Ronan's Report

Between late April and now I fished with a few good friends. First up was Dan, it was good to spend time with him on the water hoping for some late season magic. It didn’t really happen on the river unfortunately but thats how it goes. Staying at Peters Farm Lodge in the Maniototo was a bit of a treat. A cozy, homely accommodation with plenty old character. Getting back there after a massive day on the river was just right. We cooked enough for 4 and to our surprise we ate it all. It really was a big day. We burned off whatever food we had and a lot more. A frosty start on day 2, we gave it our all again. I had a small stream in mind but it had virtually no flow. Things didn’t really go our way but it was still a solid couple of days. Fishing is certainly not all about catching! We did manage to scratch a few out over the couple of days though.

Myself and Jeff struggle to line up our fishing schedules these days. However, we managed a trip in May and one in June. Long overdue. We had 3 fishing days in all, one in May and 2 in June. On the May Day we tore up the lake in Jeff’s family boat to a distant river. $100 worth or petrol each way. 100hp 2 stroke engines, holy feck they’re thirsty.. It was worth it though. We got into quite a few gleaming, fighting fit rainbows on a perfect weather day in a spectacularly beautiful, wild environment. Not a person to be seen.

In June we went up to Mackenzie Country for a couple of lake days. Jeff towed his raft to give us more options. We booked into Buscot Station backpackers. A place I’ve been staying at for over 20 years now. Tony owns and runs the place. He can talk at length on any topic with genuine knowledge from both sides. It’s a pleasure to stay there. Having the craic with Tony, warm clean beds, interesting guests; it’s always a great stay. Jeff and I had 2 nights there. A perfect fishing base. Day 1 we fished on foot. We walked a lake edge for the day mostly sight fishing. I also picked up a couple blind fishing murky water. The best fish of the day was a cracking 6.5lber. Sight fished with one of dad’s deadly epoxy buzzers. Even if still water fish are not specifically feeding on midge pupa they nearly always recognise them as food making them one of the most deadly flies to fish on any still water at any time of year. On day 2 Jeff put his raft in. Same lake but today we had the ability to fish the water we couldn’t reach from the shore. We did well. Landed about 7 up to 5 or 6lbs ish. The best thing about the raft day was how it tied the whole section of lake together. We covered a lot of water and left no stone unturned. between the shore day and the day afloat we now have a really good understanding of that part of the lake. Suddenly it doesn’t seem so vast.

Most seasons I catch up with Dougal for a fish. We left it late this year but had a good day on a high country dam in mid may. We met at the Adventure Hub Cafe. A great spot for a coffee and a chat before venturing up to the lake. Dougal wanted to learn the lake so he brought his boat. This suited me. For a change I wasn’t the one towing or operating the boat. I was able to advise Dougal on the safe runs and areas to be careful in and where I found fish over the years. We’d pull up the boat and fish the shore in opposite directions working the rocky edges. Thats where the fish seem to be late season. We had lovely conditions. Light wind and cloud and plenty active fish. Small brown buggers in the light wind worked best. A great day and I took a couple for dinner.

Had a good day out with Conor for the first time in a few years. Guy also came along and Lochlan too. fishing was surprisingly slow but we all had some action. I think we needed some wind. No wind and full sun all day. Thats not always ideal late season. Lochlan lost 3 in about 10 minutes. He wasn’t bothered, thankfully.

I had a few good days guiding too. Great to see Brendan over for his late season visit. He landed some brutes of trout. Nice to take Chris out again after so many years. We had a day pre covid with 2 of his friends but this time he was back to get the full one on one fly casting / fishing experience. New to fly he did great over 2 days catching fish both days and really getting to grips with casting.

To check out my range of flies over on Fulling Mill click here. 4 new patterns coning next year. I’m looking forward to seeing them available. Next season is almost fully booked but there’s still a few gaps here and there. If you’d like to get in touch you can do so through my website or email ronan@sexyloops.com

Peace – wouldn’t that be nice. Ronan..

I find it easy to start on a project if its small. Large projects can be a little daunting. Because of this I trick myself into large projects by doing a small part, convincing myself that that’s all I’ll do. Hence, I frequently don’t have ‘before shots’. By the time I think to take a few pics I’m already well advanced with the project so that ship has sailed. This is what happened with the boat recently. Initially it was just a little repair, which lead to repainting the repair. Then I thought I should repaint the cabin. Before I knew it I had many components taken off to allow for easy surface preparation and painting. Then I ordered non-skid paint for all the traffic areas – this had never been on the boat before. The whole job took me 2 weeks. It’s amazing how boat restorations absorb time. I almost did inside the cabin too but I managed to curb my enthusiasm just enough to not. It can wait. I did the roof inside alright because it needed it.

She always had a hatch on the cabin but it was damaged and didn’t stay on. I fixed that and also built a removable door so that I can close off the cabin for sleeping in or keeping gear dry in bad weather. I’ve been threatening sleeping in it for ages but still haven’t. No excuse now! She still doesn’t have a name by the way…

I’ve had the boat for 3 years and she’s had a lot of use. She’s been stored outside all that time. Mostly under a tarp but often not. Because of this she was in need of a tidy up, some repairs and a paint job. It’s done now! From now on she’ll have a roof over her head. Next up for restoration is Daltona. She will ride again (again).

It was good to get out guiding recently. Dan and I went to Mackenzie Country to fish the lakes. Late August. The fish were there in good numbers in 3 of the 4 places we went. They were not easy. Very spooky but not impossible. To me, this is perfect. Without some challenge it’s not that interesting. Fast, accurate shots made all the difference – especially when keeping the loop travelling low and fast over the water. Big open loops spook a lot of fish in calm water. I often side cast to ensure the loop stays low. Speed is such an underrated skill. It’s something a fella can practice. How fast can you get the fly off the hitch and in front of a cruising fish? This and other aspects of speed and accuracy were some of the things we worked on. We had some really good fishing where it all came together. Dan landed some really solid, fat trout up to 7lbs which is a top end fish on the Mackenzie lakes.

Also did a little uneventful exploring on the Clutha locally. Nothing to report from it. I had a few outings to some local river mouths – they were decent. Last but not least, Wesley and I (mostly Wesley) changed the bearings on the boat trailer. It was great to learn this skill from someone who knows what they’re doing.

That’s me up to date again! The season kicks off in a little over a week. Needless to say I’m looking forward to it. There’s a few gaps, not many but feel free to get in touch with any questions about availability. You can contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website. You can check out my Fulling Mill fly patterns here. Some of these have been tweaked and improved for 2024.

Tight Lines and a big Happy Birthday to Sexyloops! 25 today! Ronan..