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..
A small headwater stream. Lots of walking between fish..
..but worth it!
Blue skies, snow on the ground, cool and crisp..
..some magnificent fish around!
Snow melt should keep the rivers full for a while.
This tank was sipping down little mayflies, I threw a #6 indicator dry to him and he sipped it down just the same! The next day one took a cicada..
Just under 8lbs..
Stunning! Now a 1.5hour walk back to the truck.
Day 2. Feckin freezing! And 50kph wind.. A cotton bag made a good hat! Yesterday the draw string made new laces for my boots..
Great start..
About 4ks later, this!
Same fish.. Magnificent 2 days on the water over 3 streams.
Moher Lake in Co. Mayo in the West of Ireland.
Fishing with my good friend James.
Corned beef and tomato sandwiches! Lovely!
We landed about 50 of these..
..Small, but these are adult browns.
The lake wasn’t stocked but we still paid full price! We were hoping to get into some 1 to 3lb stocked browns – big enough to fight back!
I think anybody planning a trip to NZ has a dream of catching a big one. These big fish are indeed attainable! During a multi-day I’d expect to land some fish up to 7lbs but fish over this weight are harder to find. You can certainly increase your odds of landing big fish by concentrating your efforts where big trout live but NZ fly fishing is not all about trophy trout. Last season and the one before combined yielded 2 over the elusive 10lb mark for my clients. This season the best was a touch under 9lbs. I decided to compile the top 5 trout for my clients over the season. Well done to Chuan, Mark, Kevin, Wei Chong and Matt for making the final cut. I hope you can make the top 5 next season too!
Feel free to get in touch about next seasons availability via email (ronan@sexyloops.com) or visit my website.
Tight Lines, Ronan..
At #5. Matt was on form for the whole trip making this top 5 specimen well deserved. Almost 8lbs.
..a moment worth celebrating!
At #4 is Wei Chong. This fish went 8lbs. He lost a much bigger through strip striking too hard on a very short line. “The curry fish head” as he called it! Wei Chong landed a 7.5 just 10 minutes after landing this one..
A really stunning fish this was.. Well done Wei Chong.
At #3. With many mutual friends and waters back in the motherland, it’s always great to take Kevin out. He had the 2nd best of last season. This superb 8.5lber took a small dry. We totally misjudged the size of this fish until he slid into the net..
Kevin playing one of the best for the season on the SLHT#6..
Back he goes..
At #2. This fresh seatrout gives Mark the #2 position at 8.75lbs.
Mark playing another big brown.. He and his friend KC had a great week with me in January.
At #1. First place for Chuan Tay with this fish just under 9lbs. This fecker goes hard..
Congrats Chuan!
To round off the 9 photos, my best of the season so far. It took me til May to catch a fish worthy of my own leaderboard! Next season I’ll fish more..
..I was way off! 8.5lbs of brown trout perfection! Took my high viz mayfly!
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
Two great friends of mine from Tasmania, John and Sue.
They joined us for a few days over Christmas. We had many beers and even made time for a fish or 2.
Sue on the weed edge..
Pondering over a smoke!
Into one!
nice!
“The shitswamp of doom”
We almost lost Sue!
Towing out a local fella after trying a silly crossing! Very soft shingle river bed..
I had a lovely couple of days with these two!
Challenging fishing (it always is!) but they did well with 8 or 9 over 2 days.
Some lovely small stream dry fly fishing.
Lovely! First time guiding Italians. I’m looking forward to the next time!
A day trip with Ben and co. They landed 4 including this. The best fish I’ve seen from the Mataura. A tank at just over 5.5lbs.
I had a great day fishing with Rob Vaz. Here he makes an accurate shot to a rising fish. No joy this time!
One for me!
We landed a few but lost some super fish!
Almost there for Rob..
One for me from an edge..
A wee one!
Day 1 with two great fellas from California. Tough day. 2 landed.
Day 2. Shelter from the wind!
They landed 3 around the 5 and a couple smaller..
..and more to the point, they had fun!
Plenty action!
The bridge fish..
Mark with one about 4.
Day 3. Something more strenuous!
A tough walk but no bother to these fellas..
Lovely..
After a very slow start things majorly improved..
Then this, 7lbs..
At #2. This fresh seatrout gives Mark the #2 position at 8.75lbs.
.. a 6.5lber for KC.
Day 4. A wash out! Back at the truck after a fishless day but still smiles all round!
The rising river sent the fish to ground. They had a couple of shots and some chases to the streamer. Went from 5 to over 30 cumecs in a few hours.
Day 5. The lads had an uncanny ability to catch fish a pound or so heavier than I told then to expect!
4 trout with 2 around the 5lb mark. Big is relative. 5s are top end fish on this fishery.
Working the water! Plenty fish around..
Wading out to sight back in towards the trees.
Good viz. We got one here..
Day 6. A big drive south to a backcountry lake..
Light wind, blue skies and fish eating off the top. Simply magic.
The trout on the silt were tough..
But we figured it out after a while. 7 for the day. Four 4.5lbers for KC and three between 6 and 6.5 for Mark. In my opinion the best day of the trip!
All super trout..
Quite magical.
Mark playing another big brown.. He and his friend KC had a great week with me in January.
The second..
..and the 3rd. The best fish I’ve seen on this lake. I assure you, Mark is very happy here!!
Many fish were chomping on these. For some reason they’re very hard to imitate.
A wild flower of some sort..
Day 7. Mackenzie Country for the last 2 days.
The lake was extremely low but we found fish in decent numbers in deeper gutters.
Sighting was ofter tough but we managed.
A cast to a grey ghost and all hell broke loose.
I told them to expect nothing over 4lbs. Mark got two 4.5s in quick succession.
Some good action on a wee river to finish the day.
Last cast. 7 for the day.
Day 8. Off to a wee lagoon that holds some big trout. The first went 7lbs.
Lost in the grass!
The wind didn’t deter us!
Last cast of the trip to land a 6lber beside the truck. The perfect finale to an amazing road trip. 32 trout to almost 9lbs and no two days the same. KC and Mark made every decision easy because no matter how tough things got physically or with the fishing they’d smile and enjoy it.