Recently I had an encounter with a trout I’d caught about 18 months ago. The fact that I had caught him before meant that I had no great need to catch him again, or so I thought before our re-encounter. I knew where he lived, during a day on the river I was never too pushed If I fished that pool or not. On this day I did get to the pool, I scoped it up and down and didn’t see him. I did see a smaller trout of about 4lbs but never managed to get a shot to that one. When I was leaving the pool I spotted my old friend in a slack back eddy at the head of the pool. He was cruising around sipping down dries like a 3lb brown in a Mataura backwater.. But this was no 3lber! He may well be a double by now considering he was 9.25lbs when I caught him. I didn’t hesitate in getting into position well away from the trout, my heart rate increasing. I quickly removed my nymphs so I had a single size 12 dry left on the cast, my go-to dry. I felt no need to put on a smaller one. The tippet was 4x, so nice and fine. The fish turned on his beat and I sent in my cast. I was as happy as I could have been with my shot.. I landed the fly well in front of the fish and a little to his right so that on approach to the fly most of the tippet would be on the other side of the fly. He cruised towards it, raised up in the water column just a little and then continued under my fly. After seeing my offering he went into high alert moving out of the slack water into moving water. Still maybe catchable but much more difficult. I changed tactics and put a nymph on. First attempt with the nymph and I picked up some scrub on my back-cast which landed beside my old friend. With that, he was gone. He didn’t bolt off, just cruised into the depths. I was haunted by him that night, every time I’d close my eyes I’d see that head on profile with pectoral fins like a jet plane, changing to a huge pink and green flank as he turned. Now I have to catch him again. (This is fly-fishing!)
I’ve had plenty other great days on the water since my last report. Jeff and I pushed into some new terrain and found more trout than we expected. We did pretty well, catching fish on dries and nymphs.
I caught up with my great friend Bob Toffler last weekend before he headed back to the States for another northern hemisphere season. We had a wonderful meal together cooked by Bob’s partner, Carol. The following day, Iza, Bob and I fished the Mataura where the hatch lasted from morning until evening! It was fantastic fun. I got to know Bob on a visit to the US about 13 years ago. He told me that he fishes in NZ every season, and he invited me to join him during my planned NZ visit. I took him up on his offer and we’ve been friends ever since meeting up a few times a season. Through Bob, I met Guy; through Guy, I met Paul and the rest is history still in the making.
That’s all for now, Enjoy the pics and feel free to subscribe if you’re new here and you like what you see!
Oh, and Happy 40th to Mike Wilkinson! He looks a day over 39. The party meant I didn’t fish on Sunday last! I doubt any one else did either… Jeff?
Ronan..
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Exploring new parts of well worn terrain..
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..and I found this! ..but there were no fish..
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One landed for this day.. I had a re-encounter with an old friend, possibly a double by now. I’d like another reel screaming encounter with him!
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A quick operation on my old boots to remove a very uncomfortable lump from the right toe..
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2 incisions, one from outside and one from inside the mouth.. It was a success!
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Now to move some less worn star bites to where they’ve worn out.. All they need now is new laces! At this stage I just want to see how long they’ll last. They are still comfortable, believe it or not..
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Back on the river with Jeff!
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2 beautiful browns he landed on the day. This the smaller of the 2.
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Kisses the fish!
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About to cast to a fish that would not eat..
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We continue.. There were a few fish about!
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Jeff lost this one in the end.. a solid fish we both wanted to look at!
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Using my rod to poke him out was a last resort!
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One for me at the end of the day, a real beauty from a riffle!
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Slightly different angle, very nice fish..
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Holy shit… Death?
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Jeff takes his chances…
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… and escapes with his life..
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Me and the man I’ve known in NZ for the longest time, Bob Toffler. A legend in my book. Come what may, he returns every year from his home near New York to fish the rivers around his other home in Balfour.
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Bob into one on the Mataura..
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Some nice flats close to home..
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Very interesting water indeed!
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One under the willows..
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Willows provide great cover and habitat for trout and stabitity for rivers.
Omarama with Iza, March 2015 019_576x768
..and I found this! ..but there were no fish..
Exploring new parts of well worn terrain..
One landed for this day.. I had a re-encounter with an old friend, possibly a double by now! I'd like another reel screaming encounter with him!
2 incisions, one from outside and one from inside the mouth.. It was a success!
Back on the river with Jeff!
2 beautiful browns he landed on the day.,This the smaller of the 2.
Jeff lost this one in the end.. a solid fish we both wanted to look at!
We continue.. There were a few fish about!
About to cast to a fish that would not eat..
Using my rod to poke him out was a last resort!
One for me at the end of the day, a real beauty from a riffle!
Some nice flats close to home..
Bob into one on the Mataura..
Me and the man I've known in NZ for the longest time, Bob Toffler. A legend in my book! Come what may he returns every year to fish the rivers around his other home in Balfour.
Very interesting water indeed!
Slightly different angle, very nice fish..
Willows provide great cover and habitat for trout and stabitity for rivers.
In high summer in NZ it pays not to depend completely on flowing water as the source of your fishing. Rivers get low, fish numbers tend to decrease as a result. River and stream options get fewer between December and the end of March. This is certainly true here in Central Otago. I’d say it’s also true to some extent in most districts. Luckily for me I don’t discriminate at all between bodies of water I like to fish. Recently I went to mine and Kevins secret dams. The top dam was great! Very low with plenty healthy cruisers about. There is a small stream flowing out of the top dam and into the bottom dam about a kilometre away. I went for a look.. On arrival about 1000 geese, swans and ducks got off the main part of the dam. This dam is in 2 parts; a small containment of water in the vicinity of the stream mouth makes the first part, the second is a much larger body of water (where the birds were) connected by a gap in an earth bank. Usually the part near the stream mouth does not hold many fish but on this day it did. On approach to the dam via the stream I saw about 10 fish feeding in the extremely dirty, murky water. Most fish were in the 4lb- 6lb class with some bigger. I took my time and worked on them one at a time. They were not easy. With all the weeds, feathers and stuff on the surface and the lack of clarity in the water, just getting them to see the fly was the greatest challenge. When I believed that they did see it they did not always respond to it. I landed 3 in the couple of absorbing hours between 4 and 6lbs. These were all incredible fish. Fat, beautifully coloured and marked and very strong. I got one on a spider which I put in the path of a cruiser, one on a small damsel; I made him chase it, and one on a bright orange fly; bright to be seen in the murk. I changed fly often to suit every individual trout. Before I left to go home I had a look in the main body of the dam. It was pea green with virtually no viz. The heat of the summer and the shit of 1000 game birds had caused an algal bloom. I guess this is why the fish favoured the relative clarity and cleanliness of the water near the stream mouth.
I described the water to Guy and he said he had no interest in that kind of fishing. I get it. The water is dirty! If a splash got into your mouth you’d be wise to spit it out quickly. I don’t care though. In fact, I love it. It’s a million miles from stereotypical NZ water but to me it has something great to offer. The fish are fantastic, they feed on or near the top quite a lot, the fishing is challenging and absorbing; so much so that it removes me from the shit, weed and slime!
I’ve had a look at many more still waters recently, they don’t generally suffer low water summer conditions like rivers do. I’ve been having a ball on them. If I was a wealthy angler coming to NZ, I’d be chatting to my guide about a still water option and that’s for sure.
Feel free to contact me with any questions through the comments section or via email at ronan@sexyloops.com
Tight Lines!
Ronan..
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Some of the most beautiful, healthy trout come from murky, dirty water!
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Same fish about to be released..
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..into this. Coloured not from rain or farm run-off, but from the shit from at least 1000 game birds.
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The farm dams were low but still held good numbers of healthy trout.
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I also checked out an early-season stream. I didn’t expect much and I was right. I saw 2 rainbows, got one.
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my one shot with the 10 second timer! I only take one to get the fish back quickly.
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This eel smelled the comotion from up stream. Amazing creatures. A minute later the trout came bolting out of the pool to escape. I have caught very many trout with eel scars.
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Breandan? You’d want to pick up the pace a bit!! 😀
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There must be something on…
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Murky still-waters with stunning trout.
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Like this little fella.
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Back to the tannin water..
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Breandan??
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More still-waters with pretty fish..
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A grey morning. No vis whatsoever. Casting to rising trout was pretty effective though.
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This from a wee spring creek..
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Clear water, bright fish!
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Clarity!
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A good fish approaches, Got this one with a bow and arrow cast.
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Iza and I went to the canals, no joy so we hit a few near by still waters instead. This was my first cast on a new water!
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Iza chills out after a catching one..
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How could an angler not love this?!
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This stunning olive trout ran about 25m, a great fish.
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Away he goes..
Some of the most beautiful, healthy trout come from murky, dirty water!
my one shot with the 10 second timer! I only take one to get the fish back quickly.
This eel smelled the comotion from up stream. Amazing creatures. A minute later the trout came bolting out of the pool to escape. I have caught very many trout with eel scars.
Breandan? You'd want to pick up the pace a bit!! :D
..into this. Coloured not from rain or farm run-off, but from the shit from at least 1000 game birds.
Same fish about to be released..
The farm dams were low but still held good numbers of healthy trout.
I also checked out an early-season stream. I didn't expect much and I was right. I saw 2 rainbows, got one.
More still-waters with pretty fish..
A grey morning. No vis whatsoever. Casting to rising trout was pretty effective though.
There must be something on...
Murky still-waters with stunning trout.
This from a wee spring creek..
Clear water, bright fish!
Back to the tannin water..
Iza and I went to the canals, no joy so we hit a few near by still waters instead. This was my first cast on a new water!
Omarama with Iza, March 2015 006_1024x768
This stunning olive trout ran about 25m, a great fish.
I'm not sure what Meridian were fishing for with this net but they caught this native fish.. (still water near Twizel)
I'm not sure what Meridian were fishing for with this net but they caught this native fish..
(still water near Twizel)
How could an angler not love this?!
Iza chills out after a catching one..
Categories: Expedition Tags: Central Otago fly fishing, Game birds and dirty water, Iza, Kevin Alexander, Meridian, NZ Canals, Omarama, Ronan, Secret dams, Still waters fishing NZ, Twizel