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Posts Tagged ‘80 series land cruiser’

It’s Been a Good Winter!

July 18th, 2022 No comments

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..

Help Protect the Manuherikia River (Also, a Winter Fishing Update!)

June 13th, 2021 No comments

The amount of water allowed to be taken for irrigation from the local river, the Manuherikia, is coming up for review. Currently, so much is taken off the river that in summer the river gets too low and warm for fish to thrive, especially in the lower reaches. The fish shut down completely as soon as the day warms up. I avoid the river when it’s like this so as not to further stress the trout, as do most anglers. With this, anglers loose much of their local river for fishing (and guiding in my case) for up to 2 months a season. Currently the river is permitted to get as low as 900 litres per second before abstraction is reduced to keep it at that level. This low flow also makes the lower river unsafe to swim in and visually pretty horrible as brown algae takes over. This should be quite a large river but it’s not allowed to be as the demand for irrigation increases with land use intensification. Some of the water take-outs are huge, taking what appear to me to be half the river at some points. Sadly, this is quite normal for many NZ rivers but we have a chance now to make the situation on the Manuherikia a little better. Please take a moment to fill out this survey – it only takes a couple of minutes. The link is at the bottom left of the page. Of course, the optimum flow outlined in the scenarios would be 3000l/s. You don’t have to live here to care about the river so please have your say. If you’d like to take a little more time and write a submission, please do so. You can email it to policy@orc.govt.nz . You have until June 18th. Thanks in advance to those who make the effort to take the survey or write a submission.

We’re right in the swing of winter fishing right now. As always its fickle but mostly pretty good. That’s the nature of chasing migrating trout; you may or may not find them. The most exciting prospect for me at this time of year is catching is a large, fresh run rainbow. I’ve been lucky in the past, usually catching one over 8lbs every winter, sometimes more. This winter (so far) and last winter combined, the best I managed to catch has been about 5lbs. I’m not sure whats changed but those big fish seem hard to find. I’m dying to get stuck in a big one again. I’m out tomorrow fishing myself so hopefully I’ll get one.

I’ve had a busy May guiding, relatevily speaking. All up very successful. Only one blank with 2 complete beginners to fly fishing. That was an interesting day though. I don’t think I’ve ever guided an ambidexterous person before but both Ian and Craig were. What are the odds? The first challenge for them was to decide which arm was best suited for the task. After about an hour I had to insist that they “pick and arm” or we were not going to advance much. Once they did they did great – Ian in particular (sorry Craig!), a real natural caster and angler. I hope they keep it up!

It was great to see my regular client and friend Brendan back over again from Australia. We mixed up the few days with local rivers and lakes and a couple of days deep in the backcountry – hoping for a big rainbow or brown. We caught heaps of average sized fish. We saw some very big fish but they elluded us. The best we landed was over 5. A nice fresh run fish. A magic couple of days though, covering about 20 kilometres of river. Frosty mornings with mostly sunny weather to follow and little wind. The sun sets quite early in the valleys at this time of year so warm gear was essential. The backcounty hut provided great shelter for the night. It was a very basic hut which gets little use but a good sweep out, tidy up and warm fire made us right at home. That and some good food and wine. Next time I’ll have to bring a roll mat because one of the two bunks is made with floor boards. Brendan didn’t find it very comfortable!

Lots more stuff too all documented in the photo’s below! Some very enjoyable days out with friends and great to use the new club boat. It’s a weapon!

Feel free to get in touch to book a winter fishing mission. Contact me on ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.

Tight lines, Ronan..

The Manuherikia River!

High-Country Dams..

February 13th, 2021 No comments

The more I fish the high-country dams the more I love them. Like any good fishery they’re not easy. They can be incredibly dour in fact. Many anglers only go up there during high summer in the hope of being there when the cicadas emerge and get blown onto the water. In my experience this rarely actually happens.

When Dad and I used to travel around the South Island every year or so, we would always include the dams. Dad was always over for the month of November. We never had any dry fly action over that time, but it can happen. I was happy walking shoreline stripping buggers and dad liked moving more slowly fishing two of his PT nymphs or buzzers with the figure of 8 retrieve. Both methods worked. For me these dams are blind fisheries. Only during perfect sighting conditions might you sight a fish. Fishing to rising trout is always on the cards with a plethora of terrestrial insects included in the trouts diet, caddis and chironomid too. Whatever is happening, be prepared to blind fish. I think this is why dad and I both love it. Coming from a lakes background in Ireland we had to blind fish – that’s all we did. But as I’ve said many times blind fishing is not chuck and chance. Every cast is considered, we look for something fishy; weeds, structure, drop-offs, points, bays, rocks, shallows etc.

Once you get into the groove of your chosen method you just have to have faith and persist until something tells you otherwise. The reasons I still use my possum / marabou bugger as my go-to blind fishing method is: 1, The trout feed a lot on fry. 2 They feed on Koura and a bugger is a good representation of this too. 3, I can cover a lot of water quickly. 4, The trout are very opportunist. I occasionally take a fish for the table. When checking the stomach contents there are usually multiple different food items in there. Commonly, for example, loads of caddis with one fry or loads of corixa with one koura. This tells me that they won’t pass up a bugger! These dams offer trout the largest range of food of any fishery I know. Because of this, my guess is that when the dams appear to be dead, they’re not! The fish just out of our reach for whether it be physical or otherwise.

I fish my bugger on a floating line with a long leader so that I can count it down if I need to. Also, so that if fish start taking dries I can quickly change over. Sometimes in shallow bays I’ll blind fish nymphs instead of a bugger or if its calm I’ll sometimes do the same. If you are lucky enough to be there when the trout are looking up then its simply magic. I’ve only really experienced it once. I was with Justin and Dan from Big Sky Anglers in Montana. Day 7 of 7 – the dream finale!

On a personal level, fishing these dams are very similar to fishing Corrib or Mask back home. The dark water, the wind, the rocks, the drift if I’m in a boat, the sounds and smells, the blind fishing aspect, the memories. Without doubt this is a huge part of the reason I love fishing them. The common methods are very similar indeed – nymphing (PTs, caddis or buzzers), dries (sometimes 2 or even 3 dries), Wets – I strip buggers instead of wets but these are fisheries where lough style can and does work. Another thing I love on some of the dams is the quality of the browns. They can be some of the most beautiful on the planet. Every time I hook one I get excited to see what he / she looks like. I guess finally, they’re all just stunning places to spend a day. They’re all quite similar but with their own characteristics. I never go up there expecting to catch lots, they can always kick my arse. I’m happy if I get a fish or 2 and I’ll work hard to get them.

BOB’S BIRTHDAY

Bob has been on here many times over the years, so if you’re a regular reader you’ll know he’s my oldest friend in NZ, not because of his age, he’s the person I’ve known here right from the start. We try to catch up for a fish a few times a season and for the past 4 years we always fish for his birthday. He jokes that he must catch a fish to make it to his next birthday. We got the Birthday fish on day one at the very end of the day. It was tough – fish just not responding but we did it in the end with a lovely 5lb brown. Day 2 we went to the dams. I did well with my P/M bugger. Bob stuck with his dries hoping for that magic take which never came. Guy was with us too. My second oldest friend in NZ. Bob introduced me to Guy, so I love it when the 3 of us catch up. It’s becoming tradition now that Guy joins us for day 2 of Bob’s birthday fishing expedition. Happy Birthday, Bob! Looking forward to the next one.

I’ve been reasonably busy at times with guiding thank feck. Happy clients, plenty trout. There’s a few bookings coming in but please do get in touch if you’d like to set up a trip or if you have any questions. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.

Here is a link to my nymph patterns available at Fulling Mill. They’ve been doing great this season! Also getting some great feedback which is always nice to hear. I have one box of my own patterns from Fulling Mill, and they cover me for pretty much all my river nymphing needs.

Tight lines, Ronan..

Some of the Biggest Trout on Earth!

October 28th, 2020 No comments

Last winter we had a little treat! Fish & Game opened a river to anglers to fish for monster rainbows on their spawning run. These fish reach incredible sizes from living in a man made canal system. Like a giant spring creek, the canals have a constant flow and they’re always cool. Perfect for trout to grow year round. They have a diet which consists largely of cockabullies, snails and fish pellets from under the salmon farms, all aiding their rapid growth. For the most part, these fish spawn in the canal system itself but some have the opportunity to spawn in a river – the one that was opened to anglers last September. I spoke to Rhys from F&G about the decision to open it. He said that by that stage in the winter all the redds are already full of eggs so no damage can be done to future stocks by fishing to the new arrivals. He also said that the river would not be opened in September again. This decision was due to the expected onslaught of foreign anglers next year. A pity I thought. I sugested making it for residents only. This year it was for residents only because there were no foreign tourist anglers due to the Covid travel ban. The river was busy at times but there was room for everyone. The perfect case study. In my opinion, making it for residents only would be a very easy management system and we could keep this unique fishery open in late winter. Last Septembers successful opening provides strong evidence that it would work. We also chatted about leaving the river open in May to allow people to fish for the first run of large browns which have all but gone by September. Who knows what will happen here in the future. I think the closed season in NZ in general is in need of a total overhaul. Many closed seasons make no sence and protect little or nothing – especially on lakes and still waters.

Needless to say I had to have a crack at this river. It’s possibly the best large trout river in the world at this time of year. I fished it for 3 days over the month landing 10 between 13 and 25lbs. It quickly became clear to me what I loved most about these winter rainbows. Not the fish or the fishing but the fight! Usually I like that trout are not like bonefish. I like that I can get them in quickly so that I can get back to the fishing. These were different. Unique because how often are you not worried about loosing a 10 to 30lb trout? I loved leaning into these brutes with heavy gear. Get them in fast and returned after a quick snap. I used an 8wt TCX, a Lamson reel with a decent drag and 12lb Maxima. No playing around with 5 or 6 weights. In the great scheme of my fly fishing I rarely fish for anything over 10lbs so it was great just to feel that weight and power on the other end. Watching a 20lb trout run, jump and thrash with the rod hopping and reel screaming was some of the best craic I’ve had fly fishing!

I chose a method at the start of day one which I stuck with each day I fished. I blind fished a weighted streamer (possum and marabou of course!) on a long leader fished on a floating line. This worked well because I could get the fly deep with some simple mends. Depth was key for me to blind fish the deeper water. A sinking line can be a disaster with heavy didymo and large boulders so more reason to use a floater. I love the control with this method. I can get the fly to the depth I want and make it move how I want. Not so easy with a sinking line since you lose much of your ability to mend. Dead drifting the streamer through deep bouldery runs or moving it slowly was the most effective for me. 9 out of my 10 trout over 3 days were bright, healthy hens. Just what I wanted. I saw some fellas happy to fish for coloured up jacks off redds at the tails of pools. This was not for me but each to their own. I did throw a few casts at these fish but when I got the feeling that they were spawners I left them alone. One thing I learned from this trip was that I really dislike fishing with egg flies – so I didn’t!

In more recent news – the new season has been fantastic so far! Some very big fish about too. I’ve already had 2 over the mythical 10lb mark. More about those and the season to date in my next blog. The boat has not been out yet but I do have an engine on the back of it now so I’m just waiting for the opportunity to get out there. I’ve had a couple of very successful guide days with clients landing trout to 8lbs. Some more work coming up too so very happy about that! Myself and Jeff have another epsiode of Pure Fly NZ coming up soon. We have a plan to watch it at the pub since neither of us have whatever channel it’s on. Duke I think. I’m looking forward to watching it. We had a some great action. It’s always a lot of fun filming with Jeff and Nick. We’re all on the same page. Anybody within NZ who’d like to get in touch about some guided fly fishing, I’d love to hear from you. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website. For a look at some of my fly patterns available at Fulling Mill click here.

Tight lines.. Ronan..

The End of Lockdown…

May 20th, 2020 No comments

After 5 weeks of lockdown I was itching to get back at the rivers. We dropped back to level 3 only three days before the brown trout rivers closed. I managed to get one full day on day 1, a brief session while walking the kids on day 2 and a 3 hour session on day 3. The full day was just brilliant. I got to the river with a one hour walk downstream to complete before fishing back to the truck. I was at a jogging pace to get to the start of the beat – I just couldn’t wait. Straight away the fishing was good. The fish were out and feeding and holding where fish should hold. Thankfully the incredible weather all through lockdown held up for another day. Blue skies and no wind all day. Absolute bliss and I didn’t see another angler. I had 12 for the day and broke in 5 or 6 more because I ran out of my usual tippet. Very frustrating using bad tippet! A fantastic day regardless. I had decided in the morning that if I could get 2 decent trout near the truck I’d take them for dinner. Not something I usually do but as long as I know there are plenty trout about I don’t mind taking one or two on occasion. I got one with the truck in sight and had to work pretty hard for the second but got him in the end. They fed 4 adults and 2 kids and included a cold smoked fillet as a starter. There is something very special about feeding the family with freshly caught, wild trout.

One good thing that came from the lockdown was spending time with the kids when I’d otherwise have been working. Our daily walks were along the river where I’d frustrate myself looking at feeding trout. The crazy thing is I had never even seen this section of river that flows through the town. Local lockdown walks were the reason I got to check it out. It’s lovely water. I didn’t see heaps of trout there but there were enough. Unfortunately there was little chance to carry the rod on the local walks due to level 4 lockdown rules (no fishing!). Now that we can fish the season is closed (apart from the aforementioned 3 days.). Next season, whenever I get a day off, and there may well be many, I’ll be taking the kids for a walk and taking the rod. By then Adaline will be old enough to reel in a fish herself. Lochlan might be too.

We’re into the winter season now. There are still many rivers open til the end of May. Once June starts just a few large rivers and most of the lakes remain open. Plenty though. I’m looking forward to getting out whenever I get a chance. The kids have severely disrupted my fishing if you haven’t already guessed that! I’ve had a few outings recently. I didn’t catch many myself but the folks with me did pretty well. The first tug from a large winter rainbow woke me as I drifted off to sleep last night! That will tell you whats on my mind. Dying to get stuck in a large migrating rainbow – one of the highlights of my season. The next fishing on the agenda will hopefully be filming another episode for Pure Fly NZ with my comrade Jeff Forsee and fly fishing film legend, Nick Reygaert. We have a few ideas.

I recently did a podcast with Daire Whelan from Ireland On The Fly. I never did one before so I was a bit nervous. However, here is a link for anybody who’d like a listen. Or you can use this link. I’ll be doing something similar on Instagram soon – a live chat with Justin Spence in Montana. I guided Justin and his friend Dan last season. Justin needed no guidance really, I’d just take him to the river and he’d know what to do. Certainly one of the great fly fishermen! For our Instagram session were just going to chat about fly fishing! More on this when I know more.

Feel free to get in touch with any questions about guided trips next season or this season if you live in NZ. You can contact me on ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.

Tight Lines… Ronan..

Precious Cargo!

May 24th, 2019 No comments

I can’t believe it’s 2 months since I’ve written a blog! It’s just been hard to find the time. Right now I’m in Dunedin Hospital with a very Pregnant Iza. We thought the little fecker was about to arrive but now it seems he / she was just winding us up. Iza is asleep and I have time to write.

The first thing I have to say is Congratulations to my dad, Joe Creane on winning the European Cup 2019 on Lough Mask in the West of Ireland. I have’t spoken to him yet to hear the details but it seems fish were very hard to find so this was a super result. He won a Burke boat for his trouble. I owned one since I was 21 and they are a super fishing boat.

The guiding season has come to an end. I did a few days in early May and that was it for 2019 unless a winter booking or 2 comes along. It was a super season all up. I’m loving the evolution of my guiding career. Most of my work is now from repeat clients who are becoming good friends. I couldn’t be happier about that.

The Sexyloops connection is getting stronger all the time. I have introduced some of my clients to Paul’s site to help them with their casting, to watch sexyloops.tv, fish with the man himself in Malaysia and read the day to day antics from Paul and the other writers from around the world. Paul has introduced some of his readers and friends to me as a current, active link to NZ fly fishing and guiding. It’s going full circle. More and more of my clients are arriving armed with a SL Hot Torpedo and well versed on whats going on with Paul and Bernd and the rest. One random meeting between 3 anglers in a pub in Waikaia summed it up. After Chip, Simon and I chatted for a while over a few pints we realised we all owned a SLHT #6. Now thats cool. It’s cool because these rods are not mainstream. Paul has them made exactly to his specifications with no expense spared – and their not cheap to make! I think anyone who wants to own one of these rods simply wants to take their fishing / casting to the next level in a more honourable and ethical way than buying the latest Sage before its discontinued next week. The sexyloops crew are the real deal, immersing their lives in fly fishing and casting – without ego! I loved what Simon said to me in the Waikaia pub about SL, “no trucker hats, no hoodies”. If you’re not a regular to the site then have a look!

May is possibly my favourite time of year. Guiding winds down and I have time to fish myself. There are 4 rivers within an hour of me that I can float down or fish land based targeting rainbows and browns (but mostly rainbows, big ones!) on their migratory run up stream to spawn. This May I’ve only gotten out twice. There are a couple of legitimate reasons for this! Iza is 38 weeks pregnant and needs me to be close by and we just bought a house. Were turning the 120 year old piece of history into our home and this has been taking quite a bit of time. I have a workshop too so I’ve also been setting that up to make furniture for the house or whatever else. A man needs a workshop!

I did manage to get a magic day on the water to satisfy my May fishing urge. I took the boat across to an island and fished a piece of water that has never worked for me before. It was fishy though. I threw a long line across to a deep blue hole, let the fly sink and stripped away.. two light taps.. I’ve felt these taps before from big fish.. another tap then a solid connection! The big hen rainbow, full of precious cargo and condition was cartwheeling on the end of my line. I had to give her hell to keep her safely in the lee of the island. I landed her and got a good picture with the 10 second timer before letting her off. She weighed 8.5lbs and was my best fish of the season. I went on the get a 5 and a 7+ so I had a good fix! 

I’m not sure what fishing is coming in the next while but I might sneak out for a look somewhere. First priority is Iza and her precious cargo.

If you’d like to book some winter fishing or enquire about next season please email me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.

Tight Lines,

      Ronan..

 

It’s All About Attitude!

January 14th, 2019 No comments

If fly fishing for you is all about hooking, playing and landing fish then New Zealand is not for you. The New Zealand fishery, certainly the South Island, is much more about the pursuit of trout then it is about catching high numbers. I’ve been really lucky in my guiding so far in that I have rarely guided people with unreasonable expectations. I got a text from one of my guide mates the other day in the middle of a multi day trip with a fella who cant walk far or cast well but expects fish after fish. When he does catch the experience means little to him and he doesn’t like seeing his wife out-fishing him. His own abilities coupled with a negative attitude are making sure that he’s not catching many or having much fun. A situation like this is tough for the angler and the guide. All we want is to see our clients having a great time. If the client has the right attitude then he’ll generally do very well. Understanding a bit about the NZ fishery is a huge help. It’s no walk in the park, its usually windy and as outlined already it’s not a numbers game. Practice casting, short and medium distances. Speed and accuracy is the key. The rivers and lakes can be pretty hard going physically. Of course, if a client is unfit then we can design a trip to suit but the fishing may be compromised. In my opinion, 2 fish is a good day. Four is really good and above that is cream. I try to go for fish bigger than the NZ average most of the time which might help put these figures in perspective.

Recently I had the pleasure of guiding KC and Mark. Both in their early 70’s, they said they were 4/5 US fit and 3/5 NZ fit. They’d been here before! Day one we had an easy day, mainly so that I could get a feel for their approach to fly fishing and their fitness. Straight away I could see that their attitude was great. Really positive with a true understanding about what fly fishing really is. They were also as tough as old boots. This was going to be a fun trip! There were times over the 8 days that fishing was tough. Early in the trip I was feeling the tingle of stress that I can’t help feeling when the fishing is hard. I’d look back at the lads to see smiles, contentment and enjoyment. They were enjoying it, no matter what. That was the end of any stress for me and the fishing went from good to better and better. Even with wading through acres of mud, bush bashing, long hard walks and tricky crossings, I could not knock the smiles off their faces. The trip is documented in the photos below. They could cast very well and they were fit giving them a huge advantage over many, but their biggest attribute was their attitude. Thanks fellas!

Tight lines, Ronan..

Still some availability in March and plenty in April. Visit my website or email me ronan@sexyloops.com

August! From the Lakes to the Coast…

September 2nd, 2018 No comments

August has been superb! Not long after arriving back in NZ from Ireland, I joined Robbie, Tom and Jeremy for a couple of days on Lake Benmore. I went and got the Wakatipu Anglers Club boat to give us some options around the lake. After the couple of days with the lads I held on to the boat since nobody was using it. It has been fantastic! Pretty much all the lakes are fishing well, some very well! Catching up with friends has been as good as the fishing. The weather has been very settled, warm and sunny with very little wind. Ideal fishing conditions, although at times a little more wind would have been an advantage to make the boat drift.

There are a few rivers open in this area, but August around here is best on the lakes. Brown trout are well and truly finished spawning and are back in the lakes trying to regain condition. They also haven’t seen an angler for a while so this combination makes them very keen to eat a fly – any fly! Fish on Lake Dunstan have been happy to eat small streamers even in the flat calm on 3x. A few more weeks and this simply wont work unless the wind is blowing. It’s fun out there. I’ve fished it 3 days from the boat averaging 8 per day. Benmore was a little slower but it will be improving daily as fish continue to drop back to the lake. Hawea didn’t really fish for Guy and I. It certainly did 6 years ago but such is fishing.. I’d been dying to get back there ever since 4 super weekends in a row in August 2012. Everything was the same; lake level, wind, conditions,  just no fish! This is how it was – Hawea 2012

The West Coast has eluded me since Jeff, Nick and myself filmed our episode for the second series of Pure Fly New Zealand. Mark and I went over for a couple of days recently. The main thing I wanted to do was the river mouths. The last week in August is when you have the most amount of whitebait running with the least amount whitebaiters chasing them! Therefor you have the place to yourself. I have hit some excellent fishing during this week in the past, but it was very quiet for us. The tides worked out well. On day 1 we arrived there in the morning an hour before high tide and fished for 2 hours. I got one small fish. The top and bottom of the tide are usually the best so we left the river mouth and fished the lower reaches of a river for a few hours. On the coast many rivers are open year round from the main highway bridge to the sea. This was good! I met 5 and landed one well conditioned, buttery brown. Then back to a different river mouth for low tide. I got 1 and touched a few more. The river mouths are a pretty gruelling fishery. They require dogged persistence and confidence.

Day 2 we took on a lake. It started slow but the fishing just got better and better. Boat and bank. Sight fishing to cruisers and blind stripping buggers on intermediates got the fish. Shitloads of them!

I’m not sure what fishing is on the cards next! September is here and I’ll be making the most of it. The lakes will only get better…

Tight Lines All!!

Ronan..

For bookings and information on guided fly fishing for the coming season, contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website Ronan’s Fly Fishing Missions

Winter Monsters!

June 15th, 2018 No comments

We’re lucky around here to have an abundance of winter fishing opportunities. There are 3 large rivers and lots of lakes in the vicinity. All are open to the angler willing to brave the elements (which usually aren’t that bad) and take it on. I haven’t been out this winter as much as I have in recent winters, with my new role as a father taking priority. I’m loving that, even if it does cut into my fishing time! Soon enough she’ll come with me.

I’ve had 4 days floating down local rivers recently. The most fun thing about the pontoon boat is that it needs 2 people to float properly, so somebody has to join me. It’s usually not too hard to find a fishing buddy. After a busy guiding season its the perfect way to catch up with the lads. Whether we catch fish or not, floating down the river is great way to spend a day and have the craic.

The most exciting prospect in Otago winter fishing is the chance of a big fish. Some very large rainbows and browns migrate all these rivers every winter. A rainbow over 6lbs is a super trout and they’re the ones I’m after. I recently broke my rainbow record with a 9lber. A tank of a trout about a foot in girth which accelerated after my fly as I was lifting to recast. Sometimes when my brain has told my arm to recast, I cant stop the rod in time when I see a last moment chase from a trout. This time I managed to stop with the rod at about 45 degrees. The trout engulfed the fly and I struck from 45 to beyond 90 to set the hook! Such close quarter, chaotic, last second, visual fishing really gets the heart pumping. Much of the fight was close to me but I had to apply the pain when the fish ran towards some reeds. I turned him just as Tom was there with the net. An 8wt and strong tippet was a big advantage. What a moment! I was awestruck!

Another fish worth a mention was on a float trip with my good friend, Chris Dore. Chris had walked upstream to swing an edge while I worked a deep drop-off. This is a spot that I’ve had great success at over the last few years. It’s all about getting the fly deep. I don’t use a sinking line because its not very versatile for the multitude of water I cover in a day and I don’t want multiple rods on the boat. I use a very heavy fly on a 16 – 17 foot leader and try to get it deep. when I think its deep enough I let it sink some more. lots of stack mending or whatever it takes to get the fly deep. paying line off the reel is a good one now and again. When I’m where I want to be I stop the line and let the current take up the slack. A very slow retrieve from the depth is best. Takes can be savage or very gentle. This one was gentle. A faint tap, followed by 2 more faint taps at which time I strip struck into a heavy head shake. A magic moment again! I live for this. I knew it was a big fish. Heavy gear to shorten the battle once again paid dividends. If these fish get into the main flow it could be game over so I don’t feel over gunned with an 8wt. After landing the fish I had hoped I’d get Chris’s attention to come and get a great photo, but he couldn’t hear me calling out to him. I took a quick shot with the 10 second timer and let him off. Typical of migratory salmonids, the larger fish run first. I expect they’ll move off the radar soon. I’m glad I got my piece of the cake!

Dougal, Tom, Jeff and Chris; Thanks for floating with me! They were some of the highlights of my season.

For guiding bookings and information for next season, contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website ronansflyfishingmissions.com. I do not offer guided float trips!

Tight Lines!

Ronan..

Raging Bull!

November 9th, 2017 No comments

Recently Jeff and I went out to learn some water neither of us had fished before. We started fishing at the end of the road with the intention of covering as much water as we could squeeze into a day. That we did. We ended up venturing up a tributary to see if it held fish. It did hold some, not many but certainly enough to warrant a trip in October when many post spawning trout have not yet dropped back to the main flows. We pushed a few ks up this tributary. Both of us got a few good chances but even with well placed first casts, these fish melted away into the river.. Not to worry! We pushed on through dense tussock hoping to get another shot, suddenly the ground shook, Jeff took a step back while falling over. I looked up to see the curly white hair on the face of a large bull and Jeff’s rod poking him in the face from the ground. As Jeff rolled out of the way of the rampaging bull, I took a step back while turning to run but instead fell 5 feet over a bank into the river. I immediately jumped up, soaked and dripping, looking to see the bull coming over the bank too. No sign of him as I looked left and right. I called to Jeff, “I’m okay” he said.. I asked where the bull was and he told me he ran off. It was close! It could easily have been a lot worse. I don’t think the bull intended to charge us. He was hunkered down in the tussock and we walked right up on him and spooked him! We all scared the bejesus out of each other. I got a bang on the leg and my whole body hurt the next day, I guess I got a good jarring when I hit the shallow river bed. Jeff was okay. We fished on for another hour or so before calling it a day. We kept our big brown and white friend in sight as we retreated home. That was fun! I do love a good scare to feel alive.

My personal fishing has been great! Lots of new water and of course some old favourites. I managed to get a big fish on the board before the end of October. A real beauty at 9lbs even. I’ve locked in some good new water which I’m looking forward to going back to myself and with clients when weather and water plays ball.. We’ve just had an angry weather system pass through dumping lots of rain and snow all over the place. It looks like things will get back to normal over the next few days. More about my own recent exploits in the top gallery below.

GUIDING UPDATE

I’ve been pretty busy with guiding. Some new clients and some repeats. I’m really enjoying how friendships are forming with the people I guide! Theres a pretty extensive gallery below documenting a great season so far. A couple of recent trips I’ll mention. The first was a heli-trip with Shaun and Mike. We had a super couple of days after flying into the wilderness. We got well and truly away from it all! Fishing was really good each day with plenty browns and rainbows eager to eat dries and nymphs in a most spectacular setting. Shaun brought a nice bottle of red along which accompanied a well earned steak, spuds and beans dinner. There may have been a little whisky too! The craic was good and the fire burned bright until we hit the hay. There was no rush out of bed the next day as we waited for the sun to reach the valley floor. Probably a good thing!!

More recently I took out my regular client, Kevin for 3 days. We hit the road and went south! Day one was freezing and very windy. Kevin had 7 eats with 2 landed including a super rainbow which came blind to a blowfly. Day 2 warmed up a bit and the wind played ball for most of the day. Kevin absolutely nailed it!! Well placed first casts and happy fish combined to produce a day to remember. Kevin landed lots! All but one in the 5 – 7lb class. As good as it gets if you ask me. At the end of day 2 I asked Kevin if there was something specific he’d like to do on day 3. In a very relaxed tone he hinted at a very big fish. Okay, I said! I have a plan.. but we must be prepared to blank (aren’t we always!!). Day 3 included a monster walk. Big fish hunting usually requires lots of walking. We saw only 3 fish for the day but Kevin made the few casts count and landed a personal best at 9.25lbs and another 7lber. These were three intense days of fishing. I was happy to have a cancelation for the following day because I was totally wiped out!

My season is filling up quickly so get in soon if you’d like me to guide you on your NZ adventure! Contact me at ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website http://www.ronansflyfishingmissions.com

Tight Lines!

Ronan..