What a month October was. After a dry winter, the rain came with a vengeance in September. By October most rivers were too full and dirty to fish. My policy is to never cancel because there’s always somewhere to fish regardless of past or present weather – and there is! But I can tell you, I was stretched at times in the last month. It became a game of watching online river flows like a hawk. Waiting for gaps between rain events and snowmelt. The latter is so hard to gauge. I’d check the flow late in the evening and it’s looking positive, check again in the morning and it’s jumped 2 cumecs but there’s been no rain.. feckin snowmelt. Sometimes I could successfully get in and fish a section of river before it was blown again the next day – these were the wins!
Another challenge was the state of the 4×4 tracks to get to some of the locations I fish when the shit hits the fan. Holes, ruts, washouts, river crossings etc.. “thanks for the four wheel driving extravaganza” one client said. 4x4ing is usually a relatively small a part of this game but in the last month it was almost a daily occurrence. I had to use my rear locker and low range on multiple occasions during October. The vehicle took some abuse but thankfully I was never stuck for too long. I think only one flat tire for the month was pretty good going. Having had a triple locked 80 series Land Cruiser for 9 years I was a bit spoiled with off road capability but so far I’m loving the Hilux. I’d like some more clearance but besides that I’m very happy with it..
With all the challenges came a few blank days but also some incredible fishing. Most notable was the number of very big trout. I’ve always liked October for big trout and the one just gone has been one of the best I’ve had. Big fish for clients and a few for me too. No doubles though, but there’s plenty time to search out one of those!
I do like when the weather doesn’t cooperate if I’m being honest – although, not as much as the month just gone! I like being pushed onto still waters with clients who’d normally prefer rivers. It gives me an opportunity to show them just how good still waters can be. It also adds locations to my repertoire which helps keep it interesting for me and my clients. Most of my regular clients are now more than happy with either river or still-water, whichever makes most sense on the day, regardless of the weather. The lakes really shouldn’t be a back-up plan, for me they’re a legit option on any day.
With all the flood water around for the last month I have barely seen my local rivers, so I’m looking forward to that. Hopefully the flood damage is minimal. With floods increasing in regularity and vigour some local water can become unrecognisable after a big flood. This one seems like a prolonged flood more than a big one so hopefully no damage will be done. Time will tell.
For the flies that did the damage all month you can check them out here.. For bookings or enquiries you can contact me on ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
No end to the list of war crimes and atrocities from Israel. The plight of the Palestinians is never far from my thoughts… but the world just watches a live holocaust unfolding…
As fly fishermen we often refer to the fishing gods. Good luck or bad, the fishing gods are there. I think for many of us its mostly in jest but with a little belief in there too. Maybe even a lot of belief. After a great moment or a great day I frequently find myself thanking something that I can’t see, usually looking up while doing it. This – or these, are the fishing gods. There would seem to be more than one as we always refer to fishing gods, plural.
On a day with Marcus earlier in the summer the fishing gods played a major role. The plan was to go after a big trout on a river we both love. I had been having a shocking run of luck on it. Constant bad days for almost 2 seasons. Everything going wrong – perfect forecasts turned to shite, beaten to it due to a flat tire, getting jumped or just generally not getting it right. For years previous to to that run of bad luck I couldn’t put a foot wrong. The fishing gods nearly always seemed to be on my side. I had a feeling that they were about to side with me (and Marcus) again.
We set off in the morning with a great forecast. Quietly confident that we’d get it right. We gave ourselves 2 days to do it so it was a big advantage to know that if things went wrong we had another chance the next day. It all started when I got overtaken by a guide (we’ll call him Jim) on approach to the dirt track. He accelerated ahead as I got stuck behind a farm truck. I wasn’t happy about this. The farm truck stayed on the main road as I peeled off onto the dirt track and put the boot down. I realised to my delight that my opponent didn’t take the shortcut – so I did. I cut him off at the top and took my rightful place in front. I knew I’d see him at the first gate anyway. When we got to the gate Marcus hopped out to open it. I drove through as did the other guide. Then the fecker tried to sneak around me! I was out of the vehicle at this stage to have a chat. When he saw me he stopped. “Ronan, I didn’t know you in your new truck” he said! We had a good laugh and then chatted about how we’d share the river. We both wanted the first beat. I was just about to let him take his first choice (since we had 2 days) but he got in before I could speak to offer a coin toss. Why not I thought. He won the toss so got his first choice. I actually prefer the other beat anyway but logistically it made a little more sense to do the lower beat first but it really didn’t matter. So meeting Jim changed the order of our days to the 2nd beat on day 1 and the 1st beat on day 2 as opposed to the other way around.
We got to the second beat and tackled up. Everything felt good. It was peaceful with nobody else around and warming up nicely. There was no rush getting started. The sun is very important for spotting and it encourages the cicadas out of the ground so we let it rise a bit before starting. Not too far up there was a very good pool which I know well. We took our time on it fishing both banks and picked up a few blind fishing. Two 3lbers and an incredibly fat 6, all on my green cicada. A really great start. As the day progressed the cicadas started to get on the water. Nothing major, just little flurries of them now and again. Marcus had a couple of opportunities both resulting in an eat but no connection. Then, in a pool I don’t generally see a fish in, we spotted a brute. Marcus got into position. I knew it was a very big fish. I could see the depth, width and length clearly in the water. There was a flurry of cicadas coming down at that time and the trout was making the most of it. Trout often cruise the pools looking for cicadas making them a little harder to intercept. This fish was on station only moving forwards and backwards a little while swinging left and right to slurp down cicadas. This gave us a great chance. A dream shot at a really big fish. First cast was dead right. Fish came over and a refused. Second cast on target – another refusal. I quickly took off the green cicada and put on a smaller tussock cicada. Cast 3 was on target and the brute lunged over to eat it just like a natural. The strike was good and fish was on. I was confident from the first sight that he was a double. During the fight I remained confident. The moment he went in the net I called it. “10 maybe 10 and a half” I said. I lifted the scale and he went straight to 10 and a bit pounds. Just over the increment. 10 is the magic number for trout fishermen and Marcus now has a magnificent double to talk about. He’s been close many times and this was something he really wanted and worked hard for so it couldn’t be more deserved. Come what may for the rest of the day or the next day, we’d achieved what we came here to do.
On day 2 we fished the first beat. We saw very few and never had a decent shot all day. We met some Fish & Game officers up there who told us they’d just spoken with a couple of anglers who were dropped off somewhere on the 2nd beat in the morning. It’s a good thing our order of beats changed or those fellas would have been in front of us and we’d never have known without a vehicle to mark their presence. Fishing behind someone on this river would be a waste of time. So this is where the fishing gods came in. Jim overtaking us in the morning lead to us getting the order of our two days just right. It simply had to be in the order we had it in, and that order was down to luck – or fishing gods! Jim told me afterwards that he had no joy on the first beat either so it really was vital to fish the second beat on day 1. So, a big thank you to the fishing gods! Whether you believe in them or not..
This brings me to March so I’ll get onto that as soon as I have a chance. If you’d like to see the flies I use on a daily basis, including everything from this report please click this link. They’re all available from Patagonia Queenstown too. Right now for the April hatches my Kiwi Dun 14 with a 16 claret nymph trailer is deadly. Best fished on 5x tippet. I’ve been getting some good reports about my streamers doing the business on Lough Mask in Ireland and my hotspot and claret nymphs are working well for stalking trout in the UK. Great to hear the positive feedback. Next season is about half full so please get in quick if you’d like to book. Visit my website or email me ronan@sexyloops.com
Tight Lines.. Ronan..
The start of a trip with KC and Mark..A lovely rainbow to open the account.A shaded early morning pool..A stunning day....and some superb fishing.A 6lber on the size 12 Hotspot.Back he goes..Lovely water..A seatrout for Mark.In again..And KC..This time a brownAnother day.... a good one too..Wild flowers.“And now for something completely different”A few days of great lake edge fishing.Great water.. some big fish here.Trout flats with perfect weather..Stalking cruising trout is some of the best fishing available to humanity.Another day, another flat..Great action on this shore..Some beauties about.A wilderness stream with Marcus..Some fish about too!Where’s the bridge fish?A tough but decent day..One on my indicator dry size 12.A gamble coming here. Warm summer water usually drives the fish off shore....but there had been a cold spell....and we found just enough fish on the edges for a great day.Simply stunning..One of my favourite places to be.Stalking....then chaos.. I sighted a large trout cruising down the shore....Marcus had just enough time to get into position and make the cast..7lbs of glowing perfection.6 fish sighted, 4 hooked, 2 landed. A great day.The day the fishing gods looked after us.Two 3lbers and then this fatty to start the day..We had a few opportunities before seeing this brute.. I knew it was a very big fish.After 2 refusals to the highcountry green cicada, he took the smaller tussock cicada first cover.A fraction over 10lbs. Marcus has been close a few times but he now has a double to write home about.Slight disbelief! Relaxing to enjoy the moment.Abuse on the river! 😀Traditional dinner of steak, spuds and beans.Day 2 – Nothing much happened.I like this shot.Then this.. It got very cold and we got soaked through. Strong wind straight down river.Final day – perfect weather.One on my unweighted 16 from Fulling Mill.A fat, healthy fish.A beautiful place to spend a day.Best of the day..Highcountry Green Cicada..Super.Excellent vizAnd another..The end of a great trip with Marcus. Certainly one of the best.
December and into January… December is a great month to fish. Trout start looking up and responding well to terrestrials. Everyone seems to love dry fly action! There were some nice mayfly hatches too. Usually short and fickle but we made the best of it when it happened. As January arrived many of my local fisheries got too warm for good (or ethical) fishing. With this I venture away to find cooler water. I like to mix it up anyway.
One day I went to a high country river in the hope of some cicada action. We got to the river at 9am and got the piece of water I hoped for. At 11am, perched high on a rock I could see a vehicle (large black ute) pull up 1 kilometre above us. They could see us I’m sure and I’m pretty sure they saw my vehicle earlier too. It’s totally unethical to do this. It takes quite a brass neck to arrive there so late and then just cut someone off. They were just too far up for me to go marching up there for an argument so we pulled out and went downstream only to get jumped again by another clown fishing downstream from an upstream access point. A really infuriating day. We should all treat other anglers as we’d like to be treated. To cut someone off so blatantly is basically stealing someones experience. I’m pretty sure I know who was in the black ute and they should know better. Sadly, I heard that they make a habit of this. Against the odds we managed a couple of good trout! One on my cicada and the other on my unweighted nymph.
All my flies are working well on their relative days. They’re available from Fulling Mill or in-store at Patagonia Queenstown.
More about January in my next blog! Its been a challenging but great month. A few days off now before KC and Mark arrive.. I’m looking forward to seeing these 2 again!
Tight lines.. Ronan..
Glenorchy – Tough fishing but beautiful..Michael. Good conditions in the morning and we maximised on it.Super fish..Not long til the rod was bent again, This time blind fishing.Fat and lovely.A quick grip and grin!OtagoAlways worth checking out a backwater..Nice..Out for a day with Bryan in the boat. Perfect start!One for me on the shore. One each for the day.Nice water.Bryan finds a fish..In to one..Magnificent big brown..One for me with 2 eel bites on him..I’ve seen this battle-axe before..A couple of big reds.Windy as feck. Note the willow branches flying around!A good start for me..Then Bryan not long later.Lovely condition..One of my happy places.My 16 claret. A really deadly fly.One on my sights.... got him! Different colouration to hide on the dark rocks.Great action.Not bad..Expertly handled from tight water.Solid!Kiwi dun #14Great fish for Shawn.Shawn and Chris..Wild flowers.Chris with a brilliant fish after some bad luck during the day!They don’t come much nicer than this!Rocks and wind.. a great combo up here.Not sure what this fella was eating.One on the deadly Bruiser in the wind.And another.Eric and Jeff with their new friend.All his friends ran away but this stayed for a bit of attention.Back to the important stuff..Grubbing bows are tougher than browns?!?!Just Jeff today and he did well.Good action..My cicada doing very well.Testing the knots!Good fun..Usually these are white.Day 3..After some hard luck on day 1, this was an important fish for Eric.In the bag! A goody for Jeff.And another. 3 each for the day.Chuan.The first fish of the trip and its a goody!Then a grubbing rainbow from a riffle. No other fly would do! This is available at Fulling Mill.Another day! Into a very solid seatrout. Sadly he got away.. A bar of fresh silver.Great action all day.Prime condition. Chuan down a hole.Last cast with a little leggy, black terrestrial.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Just a quick blog today to clear the decks. I had a busy and successful season finale with some superb trout for clients. One very big fish to report on too. Before I get to that I’d like to share the rest of the seasons highlights. It’s a while since I put up a blog so some of these photos go right back to summer! I’ll also be changing back to the previous blog format after this one. Paul and I made this change back to the old format because it seemed like a good Idea, but the one I’ve been using for the last few years is much better for images. I put a slideshow at the bottom or you can click on the thumbnail images, but you have to go back to click the next one. WordPress can be very user unfriendly at times!!
Some exciting stuff coming up – Jeff and I will be doing another episode of Pure Fly NZ with Nick Reygaert. We have some ideas but nothing is set in stone as yet. Also the Piscatorial pot! I probably wont run it this month but I hope to run it in June. We’ll certainly need a good stock of wood for the brazier – which wont be a problem! Also a potential visit to the coast on the cards..
If you’d like to get in touch about guided fly fishing next season please get in touch. The season is already quite full but still some decent gaps for multi-day trips. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Enjoy the pics below and I’ll be back soon with something more!
Tight Lines, Ronan..
ps, Here is a link to my flies available from Fulling Mill.
I haven’t needed the winch often, but it saved me here! The grounds seemed firm under foot – but it wasnt!
Natures paving..
No fish – but very enjoyable none the less.
Out with Michael.
He’s been out with me a few times now, working on casting..
..and catching plenty fish!
The beginning of a solo day.
Tough going but managed 2 in a pool near the end of the day.
A decent seatrout.
Scrambling country!
The beginning of a few days with Brian.
Perfect conditions and plenty fish..
A great pool this one..
Day 2. Plenty action but just 2 to the net.
Including this solid bow and one bigger.
Fishing myself today..
Some exploring.. No fish but promising water for October.
Change of location and decent fishing.
Lovely water.
Doesnt get much nicer!
The sun makes this place look extra stunning.
a 5.5lb bow on my Kiwi dun.
The line jumped and wrapped as a rainbow ran. Nothing I could do!
Redemption. On the dry again.
Out with Robbie. First fish of the day.
Then this super bow over 6lbs.
Robbie into one.
Changing tactics..
A solid bow.
Day 2. Robbie works the eye.
Great day!
Robbie into a goodie.
A beauty for me.
And this superb fish a while later.
Same fish..
A beauty for Robbie..
A quick close-up..
..and away he goes.
Then another for Robbie..
..and another!
Just me today.. The Hotspot takes this lovely fish from a deep riffle.
The grip and grin! A very handy way to photograph fish..
.. this is a nicer way but harder to get right.
Nice conditions. We had months of this in central over late summer.
A sper 6lber to finish the day – on my Brown Nymph.
It’s been a very full on start to the year. Some guiding which has been great but more importantly I’ve had a lot of time to fish myself – I’m not quite sure how that happened but I’m not complaining! There’s been lots of highlights. One of them, the biggest highlight for sure was a trip to Fjordland with Nick Reygaert. The trouble is, too much other stuff has happened since to do that trip justice in a shared blog. It deserves it’s own report and it will come!! I’m just not sure when yet.
Another highlight I’d like to mention was on a day I went in search of a big fish or 2 on a solo mission. It was a day when I needed to walk a lot of river to find fish. Over the day I walked about 12 kilometres of river and only saw only 5 fish. 3 of those I landed. Number one and two took my Kiwi Dun without much difficulty but the 3rd was a different story. This turned into an hour long cat and mouse tactical battle on the last pool of the day. It started as I approached a long, slow pool and saw some nervous water half way up. Then a rise in the same area. “Brilliant” I thought, “theres a fish in the pool”. I advanced carefully up the pool looking as intently as possible – then I spooked a small fish of about 3lbs. That was not what I was expecting. Surely that was not the fish I saw first? I didn’t think it was a small fish. On the reasonable chance there’s still a big fish cruising the pool, I’ll continue to proceed with caution – that was my thinking. Sure enough, I saw another rise and it looked big. “Game on” I thought. I moved slowly to intercept the rise but could not see the fish. Then he rose under the cut bank at my feet. Knee length grass obscured me from the fishes vision and I could just make out his tail as it pushed him gently upstream and out of sight. The light was not great. This was the point when I decided to take a more careful approach than I might usually take. I decided not to persue the fish by way of following him up the pool because I thought I could easily spook him. Instead I decided to reset altogether. I went right back to the start of the pool and started my approach again. I ended up doing this numerous times. Somtimes I got a half chance, sometimes a brief visual, sometimes nothing. On one occasion I got a great visual and enough time to make a cast. 3 actually. I covered him each time with the dun and he totally ignored it each time. The fish was cruising like a trout looking for a cicadas but there were none on the water – at least none that I could see. I put one on anyway and once again reset. Back to the start. Another careful, slow and stealthy approach. Then, right up at the head of the pool I saw him rise. “Now” I thought.. I ran lightfooted half way to the rise then slowed right down. My thinking was that if he was cruising towards me after that rise he should be close now. From a crouched position I was scoping all round, now staying still. Then I saw him – cruising at 45 degrees away from my bank but in my general direction. I laid out my cast and dropped the cicada about 2 metres in front of him with an intentional plop. He immediatly set his course for it and cruised confidently all the way to it and….. chomp. The lift into such big weight is like a drug and I’m certainly addicted. What a high.
I thought he would make the magic 10lbs. He looked it during the fight but my weigh net said 9.5lbs. Of course it doesn’t matter but there is a certain fixation people have (me included!) about those ellusive double figure fish which is why I like to say the weight. That was the end of a really amazing day in the backcountry. I had the whole upper river to myself and I walked pretty much all of it.
In other news, I’m delighted to have another 4 fly patterns in the 2022 Fulling Mill catalog. I could not be happier with how well the team at Fulling Mill replicated these flies. 3 of them are streamers and one is a dry. One of the streamers is the tried and trusted Bruiser. Immortalised in the Lake Pukaki episode of Pure Fly NZ. This fly caught all the fish for both Jeff and myself on day 2 – before it had a name! The 2nd one is the Killer Smelt. A newer pattern designed to immitate cockabullies and smelt. I’ve had great success on this fly. It works well in clear water when darker streamers will get follows but not takes. This is also great in the salt. And last but not least is the Green Machine. Lighter in colour than the Bruiser and darker than the smelt, this fly completes the little family of streamers. In my humble opinion, what sets these flies apart is their simplicity. Just 2 main componants of possum and marabou which seemlessly gel together in the water. Their profile is very lifelike with natural, fluid movement. Another advantage of these flies is that they don’t wrap around. They’re tied on the Fulling Mill Competition Heavyweight hook which is incredibly strong. Just as good as the Kamasan B175 which I always used in the past, now I just use the FM version. The dry fly is actually one of my fathers creations which he’d been tying for NZ for about 10 years, so it’s very much tried and trusted. It’s a favourite of many of my clients as well as one of my own. The only thing I added to this fly was the sighter post to make it more visable. In a 14 its a great mayfly immitation and the 12 is superb for larger mayflies or as a general dry. I’m excited to see how these flies do around the world! I know dad has had a lot of success on his dry on Lough Corrib in the West of Ireland during olive and sedge hatches. A good friend is using them in Tasmania right now. There’s a batch of 60 streamers headed to Malaysia to help Paul fill up 6 boxes of flies for the guides involved in the Sungai Tiang project. I’m really looking forward to seeing them in action over there! I know my good friend John O Malley is going to give them a swim on Corrib for early season brownies. I’m confident they’ll work well. All my Fulling Mill patterns are available here.
Feel free to get in touch about guided fly fishing on the lower South Island for the remainder of the season if you’re within NZ. For those of you abroad, it looks like visitors will be allowed in this October – although a dates has not yet been set. Feel free to get in touch to arrange a booking starting in November to be on the safe side. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website
Tight lines! Ronan..
New flies for Fulling Mill.
The Bruiser. Tried and trusted and immortalised on the Pukaki episode of Pure Fly NZ.
The Killer Smelt – A great cockabully or smelt fly.
The Green Machine – Simplicity itself, a great streamer.
Out with Michael on a day when the first cast was all important.
A lovely trout on my brown nymph.
Out with Wesley and Mark.
One for me to open our account.
Wesley.
Some colour but thats no harm!
A great fish for Mark..
..on my Claret Nymph.
Weslry resorts to the worm!
Nice water..
Out with Matt for the day..
First of the day..
Very good fish!
Stunning day – but didn’t see as many as expected.
Out on my own!
Small water..
..with crazy strong rainbows.
One on the claret nymph..
.. and one on the hotspot.
Big fish hunting today – solitary. The best way.
I walked many kilometres..
A relatively small fish to start. 5.5lbs on my Kiwi Dun, now available from Fulling Mill.
Stunning water..
9lbs on the Kiwi Dun – A great fly invented by my dad.
Well taken!
The Kiwi Dun a bit bedraggled after 2 hefty trout..
Old Split Fin’s pool..
At the end of the day this 9.5lber on my cicada. My best of the season.
Back he goes. About 12kms of river for 5 sighted fish – 3 to the net.
Up to Central with the family and the boat!
My Kiwi Dun..
.It did very well in size 12 for these cruisers of the trout flats.
Trout flats at their best!
Adaline!
She loves the water!
Family holidays are better with a boat!
Great day out..
Loads of fish in the vicinity of where the boat was tied up.
How good is this? Just brilliant!!
Out with the HT4 – Super rod..
Lunch time!
Then back to this..
There was more water in this outtake than flowing into the Clutha.
The start of a fantastic day with Josh and Courtny.
After a casting lesson it was non stop action..
5lbs – Josh had to work for this one!
One for Courtny..
4.5lbs – her first trout!
Low and clear..
This fish went nuts. First run was as fast as I’ve seen a trout move.
It feels like the season has only started and it’s January already. This is why I try to get the most out of winter fishing – once the regular season opens, it’s over in no time, it accelerates. I guess thats why we have to make the best of everything. Life is short and we don’t know whats coming. On that note, I’m certainly trying to make the best of these challenging times. Yes, my business is in ruins and I worry about and miss my family in Ireland but all other aspects of life are better. Family time, my own fishing time, time in the workshop and restoring our old house and garden. In a normal guiding season I don’t see the inside of my workshop and maintaining the house is limited to mowing the lawns now and again. I know I’ll miss this when things go back to normal. In fact, it’s made me rethink what’s actually important so much so that I’m considering reducing my number of guide days per year to keep more of this work / life balance that I’m enjoying so much. I think when all this is over many people will realise the good points of this strange time – and there are many, at least there are here in NZ. I want to enjoy the good bits right now and forget about the negative as much as I can. I’m not going to look back and think I missed out or could have done things differently. I’m thankful to be in NZ where our freedom has not been affected like peoples in other parts of the world.
I’ve been on the water 3 out of the first 4 days of this year. Good results from various conditions. I have a very exciting exploratory backcountry mission coming up so this year is kicking off in style. More on all that in my next blog.
I’m attempting to improve my photography a little. David Lambroughton has been giving me a few valuable pointers. I’ve taken my wifes 10 year old Lumix GF2 out of the closet and got a polarising filter for it. I love the results. Polarising was always something I wanted from my picture taking but waterproof cameras are limited in this regard. Putting my sunnies in front of the lens wears thin! Don’t worry, you wont see “Photography” after my name or watermarks on any images! The photo’s below tell the story of a great finale to 2021.
I have 4 new patterns coming out this year with Fulling Mill. 3 streamers and a dry. I’m excited about that. More on those soon. My nymphs are currently available here.
Feel free to get in touch about guided fly fishing whether your in NZ or abroad. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines and I sincerely wish you all a great 2022. Ronan..
Day 1 of 2 with Dougal. Off to the highcountry.
Beautiful water. Very few trout about..
Not ideal sighting conditions but things improved in the afternoon.
Some sunlight!
Split Fins old pool.. I think he’s finally done his dash.
Enjoying the view.. One small trout for the day.
Day 2. After a very slow morning things picked up in the afternoon.
A fiesty 5lber for Dougal..
On the board!
A large trout with a larger eel behind him. The eel passed the trout like a ship in the night.
Worth a streamer shot.
One at the end of the day on my brown nymph!
An hour on a small still-water with Kevin..
Not many fish about today..
Just half an hour to fish on the way home..
Off to the wilderness with Wesley.
rigging up..
Windy!
A great start on a sheltered shore – my Killer Smelt took this one.
Same fish better showing the beautiful copper tones.
Unrelenting wind!
Wind like this brings me back to fishing Corrib and Mask. I love it!
Not much action in the waves today.
It didn’t let up for a minute all day..
Wesley takes a nap..
Fishing the rolling wave..
Lunch time.
Back to the gales!
Some shelter behind points, bays and islands – On this day, this is where the fish were..
Brilliant fish..
One more to finish the day..
Walking back.
Still no let up from the wind.
Another day, another still-water – a farm dam.
Beautiful..
Wesley stalking one..
A hefty lump of a brown for me!
Wesley is in..
Back he goes.
Great to have options when rivers are high and coloured.
Off to another lake during a cold southerly.
I had some great fishing..
This on on “the Bruiser” My possum and marabou streamer, soon to be available from Fulling Mill.
The HT6 bent again!
Super fish.
No Irish lake angler wouldn’t love these conditions..
They were in the waves today..
Guiding Philip. He had a great day!
The best of about half a dozen.
Same trout on my faters little dry – also soon to be available from Fulling Mill.
Superb.
Out with Graeme and John..
Fewer fish than I expected but we made up for it by covering more ground.
A good brown for Graeme. 5 for the day! Graemes worm was deadly!