Ronan's Report

October is usually a pretty quiet month for guiding. I like that it is. It allows me to ease into my work after a long winter. Come November I’m pretty much fully booked. It also means I can fish myself during what is arguably the best month of the year. This year myself, Wesley and Brayden went south to explore two new rivers. One was a dud (with potential) and the other was great. I opened my season with a 7.5lber and we encountered other big fish too. One might even have been that elusive 10lbs.

We also took my boat to the highcountry during opening week. It was windy going out. Too windy really, but I just wanted to get to a sheltered island. We had a great hour of fishing as the wind dropped but then it changed direction and roared from the south. Too windy to fish and freezing cold as it blasted horizontal snow across the island. I went for a walk to get phone coverage from a high rock to let the folks back home know that we might have to stay the night. It was too wild to cross. This got some welcome heat back into my feet. While I was out I went for a walk to scope a route back to safety. There was shelter on the north side of the island but all the other water had huge, worrying waves. The wind was completely insane reaching 150kph. luckily we had the shelter of the cabin. With the waves slapping on the side of the boat I thought it would be a good idea to move her farther into the shelter of the bay. As we were moving the boat the wind dropped a bit so we all agreed it was an opportunity to get back. We went for it and made it safely across without any problems.

I was back there again with Mark Adamson for an overnighter. I was hoping for a calm evening and following morning for buzzer fishing, but it didn’t happen. The cold southerly wind blew all through the night.. We had great shelter behind a rock on Camp Island. The fire was essential because it was flippin’ cold. Nice wine, good steak, a warm fire and good company. Life was good! The boat was lovely to sleep in. The wind continued to blow in the morning so still no buzzer fishing! The bugger fishing was good in the wind. I generally don’t bother trying to set up 10 sec timer “grip & grins” anymore. Sometimes I just take a David Lambroughton style trout portrait but they frequently look shite so I don’t use them!

It was a pleasure to meet and guide Joe Libeu and his partner, Cathy. Both great casters and anglers who have contributed lots to fly fishing and casting in the US. For me it was great to spend time with people who’ve invested so much into fly fishing and truly understand the sport. We didn’t have it easy but sometimes fishing is hard!

For a link to my flies available from Fulling Mill please click here. I have availability to guide from late March onward next year. Feel free to get in touch. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.

That’s it for now! Tight Lines.. Ronan..

Because I live here, taking a gamble is not such a big deal. If I want to go after a really big fish, I often have to forgo even the chance of catching average fish. That’s the nature of some of the big fish rivers I go to – they only hold large trout. Very few but very big. It becomes all about the fish and not the fishing. I’m fine with this because I’ve been fishing for long enough that I really don’t mind if I blank and I have plenty time to try again if I do. It’s very different for my clients. I don’t generally want to push those “big fish” gambles on them unless conditions are perfect or they just want a trophy and nothing else.. but it’s different for Marcus. He simply loves the prospect of catching something really big! While he enjoys every aspect of trout fishing he’s more than happy to gamble everything, even his few days of fishing, for a chance at one great fish. This makes it easy for me in some respects. We just need to fish where big fish are – even if the conditions are against us – and they were! After a couple of months of what seemed like blue sky days every day, the clouds formed and the rain came as Marcus landed. Watching river flows online I was trying to determine what rivers would be fishable in our fishing timeframe. I had safe options for great fishing but with little likelihood of finding fish to double figures. The big fish rivers were being hit with spike after spike of rain. On one day we got it wrong – found our chosen river in flood and unfishable – but managed a great evening dry fly fishing locally to redeem the day. Another day we got it half right and just managed to squeeze a decent trout before being flooded off. Another day it worked. It had rained all night and I expected the river to be dirty but I thought, maybe hoped, it would be just okay. On arrival at the river it was dirty but fishable. As we drove up river to where the bigger fish reside it got dirtier and dirtier. The feeder streams were clear – effectively cleaning the main stem a little bit more below the confluence of each one. This was worrying. We continued venturing up river only to find it becoming pretty much unfishable. There’s not much in the way of a plan B here so we just kept going upstream to where it seemed to be getting worse! Way up top, to our relief it was a bit clearer – and just fishable. I think by now it was clearing from the top down. Whatever the reason, it was fishable to our great relief.. The plan was to streamer fish it down. Marcus is a regular to my hometown in Ireland and knows the local salmon fisheries well. This river, especially with the tannin colour was just like a west of Ireland salmon river. Marcus was fishing it like it was. To me it was the right way to fish it – across and down, covering the water methodically. The water was fishy – it just screamed fish and we were both feeling it. We were just waiting for the pull… and then it came. Like an Atlantic Salmon, he was on. Nothing chaotic about the take. I had to see what he was into so I quickly moved to the edge to find out. The fish rolled on the surface and he was big. I had caught a 9.5lber from the same pool earlier this season, so I thought it was likely to be him – but maybe not. This fish could have been bigger… or smaller! I got into the water and as soon as a chance presented I put the brute safely in the net. There’s a great sense of relief and excitement when a big fish goes in the net. Relief for obvious reasons, excitement just to see this great creature – to look at him with awe and respect… and of course to find out if he’s cracked the mythical 10lb mark which we all pretend doesn’t matter. I guessed 9.5 because I assumed he was the same fish I caught a few months earlier on my last visit. He was 9.5 – but he wasn’t the same trout as I had caught; he was a much more beautifully marked trout. We were both delighted. This was the ultimate payoff for a huge gamble – April is a bad month to fish it, conditions were terrible and the river was in flood! Fortune favours the bold they say. Well it certainly did that day.

It was great to see Tim again after quite a few years. We had a few great days fishing with regular hatches, lots of trout to about 7lbs, a few beers, a 4×4 adventure, Wilderness lakes, a few beers, backcountry rivers and good craic. Looking forward to next time..

Right now we’re in the midst of winter and the fishing is very good. Better locally than the last couple of years I’m relieved to say. I’ve had quite a few good sessions on river and lake but more about that soon. I wanted to catch up with the month of April first. I’m always a bit behind!

I’m pretty much exclusively using my own fly patterns which are available from Fulling Mill for everything now. I have enough patterns available with them for most of my needs. The hotspots and streamers are great through winter and the brown and claret nymphs with the kiwi dun were pretty much all I used through April. I’m delighted to say that quite a few more of my patterns will be available in 2023. Exciting times indeed. I’ll have another article in the Fulling Mill blog in the next month or so too.

That’s all for now! Feel free to get in touch about winter guiding or about guiding next season. There’s still a few spots available. Tight lines! Ronan..

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I compiled this guiding gallery a couple of weeks ago now. Loads has happened since and it’s pushing the contents of this gallery to the side, which of course it shouldn’t because there were some excellent days on the water which I have accounted for here, but I really want to clear the decks now for more recent fishing, which has been superb!

One trip worth a mention was with Andrew. He had 2 days to fish, day one was off the charts landing 6 trout with the biggest hitting the scale at just over 9lbs. That fish took some work. We fished to him for about an hour before I put on one of my fathers unweighted size 14 hares ear nymphs. Andrews first cast with that fly and it was all on! Second biggest was 7lbs. They were all great trout.. Day 2 we blanked bringing us back down to earth. It’s funny how it goes!

It was great to see Brendan and Dave again. They were over for 5 days, Day one was simply magnificent with 11 fish to 7lbs, Day 2 and 3 were also good days but then I got struck down with severe stomach cramps. I gave the lads my truck and some info for their last 2 days. They landed another 9 trout. It took me 5 days in total to come right which included 3 nights in hospital. They were my first sick days in 5 years guiding.

I also took out Micah Adams and his friend Dave. Micah has been involved in fly fishing TV in Australia. We had a very enjoyable day on the water even though it was a pretty hard day. Micah got a 3lber on a dry and Dave landed a super 6lber.

The weather has been nuts. Rain, wind, hail, flooded rivers etc.. I like it when the conditions go to feck. It makes me think outside the box, take gambles, use what I’ve learned over the last 18 years in NZ. I’ll put a trip together for my clients regardless of what mother nature throws at us. I will use every avenue available to me to make it happen. Crazy weather seems to be pretty normal now so if a fella can’t adapt he’s in trouble!

The next blog will be about one of my own greatest moments in fly fishing with a superb old 9lber and The Mighty Chuan landing an 11lber.. Not mouse eating monsters, just bonafide brutes!

I’ll let the photos tell the other stories. Still some availability for this season if you’re thinking about coming over. Visit my website of contact me on ronan@sexyloops.com

Tight lines & screaming reels for the new year! Ronan..

One of the highlights from my recent trip home was taking my godson, Macdaragh, fly fishing. We went to the same lake where it all began for me. Ryan’s Lake as its known locally or Ranachaun in Irish. Macdaragh’s auld fella and one of my best friends came too. Justin. He’s been on here a few times over the years. I attempted to teach Justin to cast a fly on Ryan’s Lake at least 20 years ago. I may have told him that he was one of the worst casters that I had ever seen. I think I put him off a bit. 20 years later he did much better. Maybe I did too. His understanding of the mechanics and physics of the cast meant that it was just a matter of time before his casting really clicked into gear – and it did, although he didn’t manage to catch a trout. Macdaragh did however! He did incredibly well. He took to casting like a duck to water and progressed consistently throughout the day. Most importantly he hooked, played and landed 3 trout. They were a good size too; big enough for dinner. After a great day out, Justin and his son had the added bonus of a feed of fresh, wild trout from a wilderness lake. Thankfully the open cast mine that was proposed for this very area was denied, so this stunning and sacred environment is safe for the time being…

True to my word in my last report, I have been out exploring new water. I’ve had some success too. I fished at least 8kms of water I have never fished before. Some of it was guiding a like minded angler who never minds taking a chance to learn new water. He landed fish to 7lbs in new water and many more in tried and trusted spots. We had 3 days in Southland with a couple more days on the cards once this rain stops. Maybe north next. One day exploring, one day not. I fish too with Bryan so needless to say I can’t wait!

The season is going great! between guiding and fishing myself I’ve had many 6 to 8lb fish to the net, some of them cartwheeling powerhouses – such strength! What a month October is. Certainly the best of the season if the weather plays ball… and it usually does!

Plenty spots available this season! Contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website. I’d love to hear from you!

Tight Lines, Ronan..

Another season has landed. My new seasons resolution is to explore more, fish more and fish better, think like a trout! I was itching to get back at the rivers. I wanted to check out new water so that’s what I did. I walked a wee stream for miles and it was decent, lots of walking between fish but I like that. I did spend some time blind fishing streamers in corner pools but it wasn’t working. Sighted fish were few and far between but they were big and keen to eat pretty much anything as long as it was well presented. I had one on a Cicada and another on a #6 leggy dry stonefly! The reason I always use a dry as an indicator..

October is quiet on the guiding front, not sure why but it will give me time to fish myself. I have some things I want to do. Mostly exploratory to keep the learning curve moving the right way. Watch this space!

I added a few pics of Moher Lake in County Mayo in the West of Ireland. John O Malley and myself used to hitch there in our teens getting in all sorts of trouble with bailiffs, parents and even a wee run in with the law, but mostly just having a great time fishing as free as birds. Mrs McDonnell who we rented the boat from would let us camp on the lake. We’d fish it from dawn til dusk! So many great memories. I went back with James while I was back home. I was happy to go back for a trip down memory lane and James had never been. I heard it was well stocked last year so I expected the same this year. The farmer who rents out the boats said it was fishing very well but we only met one stocked fish all day. I could tell it was in a while by it’s well mended fins and bright flanks. We had non stop action with about 50 little native browns, about 3 to the pound, maybe 4. Sadly the lake wasn’t stocked this year but the IFI are still taking full price to fish it. Unfair? Yes, I think so. Still a nice day out!

Lots of availablity this season for guided fly fishing in the south of New Zealand. February is full and March is almost full but plenty room besides. You can contact me via my website or email me ronan@sexyloops.com

Tight Lines, Ronan..

Heli-fishing is a tough one! For me, it’s often very stressful. When people are spending the extra 2 or 3k for this mode of transport to the river, I do my best to get them value for money. I usually spend unpaid hours trolling through weather reports, getting info from mates, emailing and phoning heli companies; whatever it takes to remove as much uncertainty as possible. It’s a bit of a catch 22 too. The whole reason for heli fishing is to get to a remote, rarely fished location but as a guide I need to know the river well. I can’t afford to fly in to locations on a reconnoiter mission and walking could take days (Which I’d love to do but don’t have time!) so learning the rivers sometimes happens on my clients time. I make no secret of this. If I’ve never been to the river, I’ll tell my client. I have faith in my abilities to read the river and to deliver a great day but the intimate knowledge of a section of river which begins at about 5 visits takes time to achieve.

There are no guarantees with heli-fishing. I have not had a bad heli trip yet but its certainly possible. Flying in doesn’t mean we’ll have the river to ourselves. I inform my clients that if we arrive to find anglers who’ve walked in then they have the right of way – first choice of water. I always ask the pilot to fly above and below where we intend to fish in search of other fishermen in an attempt to avoid unnecessary confrontation. Some helicopter options are used by more than one heli company so its possible that another party could arrive before or after you. Just recently a chopper dropped off fishermen 3kms above my party right into the best spot on the river. We had pretty tough fishing outside the “golden mile” but everyone understood that this can happen and we all had a super trip regardless – though we all felt the sting of loosing the cream of the river! On that 3 day trip where we fished 11ks of river (actually 10 subtracting the good bit) we only landed 5 trout. My point is that heli fishing doesn’t guarantee great fishing or lots of fish. The nature of the remoteness and the often fickle ways of backcountry rivers means that a lot is left to chance.

Having outlined the risks I think it’s important to talk about my actual experience with heli fishing. Once all the planning is done and we board to fly in it’s great fun! It’s the ultimate way to look around this unbelievably beautiful country which I’m so lucky to live in. Only twice have I encountered other anglers and both times a fairly positive outcome was achieved for both parties from a friendly meeting. Heli fishing has been very good overall but little or no better than rivers I can drive to. The one thing that heli fishing does guarantee is that you will be fishing in a remote and beautiful environment. The rivers are usually crystal clear flowing through spectacular and dramatic landscapes. Heli fishing usually requires a pretty high level of fitness. Most backcountry rivers require a lot of walking to get a decent number of shots at trout and the terrain is often bouldery and difficult. To get the most from a heli fishing experience its best to stay in for 2 or 3 days and go hard. It’s about the whole experience from the flight in and out, to the walking, to the trout, to the environment. It is fun!

It’s been a great month or so of guiding since my last blog. Plenty dry fly action and pretty good weather. Great people too! Justin Spence from Big Sky Anglers was over with his friend, Dan. The lads gave it hell for a week smashing some of my guiding records. Justin is one of the best fishermen I’ve met. We were very much on the same page with our fly fishing philosophy and understanding. I’m pretty excited about staying connected with him and his business in Montana. If your thinking about a trip to his neck of the woods I can’t imagine that there’s a better guide out there to take care of you. You can check out his website here. 

It was great to see Tom Doc Sullivan over from Ireland for a month. We fished together about 25 years ago on Lough Corrib and now in NZ. He’s already planning a return journey next year. He’s been bitten by the bug! See you next year, Tom! The box of stuff you left will still be in the garage.. apart from the mug, I swiped that.. and the headlamp. 

The fishing in the last week has been some of the hardest all season! I hope it picks up soon.. The pics in this blog don’t include the very recent stuff. I might have a chance to edit a short film for the next blog too. 

Still a few places in March and plenty in April if your thinking about a visit! See my website or email me for bookings and information, ronan@sexyloops.com

Tight lines,

    Ronan..

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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

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I thought when I was writing my last blog that the weather would change for the better before too long. It didn’t. In fact, it got worse. I have never seen a spring like this and neither have any of my fishing buddies. It’s been thunderstorm after thunderstorm. Many rivers have not had to chance to drop in the last month. Guiding has been hard because of this. The difficulty has not been on the water – that has been surprisingly good and even great! The difficulty has been in the decision making. Watching river flows and looking for windows where a river might drop enough to be fishable before the next rain knocks it out again. Many times I simply avoided the rivers and fished the lakes. Rising rivers, even if they’re clear, often produce poor results as fish “go to ground”.  As reliable as the lakes are, some of them have suffered a bit too. With such huge volumes of muddy water entering some lakes even they have become unfishable, at least in parts. However, no matter what mother nature throws at us there will always be clear water to fish. I just have to find the best, most interesting and enjoyable bits! So far it’s worked out pretty well.

It’s funny how fate takes over some times. I drove out of Omarama and took a left towards the Upper Ahuriri. That’s where we intended to fish. Chuan and Kim were following in their car. Wei Chong was with me. Chuan called me on the phone because he was unsure where we were headed. Wei Chong told him we’d slow right down so he could catch up. I had told him where we were going and he’d been there before so I wasn’t too worried about him loosing his way but something must have gotten lost in translation. We got to the turn off, parked up and got out. We stood by the road and waited – only for about a minute. As they approached we waved our arms in the air to be seen. Neither Kim or Chuan saw us as they passed at a good speed trying to catch us. We got back in the truck and followed. There was no point trying to catch up with them as I expected they’d pull over when they realised they’d gone too far. That they did but not till Tarras about 50ks from the turn of to the river! No phone coverage til that point didn’t help matters. At that stage we’d all been driving for 40 minutes putting us in a different region altogether with different fishing options. I had a quick check of the forecast and it suited a local high country river. Plan A was abandoned and we hit for the the hills!

The river was high with a little colour as I expected it would be. The sighting conditions were good but pool after pool went by without showing us a fish. Finally I spotted one in a very reliable pool. We had 4 rods, each with a different rig. The first shot went to the person with the correct rod in hand. Chuan was up! I adjusted the rig slightly to suit this opportunity exactly. There could be no mistake here. I had a feeling this might be the only chance of the day. I got into position with just my eyes popping over a mound of gold tailings to keep the fish in view. Chuan got into position but could not see the fish from river level. I relayed directions as clearly as I could. After a couple of casts Chuan knew where his fly needed to land. One cast almost spooked the fish but he returned to station, the next was on target and down went the dry. A little chaos ensued with quite a large jumping fish, then it tore off down river. We were on the outside of a long bend with nowhere to land the fish. Before we got too far down the bank into deep water I suggested we jump in the river and cross. “yes, yes lets do it” said Chuan. In we went. My waders took on a little water as we bounced on tippy toes across the river. I almost floated off but we made it across and then easily landed the fish. For me, that was the best fishing moment of all the days we fished. Chuan and I pushed to the limits but we came out on top. We saw no more fish that day which makes a fish like that all the more important. Not often do we come off a river with a 100% success rate! Who knows how the day would have gone if plan A had worked out. Sometimes we just go with the flow…

I wrote this 5 days ago. Since writing there has been an improvement in the weather and many rivers have had a chance to drop, some right back to normal but others will be high and unfishable for ages yet!

The highlights from the past month are in the photos below. Quite a lot of big browns in there!

If you’d like to talk to me about guided fly fishing in the lower South Island you can visit my website or email me ronan@sexyloops.com. I still have availability from mid March to late April.

Tight Lines and Happy Christmas if I don’t get a blog out before then!

Ronan..

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I realised a year or two ago that fishing for really big trout is more about the fish than the fishing; while fishing for average sized or smaller trout is more about the fishing than the fish. Of course both can cross the divide into the other category but generally speaking this is true. For me at least. Really big NZ fish, say in the 8lbs plus class, are often really stunning here in Otago and worth the effort in hunting down. They are few and far between and very hard to catch. Not necessarily because they’re “smarter” than smaller fish (they’re not really!) but because they often take up lies that are very difficult to get a fly to. The bottom of a deep pool for example or under a submerged log, and sometimes they are just really really spooky! These very big fish wont be seen every time you fish a river, some days they may be out visibly feeding and once in a while they may take up a part of the pool where you can get an easy cast to. You just have to persist, be there at the right time. If you can get a fly to one of these big trout without spooking it at all, (there are varying degrees of “spooked”) you’re almost as likely to hook it as a 2lb trout from a riffle. Landing it of course is a whole other story. When it all comes together and you get one of these trophy trout into your net, it’s a real high. If it turns out to be one of the really beautiful fish it’s even better again!  Since the last blog I hunted down some of the big fellas with good success.

Jeff and Myself went and checked out some rivers on the west coast recently. We fished some water I had not seen for a few years. We had a mixed bag. One great river and one not so great but both were absolutely spectacular. The fishing is described in the photos below but there was one little event I’ll have to share with you. (sorry, Jeff!) We were given conflicting information regarding which gate to drive through to get to the river, I thought we were to go through the left gate, but we were told right.. so we both agreed to go right, at least we could come back if we were wrong, right? Jeff fumbled with the padlock before realising it was actually open and that the key we had didn’t fit it anyway. He opened the gate and I drove through. Jeff closed the gate after him and then I waited for a while, “whats the delay” I thought, as I jumped out of the truck. “Ronan, I fucked up” Jeff said. He had closed the padlock and we had no key to open it. There we were, miles from anywhere with the truck locked on the wrong side of the gate. Some Irish/American ingenuity prevailed, much of it inspired by a Macgyver episode I had seen years ago. We managed to open the gate in reverse without doing any damage at all so we knew we could get back out. After driving for a short distance we realised that we had indeed gone the wrong way. We should have gone left! In the end we got to the river and the fishing began.

Have a look at my facebook page to see the results of my happy clients! Plenty spaces still available for the season.. ronan@sexyloops.com for bookings and information.

https://www.facebook.com/ronans.flyfishing

Tight Lines..

Ronan..

Magnificent..

This is why fishing for big fish is more about the fish than the fishing.

Jeff shows the scale of the place..

I had a big trout chase my streamer here..

West coast clarity..

After a great start with a fish each we struggled for the rest of the day.. but what a place to struggle!!

Jeff on a recent mission to the west coast..

Day 2.. Lots of bush bashing to get to the river..

Likely water..

Not a bad start..

In the air..

Full pressure..

In the net..

Fish like this make any day worth while..

This one took a nymph..

Back he goes..

Iza's caramel slice..

Gandalf!

a vein of Greenstone I think..

Nicely marked..

A likely spot which produced a fish..

The iconic NZ symbol..

Heath, A very happy client during a 4 fish day. 5lbs best.

A leisurely morning on the river. Iza caught one!

Goats are amazing creatures. Feck all to stand on and apparently less to eat!

A mountain goat living up to his name!

Thorns..

One for me.. A tank of a hen fish.

No stranger to big trout!

A great fish for Robbie..

Robbie strikes again..

Back to freedom..

A fish in a most unexpected place on the way home!! Spotted by Robbie from 150m.. Great red spots.

Pete with one of two for his day on the river with me..

Pick one, Pete!!

I’m adjusting well in to my new lifestyle. Not working as a woodworker for 44 hours a week means I have time to think, time to consider my new job as a fly-fishing guide and do whatever it takes to make it work. My guiding season has been slow to start as I expected, but I have a busy period coming up which I’m really looking forward to. My website is not off the ground yet but its happening. I’m at the beginning of something great and I’m enjoying it. I’m excited about where it will lead. Exploring new water is now more important than ever before and I’m lapping it up.

I’ve been enjoying quite a range of fly-fishing lately. I’ve targeted a few big fish, mostly average sized fish, some salt-fly and quite a bit of exploration. Tomorrow I’ll be checking out a river that I have fished before but not for a long time. I’m looking forward to it. More on that on my facebook page tomorrow evening. (https://www.facebook.com/ronans.flyfishing)

One thing I’d like to share from a recent trip to the coast is the story of a challenging brown trout Iza caught. We were walking along a high bank together and I spotted a big fish down below happily feeding in a deepish riffle. The wind was blowing hard up river. The only place to take the shot from was on top of the high bank about 10 foot above the river. Because of our elevation we had to stay well behind the fish so as not to spook it. The cast was a difficult one. Quite long and from a hight, so leaving it very open to being whipped away by the wind. I suggested that she compensate for the wind and cast well left of and to the back the fish and let the wind carry it up. She said that I should take the shot but I convinced her to take it. She did, the first cast fell short but the second one was a pleasure to watch. The cast went left, the wind caught it and carried it up in a curve to the fish. The dry and nymph landed about a meter in front and the trout started to rise to the dry immediately; sailed up and confidently ate it. The strike was bang on and battle was not an easy one. Between scrambling down the high bank to the river, and being connected to an extremely strong fish she did well to land it. A fish like that makes any day a really great one.

I’m at a transition of sorts with my blog. For the last 5 years my blog has been about my own experiences, trips with my friends, my observations in and around the sport of fly fishing. To a certain extent I want to keep it like that but I also want to share my guiding experiences. I guess for the moment I’ll use what ever content and photo’s I feel like and in time a healthy balance of my guiding and my fishing will evolve.

If you’re planning a trip to NZ and need a guide why not get in touch! You’ll be in good hands.. ronan@sexyloops.com

Tight lines everyone.

Ronan..

PS.. If you like this, please subscribe!

Another swims away..

NZ is not all about big trout, far from it. Some of the best fishing you can have is for trout in the 2 to 4lb range.

This sighted from a shallow riffle..

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Rosy red cheeks!

The man and his best friend..

A bright fish for Jeff Forsee..

On the way home after a day on the lake..

To be a good guide means I need a huge bank of water to choose from, this was some exploration..

..on a pretty little stream..

What a fish! Simply stunning..

The fish put up some scrap!

A great cast from Iza where she had to compensate for the wind got her attached to this great fish.

A few flies for a mission to the coast..

..which paid off! Wind, rain and cold didn't put the fish off but it might deter many anglers from venturing out.

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It took me all day but I finally Got one too!

Not as pretty but not bad at all!

I love the coast!

No visit to the coast would be complete without a visit to a river mouth. I hoped for a big sea-trout but I was very happy with 5 of these!

Some exploration paid off. I landed 2 and saw one more on a 1 hour scout.

Dinner for two.

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Ready to settle in for the night, spuds on the boil and steak and mushrooms ready for the pan!

There's feck all a "MR Glister" wont catch!

A mighty west coast river..

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A recent exploratory chopper flight, what a great way to view a river!

A happy client! 4 fighting fit trout for his morning on the river..

Bryan Wrighton enjoying his red letter day. He nailed it. Lots of fish all between 4 and 5.5lbs.

I explained a lot about fly choice and how to approach a pool with Bryan, all of which he put into practice successfully.

Fat and strong!

Doing battle!

Very striking..

All in perfect order..

Fat and strong..

Perfect..

Bryan's best fish of the day.. He had one heavier but the condition of this fish is outstanding.

A classic jump shot!

Back he goes..