Ronan's Report

The weekend before last, Chris Dore and I fished the Frankton Arm. Last year I learned that bright sun is not ideal on the Frankton Arm in winter and that stands true this year. The fishing was slow for most of the day apart from the hour between 2.30 and 3.30. We had 4 in that time slot.

Good old friendly rivalry was alive and well in the boat, 1-0 to Chris, a few hours later 1-1, Then I got a couple (I may have been dragging the line behind the boat as I slowly motored to the next drift, not trolling of course because it was…. an accident, yea.) Some dirty tactics from Chris as he snagged my fly-line almost scuppered my roll to victory. Then another, 4-1. The end score was 4-2 but we weren’t keeping score of course.

I had some good fishing to reasonable numbers of cruising fish at the head of Lake Dunstan last Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised at the numbers of fish about. On Sunday, Kevin and I went on a firewood mission on the Kawarau Arm on Dunstan. We found a hover of trout instead. (My brother with his vast knowledge of all things trout just informed me that a group of trout is known as a hover. Thanks Conor!) I ended up having 2 hours of really good but tough sight fishing. The dull day didn’t matter because the hill on the opposite side was high enough to cut out the glare and spot against. I’m pretty sure they were eating tiny snails, some floating. Another pleasant surprise to get good sight fishing during the worst fishing month of the year only a kilometre from the house! I remember watching Bernard Venables on the telly years ago. He spoke of “a swagger of perch”. Maybe many species have their own specific word for a school.

No fishing this weekend! Iza and I are off to watch the the All-Blacks v England in Dunedin. We’ll also be catching up with some friends. Looking forward to it!

Ronan..

After a very wet week the river options for the weekend were virtually non-existent. It had to be a lake. There are lots to choose from but Mark and I decided on the Frankton arm on Lake Wakatipu. The forecast was for wind, rain (lots of rain) and snow. The Frankton arm is sheltered and even if it does blow up you’re never far from the shore, so with the forecast, it seemed like a safe bet. We picked up the Wakatipu Anglers Club boat and set off for a weekend afloat..

There are 3 main types of water to fish on Lake Wakatipu near Frankton.

1. Shallows, 3 to 6 foot of water.

2. Deeper water, about 6 to 10 foot.

3. Holes, gutters and drop-offs. 10foot plus..

For the first, I set up a rod with a clear intermediate line with a small possum streamer on it. For the 2nd and 3rd I set up the di7 with 11lb flouro and a Glister. The reason for the heavy tippet is the big fly (The Dore’s Mr Glister is quite big, I used a slender size 6), The reason for the big fly is simply to be noticed! A big fly will be seen by more fish in deep water. It may be the case that we got lots of refusals we don’t even know about using this method but I believe the law of averages will prevail and a good number of fish will attack / eat the fly.

As it turned out on day 1, the intermediate line was not used. I started catching fish on the first drift way out on the drop-off and reasonable action continued with the di7. Mark chose the di5 but didn’t get much action. It’s valuable to know that fast sinking lines are not just for fishing deep water. They fish shallower water very efficiently. There is no need to waste any time counting it down, just start stripping. This makes it an extremely versatile line, in that you can effectively fish 5 to 25 foot down without changing lines.

Mark had no luck on day 1 with the di5. He only had a few touches. Partly because he was not comfortable with his chosen rod but mainly because he was not getting down quick enough. I boated 7 with the di7. On day 2 Mark put on the di7 and changed to rod that suited him. We had 4 each. This proves the value of the right rod and line!

The next time I’m out there I have a method in mind to try out. I noticed lots of small smelt / fry in some of the fish. I’d like to tie a few weighted imitations and fish them on a floater or intermediate line. Figure of eight them very slowly over the weeds and wait for the takes. It has to work! I tried a similar method briefly on Sunday afternoon and I got one or 2. Also, there were lots of light brown caddis on the water over the weekend. There were a few fish moving on them on Sunday afternoon but not many. I know my father would have picked up a few with his double nymph rig!

Mark and myself had 2 excellent days afloat. The weather only made it better. The spray from the waves while motoring, the gusts, the cold, the rain, the snow, whatever! It did not matter because we had the clothing for it. It’s that simple!

I was hoping to fish some rivers during this month of May, but for one reason or another it didn’t happen, besides a fruitless few hours on the Clutha. This Saturday is my last chance to fish a river before the river season ends. We’ll see what happens! Wakatipu is calling me back too..

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Later folks..   Ronan..

Iza and I had a nice few hours on Lake Tewa a while back.. Some good buzzer fishing in the flat calm..

The beginning of a pretty uneventful fishing day with Chris and Fraser (Hocks).. 2 fish between the 3 of us for the day! Great to catch up with the lads..

I forgot my stripping basket... so I improvised. My weight net jammed in my wading belt made a perfect one!! As good, if not better than the real thing..

A decent brown from a deep hole.

The fishning was good for me on day 1. The di7 and a Dore's Mr Glister accounted for all 7. Mark and his di5 drew a blank.. same fly.

Just like home! Taking the brunt of all the waves... and loving it!

The weekend just passed.. Mark Adamson and I take on the elements..

the best rainbow of the weekend from some shallow water. About 6 foot.

Looking for the bridge fish.. No snow on the Remarkables today!

With fading light and increasing wind it was time to call it a day.

Happy after a great day on the water!

And that's the difference.. We had 4 each for the day. What a difference a line makes!

Day 2. Di7 each...

This fly did well late on day 2. My own invention, tied with possum.

We kept a couple for dinner! Fantastic food..

A perfect brownie for Mark..

In my element...

Wind, rain, cold.. no problem with decent clothing.

It rained most of Sunday..

The fish dont mind the planes!

These were in a fish I took to eat.. A clue for the next time I fish the Frankton arm!

Lunch.. Might be time for a flask of hot coffee instead of cold beer??

Snow on the Remarkables on day 2!

The best fish of day 2... What an invigorating 2 days afloat.

About to launch. Day 2.

A decent brown from a deep hole.

A few of these fell out of a little rainbow.. A clue for next time and simple to tie..

I think if I lived in any other part of the western world with incredible fly-fishing on my doorstep, there would be a core group of hardcore anglers who simply live to fish. Here in the the southern lakes region of NZ there are not many. There are guides who love their game but fish only a few days in winter, and in summer have little time to fish themselves, some keen anglers have other priorities such as family and skiing in the winter months, some just talk about it but rarely actually fish hard at all, I don’t see many young people getting into the game; these people should be the back bone of the sport but they are few and far between. The clubs seem to lack youth, though not due to lack of trying, and this is a shame. I find it hard to believe that in a place like this I don’t know a single person who fishes as much as I do. (If Jeff was here that would not be true!!) Imagine as a skier or snowboarder having every mountain to yourself every time you go out. That’s pretty much how it is for me throughout the winter months on the lakes. It was the same last year. This is a fun, exciting sport but it needs an injection of new life and some fresh thinking…. That, or just keep it for those who are currently involved. There’s an argument for both I guess.

All that said, I’m meeting up with the Canterbury Fly Fishing Club in a few weeks for a weekend on the Central Lakes and I’m really looking forward to that. I’m excited to see their approach to the water and how it differs from mine.

Last weekend I was hoping for bigger and better things but the lake fished reasonably well. I picked up a dozen or so fish over the 2 days, the best about 2.5lbs. They were all well marked and brightly coloured and a mix of browns and rainbows. The weather was good and unseasonably warm. There are not many places in the world where you can fish in the middle of a built up area with planes taking off over you all day, jet boats whizzing passed and numerous other water users about and still catch plenty fish. This is a truly superb place for a fly-fisherman.

I put my back out badly at work on Monday so I think I’ll be out of action this weekend.

Go have a winter fish! Ronan..

This week on SLTV, Backcountry Fjordland part 2. Sean, Fraser, Paul and I take on some wilderness for a few days. We all get some sort of bug on different days but manage plenty excellent fishing. Some great footage of fish eating dries in this episode and some great Blue Duck footage too.