Ronan's Report

Mike Wilkinson and I spent the day on one of our local waters on Sunday. I went to the right and Mike to the left so for the most productive part of the day we didn’t see each other at all. This often happens when flyfishing and in a way you have the best of both worlds when it does. One the one hand, you fish alone at your own pace taking as much time as you want with each challenge and opportunity the day brings, while on the other hand you know you will catch up with your fishing partner later in the day to compare notes and have the craic.

There were quite a few fish moving on Sunday probably due to the unseasonably mild conditions. Some were rising but most were tailing with their heads buried so deep in the weeds that getting them to see my fly was a real challenge. The wolley bugger inspired a few chases and one landed fish but “figure of eighting” a couple of Joe Creane’s nymphs accounted for more hook ups but still only one more landed fish.

Fish have been midging on the calm evenings. I had a look after work today but it was too windy. I finish work at 5 and its dark at 6 so my fishing window is tight! However the days are getting longer and the lake is close by.

Any calm evening over the next few days I’ll be on the water into twilight…

Ronan.. Stuntman/Joiner (CI/Fishing host by appointment!)

Things have been quiet on the angling front lately. The days are short and cold but fishing opportunities are available if I go and look! The days I have gone in search of trout have not produced much lately but last weekend I took the Wakitipu Anglers Club boat out with Nick Moody and had a really good day. There were only a few fish where I expected to see many and they were not in form to chase a woolly bugger and no other search method grabbed me. Wolley bugger or nothing! Searching was the order of the day. This is the norm for speculative lake fishing from a boat and I really enjoy it. Nick was new to it and at times I could see his confidence in the area’s we fished lapse a little. You have to have total confidence in every cast to nail blind lake fishing. Eventually we found a good area and for about an hour I had some exciting fishing. It didn’t happen for Nick but it will. With time and practice new methods and techniques take root and develop.

Ronan..

Contrary to popular belief I’m not living off my Stuntman salary. In fact it doesn’t pay well at all and its a risky business. I’ve been lucky in general in that imaginary career although only today I nearly cut my thumb off. Only a bloody nick but I could just as easily have put my thumb farther under the blade and lost or mangled it. I’m a cabinetmaker so this is an occupational hazard. Generally I’m extremely careful. I always know where my hands and digits are in relation to the blade. Today was a first! Anyway, I went away from my reason for this report! All I wanted to say was that if my last few pieces of furniture mated and had a baby it would be a really cool fly-tying desk!

Take care!   Ronan..

Snow is falling over much of the south island right now so it’s clear that Winter is well and truly here. Queenstown woke to a fresh, frosty morning with some snow on the ground. I got up and prepared a hearty beef and venison stew and left it simmering in the slow cooker. With dinner taken care of I had a substantial breakfast of bacon, eggs and beans and then went fishing. The Kawarau River is open all year round so I decided to give it a try. It’s a big river and I have not cracked it yet. I went to a spot where a small river flows in and had one great fish on a woolly bugger fished deep on a slimeline. I didn’t spend long on the water. It was freezing cold, I didn’t see any fish, frankly I didn’t want or need to be on the water all day. I left happy with my lot and went to another part of the river to get some firewood. A few minutes with the chainsaw and I had enough for 2 nights free warmth. Before I went home I caught up my friends Mike and Raywin over a beer. It’s important to stay in touch with your friends! I got home to a perfectly cooked stew and got the fire cranking….

The season is over now on the majority of waters but a few are open all year round. I’ll be checking those out regularly over the winter. I’m also going to tie all the flies I need for next season over the winter. I’ve started already!

Its getting cold and firewood is expensive so I bought a chainsaw. It lives in the truck so whenever I see a dead fallen tree It’ll be cut up and loaded into the back. As they say, firewood warms you twice!

Ronan..

After enjoying some of Will Shaw’s art on his Sexyloops front pages a notion occurred to me. Maybe I could swap some flies for a piece of his work! I sent Will an email to run the idea by him and the wheels were in motion. I got to work and so did he. I tied a range of flies inspired by what I’ve learned both in Ireland and in NZ and loosely based on the type of fishing Will is doing at the moment. Will chose a photo of a Tasmanian brown from one of my blogs to work his magic on. Its a fantastic piece of art and one I’ll always treasure. Hopefully it’s a reasonably fair swap but I think I may have got the better end of the deal! My Dad, Joe Creane, will also tie a few so that should even things up a bit. Thanks Will! Tight lines with these..

Ronan..

I just spent a couple of days fishing around Glenorchy. Just like Te Anau I found very few fish around river mouths and all the fish in the rivers were in spawning mode. Many fish had redds already formed so I didn’t bother these ones. Even the fish that were on station were not feeding at all. I saw plenty but only hooked and landed one. Not even stripping streamers could inspire a chase. Even though there’s a few days left in the season I wont fish here again. If In knew they were so close to spawning I wouldn’t have bothered them today. It’s time to leave the river and it’s trout alone to propagate the catchment. Saying that I didn’t find any rainbows at all. They spawn later in the year than the browns but they’ll remain unthreatened from me regardless. Maybe they’re still in the lake or farther up the river? or both? Their secret is safe.

I was granted a one year work visa for New Zealand today so it looks like I’ll be sticking around for a while.

Tight lines all… Ronan..

Mark Adamson and I fished together on the Waiau near Te Anau on Saturday. I expected it to be better. We didn’t see many fish and those we did see were difficult. It was still a good day on the water though, they all are I guess! The sun doesn’t get very high in the sky at this time of year, this makes it hard to see fish. Also with the sun so low in the sky, night time comes quickly so if your keen on a night fish you don’t have to wait long. We fished a couple of river mouths into darkness without much success. Again, I expected them to be better. I thought this was about the best time of year to fish river mouths! Maybe I was wrong. Too late? Too early? Not sure…

Ronan..

• I’ve just had four 8% Bourbon & Cola’s and they work.
• Speights now…

Last Thursday I drove to Fairlie to see Shotgun Kevin, his partner Freddie and their baby Macey. Fishing was also on the agenda and my truck needed a Warrant Of Fitness. I know a mechanic in Fairlie so it made sense to me to give the business to someone I know and trust.

Occasionally one may catch a Brown Trout with very few markings but it’s very unusual to catch a  Brown with no markings at all. A few years ago Kevin brought me to a place where it’s common to catch unmarked browns, a place where you can actually target them! The reason for the lack of markings is camouflage. This area, both river and lake comprises of a mainly sandy bottom so a silver colour and lack of spots helps the fish blend in. The strange thing is sandy areas in rivers and lakes are very common, particularly around river mouths as in this case but the browns are usually silver in colour but well marked with black spots. Not here!

The next day I had a crack on one of my favourite lakes on my way back to Queenstown. I had just one rainbow but it was worth the long drive down a dirt track!

Back to my Speights.

Ronan..

ps. Here is a short film by Abi Mackenzie from 2008 from the place I fished last weekend. Some of the browns are unmarked.

I tied these few dry-flies for John O Malley to try on Corrib. I have no doubt that they will work. The mayfly patterns are an adaptation of my NZ emerger. They’re tied with a tail to keep the body on rather than in the surface film. The little ones are that same emerger, just tied in black and much smaller to represent caenis. Caenis time of year in Ireland is rapidly approaching!

Tight Lines..   Ronan..