Ronan's Report

There’s something very special about getting into some of New Zealand’s most wild and beautiful places. In late March myself and Chuan did just that. We had a couple of days. Day 1 was very sunny but with a brutal downstream wind which certainly cost us a few fish. The late season sun cast contrasting shadows across the river making sighting challenging in many places. Fish were touchy but we had 6 for the day. A good day apart from Chuans hat blowing off and disappearing down a rapid. Shortly after he got in a fight with a sandfly which gave him a fat lip! Day 2 was cloudy with a little less wind. The cloud was better for sighting than the sun. The diffuse light caused by the cloud and having a good backdrop to sight against was an ideal combination for sighting. That was a good lesson for this river in March. Fish were even more spooky on day 2. Sometimes we’d quietly arrive at a pool and sight a fish. As quickly as we’d see him he’d just melt away into the pool. It was one of those days where they seemed to have an extra sense. We only managed a couple. No regrets though. Places like this are as much about the location as the fishing. There were hunters and other anglers in the hut too. A mix of Kiwis, Singaporean, Scotsmen and Irish. Some craic! I might have had a few beers and a whisky too many. I felt sorry for the hunters wanting an early night before their hunt.. that just didn’t happen!

After our wilderness adventure Kim arrived and the 3 of us got stuck in to a variety of fishing. Rivers and lakes both in the mix. I’ve been guiding Chuan and Kim for about 8 years now and still try to show them something new on every trip. This was no exception and we had some good fishing on a river and a lake they saw for the first time. This is why exploring new water is so important to me. I want to keep it fresh and interesting for myself and my clients.

June now and my streamers are doing the business! For a look at all my flies check out this link. For bookings and info about next season please check out my website or contact me ronan@sexyloops.com

Tight lines and Free Palestine.. Ronan..

One of the most memorable days of my season was in March. I was out with Skyler and Eamonn. The prospects for the day were good with a little rain forecast in the morning followed by a nice sunny day from about noon. Off we went to the river. The morning was cool and dry. We got rigged up excited about what the day might bring. Shortly after starting fishing some light rain began. As we moved up river the rain turned into snow and the temperature rapidly dropped. This was unexpected but I didn’t think it would persist. Well, persist it did. It got heavier to the point of blizzard conditions and inches of snow started to accumulate on the ground. I was confident it would abate and the sun would come out and warm us up.. but 2 hours later the snow was still bucketing down with no end it sight. We were all wet wading. My feet were freezing – all our feet were freezing. With no sign of a break in the cloud I had to make the very unusual decision to bail out. Nobody complained. Once the decision was made to get out, it seemed important to make haste. Frostbite crossed my mind for the first time in my fishing life. We walked back in the river to stop our toes from freezing. I doubt we were in any real danger but holy feck it was cold. We got back to my truck and headed to the warmth of my house. We had lunch with the heat pump on full and cups of hot tea. After about an hour our core temperatures came up a bit and we were ready for round 2. The sun was now shining and it was nice a warm. Hot even! Such extremes in a day I’ve rarely experienced. It was March 15th which is usually still like summer!

It should be said that this summer was cooler than usual. There were some very cold spells which actually made some options fishable in high summer that usually wouldn’t be. It was also extremely dry. I don’t think there’s been any notable rain in this area for about 6 months.

The photos below tell a few more stories. Trips with the kids and Rahel – our fantastic au pair, a lakes trip with Graeme, fishing with Bryan, the Highlights from the world famous Pisspot and more. Enjoy! Next up will be late March and into April.

For a look at my flies check this out. They’re all available to purchase in-store at Patagonia Queenstown too. To book for next season (filling up fast) contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.

Tight lines and Free Palestine. Ronan..