This has been a real winter. One of the harshest I’ve been here for. Lots of wind, rain, frost and snow – so different to the mild winter last year. Usually by July the fishing on the lakes starts to improve, but this year it took a lot longer. Locally, the lake fishing only picked up earlier this month. Mackenzie Country a little earlier in August. There were always a few fish to be caught but they took more persistence and some were on the lean side. I really don’t mind not catching many fish in a day – or any for that matter. I enjoy the search, trying to figure it out, working hard to put it together. It is a bit a kick in the balls when I can’t figure it out but this is part of continuing to learn – or adjusting what I already know – or think I know! Afterwards, I’ll consider what I might have missed and think about what I’ll try next time. There were days this winter when the fish really seemed “off”… like there was little or nothing I could do to drag out a result.
I have my parents here at the moment so dad and I are fishing most days. This is exactly what I need after a tough few months of colds, flus and covid in the family – and a bad injury to recover from after a dog bit my face. The fishing has been excellent so far – mainly because we have my boat to make the most of the lakes. More about this in my next blog as I haven’t downloaded any photos yet! We’re heading north tomorrow for a few days and then the rivers will open again on October 1. So, I have a very full on 5 weeks of fishing ahead with dad and then guiding kicks off full bore in November. Happy times! The rivers are looking good now after being high and dirty for much of the last few months..
This is a good time to stock up on nymphs, dries and streamers for the coming season. Some of my most successful patterns are available on Fulling Mill. They’re all designed for the NZ fishery and well tested!! I’m very happy to say that I’ll have 7 more patterns available next year.
Still a gap or 2 in the coming season if you’d like to book some guided fly fishing. Contact me – ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines all and enjoy the new season! Ronan..
Out for a look on one of my favourite winter lakes..One of these under a dry and scout the edges.. This is the Fulling Mill Tactical fly box – very slim and lots of room.No joy, but I didn’t mind..Out with the family..Lochlan on the engine..Just me – out in the boat today..This should do! The mighty Bruiser..Hard to find fish.. Pulled up to fish a river mouth.. moved one or 2 decent fish.A tough, cold day. Fish were just not on, but landed four 1 pounders.On the bank today..Once again, fish hard to come by so this super 5.25lber made my day.Another day done..Family walk… with the rod!Dunstan today with Wesley and Guy..We had decent fishing. The lake is very slow to fire up this winter..Wesley fishing O Malleys Bank.Ideal conditions.No good with the nymphs, only buggers. My Killer smelt mainly.Gorgeous day..Fishing these flats always feels promising.Great colour.GuyAny second now….Call it a day..a great day,Lessons for the lads!Great students..No fish on day 1 but day 2 was excellent!Lots of fish for everyone.Cam puts one backThen this! The fish of the trip..A beauty.A lovely winters evening..Day 3. 4 today!Tom landed this super trout..Winter trout flats..Time for Rick to get one.. We worked it for a while until….. he got his trout!Lots of witnesses too!Call it a day – one for dinner!Wesley came to join me for some lunch on shore..It was a good thing he did!The place went cracked for about 5 minutes..The fishing was great!!In the bag..
I can’t believe almost a month has passed since my last blog! Time is flying by. It’s been a great month! June is a good time for me to take on some woodworking projects. I started one last June and finished it this June. A writing desk for Iza, but it just might become a fly tying bench for me!! The boat has also taken some of my time but I have not made as much progress as expected. It’s ready for fibreglassing now. Lots of painting preparation has been done and some timber work since my last blog. The engine arrived. It has certainly had a previous life or two in salt water but hopefully she’ll fair us well. There’s lots still to do, but once the fibreglass work is done progress will begin again in earnest.
Yesterday Brayden and myself hit the water for a float. I have done very little fishing in the last month, only 3 or 4 pretty poor days, so it was really great to get out for a solid mission. The day started with a 6.5lber and the action continued all day. Blind and sight fishing accounted for fish with streamers, eggs and nymphs. To my delight, about half of the 14 fish we landed were silver fresh run fish.
Early in the day while afloat we heard a rumble. Like thunder but not quite. By the time my brain figured out “earthquake” we could feel the pulses coming through the water and the boat. We wondered how this might affect the fishing. It didn’t.. They continued to confidently eat our flies. We did find one fish flopping around on the bank. He had tried to navigate up the skinniest piece of water imaginable and beached himself, maybe due to the earthquake. He was going nowhere! It was his lucky day. I picked him up off the didymo (which cushioned him as he flopped around) and brought him to the main river. He took off, relieved no doubt! We noticed some sign of gravel and mud broken away from the banks as we drifted down river. We also witnessed some mini avalanches. An interesting dynamic to add to a days fishing!
I’m off out now to practice my shots for snakehead! I’ll be in Malaysia with Paul in less than 2 weeks. Can’t feckin wait!
Tight Lines..
Ronan.
If you’d like to book me as your fly fishing guide in NZ next season, check out my website http://www.ronansflyfishingmissions.com or email me ronan@sexyloops.com
I decided to take out the seats to give the ply a proper chance to dry.
Seats out. Next is to remove all the fibreglass and clean up the steel. (It’s done!)
Builders fill is very strong a durable; great for blending the old with the new!
This router cutter to match existing rounded features in the boat.
this is the profile before sanding.
Plenty days out in the sun to dry it out well before fibreglassing.
Filling holes and imperfections; painting preparation!
A recent trip to Benmore with Paul Macandrew, Trevor Bourne, Dave and Santillan.
A freezing cold day! The fishing was terrible! 5 anglers – 0 fish.
Paul Macandrew, a top local guide and bloody good bloke!
Time to pick up the lads..
..and go to the pub!
Off to the canals with Guy!
Stunning evening..
..we fished well into darkness. I had one take and this was it. A 12lb salmon (photo does it no justice!)
Early morning..
Guy beside his camper. We only managed the one fish for our 1.5 days.
Some thoughtful vandalism!
A recent float with Brayden from H&F Cromwell..
First fish of the day on a sculpin head streamer fished deep in a backwater. Great moment!
Brayden into one not long after..
Almost there..
Nice brown..
A braid to check out..
Heavy rain and a 4.4 earthquake but the fish kept taking! Plenty fresh fish moving up still..
After a long fruitless walk up a side braid, Brayden overheated!
We landed a few here..
Almost ashore..
A healthy rainbow as Brayden cools down!
About to get back on the boat when we spotted a migrating fish.. A quick intercepting cast got the desired result!
A fresh, energetic bar of silver!
A likely spot..
Wide water!
Failing light when we hit a hotspot! Brayden lost a cracker here.. around the 7lb mark..
Finally I got my SLHT fixed, it’s been out of action for a while. Here Brayden is giving it a work out..
Hot Torpedo with a Harfin reel.. a perfect combination.
Small but healthy..
Plenty snow on the mountains.
June is a time for me to indulge in another practice of mine. I made this writing desk for Iza out of recycled timber, mostly pallets and an old fence. I think it might become my fly tying bench!
Another weekend has landed. I live for my time on the water. In Ireland it rarely bothered me too much if I missed a weekend on the water, I guess with my friends and lifestyle over there things were just different. Here in NZ I can’t miss weekends fishing. I need 2 days a week on the water minimum, winter or summer..
Last weekend Iza and I went to Omarama. The forecast was for snow and the road-signs were saying that snow-chains were essential to get over the Lindis. Thankfully there was little snow on the Lindis Pass and the weather for the weekend was mostly sunny but cold. We stayed in Buscot Station Backpackers as usual. It’s our home away from home and the perfect base for an angler.
We fished Benmore in two different areas over the two days. Each place had plenty of fish. There were lots cruising the edges so these took up most of our time. When sight fishing is available it’s hard not to take it! On a few occasions blind fishing the bugger was called for which also worked. I didn’t fish dries but there were a few fish taking off the top too.
If you’re at a loose end this weekend, Benmore is fishing well, it always does! I might go back actually..
Tight Lines!
Ronan..
PS, I’m in the process of setting up a guiding business! So I’ll be trying to put this NZ trout fishing experience to good use. I hope to be up and running this October 1st. Please feel free to contact me at ronan@sexyloops.com for bookings and information.
A few buzzers for Dunstan which have been working well since I’ve been home.. Tied on a 14 Kamasan B175 with a 1.5mm tungsten bead.
Buggers and spiders for Benmore. The spiders are tied on 14 Kamasan B 175 also with a 1.5mm tungsten bead, though I usually use a 2mm bead for my spiders.
A quick snap out the window going over the Lindis…
It didn’t take long to find a trout out on the prowl..
A great conditioned September brown from Benmore..
Iza into one!
A good fish too.. on the spider.
Continuing down the shore..
The view through the trees..
An interesting gutter in the silty lake bed cut out by flowing water.. Always good for a fish!
Plenty fish cruising in the wee nooks and crannies!
Iza gets one blind on a bugger..
She has set herself some goals to keep improving..
A sunken boat!
And Iza is off again..
Another healthy fish..
Lunchtime on a cold day!
All in good condition..
My on my swan.. I was hoping she’d take me back to the truck!
Almost time to call it a day.. (there goes my swan!)
Cows..
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A few buzzers for Dunstan which have been working well since I've been home.. Tied on a 14 Kamasan B175 with a 1.5mm tungsten bead.
Buggers and spiders for Benmore. The spiders are tied on 14 Kamasan B 175 also with a 1.5mm tungsten bead, though I usually use a 2mm bead for my spiders.
A quick snap out the window going over the Lindis...
It didn't take long to find a trout out on the prowl..
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Continuing down the shore..
A good fish too.. on the spider.
Iza into one!
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A great conditioned September brown from Benmore..
The view through the trees..
Plenty fish cruising in the wee nooks and crannies!
An interesting gutter in the silty lake bed cut out by flowing water.. Always good for a fish!
Iza gets one blind on a bugger..
She has set herself some goals to keep improving..
A sunken boat!
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And Iza is off again..
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All in good condition..
Lunchtime on a cold day!
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Another healthy fish..
My on my swan.. I was hoping she'd take me back to the truck!
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Almost time to call it a day.. (there goes my swan)
Another season has landed so I better buy my licence. The fishing has been so good on the lakes for the last while that part of me doesn’t want to leave them! I will though, I have 5 options in my head for tomorrow and the next day. Two small creeks, two medium rivers and one in between. I’ll make the call in the morning. The forecast is not great so some willow lined water to cut out glare might be the go. I know just the place…
The last 2 weekends were simply fantastic. I had one in Omarama and stayed at the magical Buscot Station Backpackers and the other right here in Cromwell. Mostly sight fishing to cruising browns over sand and silt flats. I also had decent action along willow lined edges, swampy creek mouths, steep tussock banks, weed beds and even a treated effluent outfall! (surprisingly good fishing at the latter!).
There were plenty of great moments. I want to talk about them all but I have flies to tie for tomorrow. I’ll mention one .. I spotted a good fish cruising tight to the shore along a cut bank over sand. I got into position as the fish swam into a notch in the bank. This allowed me to get close and not be seen. The notch was approximately a meter by half a meter and about half a meter deep. I leaned over until I could see the tip of his tail, careful not to make eye contact and spook him. No need to cast, I unhitched the weighted nymph and put it where it needed to be. A little jiggle and the trout’s tail gave a quick kick propelling him towards my fly and out of my sight. I struck a moment later based only on when I thought he should have eaten the fly if he did at all… though I knew he would. A great moment when I lifted into a solid 4lber. My fly was wrong, at least, not my first choice but I was all out of spiders. The fly worked because I put it where it needed to be and moved it a bit to give an otherwise very dead fly some life. It wasn’t the fly that caught the fish, more where it was and what it did that did.
Trout are known for being wily, elusive, and spooky. They are, but not all the time. I spotted a cruiser on Dunstan last weekend and made a cast to him. I let the fly sink and started to strip it away slowly. I lightly hooked his flank near the tail. The fish was briefly but solidly pulled sideways through the water. When the hook came out the fish seemed happy again and I continued to fish for him. Sometimes he looked interested so I kept fishing until he ate. I got him. After unhooking and releasing him I noticed the fly had one of his own scales on it from the brief foul hooking incident!
Check out the rainbow in the bottom row of photos. My best fish from Dunstan for ages.. She is a magnificent creature..
Ok, That’s all for now.. I must tie some flies and buy a licence!
Tight lines all and Happy Season!
Ronan..
1st cast about 20m from the truck!
Amazing sight fishing to quality cruisers… Again, spiders did the business!
Away he goes..
On the second day, when the going got a little tough, I used one of Fred Stevenson’s flies. I only have 3 of his spiders and he’s passed away now so I use them only when he tells me to!
Thanks Fred!!
For the Omarama weekend, the weather was great! Some cloud in the afternoon on day 2.
I had some excellent close range fishing in here..
I kept one for Gravad Lax..
The weekend just passed was another local one. Dunstan was excellent!!!
I saw a fish, made a cast and briefly foul hooked him! He ended up eating a fly with his own scale on it..
Amazing fish! I had another just like it about 20m farther down the bank..
One advantage of weighing 68kgs is that I can wade the Dunstan silt flats. Too sinky for most…
I had this brute of a rainbow figure of eighting a single buzzer blind.
Superb condition.. My best Dunstan fish for ages.
Back she goes! “Shoulders”
Some flies I tied for the trip..
they dont get much sparser than this! It worked very well, most took it static.
On the second day, when the going got a little tough, I used one of Fred Stevenson's flies. I only have 3 of his spiders and he's passed away now so I use them only when he tells me to!
Amazing sight fishing to quality cruisers... Again, spiders did the business!
For the Omarama weekend, the weather was great! Some cloud in the afternoon on day 2.
1st cast about 20m from the truck!
Thanks Fred!!
Omarama, Sept 2014 053_1024x768
I had some excellent close range fishing in here..
I kept one for Gravad Lax..
Dunstan, Sept 2014 015_1024x768
One advantage of weighing 68kgs is that I can wade the Dunstan silt flats. Too sinky for most...
Amazing fish! I had another just like it about 20m farther down the bank..
The weekend just passed was another local one. Dunstan was excellent!!!
I saw a fish, made a cast and briefly foul hooked him! He ended up eating a fly with his own scale on it..
I had this brute of a rainbow figure of eighting a single buzzer blind.
Another weekend has landed and I have no blog up! This will be a quick one.. Last weekend was intended to be a West Coast mission but the weather did not comply. Instead Iza and I went to the Waitaki Valley to fish Benmore and Aviemore. The sight fishing was excellent on Saturday. Plenty fish about and in great condition. Sunday the weather closed in quickly but I had a few good moments in the morning. Iza is not having much joy with her spinning rod. It’s as if the fish Gods are against her but they’ll come round. I know they will, I have a direct line and they’re just playin’ silly buggers at the moment (as they say in NZ).
Almost at the end of the fishing day on Saturday, I handed Iza my fly-rod (an SL Pro Hot torpedo, aka”The Ronan”). I took her spinning rod to whack out a cast. Somehow my fly-rod sneaked in front of the spinning rod while in mid cast. I beheaded “The Ronan”… That’s the second time I’ve learned to keep fly-rods away from spinning rods. My good friend back home once ploughed his spinning rod through my Sage XP. Thanks Eamonn!! “Lesson to be repeated until learned”, as Graeme Williams would say.
I’m meeting Robbie Mcphee tomorrow for a weekend on the water.
Later all! Let me know what you think of the slideshow feature. I think it needs to be bigger? Below the pics? I’ll work on it.
The fishing was generally bad last weekend. Guy and I fished together in my boat for most of Saturday. Little rainbows were active at times and we managed a few browns. Peter, now a New Zealander but born in Hungary, had a good day on the shore but the numbers of cruising browns were way down on the Benmore I know, probably because the lake was so low. On a positive note the weed beds are as healthy as I’ve seen for years.
On Day 2 I was on my own. I went to one of my usual haunts to fish some flats, edges and backwaters only to be greeted by a howling nor’wester. The wind in NZ is unrelenting and often ruins the fishing. I started on the shore because I didn’t want to chance putting the boat in. I got one and lost one. The flats were as clear as could be with the right amount of water covering them and plenty weed beds evident. One can only cover so much from the bank so I walked back to the truck and put the boat in. I had to fish the flats and from the boat is the best way to do it. It was seriously hard going. The wind was pushing the boat down the drift so fast that I could barely strip fast enough to stay in touch with my fly. I need a drogue! Sometimes I’d throw out the anchor to give an area a chance but drifting, albeit at super high speed produced more fish. Conditions like this demand a lot from an angler. Casting, boating, angling, and sanity will be put to the test. I don’t know anyone else who would do this!
When I was walking back to take the boat out I felt some fear but I had no choice. The decision was made and in a sense I was no longer in control. Something else drives me at times, from somewhere deep inside and I’m glad it does. I’ve had some great and terrifying experiences because of it. Fear is good.
Ronan..
Peter, Guy and I had a few of these on Saturday. Between the 3 of us we and about 5 browns and 10 little rainbows.
The fishing was bad so there was time to take 5 and eat adrift..
I had 2 browns like this one, One on a spider pattern fishing a backwater on shore and this one deep nymphing on anchor.
Guy into one..
Back he goes..
There were a few browns to be seen when under power but not so many when stationary.
Peter from Hungary ties on a Wooley Bugger!
Having need for a 4×4 takes some of the sting out of the running costs!
Buscot Backpackers.. A most relaxing place to stay.
One of Tony’s inquisitive lambs.. Tony owns and runs Buscot Backpackers. Stay there sometime. You will return.
Scrabble from 3 nations, Hungary, France and Ireland (with some help from England in the form of CamoGuy!!)
Multinational Scrabble works!
Day 2. My choice of lake was in smoke with a howling Nor’wester.
This bull didn’t mind the wind.
Buy staying reasonably close to shore the wind had no chance to pick up any big waves. Farther down the lake the waves would have been impossible to be out in.
I had some good fish but the wind took some of the good out of it. I could barely strip fast enough to stay in touch with the fly the boat was drifting that fast..
In a big wind you have to be aware of much more than your fly. I had to get off the lake in the end. It’s so hard to capture wind in a photo!