Ronan's Report

Fishing continues, both work and pleasure. It’s been one of the most challenging seasons to date with extreme wind being the hardest factor. Some days I tried to hide from it, other days I went into the teeth of it. I got the desired results most days but they didn’t come easy. With the challenge came greater satisfaction with a good result. I had a day in early November fishing on my own in a blizzard with 100kph gusts. I was on a high country lake. 1 degree celsius. I loved it for myself but I’m glad I wasn’t guiding in it!

Things are getting warm here now and with that the terrestrials are about. My cicadas are working well whether I’m seeing them on the water or not. They’re also available in a size 6 this year which will work well for the larger West Coast and beach forest cicadas. I’m currently working on a few new patterns for the 2026 Fulling Mill catalog. You can check out my current range of flies here.

It was great to fish with Mark Regan over here. I know Mark from fishing Corrib back home and we have many mutual friends. We had a couple of great days on the water together. A sunny still water day with lots of fish on buzzers – Mark is no stranger to fishing buzzers! – and then a river day in the rain with a steady stream of mayflies trickling down all day. We had some great dry fly action with trout to 6lbs.

Still some availability from later in March, a lovely time of year! Let me know if you’d like to book or if you have any questions, just ask. More info here or email me at ronan@sexyloops.com. Photos below tell the story up to about mid December. More to come as soon as I get a chance.

It would be nice to see an end to the genocide in Gaza but it looks like rubble isn’t good enough for the Israelis. I think they’re aiming to turn the place to dust. What will be left for the remaining Palestinians? There’s basically nothing left already. This atrocity has left me with a constant sadness since the start. Not just because of the genocide but because of the complicity of our governments, the lies from mainstream media, the silence from celebrities and influential people. It looks like Israel has occupied them all.

Tight Lines, Ronan..

Sometimes things happen in fishing to put your resolve to the test. How much do you want to go fishing? Well, I answered that question one day in May when myself and a Wesley tried to get to a high country lake. There had been rain overnight so I expected snow on the higher portion of the track. I figured we’d have a crack regardless. I’ve towed the boat up there is various levels of wet and snow without any major trouble. Having said that, in the past, most of the seriously wet conditions I’ve experienced happened to be on the way down the hill, so I had gravity on my side. This was to be the wettest I’ve experienced getting up the hill..

My boat is pretty heavy – not sure how heavy exactly but it’s no dingy. Onwards up the track without issue. It was raining but the track was okay. We hoped the snow would be above the lake elevation but no such luck. Driving through the snow and everything still seemed good – no problem with traction. There were very fresh tracks through the snow in front of me so I assumed another angler had the same idea. This was comforting! We were almost at the lake when we had a steep decline before a steep incline. The decline was fine. Half way up the incline I lost traction. I reversed and tried again without success. Getting out to assess the situation I realised how bad the track was. A mix of mud, ice and snow. No chance. I put the waders on because it was such a mess! After a good few more attempts the truck was well stuck in the ditch with the trailer at an angle. I tried to take the trailer off but the weight on it due to the unusual angle made it impossible to remove. At this stage I couldn’t go forwards at all and the angle of the trailer meant I couldn’t go backwards either. What now? Reduce air pressure maybe.. Then the fella who was ahead of us came back down. He was from the North Island and just down for a tour. I was very happy to se him. His 4×4 was well kitted out and he gave me a tow out. Even with him towing me we couldn’t get to the top of the hill with my boat on the back. We did manage to straighten my truck and trailer. We had no choice but to abandon the boat and fish the bank. It was now easy to remove the trailer but turning it around wasn’t possible. Just too steep, slippery and generally shite so we rolled her back into the ditch where it was safe and secure. I hoped we’d sort that out at the end of the day when the track had (hopefully) dried a bit. Without a trailer and with the help of my new friend we made it to the top of the hill. It was to be an easy drive to the lake from there. I jumped out and thanked our saviour. Peter I think he said his name was. We said farewell. As his Pajero passed my boat, he started sliding towards it on the greasy track. I tried to push his truck away from the boat, for all the good I did and also called at him to floor it.. It was that or he’d hit the boat. He just about scraped by without contact and went about his day.

Now there’s a new problem. In the unlikely event of another vehicle coming up he would also be likely to slide into the boat, especially with the track in such a mess after our antics.. so I can’t leave it there. The lake is in sight but I have to rethink this. On the side of the the steep, muddy track there was a strip of grassy verge just wide enough to drive on. Traction seemed good and the ground firm, but there was no room for error with a steep hill on the side. The only chance was to reverse back down the hill on the grassy verge, hitch on the boat, pull it out of the ditch and then floor it up the hill on the grass and then get back onto the track on the top of the hill before the big rock.. Jeepers.

Aside from the safety issue of abandoning the boat in a dodgy place, I really wanted to use the boat on the lake that day so the decision was made. Let’s do it. I reversed down with a few test forward movements to make sure I could go forward. Everything seemed good. I got near the boat and we were able to pivot her in the ditch and hitch it on. Rear locker in, low range too. I popped the boat out of the ditch and gave it the beans up the hill. The left turn before the rock to get back onto the track proved tricky, probably due to the rear locker engaged and snow on the grass. I couldn’t stop, thankfully the front wheels got some grip and got me back on track. Fuckin hell. Relief. That took hours. It might seem crazy with the steep hill on the right to have attempted this but I had to get the boat out of there. We looked at other options too like rolling the boat down the road without the truck attached but we were already half way up hill when the shit hit the fan. This was likely to end in disaster. With the state of the track reversing back down was not an option.. Whether I should have done it or not, I did.. and was it worth it?? Yes. The question is, If I still had my old 80 would I have gotten stuck???

May was also a good month of guiding. Not always easy in a some crazy conditions. 3 blizzards, rain wind, you name it, May had it. Certainly an adventurous month where nothing got in the way of the fishing.

To see my flies over at Fulling Mill check this out. They’re also available in store at Patagonia Queenstown. To enquire about this seasons guiding availability you can get in touch here or at ronan@sexyloops.com

Tight Lines and Free Palestine, Ronan..

By now in Central Otago things are usually warming up a little, but they’re not! It’s been a very cold winter here. Hard frosts most mornings making it hard to get motivated to go out. Some days it warms up a bit for a couple of hours. There’s been very little rain but I see no impediment to fish running the rivers to spawn. I think with the settled and consistent river flows this will be a very successful spawning season. I haven’t fished very much this winter. Certainly the least I’ve ever fished through June / July. I’ve been putting all my attention into our old house keeping on top of an ever increasing job list. It’s a labour of love. Over the next couple of months the lakes will fire up. I think the first glimmer of spring will bring some brilliant lake fishing and I’ll be there to cash in.

On August 17th I’ll be in Patagonia Queenstown for an informal event. I’m not one for giving speeches but I’ll be there to chat about my fly patterns with Fulling Mill and how they came to be. I expect I’ll tie a few flies too and generally talk fishing! If you’re around pop in and say hello. It’s free but can register your interest here. I’ll be donating all of my payment to Doctors Without Borders working in Palestine.

Below are some photos from April and into May. They tell the story of a good month! The highlight was taking Will out with his dad Brendan who is a regular client. Will is 12, The same age I was when my grandad gave me my first fly rod. We started with a lesson for about 2 hours and then put it into practice. I could see the ability was there but he just lacked a little confidence. After a few near misses Will connected with his first on a fly and landed a super trout. On the dry too. With more confidence he got another fish later in the day. He managed 2 for the day which is a solid day for any angler in NZ. He’s coming back for more in September!

I also had a great session with my own 2 kids. We popped out locally just in time for a great little hatch. Adaline and Lochlan learned more about wet wading than anything and Lochlan managed to fall in (again). They were great with the net and helped me land a big brown! I think they’re starting to understand what it’s all about.

For a look at my flies check out this link. and if you’d like to book some dates for next season check out my website or email ronan@sexyloops.com

Tight lines. Ronan..

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..

The week with Chris, Steve and Joe was a great one. Not just for the superb mix of rivers and fishing but also for the chance to catch up with my good friend Chris Dore. One of the biggest cons about being a guide is that it’s so feckin hard to hang out with my fishing friends. We’re lucky to fish together once a year – usually in winter – so spending the week roughing it in Southland with Chris was great. We made time for a few beers in the evenings which always went down well. Chat, banter, fishing talk, the usual. The steak night in the caravan when Shellen joined us was a blast. She tied up a few flies and the craic was good. It was really good to meet her and I wish her the best with her future as a guide.

Chris and I go hard with our guiding and work at about the same intensity. We don’t look for easy options and we’ll do whatever it takes to give our clients what they hope for, and usually a lot more. This made us a good team to look after Steve and Joe. According to Steve and Joe, we guide in a different way but we compliment each other and both of the fellas enjoyed alternating between Chris and I each day. This is something we may do more of in the future. Chris and I enjoyed it too. It’s a great way for 2 anglers to really get the most from a trip to NZ. No sharing shots and you can hang out with your friend and compare stories each evening.

The week was very varied. It started with two completely different Heli days out of Wanaka. Both produced great results but they didn’t always come easy. Heli fishing doesn’t guarantee anything other than a remote and beautiful location so it’s always a relief when the fishing is good. It usually is good, but like I say, no guarantees. Then to Southland for another 5 days where we mixed it up with some of our favourite rivers. We had some really great days and some tough ones but we always came up trumps. Joe and Steve are both great anglers which really helps!

This takes me up to the end of January so I’m still way behind but that’s okay! There’s been some great highlights since, including 10lb brown with an epic story. The fishing gods really looked after us! More on that later..

Check out my flies featured below and a few more at Fulling Mill. They’ve all been great for me and quite a few others this season.

Next season is filling up quickly. Feel free to get in touch to make a booking or talk about options.

Tight lines.. Ronan..

December and into January… December is a great month to fish. Trout start looking up and responding well to terrestrials. Everyone seems to love dry fly action! There were some nice mayfly hatches too. Usually short and fickle but we made the best of it when it happened. As January arrived many of my local fisheries got too warm for good (or ethical) fishing. With this I venture away to find cooler water. I like to mix it up anyway.

One day I went to a high country river in the hope of some cicada action. We got to the river at 9am and got the piece of water I hoped for. At 11am, perched high on a rock I could see a vehicle (large black ute) pull up 1 kilometre above us. They could see us I’m sure and I’m pretty sure they saw my vehicle earlier too. It’s totally unethical to do this. It takes quite a brass neck to arrive there so late and then just cut someone off. They were just too far up for me to go marching up there for an argument so we pulled out and went downstream only to get jumped again by another clown fishing downstream from an upstream access point. A really infuriating day. We should all treat other anglers as we’d like to be treated. To cut someone off so blatantly is basically stealing someones experience. I’m pretty sure I know who was in the black ute and they should know better. Sadly, I heard that they make a habit of this. Against the odds we managed a couple of good trout! One on my cicada and the other on my unweighted nymph.

All my flies are working well on their relative days. They’re available from Fulling Mill or in-store at Patagonia Queenstown.

More about January in my next blog! Its been a challenging but great month. A few days off now before KC and Mark arrive.. I’m looking forward to seeing these 2 again!

Tight lines.. Ronan..

Typical of this time of year, it’s hard to make time to write! There’s more photos than I generally add but I hope you can make the time to enjoy them. They tell the story of a busy month of fishing and guiding.

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot more lately is barbless hooks. It seems crazy that it’s taken me this long to really start moving away from barbed hooks. I was never too concerned about the barb. What I always told people was that I don’t have any trouble removing barbed hooks. This is true. The part that has always bothered me is breaking in a trout with a barbed hook left in his mouth, but it never bothered me enough to fish barbless. Now it does bother me enough. There’s a great relief breaking in a fish knowing the hook is barbless. There’ll be minimal stress on the fish since he’ll easily shake it free. I often heard that trout can dissolve a barbed hook quite quickly. I wonder if that is true? I should google it! The silly thing is I always knew that I’d loose feck all fish by going barbless. It only takes a second to crush the barb or better still, tie on barbless hooks to begin with. My range of flies with Fulling Mill are barbed so this is something I may look at changing in the future.

I had a solid month of guiding starting with Brendan and Dave. As usual for these two the rain came and blew out the rivers – it happens every time! We managed the fist day on a local river before they all blew out completely. Luckily, both of them love the lakes and we had some brilliant and varied still-water fishing with epoxy buzzers playing a very important role.

Next up was Tim and his brother Graeme. Great craic as always with the bros! Just about every fish was 5lbs. A very enjoyable few days.

Late in the month I had a new client. A man who knows my father quite well and fishes with him a lot back home. I also met him 25 years ago when I looked after the Inagh fishery for a season. His name is Jack Meredith. A very experienced angler who’s chased salmonids all over the world. I was delighted to show him around my area for a week. We mixed it up with local streams and rivers, backcountry fly-ins and highcountry dams. It was no surprise to me that the dams got under his skin. Anyone who fishes Irish loughs will have a head-start in understanding these special places, which are not for everyone. The fishing was very tough on the dams – but that’s not a bad thing. It just means you have to dig deep, fish to the conditions and persist – then enjoy the beautiful reward if you get one. Jack was not going to come back to the South Island after having a terrible experience a number of years ago. His guide didn’t know where he was going or what he was doing and spooked every fish in the river. I glad he changed his mind. I’m looking forward to next time.

A quick note about buzzer fishing (aka chironomid). This season and last season I’ve noticed a huge increase in buzzer numbers in many of the the lakes I fish and some rivers. On still-water days when fish have been hard, switching to a buzzer, usually epoxied, regularly made all the difference. I didn’t have a huge stock to begin with but my father can tie these in his sleep! One the phone one evening I asked him to send me a few which he did. Now I’m well armed with flies for these increasingly important tactics. Dad’s buzzers are particularly good too.

I’m very happy to say that my Fulling Mill patterns are now available in the new Patagonia shop in Queenstown. If you don’t live near Queenstown you can still order them online. They’re pretty much the only patterns I use. Check them out here.

Next season is just starting to fill up. Feel free to get in touch to make a booking or to chat about options. You can check out my website or email me ronan@sexyloops.com.

That’s all for now. Hopefully Decembers report will have a more user-friendly amount of photos. Tight Lines! 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..

There was a nice mix of fishing to be had in April. At times the rivers were in great shape between rain events and I made the most of those opportunities for myself and my clients. There were a few days where the rain pushed me away from the rivers to take on some lakes – this worked out very well. As anyone who reads this knows by now, I love any opportunity to fish the lakes. Generally my clients prefer rivers but for one reason or another, most of my regular clients have fished lakes with me by now. Some are a little bit on the fence with some aspects of still waters but the majority now love it and usually request at least one lake day on a multi day trip.

Later in the month my streamers really came into their own. As some chunky browns congregated around some high country stream mouths, it was time to get stuck in. I had some great fishing for myself and for my clients landing trout with a few over the 7lb mark.

After 7 months looking after Adaline and Lochlan, our Au pair, Ilana wanted to catch a trout. We got out for a day on Dunstan where I figured trolling sinking lines would easily do the business. It didn’t! She lost one right away, then got a few hits before finally (after many hours!) getting stuck in a 1lb rainbow. She was delighted and relieved, we all were! I prepared it for dinner, crudo style with lemon, salt, olive oil and capers. A lovely way to eat fresh, wild trout.

It was great to see many of my regulars over the month and a few new recruits too. Seeing people coming back for more certainly makes it all worth while.

If you’d like to check out my range of flies for NZ you can do so on the Fulling Mill website. It’s winter now so I recommend my hotspot nymphs for the larger rivers which remain open and my range of streamers for the rivers and lakes. You can see them all here.

Next season is filling up fast but feel free to get in touch to lock in a trip. You can contact me at ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.

Tight lines. Ronan..

I recently did a podcast with Daire and Tom from Ireland on the Fly. I never met Daire but I know Tom quite well from fishing at home. He also spent a good chunk of a season here in NZ where we spent some time on the water together. I enjoyed the craic with lads during the interview and shared some of my thoughts and tactics about NZ fly fishing and told a few stories. One of the topics we chatted about was Irish Lough Style in New Zealand. I’m sure I’ve covered this before on my blog – there’s over 300 entries so I’m bound to repeat myself from time to time. However, I’d like to further explain the rapid evolution away from Irish Lough Style which I experienced here in NZ… This is how it went for me.

As soon as I saw the NZ lakes on my first visit in 2002 I wanted to try lough style on them. I assumed that not many people would have tried it. I assumed it would be deadly. Before I go on, I want to explain what lough style is to me. Basically, it’s a way to cover a lot of water quickly and efficiently – similar to streamer fishing in this regard. To me, it’s a team of 3 or 4 traditional wet flies (a dabbler on the bob, bibio in the middle and a Peter Ross on the point for example) on a 15 to 20 foot leader. It’s usually fished on a floating or intermediate line. It’ best fished in a good wind and wave so that the angler can cover a lot of water quickly (if drifting) with imperfections hidden by the rolling wave. When fishing in little or no wind when the angler needs to slow the retrieve, fish lighter tippet and smaller flies, even if they’re traditional patterns, to me, this is closer to nymphing than how I perceive lough style. This is not what I was talking about in the podcast, I was referring more to fishing in the wind and wave. This is lough style in my book although others may hold a different view.

I remember the first time fishing a team of traditional Irish wet-flies in Mackenzie Country on a windy day. Around 2003 I’d say. Lough style worked well as I fished a rocky shore down with the wind. I was delighted with myself. I realised quickly though that the middle fly really didn’t do much. Maybe catching one in ten fish. So I removed it. For the next while I had a pretty even catch rate on the bob and the point – which were now a bit farther apart with the absence of the middle fly. Then I changed the point fly from a traditional sparsely tied wet-fly to a bead head bugger of some description. Immediately I started catching more on the point fly. The bob was still effective but I questioned its necessity, thinking the point will cover the fish anyway. So, I removed the bob. Within a few days, Irish Lough Style in the wind evolved from a team of 3 flies to a single bugger! To this day, when fishing in the wind I fish a single bugger (or similar) in preference to team of 3 traditional wets.

Where the lines blur a little is in lighter conditions where buggers or streamers are much less useful – they generally work best in the wind or at least cloud cover. In these light conditions I’ll often fish a team of 2 small wet flies. Some might consider this lough style but I don’t, personally. I think it’s nymphing. No need for 3 (or 4) flies unless your buzzer fishing – but that’s hardly lough style, is it? There’s no doubting the efficacy of lough style in Ireland. Taking what I learned in NZ back to Ireland, it didn’t work like I had hoped. I went full circle and ended up back with a team of traditional wets. There’s a reason lough style evolved in Ireland..

Right now winter has landed over here. The weather is cold but there has also been a few sunny, warm days. Guiding has all but finished up for another season. I’m writing this with paint on my hands as I’m waiting for some doors to dry before they get their final coat. This is the time of year when I take on some projects to improve the house – and fish, of course.

In the photos below I’m caught up to early April. The fishing will continue through the winter so lots more to come! Enjoy the photos below. They tell the story of a great week with Bill and Jeff where we managed to stay one step ahead of the weather all week. We had a super trip with lots of trout from a lovely variety of water. Also in the pics is a trip to Mackenzie Country with a few friends from the Wakatipu Anglers Club.

If you’d like to check out my comprehensive range of flies for NZ you can do so here. Also If you’d like to get in touch about guided fly fishing over winter or next season you can check out my website or email me ronan@sexyloops.com.

Tight Lines, Ronan..