others may hold a different view.
I remember the first time fishing a team of traditional Irish wet-flies in Mackenzie Country on a windy day. Around 2003 I’d say. Lough style worked well as I fished a rocky shore down with the wind. I was delighted with myself. I realised quickly though that the middle fly really didn’t do much. Maybe catching one in ten fish. So I removed it. For the next while I had a pretty even catch rate on the bob and the point – which were now a bit farther apart with the absence of the middle fly. Then I changed the point fly from a traditional sparsely tied wet-fly to a bead head bugger of some description. Immediately I started catching more on the point fly. The bob was still effective but I questioned its necessity, thinking the point will cover the fish anyway. So, I removed the bob. Within a few days, Irish Lough Style in the wind evolved from a team of 3 flies to a single bugger! To this day, when fishing in the wind I fish a single bugger (or similar) in preference to team of 3 traditional wets.
Where the lines blur a little is in lighter conditions where buggers or streamers are much less useful – they generally work best in the wind or at least cloud cover. In these light conditions I’ll often fish a team of 2 small wet flies. Some might consider this lough style but I don’t, personally. I think it’s nymphing. No need for 3 (or 4) flies unless your buzzer fishing – but that’s hardly lough style, is it? There’s no doubting the efficacy of lough style in Ireland. Taking what I learned in NZ back to Ireland, it didn’t work like I had hoped. I went full circle and ended up back with a team of traditional wets. There’s a reason lough style evolved in Ireland..
Right now winter has landed over here. The weather is cold but there has also been a few sunny, warm days. Guiding has all but finished up for another season. I’m writing this with paint on my hands as I’m waiting for some doors to dry before they get their final coat. This is the time of year when I take on some projects to improve the house – and fish, of course.
In the photos below I’m caught up to early April. The fishing will continue through the winter so lots more to come! Enjoy the photos below. They tell the story of a great week with Bill and Jeff where we managed to stay one step ahead of the weather all week. We had a super trip with lots of trout from a lovely variety of water. Also in the pics is a trip to Mackenzie Country with a few friends from the Wakatipu Anglers Club.
If you’d like to check out my comprehensive range of flies for NZ you can do so here. Also If you’d like to get in touch about guided fly fishing over winter or next season you can check out my website or email me ronan@sexyloops.com.
Tight Lines, Ronan..
Jeff into the first fish from a great week!Now Bill.. Plenty fish around..Day 2.Clear mountain stream....with some big fish!This magnificent fish was over 7lbs.Fishy water!Jeff is in!Solid! Moving up into the wilderness.. Has to be…Bill delivers a nice cast..Then this!Day 3. Some colour which can be a good thing..Jeff into a great 6lb brown..A nice little seatrout for Bill.Day 4, more browns and bows.This one on my new unweighted nymph from Fulling Mill.Always worth carrying a streamer rod! This rainbow ate my new streamer, “Midnight” also available from Fulling Mill.A beautiful bow for Jeff..Day 5. Bow and arrow cast to solid brown.. Got the eat but lost the fish.A lovely morning.Surrounded by willows.. Ideal for a cloudy day.Fishing was good..Last pool of the day and Jeff is into a super trout..In the bag on my trusty Claret..The perfect end to great day.. ..put the raincoats on for the walk out.Day 6. Southland! Lovely.One on my willow grub (Fulling Mill).Bill into something special…Wow! The biggest fish I’ve seen of the Mataura. 7lbs, on my brown nymph blind fished on a long dropper.Lovely..Day 7. After a great few days I was happy to take a gamble on this little gem.Persistence paid off.. Many casts and fly changes.A lovely 5lber eventually took a beetle!Tiny… ..yes, tiny water..Numbers were low but the average was really good. All between 4 and 5lbs..A nice trout for Bill to round off a really great trip. Plenty trout to the net and a few big ones. I managed to stay one step ahead of the weather all week.hmmm… A few days away with Conor, Bryan and Fraser..I love Mackenzie Country..Another for Bryan with Fraser on the net..Lovely..Not many trout but what harm!Call it a day!Day 2.Bryan into one..Not much happening.. time to try somewhere else!I got one here but still dead as feck.There’s always beer!We fished hard but not many to report.Final dayFraser and Bryan worked the water from the boat..I went on foot.. finally I got into some fish and slayed ’em on a size 12 bugger / nymph.Back to work..Happy to see the sun illuminate the river after a cold start!Didn’t take long for Buzz to get stuck in..A super 6lb bow..A beautiful day in the wilderness..The second half was tough.. think we got jumped! But 3 good bows and no complaints!
After a hot and dry summer I was very happy to feel the weather cooling down. Autumn is a lovely time of year to fish as the leaves change colour. Trout also change colour as they darken up before spawning. Their colours can be quite spectacular. We generally get regular hatches on the rivers in April brought on by the cooler temperatures. These can produce some great sport. This year the hatches have been fickle so far, likely due to too much water in the rivers. Fish start to move up rivers and congregate at river mouths in preparation for spawning. This can also lead to great fishing opportunities. I have only a few more bookings for the season so it looks like I’ll have some time to indulge myself! I’m looking forward to that. Locally the rivers are in flood right now and they’re very slow to drop because the land is so saturated. One extreme to the other. It’s no surprise as this season of extremes continues. There’s always somewhere to fish though so I’m not too worried!
It was great to take Bernt Johansson fishing in February! We Have a few mutual friends – Paul and Stefan to name a couple. Bernt is a very successful distance casting competitor and has been part of the sexyloops brotherhood for years. Hopefully we’ll meet again.
Much and February and March are covered in the photos below. It wasn’t always easy but the results were mostly very good. I might actually get up to date with my photos when I next write a blog! This year I’ve always been at least a month behind. Enjoy the pics anyway! They tell the story..
You can check out my flies here. If you’d like to get in touch about guided fly fishing over the remainder of this season, over winter or next season you can contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines! Ronan..
Biggsy in action! The most famous of the FARTS.Super bow..Fitz casting to a fish..Another aerial battle!On the Waiau – post the Fjordland adventure with Bryan and Tim..No problem getting down but getting back up was another story!Almost there..I didn’t even catch a fish for my effort!Camp. 2 more fishing days ahead.Thinking outside the box to get away from the many anglers around this season in Southland. We had brilliant fishing and didn’t see a boot print.My kiwi dun was just the ticket..A likely riffle..A cracking fish on my claret 16...he took me to my backing on 5x.Likely water..Tim under the bridge..Last day. Tim with the last fish…..before this southerly screamed in! A good time to call it..John and Bernt.Not easy fishing but we got a couple and had a decent amount of chances.Not sure why my camera went BW!Fishing with Alan for a couple of days..Into a solid trout!Great water..A magnificent 5lber for me on the Hotspot #10.Delighted with this..Alan into one..I love this pool!!!Alan casts to a happy fish..Very nice water..Working a likely pool..A proper pint at the end!Day 2 – chasing something big.. the one in this pic is big!!We saw a few in the morning but then the southerly wind came up and stopped all activity.This kind man gave us a lift back! Happily locked into the back of a strangers truck!! Beats walkin’!Definitely beats walking..One more option back at the truck before we call it a day....Alan got this beauty..Day 1 with Chuan and Kim.. First pool and Kim is in!Then Chuan..Chuan and his fish!Chuan looking “cool”. Obviously.A good start for Kim before the feckin river came up and got dirty. We managed a few more.Plan A was taken so we went to Plan B..It was okay..A good 6lber for Kim. Very welcome during a hard week of fishing.Back he goes.Spectacular!Singapores finest!One for Chuan on my Tussock Cicada.A lovely fish..Not very much happening but what a place to be.A healthy little seatrout for Chuan on my Tussock Cicada.An easy day!But feck, it was tough. I managed one myself right at the end on my Bruiser..My personal best from the Upper Mataura. Over 6lbs.He was right in there beside the reflecting stick. I got him on my kiwi dun.Kim into one..Lovely.. on my new Straggle Nymph.Fishing to a fish..Last day..Men and their shticks.Chuan into one....and another.. Much better this time.Fatty!Back he goes..One of my favourite spots.. Sadly now so overgrown with willows that it’s barely fishable.We ended up loosing this one at the end of a very well fought, technical battle.. Losing fish is generally not a big deal (for me anyway!) but this loss was disappointing. Last action from a tough week!
I usually get the chance to get into Fjordland once or twice a season. I’ve been a visitor to the area since my second trip to NZ back in 2003. I have many great memories from this vast area with lots of my fishing buddies. Wekas stealing our biscuits (I got the blame), melting my boots and socks beside the fire, almost getting stranded in a flood, filming “the man and his fish”, exploring new rivers, assembling a raft with zip ties, duct tape and tent string, catching seatrout, rainbows, browns, kahawai and jack mackerel, and many more… This trip cemented a few more great memories.
The fishing was magnificent as the photos below make pretty clear, but as I get older I think I appreciate this location and others like it even more. It’s a truely pristine environment. Looking around, it’s as though man has had no impact on the area. Frequently, I found myself gazing up the valley with my jaw hanging open, awestruck, expecting a moa to wander past. I think this is what makes it the cream of angling in many ways. Unreal scenery, gin clear water, good numbers fish of an impressive average size, keen to eat dries (and nymphs!). It’s the picture of NZ that many foreign anglers have in their head. Fish & Game have implemented strict controls on some rivers in the area to prevent overfishing and maximise angler satisfaction. I think they’re working very well. That and the sandflies! We had a few days of fishing back in normal NZ after that (next blog). There was certainly a bit of an anticlimax coming from such a magnificent wilderness which compounds why it’s such a special place.
One of the highlights of the trip was randomly bumping into my great friends Robbie and Tom with a couple of their friends. Plenty room for everyone at the backcountry hut! Good food and fine wine, great company, a fire on the beach, a few beers, plenty craic… what’s not to like. A really great trip. Hopefully we’ll get back next season!
I would like to say that Fjordland Outdoors are a fantastic company to deal with. Very professional and accommodating. Great staff and a super boat to get you where ever you need to go.
As always, my Fulling Mill patterns did the business. Mainly the Tussock Cicada and my range of nymphs. All available here.
Plenty spaces still available for next season. It’s filling up quickly so I advise not wasting too much time to secure your spot. Contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website
Tight lines.. Ronan..
Heading across the lake and into the wilderness.The boat across gave us time the appreciate the magnitude of the place!Can’t recommend the folks at Fjordland Outdoors highly enough. Excellent service.And off we go!First look at the river..What a place..It didn’t take too long to find feeding fish..Moving upstream..Bryan working a lovely pool. Clear Fjordland water..Bryan into one.Super brown.Nice bow for me!Searching..Bryan in again..Just love this water..Reel screamers!Some cool looking fungus on the walk back to camp..Time to relax and drink some wine!Lovely!Getting ready for day 2..The river is just as spectacular around every bend..Tim in..One of the better fish over the 2 days..Another healthy rainbow.Looking downstream..Time for lunch..Lunch while watching trout!Back to business..Magnificent!The cream of angling in many ways..Some deep water and the fish were there..Time working some deep water.Bryan puts some scale on this awesome place.Just seeing the river was as good as the fishing.There has to be something on the left..And there was!One for me on my tussock cicada.Magic..Just beautiful ..Then this for me on my brown nymph. Fat!Made my 2 days!Stunning.. Not often do we see red spots on trout from gin clear water.Keep moving upstream enjoying every minute.Fishy!3 huge trees growing unusually close together.Another crossing.This is truely as nature intended it. A pristine environment.Coming the end of 2 great days fishing.One more for Tim.More of this funky stuff..Back at the hut to find these feckers had moved in!Another modest campfire.Heading out on the morning of day 3. Tom and Robbie. A great and totally chance meeting in the wilds of Fjordland.Time to go.. “I’ll be back”
In 8 years guiding I never had a flat tire. Then I got a good one! The tire disintegrated beyond repair. No big deal, just put on the spare. Luckily I had a second spare but it wasn’t on a rim. The problem was getting it onto the spare rim so that I could continue working as normal. I didn’t want to chance going off the grid without a spare tire. The next day was Sunday so we changed the plan and fished locally with the intention of getting my other spare tire put on the rim the following morning once the mechanics opened. 8am on Monday we arrived at the mechanic to have the job done so that we could head into the backcountry. Turned out it was a feckin’ public holiday so we had to spend another day without going too far from home just in case we got another flat! Thankfully, the fishing was good!! 8am on Tuesday we arrived at the mechanic for the second time. Steve had the spare on the rim in jig time and were on the way after 10 minutes. Of course, normally I’d have been on the road an hour earlier. We got to the river to find the first beat occupied. No problem I thought, I wanted the 2nd beat anyway.. We got there to find we had just been beaten to that one too! Plan C was decent but we had a big fish in mind and it didn’t really cut the mustard. We waited 4 hours and then fished behind the anglers on our favoured beat. We found 2 fish, both of whom almost took the fly… but didn’t. That feckin’ flat tire really changed how our fishing unfolded. Such is life. I got a full new set since!
You can check out many of my flies over on the Fulling Mill website. I have 14 patterns available, all tried and trusted for NZ and they’ve been pretty successful around the world too.
Plenty spots available for next season and bookings are coming in regularly. Feel free to get in touch. You can contact me on ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines – Ronan..
Alun and John.We had a decent week of fishing but not much came easy.Beautiful rainbow.Fishing buddies!Wild mint in flower.John into a bog bow.He did well to keep this 6lber out of the snags.Moving on up.The wildlife!Walking down..John into one.John with one..A super 6lber for Alun.Then this. A very big sea trout ate my tussock cicada.Over 8lbs.. Not sure the pic does her justice..Alun took this as I was releasing her. Such a perfect specimen.Good sport on the lakes..John had great action in this corner!A lovely place to spend a day but the fish were not active at all..Stunning..John.A lovely scene..Hard not to take lots of photos here..One for Alun – finally!!Out with Marcus. We walked 22.7 kilometres for one chance.Sunflowers. Nice to see a field with something other than cows and sheep!Lovely fish..We had a good morning but things went quiet in the afternoon..6.5Maniototo backwaters. I love ’em!Walking back....to spend some time on a small stream before the end of the day. 2 fish in this scene!They both ate but neither made it to the net..This 5lber did though..Nice to see a stream full of water after so much low water this summer.Love this shot!Onslow.Otago shadows.More shadowy hills..A beat Marcus and I both love..Searching..A stunning fresh seatrout!So often they arrive with serious scars. Sharks? Seals? Who knows..A solid brown.Another seatrout.A powerful paddle!One on my highcountry green cicada.Flowers.The flat tire that changed the week!!!Wildlife.A beauty from a highcountry tarn.Super colour.The scenic drive home.My great friend Bob, catching his birthday fish!Giving him stick!Bobs birthday lunch with me and Owen.Birthday team..Owen into one!A leisurely fish..Grubs!Time for a fly change.Owen working some nice water.
The lakes and rivers were already too low and warm a month ago when I last wrote. Nothing changed. Just continuing hot weather and warming, shrinking rivers and lakes. It wasn’t the end of the world, but it certainly made me think outside the box for guiding and my own fishing. Lots of rivers and still-waters became unfishable so I travelled to find cooler water. Living in a desert – which this area technically is – means I have to do that at times. I think this has been the longest dry spell I’ve experienced in NZ. It must be about 10 weeks or more since we’ve had any decent rain.
Yesterday afternoon the rain started and continued through the night and only stopped about an hour ago. I think there’s a lot more coming later today. It was cold too, so just what the place needs. The rivers are getting a much needed top-up and cool-down. This might be the beginning of Autumn and I hope it is. It will certainly invigorate the fishing and open many options which haven’t been available for a couple of months.
Fishing has been generally quite hard. Even when searching out cooler water there was still a noticeable shutdown in the afternoons. Some lake flats that usually stay cool were also suffering the effects of the heat. It’s funny that January and February are the most popular months over here with foreign anglers, yet they’re regularly, even usually, the hardest months of the season in many parts of the country.
In spite of the relative hardship in the last couple of months there has also been some magnificent fishing. Large rivers, lower reaches, lakes and mountain streams all provided some super sport.
I’m still playing catch up with my photos – Everything below is from January. It would just be too many to put in the February photos too, but I’ll try to write another blog next week to catch up completely.
I recently got my hands on a Fujifilm XE-3. I’m still learning how to use it well but I think its improved my picture taking. I hope you like the images below. I’m pretty happy with lots of them. It’s a new learning curve which I’m enjoying. The old Lumix point and shoot is now a handy back-up.
Pretty much all the successful flies I’m using at the moment are my own patterns available with Fulling Mill. You can check them out here.
The remainder of the season is full apart from a few gaps in April. Plenty spaces for next season but it’s filling up more quickly than usual. Feel free to get in touch – ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight Lines – Ronan..
Trout flats with Dougal!Some brillliant fish..In again..Reel screamer..A bloodworm fooled this one. The others took my 16 unweighted nymph under a dry.Trout flats. I adore this type of sight fishing.Then to the backcountry for something a bit different.A tank to start the day..Still water fishing at its best..Another spotted stunner..It’s not all about the fish..Manuka flowers.No fish on the warmer shallows, only in the deeper water where the fishing was great. My indicator dry was the fly of choice.Out with Michael for the day..Onto a solid looking trout..Which took my claret nymph.Cool mountain water. So important during a hot summer.Out with mike – a fellow Irishman.It wasn’t easy but mike landed 4 for the day..In again..A stunning fat rainbow..Just shy of 6lbs.Lovely day out this crew!One for Skye....but his daughter did the best! This was her first on fly (over 4lbs)....then this stunning 5lber..A blue-top day!Tom and Heidi.. 2 very hard days of fishing!!!Literally the last cast of day 2 to save us from a second blank day in a row. One of the most welcome fish in 8 seasons of guiding!Out for a day fishing with mike. A lake man from home, we had a great day out.Lake Dunstan never looked so nice.Like saltfly..A good rainbow from the deep on a di7 on one of mikes special buggers.. They are good!!Mike into another..Black and brown, both worked!So fishy!Big, cool water..What a place.. Stunning.. Nice water....and great fishing..The 16 claret again..Really lovely trout.Wild flowers in a wild place.More wild flowers..A strong 5lb rainbow for me on my new straggle nymph.Bryan.More flowers..Big, cold lake!Fishing my brown nymph on a 4 foot dropper over the drop-off.They really don’t get much more perfect!Bryan in again..Another great fish for Bryan..A super 5lb brown.A great day with Phill..He just loved it..Lovely water..Another great fish.Dunstan. Anchoring the boat and releasing a little at a time to cover flats. Very effective.Dunstan Was great in January.Guy enjoying the day out..
The season is hurtling along! Here we are in January already. This can certainly be the hardest month of the regular trout season. Rivers get low and warm. Trout can get extra spooky and sometimes stop feeding in the afternoons. It’s very important to know which rivers to avoid so as to prevent undue stress on trout. Catching a trout in a warm river can easily kill it. With the farmers draining all but the last drop out of the local river it’s basically unfishable due to warming. It’s likely to stay that way for at least a few more weeks, maybe months. I have to turn my attention to cooler rivers and lakes. We need rain to top up and cool down the rivers but there’s none in the forecast. I have a very busy time coming up with some regular clients and I have formulated a good plan – I hope!
On a positive note, the fishing has been very good so far this season. Happy clients and I’ve managed to get out myself a few times. I had a day out on a dam recently with a morning of fishing to rival just about any dry fly fishing I’ve had. Green beetles on the water and trout feeding on them. Not sight fishing, fishing to rises – even better! Spending so much time guiding on the rivers has made me love the lakes even more. That’s what I want on my days off right now and this day really delivered. Engrossing fishing – moving quickly to intercept fish with fast, accurate casts. At least, that was the objective! Putting a fly in front of a tracking trout is so exhilarating – will he take it?? These’s nothing else going through my mind as that fish is hopefully continuing to track towards my fly. I can’t see him. The cast is based on where he’s most likely to be heading based on the previous rise or rises. To see that head come out of the dark water and confidently take my dry… just magic. 5 out of 6 fish that morning took me well into my backing. I play fish hard and I generally only see my backing once or maybe twice a season so this was just unreal. A breeze got up in the afternoon and the rises almost stopped. I wanted to go and check out a bay I like in the wind. I tried to drive there but ended up getting bogged. It was quite an ordeal to get it unstuck but thanks to Don from Wanaka we got it out. Probably took 5 hours all up! Still a great day. I went back for a day since and parts of the lake were very warm. Guy and I found decent fishing in cooler bays but the number of rising trout compared to the number of flies on the surface told me that most fish were already retreating to the deep. It’s too dam hot!
I’ve got another 7 patterns available with Fulling Mill. This makes the range of flies a pretty comprehensive one for NZ. They’ll cover you for just about anything you’re likely to encounter. With willow grubs in full swing on southern rivers and cicadas winding up, there’s a couple of reasons to check out the new patterns. You can see them all here.
The photos below are from December so I’ll have to get another blog out soon to catch up on the more recent stuff. I’m trying not to overload my blog with pictures!!
Still some gaps in April and plenty next season. You can contact me ronan@exyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines.. Ronan..
Great day out with David and Sabrina..They both landed a few solid fish..Sabrina on the last cast of the day! Icing on the cake..Time and his brother for a few days..Good craic as always!Wilderness..Cracking fish for Graeme.Tim has one in his sights..A beauty. Tim is a big fan of the HT series. I Think he has them all!Lovely water..Pretty trout..Graeme with his fan club.Bro’sBack to Davids place for food, drink, and craic.Back to business..Graeme releases a nice brown..This for took Tim way into his backing. Incredibly fast and powerful trout.Another beauty for Graeme in the last 100m. The last cast!Out myself for a day..Magnificent fishing..Most beautiful.A fat 5lber on McPhails Blowfly from Fulling Mill. A great general terrestrial pattern.BeetlesI adore this place..Another great trout. Spectacular dry fly action.. and a great day out.. until....bogged.I walked a few ks to get help after 2 hours trying to unbog my truck..No better machine to pull me out..High lift jack to get me out of the ruts first..We drove out together.. Big thanks to Don Lousley for his help!Great couple of days with these 2! Plenty trout to just under 7lbs.Almost 7lbs of magnificent brown trout on my new Straggle Nymph.Christmas dinner starter. Cold smoked trout and trout ceviche.Out for a fish myself..Trusty Claret doing the business.Checking out some new water.Broke my rod in 2 places. This streamside repair sort of worked.Spiky fecker.A day afloat with Guy.The lake is warming up fast..We had okay fishing in cooler bays. This was my first fish on the HT7 – love it.Guy – and a trout for dinner.First on a bugger then a few on dries.Guy with a lovely fish on my Kiwi Dun.Serpent rock. A hull buster!A great day out..Heading back home through the minefield.
It’s great to be busy guiding again after a couple of hard years. November was a challenging month to guide. Not many nice days! Lots of rain and stormy conditions. The rivers were regularly coloured up as a result. Now and again I had to use lakes and still waters to keep my clients on the fish – but of course I adore this type of fishing so for me it’s not really a plan B, it’s just another option. All up it was a successful month through bad weather. I enjoy the challenge of finding good, clear water to fish through these rain events and I’m yet to cancel a guide day due to weather or water conditions. There’s always water to fish!
Fish were a little leaner than usual earlier on in the season. I put it down to the harsh winter and more specifically a monster flood last July which completely changed many parts of my local rivers. Some of my favourite beats were unrecognisable when I went back to fish them with dad in October. Fish numbers and quality certainly suffered as a result. It was really heartbreaking at times. Walking upstream and not even knowing where I was on the beat. Large corner pools gone – pools that I never thought would move. Long sections of pools and bends bulldozed straight and useless by 460 cumecs. I’ve been using all my spare time trying to get out there to rediscover them and find out where is or is not worth fishing. Thankfully I’m getting a good handle on where is fishing well. Fish are in good condition once again and the rivers are starting to get comfortable with their new courses. Certainly my biggest fear going forward are these huge floods. Hundred year floods they call them… the annual hundred year flood I call them! The flood in July did so much damage around the country. I can’t imaging what 2 or even 3 of these events in a short space of time could do. Utter destruction to rivers and fish populations. I have already been hearing some sad stories from the top of the South Island. Anyway, right now the rivers down here are recovering well and fish numbers are still healthy in most of the rivers. Many rivers were unaffected, thankfully.
My own fishing was pretty limited through November because I was so busy with work. I did get out for a relaxing few hours before a 10 day straight stint. Also one big day through a gorge on my annual pilgramige to catch up with my old friend. Check out the full story here. It’s well worth a read!
The gallery below covers the highlights of a busy month of guiding. I was out most days and now I’m taking a few much needed days off. When I get a chance I’ll put together an account of my time fishing with dad in September and October. We fished 26 days so it certainly warrants its own report!
You can check out my fly patterns, the ones I use on a daily basis over here on the Fulling Mill website. If you’re within NZ I may be able to help you out with a deal. Just let me know. I currently have 7 patterns available in various sizes but I expect to have 7 more patterns available next month.
My season ahead is pretty much full – There may be a gap here or there although I know April still has gaps. Feel free to get in touch about guided fishing this season or next (which is already filling up). Contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines.. Ronan..
Lake Dunstsn. A great option when the rivers get dirty. Even the lake was too dirty to fish by the end of the day!A stunning trout on my sunken green beetle – a new killer pattern!Working “O Malleys bank” carefully..Brendan makes a mean coffee! Also smoked trout and cream cheese on crackers.Clear water when everything else was blown! Aside from getting jumped twice we managed 2 good trout.A tough day on a Maniototo still water.Benndan saved the day with one great fish from the river.A very welcome trout.Rivers clear enough to fish by now.Some good fishing!Clearing nicely.Healthy brown trout.Fishing to a difficult brown.A few great days with Bill. This superb 7.25lb trout on day one.More rain.But the fishing was very good.Walking back..A 4 and a 6 SLHT – a great combo for Southland rivers.After a bad start we had a super day!My 16 clarets deadly as always..Best rods for NZ. I now own a 7wt too – a powerful weapon.The trout cottage. Luxury accommodation.The Bruiser doing its thing.A great couple of days with Brendo. Plenty fish!Full but fishable.A lovely early season stream. One for me before 10 days straight guiding.Will – new to fly fishing – landed 3 great fish after a casting lesson!The Hotspot. A very useful fly.A healthy rainbow.Eamonn first NZ trout.Fish of the trip! Over 6lbs on the hotspot..Back he goes – A delighted angler!Another one goes back. A fellow Irishman, we had great craic over 2 days.Another super bow..We had a wicked hatch here for a hour. Not easy but we did okay!Working the water..Out with Gordon – River high and coloured after overnight rain.Into one on the Bruiser.A great fish on a hard day..The first proper sunny day in ages!And the fishing was great.Graham did really well.A spectacular day.. Felt great to be out in it after some cold, wet days.Lovely!Friends of ours, Diana and Shirdoo during a casing lesson.A fun day out but fish were not really playing ball!Shirdoo fires a streamer into a likely spot.My annual pilgrimage....to see this old fella....the only fish in the river, he’s now 10.5lbs. My 4th time catching him.A great day with Greg Ford and his son Chris from Ireland. Great see them over here. I knew Greg when I lived in Ireland from a few meetings on the lakes.A super 6lber for Greg.Chris into a good brown as the rain hammered down. By the end of the day the river was rising a getting dirty.
This has been a real winter. One of the harshest I’ve been here for. Lots of wind, rain, frost and snow – so different to the mild winter last year. Usually by July the fishing on the lakes starts to improve, but this year it took a lot longer. Locally, the lake fishing only picked up earlier this month. Mackenzie Country a little earlier in August. There were always a few fish to be caught but they took more persistence and some were on the lean side. I really don’t mind not catching many fish in a day – or any for that matter. I enjoy the search, trying to figure it out, working hard to put it together. It is a bit a kick in the balls when I can’t figure it out but this is part of continuing to learn – or adjusting what I already know – or think I know! Afterwards, I’ll consider what I might have missed and think about what I’ll try next time. There were days this winter when the fish really seemed “off”… like there was little or nothing I could do to drag out a result.
I have my parents here at the moment so dad and I are fishing most days. This is exactly what I need after a tough few months of colds, flus and covid in the family – and a bad injury to recover from after a dog bit my face. The fishing has been excellent so far – mainly because we have my boat to make the most of the lakes. More about this in my next blog as I haven’t downloaded any photos yet! We’re heading north tomorrow for a few days and then the rivers will open again on October 1. So, I have a very full on 5 weeks of fishing ahead with dad and then guiding kicks off full bore in November. Happy times! The rivers are looking good now after being high and dirty for much of the last few months..
This is a good time to stock up on nymphs, dries and streamers for the coming season. Some of my most successful patterns are available on Fulling Mill. They’re all designed for the NZ fishery and well tested!! I’m very happy to say that I’ll have 7 more patterns available next year.
Still a gap or 2 in the coming season if you’d like to book some guided fly fishing. Contact me – ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines all and enjoy the new season! Ronan..
Out for a look on one of my favourite winter lakes..One of these under a dry and scout the edges.. This is the Fulling Mill Tactical fly box – very slim and lots of room.No joy, but I didn’t mind..Out with the family..Lochlan on the engine..Just me – out in the boat today..This should do! The mighty Bruiser..Hard to find fish.. Pulled up to fish a river mouth.. moved one or 2 decent fish.A tough, cold day. Fish were just not on, but landed four 1 pounders.On the bank today..Once again, fish hard to come by so this super 5.25lber made my day.Another day done..Family walk… with the rod!Dunstan today with Wesley and Guy..We had decent fishing. The lake is very slow to fire up this winter..Wesley fishing O Malleys Bank.Ideal conditions.No good with the nymphs, only buggers. My Killer smelt mainly.Gorgeous day..Fishing these flats always feels promising.Great colour.GuyAny second now….Call it a day..a great day,Lessons for the lads!Great students..No fish on day 1 but day 2 was excellent!Lots of fish for everyone.Cam puts one backThen this! The fish of the trip..A beauty.A lovely winters evening..Day 3. 4 today!Tom landed this super trout..Winter trout flats..Time for Rick to get one.. We worked it for a while until….. he got his trout!Lots of witnesses too!Call it a day – one for dinner!Wesley came to join me for some lunch on shore..It was a good thing he did!The place went cracked for about 5 minutes..The fishing was great!!In the bag..
So far, this has been a good winter season. The Clutha has been the best in a few years. Still not great but way better than the last 2 winters – which were shite. That’s encouraging. Most days out have produced some decent results but the big fish are still nowhere to be seen. I believe the larger fish (5.5lb plus) are running as early as March and by the time me and the other winter anglers get to the river in May, they’re nowhere to be seen. If you don’t hit these fish on the run, it seems we’re not likely to get a shot at them at all. That’s my take on it anyway.
Myself and Jeff did our thing with Nick Reygaert in another episode of Pure Fly NZ. It’s always great to take on an episode with Nick and Jeff. We just go fishing – and often somewhere totally new! All the fun of fishing is still there, even with a camera on us. There’s no pressure – we just let it happen and it generally does. I guess there’s been a learning curve to get to this stage. You can’t force it – the harder you try, the less likely you are of getting a good result (I had to learn this – Nick already knew of course!!). It seems to be one of the few times in a season where Jeff and I actually fish together so that’s another bonus. I’m looking forward to seeing what Nick comes up with after the edit. I won’t give too much away but we certainly kept the best til last!
It’s been a great winter to catch up some good friends on the water too. I’ve had some cracking days out with Wesley, Conor, Matt and Chris. The results are well documented in the photos below.
In other news, I’ve been laid up for a while with a pretty bad injury. Recovery will take a while and fishing will have to wait at least another week or 10 days. I also have covid but to my great surprise I’m almost completely asymptomatic. After 2 dreadful flus this winter, I expected covid to kick my arse, but it didn’t – so I’ll take that bit of luck!
That’s all for now. Feel free to get in touch about winter guiding or trips next season. Contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Here is a link to my fly patterns on Fulling Mill and this is my latest piece for the their blog.
Tight lines.. Ronan..
The mouth of the Manuherikia – usually inaccessible in winter.With the Clutha low enough to access the mouth, it opened up some nice but all too brief fishing opportunities!Adalines creations with daddies help!A day afloat with Jeff..Launching the old boat with the old truck..Windy, but a nice winters day..Heading across the lake..Good rain gear in essential. Hard to look past Simms.Setting up for the first drift..Into one!A nice rainbow on the Bruiser.One of a few for Jeff. Jeff had to go at 3, I went back out for a while more..I just love being afloat..Meanwhile, back in Ireland, my dad is catching and releasing some super grilse.Out with Chris for the day!My nymphs and a few emergency eggs!Fishing the braids..Into a decent bow.Changing fly..Bow and arrow – so useful!Tea time!Chris blind fishes a likely drop-off.A healthy bow..Change of tactics..Fish of the day for Chris..A few of my streamers ready to do business.Wesley and his new boat!Feck all room in it but a very versatile and economical boat.Wesley.“The awful” my friend, Marcus aptly named it.. Those are teeth marks!Out with Conor for the day.. Fishing was challenging but great.Conor into one..One for me! This one will feed the gang.I love what the polarising filter does here.Filming another episode of Pure Fly NZ with Nick and Jeff.A lovely location....with plenty trout!One of many super trout for Jeff!A good fish for me on the Green Machine.This super fish took a size 12 hotspot under an indicator.The end of 2 great days..Another episode in the bag – will be available online in September approx.A day out with Wesley..One on the Green Machine to start the day..Wesley into one..Working a seam..One from a grassy bank..Locked and loaded for the first float of the winter season.Matt – ready to rock!Away we go with the necessary tools.Pulled up to fish a braid.teatime.A stunning big riffle simply had to produce..And it did, this one on the deadly Bruiser.5lb bow – so strong! This made the day.about to release him..The convergence of two flows – often a hotspot but they can be tricky to fish.