I never worry when the regular season ends because we have good winter fishing locally. That said, last winter was hard work, so I hoped for better fishing this winter. The winter season usually kicks off with a bang as some big rainbows move up river in May. This year saw very few fish move in May. Also, feck all in June and now were well into July and still no great action. Every day out I find some fish, but not the big thumpers I need to scratch this itch. I want a big silver bar – fresh out of the lake, or just a plain big bow. For the 5 or so winters before last winter I always got them. Plenty of them. But not this year or last. Last year I had the excuse that I was busy with 2 very young kids, but this year I have fished it a lot. I have guided it and fished it hard. Lots of days, but I simply have not had that great day. I think the fish are there in very low numbers. Maybe the run is still to come! I certainly hope so. Lately I’ve actually gotten fed up going out to fish it. At the end of each fishing day, I return saying “right, thats it, not going back”… but the next time I have a window, I’m back out there, frustrating myself once again – sometimes not enjoying it. I move quickly to cover multiple spots which have always held fish. I also look in new water, blind fish, sight fish. Really work it hard but nothing decent to report apart from some dark 2 to 4lb bows or 1lb maidens but thats simply not what I want. I’m not greedy either – If I could catch one fresh run 6lb plus rainbow I’d be happy. That would make my winter. One day out – one of the few days with decent action – I hooked 8 only landing 2 rat bows. One fish I lost that day was one of those special fish, but I only caught a glimpse.
I had to get well away from the local in search of some good fishing. I went to fish some lakes I like to fish in winter. It felt like I hadn’t caught a decent trout for ages and I couldn’t take it anymore! The day on the lake saved my sanity. I worked a rocky shore hard all day with dries, nymphs and streamers – sight and blind and landed 7 trout to 7lbs. Lots of reel screaming runs from super trout.. I feel like an angler again.
Feel free to get in touch about guided fly fishing over winter or next season. Check out my website or email me @ ronan@sexyloops.com.
Over this season I’ve seen 2 trout that I had first seen many years before. Both from high country rivers where trout are known to get pretty old. I contacted my friend, Rasmus Gabrielson, to find out a bit about how old trout get. Rasmus reckons from some surveys done on one of the rivers that it would take a brown trout about 12 years to reach 9lbs. 9lbs is important because both trout were that weight when I caught them first. The first trout I caught back in 2013. He was one of the most spectacularly coloured trout I had ever seen. He had a dark patch on his right gill cover. This would make him easy to identify if I was to ever see him again. Over the years I did see him on occassion. The dark patch easily visible as long as there was no wind riffle. His colour never seemed as striking as when I first caught him but I always assumed it was the same fish. Twice he ate my clients flies but but each time the rod came up empty. It wasn’t until this season that the stars aligned for Robbie to catch him. If it wasn’t for the dark patch on the gill I would never have picked him as being the same trout. For confirmation I compared photos and the spots matched. Some spots seem to have moved a little, some new ones have appeared and some have disappeared but its still easy to see that it’s the same trout. The dark patch has gotten much darker. Whats really amazing is that if that fish was 12 when I caught him first, he’s 20 now and still going strong.
The other fish I first caught in 2015. He was also one of the most beautifully coloured and marked trout I had seen – and still is to this day – both are actually. After I caught this fish I didnt see him for years. I caught him again in 2020 and again in 2021. Still the same weight and still looking good. Assuming this fish was 12 when I first caught him, he’s 18 now and also still going strong. I caught this fish from 2 adjacent pools. The first fish mentioned has been in the same pool for every sighting. This really proves the territorial nature of some trout. It also proves their resilience and ability to be caught and released many times. There’s photos of both trout on their first and last capture at the bottom of the list below. One has certainly changed a lot. Rasmus told me about brown trout from Norwegian high country lakes reaching 30 years of age. I wonder if we have a 30 year old brown trout in NZ? I think we could.
I’ve picked these two examples because they were such memorable fish. It’s also easy to know that they are the same fish. I have other examples too of old trout being caught many times over many years. It seems very normal for them reach a certain size and then maintain that weight. Some older trout stop spawning, making reaching old age more likely. Spawning is very hard on trout and claims many every year.
In other news, it’s been a great couple of months of fishing. I’ve been out a lot myself and had some big and beautiful trout. I’ve done some guiding. I didn’t expect to guide a double figure fish this season with so few guide days due to Covid travel restrictions, but Brian from Christchurch proved me wrong. We flew into a wilderness river on day 3 of 3. Fishing was slow – the only way to make it work was to cover kilometres and maximise opportunities. With this plan we found fish. At the end of the day we found a monster! He took the dry but Brian briefly foul hooked him in the tail on the strike. Luckily the trout didn’t seem didn’t seem too bothered and continued feeding. He took my #14 brown nymph a few casts later. This fish faught hard and Brian played him really well. At the very end, almost in the net, he made a dash under a rock. Fully under. We couldn’t see a fin! One chance before the tippet abrades off the rock – go and pull him out! I walked out to the rock and slid my hand under feeling around for the tail – taking a shot of water down my waders as I did. I felt the tail and got a firm grip and pulled him out and put him in my net. What a relief! I was expecting it would be a “one that got away” story! The fish weighed just under 11lbs. To me he looked like an early lake run trout. He was twice as big as any other fish we caught that day.
With the travel bubble open between Australia and NZ, the end of my season is pretty much full but there’s still lots of availability in May. Still plenty availability between now and April 18 for anglers within NZ. Feel free to get in touch. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines, Ronan..
Out for a day on my own checking out some new water..
..some great fish.
One on my red and black nymph.
lovely clear water.
Day 1 of 3 with Brian.
Flew into this wilderness and caught heaps!
Day 2. No chopper but plenty trout about.
Brian landed a good few of these..
Day 3 – Back in the chopper!
Stunning place..
Fishing was tough but the afternoon really switched on for an hour.
Strong fish!
Stable boulders and the fish were there.
Love that definition from olive to silver.
A solid 6lber.
Love this feature in a rainbows tail.
Then this!
Just under 11lbs of magnificence!
Just under 11lbs of magnificence!
“take your pick” Robbie looks in my flybox..
Some new water. Fishing was good but quite a lot of walking between pools.
Lovely,,
I wonder how long the cave will last?
Fish of the day..
Nice water..
Day 2. Big fish hunting..
We had ideal sighting for about 2 hours..
..then cloud.
One very big fish for Robbie. I caught this fish in 2013!
We continued walking ,any kilometres.
Good light at times.
walking, searching..
Then this! Another very big brown.
The light was poor but I just managed to sight this fish. Delighted I did!
Happy men! Now for the big walk out.
27000 steps for 3 cracking trout. success!
A great fun day with Andrew and Will.
Will off the mark..
That smile was there all day!
Andrew into one. A pleasure to have these fellas out..
..they learned and enjoyed!
Lovely spot!
A quick snap on the walk down..
First of the day.
Hard to spot in a deep riffle. Very satisfying fish.
Bryan in..
His favourite fish to date.
That is amazing!
Then me again in the same pool. All about the same size.
I turned over a piece of wood in the local river..
Full of life.
Trout food!
And then a great fish! not bad for a short session..
The more I fish the high-country dams the more I love them. Like any good fishery they’re not easy. They can be incredibly dour in fact. Many anglers only go up there during high summer in the hope of being there when the cicadas emerge and get blown onto the water. In my experience this rarely actually happens.
When Dad and I used to travel around the South Island every year or so, we would always include the dams. Dad was always over for the month of November. We never had any dry fly action over that time, but it can happen. I was happy walking shoreline stripping buggers and dad liked moving more slowly fishing two of his PT nymphs or buzzers with the figure of 8 retrieve. Both methods worked. For me these dams are blind fisheries. Only during perfect sighting conditions might you sight a fish. Fishing to rising trout is always on the cards with a plethora of terrestrial insects included in the trouts diet, caddis and chironomid too. Whatever is happening, be prepared to blind fish. I think this is why dad and I both love it. Coming from a lakes background in Ireland we had to blind fish – that’s all we did. But as I’ve said many times blind fishing is not chuck and chance. Every cast is considered, we look for something fishy; weeds, structure, drop-offs, points, bays, rocks, shallows etc.
Once you get into the groove of your chosen method you just have to have faith and persist until something tells you otherwise. The reasons I still use my possum / marabou bugger as my go-to blind fishing method is: 1, The trout feed a lot on fry. 2 They feed on Koura and a bugger is a good representation of this too. 3, I can cover a lot of water quickly.4, The trout are very opportunist. I occasionally take a fish for the table. When checking the stomach contents there are usually multiple different food items in there. Commonly, for example, loads of caddis with one fry or loads of corixa with one koura. This tells me that they won’t pass up a bugger! These dams offer trout the largest range of food of any fishery I know. Because of this, my guess is that when the dams appear to be dead, they’re not! The fish just out of our reach for whether it be physical or otherwise.
I fish my bugger on a floating line with a long leader so that I can count it down if I need to. Also, so that if fish start taking dries I can quickly change over. Sometimes in shallow bays I’ll blind fish nymphs instead of a bugger or if its calm I’ll sometimes do the same. If you are lucky enough to be there when the trout are looking up then its simply magic. I’ve only really experienced it once. I was with Justin and Dan from Big Sky Anglers in Montana. Day 7 of 7 – the dream finale!
On a personal level, fishing these dams are very similar to fishing Corrib or Mask back home. The dark water, the wind, the rocks, the drift if I’m in a boat, the sounds and smells, the blind fishing aspect, the memories. Without doubt this is a huge part of the reason I love fishing them. The common methods are very similar indeed – nymphing (PTs, caddis or buzzers), dries (sometimes 2 or even 3 dries), Wets – I strip buggers instead of wets but these are fisheries where lough style can and does work. Another thing I love on some of the dams is the quality of the browns. They can be some of the most beautiful on the planet. Every time I hook one I get excited to see what he / she looks like. I guess finally, they’re all just stunning places to spend a day. They’re all quite similar but with their own characteristics. I never go up there expecting to catch lots, they can always kick my arse. I’m happy if I get a fish or 2 and I’ll work hard to get them.
BOB’S BIRTHDAY
Bob has been on here many times over the years, so if you’re a regular reader you’ll know he’s my oldest friend in NZ, not because of his age, he’s the person I’ve known here right from the start. We try to catch up for a fish a few times a season and for the past 4 years we always fish for his birthday. He jokes that he must catch a fish to make it to his next birthday. We got the Birthday fish on day one at the very end of the day. It was tough – fish just not responding but we did it in the end with a lovely 5lb brown. Day 2 we went to the dams. I did well with my P/M bugger. Bob stuck with his dries hoping for that magic take which never came. Guy was with us too. My second oldest friend in NZ. Bob introduced me to Guy, so I love it when the 3 of us catch up. It’s becoming tradition now that Guy joins us for day 2 of Bob’s birthday fishing expedition. Happy Birthday, Bob! Looking forward to the next one.
I’ve been reasonably busy at times with guiding thank feck. Happy clients, plenty trout. There’s a few bookings coming in but please do get in touch if you’d like to set up a trip or if you have any questions. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Here is a link to my nymph patterns available at Fulling Mill. They’ve been doing great this season! Also getting some great feedback which is always nice to hear. I have one box of my own patterns from Fulling Mill, and they cover me for pretty much all my river nymphing needs.
Tight lines, Ronan..
Out with the family.
Trying to catch a fish with Adalines rod! I like this new look.. Barbie chair / pink rod / trolling!
Off to a high country lake..
Almost there.
A clue!
..which paid off..
Mixed weather.
Tom on the shore.
Another brilliant fish.
Off to the Maniototo for a day. Just me.
Went very quiet after 12 noon but I had some continued action in backwaters.
Landed 13 but nothing over 4.5lbs. I was hoping for a big fella!
Off to the highcountry again.
This time with Shotgun Kevin and Tassie Sean.
Off to an island with the rowboat.
Beautiful place to fish.
My best of 2 for the day. Sean and Kevin also caught fish.
So much like fishing Corrib.
The row back across into the wind was a bitch!
No trailer, no roof rack, no problem!
The start of 3 great guide days with James and Bill.
Day one – small water.
Pretty good action with rainbows.
Healthy, very strong fish. Makes them hard to handle early in the fight.
James in again. 3 for the day between them.
Super fish.
Day 2. Looking for a big brown in the backcountry.
After a slow morning, Bill livened things up with a lovely seatrout.
Took a dry 3 times, third time lucky (for Bill!).
Great brown for James.
Crossing..
This superb hen moved a few feet to intercept Bills blowfly. A truely great fish. 7.25lbs.
Back she goes..
James into another.. The action got better and better as the day progressed.
Day 3. Off the mark with the bridge fish.
A super 5.5 for James.
Bill takes aim.
We had to chase this fish around the pool. James did well to make him see his fly. Up he came and took the dry. Well fished.
Bill into a large brown which got away.. Really enjoyed the craic with James and Bill. Looking forward to next time!
Adaline and Lochlan. They both love the water!
Looking for fish!
Adaline and I with my recent endevour – trout paintings! More on this later but feel free to get in touch if you’d like one.
2 days with Matt and Cami. Cami is 11 and just starting her fly fishing life.
Beautiful wee brown.
Leisurly fishing..
By the end of day 2 she was throwing a great line. Unfortunately the trout were not on that day. Matt got one good fish.
My flies available at Fulling mill. Still doing the business. I need to stock up with my own patterns.
My hotspot nymph.
Great day out with Bryan. Lots of fish!
Trout habitat!
Last pool of the day. This fish took my size 16 claret nymph.
Bobs birthday again! Our mission is to catch a trout – preferably on a dry.
The fishing was very very tough..
..but there’s always booze..
last ditch attempt..
go to a different stillwater. It was very low and slimy but we could sight it in the cloud. We found one good fish..
..which Bob got!
A lovely 5lb brown.
Day 2 – to the highcountry. Bob fished dries all day.
I fished my possum / marabou bugger. Moved 7, landed 3 for the day.
Sometimes they’re simply magnificent.
Nice tail!
My streamers. Simple and incredibly good!
Best of the day and my personal best off the lake at 7lbs.
I have to say, I’m enjoying this season. I should be fretting over a lack of business but I’m not. I’m getting an occasional guide day and my wife Iza is working full time. We’re doing okay. We’re lucky, and I’m thankful for that. I’m looking after the kids most days but also managing to get out fishing regularly – especially now that Iza’s recent study has ended, a bit more time for me to fish. It’s a juggling act between kids, Iza’s work and free time, working on the house, family time, friends, guiding and fishing. The balance is good. I’m making the most of this season without tourists. It’s made me rethink what’s important. So much so that I might just reduce my guide days to make more time for family in the future. My goal in life is not to be financially rich – it’s to be rich with the important stuff.
This season has been really great. I have explored some new water and while I want to do more exploring, I realised something. I love going back to the water I know. I need to see the water I know at least once or twice a season. I don’t mind if I don’t catch a fish, I just need to see the water – it’s like catching up with an old friend. I like to see if the river has changed, are the fish in the usual spots, what more can I learn about it. Now that I’ve realised this I’m okay with it. Some days I felt a bit guilty for not exploring when I could have been. Exploring new water is certainly exciting. And while I have made peace with going back to fish familiar water I will always have the drive to find new water. Like life in general, its about balance.
The season to date has had a number of highlights. I’ll let the images tell the story about most of these but I will mention one. A day that I was guiding a half day, I went fishing myself for the second half. I hooked an 8lb trout for my client in the morning. He was about 12. He played it well and we got it into the net. In the afternoon I ventured off myself. I saw only one trout in 4kms which I didn’t get. Then I saw 2 in a pool. I was rigged up with one of my guide rods – a 5wt Airflo Blade with a Lamson Liquid reel. I hooked the first one quickly and landed it downstream. I knew it was big. I was thrilled to see it hit the magical 10lb increment on my weigh net. I went back up to the pool again and the other fish was still there, still active. There was a brutal crosswind and I had to cast way left of the target to compensate for the wind. It took a few attempts which luckily didn’t spook the fish. He sitting quite deep. Finally the dry went down and I lifted into serious weight. I landed this one in the same spot as the first. He hit the scales at 12lbs. This is equal to my biggest trout to date. 3 browns for 30lbs. I’ve never done that before. 2 doubles, thats also a first. First time I’ve witnessed it since my good friend Kristian Bang Foss landed a 10.25 and a 10.75 (and a 9) back in 2013. I’m happy if I can land one over 10 for a season so this day was certainly one of those never to be forgotton. Needless to say I was delighted. Also happy to get a great shot with the 10 second timer – my size 12 Brown Nymph from Fulling Mill visible in his mouth.
If anybody is reading this from within NZ and would like to experience some guided fly fishing, feel free to drop me a line.. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines! Ronan..
Sometimes we have to swim after a fish! It was worth it.
Ready for the walk to the river. Adaline love the HT4!!
Bob into one. A great half day.
One myself in the second half of the day.
Day 2 – Another half day. An 8lber for this young fella!
Second half I went for a fish myself. Landed this 10lber..
..and this 12lber.
Great day with Bob!
Nice trout..
And into another.
Stillwater trout can be stunning..
Same fish..
Great markings..
Carole, Adaline, Lochlan and Bob..
A deadly combo from Fulling Mill. My claret nymph and an indicator klink.
What a day!
The fishing was off the charts. Just brilliant.
Love that Harfin reel. Thanks to my friend Matt Henger for this gift a few years ago. Claret again..
7lbs.
They all wanted to eat my claret nymph.
Well stocked..
A small fish for Bill but it saved us from a blank!
In the bag..
Fulling Mill Stealth box, ready to rock.
My nymphs from Fulling Mill.
Unweighted 16 up to heavy 10s.
Adaline helps me set up the shot.
She gets it!
Great day out with Filipe. 5 to the net.
Super condition..
The best from a 4 hour session.
Old river keeping.. That effort has paid off a few times.
With my truck in the garage I have the corolla!
On the way to explore some new water..
Didn’t see any but prospecting with a streamer paid off with this fish just under 7lbs.
The remains of a bygone era. The lake rarely freezes now.
Good value.
Good action with small trout around the edges.
New water too..
Great day with Jeremy, Bruce and Hamish.
They all got a trout after a 1.5hr casting lesson.
Me with Jeremy’s fish of the day.
Good day with Dan! Very unlucky in that we hooked 5 and lost them all!
Last winter we had a little treat! Fish & Game opened a river to anglers to fish for monster rainbows on their spawning run. These fish reach incredible sizes from living in a man made canal system. Like a giant spring creek, the canals have a constant flow and they’re always cool. Perfect for trout to grow year round. They have a diet which consists largely of cockabullies, snails and fish pellets from under the salmon farms, all aiding their rapid growth. For the most part, these fish spawn in the canal system itself but some have the opportunity to spawn in a river – the one that was opened to anglers last September. I spoke to Rhys from F&G about the decision to open it. He said that by that stage in the winter all the redds are already full of eggs so no damage can be done to future stocks by fishing to the new arrivals. He also said that the river would not be opened in September again. This decision was due to the expected onslaught of foreign anglers next year. A pity I thought. I sugested making it for residents only. This year it was for residents only because there were no foreign tourist anglers due to the Covid travel ban. The river was busy at times but there was room for everyone. The perfect case study. In my opinion, making it for residents only would be a very easy management system and we could keep this unique fishery open in late winter. Last Septembers successful opening provides strong evidence that it would work. We also chatted about leaving the river open in May to allow people to fish for the first run of large browns which have all but gone by September. Who knows what will happen here in the future. I think the closed season in NZ in general is in need of a total overhaul. Many closed seasons make no sence and protect little or nothing – especially on lakes and still waters.
Needless to say I had to have a crack at this river. It’s possibly the best large trout river in the world at this time of year. I fished it for 3 days over the month landing 10 between 13 and 25lbs. It quickly became clear to me what I loved most about these winter rainbows. Not the fish or the fishing but the fight! Usually I like that trout are not like bonefish. I like that I can get them in quickly so that I can get back to the fishing. These were different. Unique because how often are you not worried about loosing a 10 to 30lb trout? I loved leaning into these brutes with heavy gear. Get them in fast and returned after a quick snap. I used an 8wt TCX, a Lamson reel with a decent drag and 12lb Maxima. No playing around with 5 or 6 weights. In the great scheme of my fly fishing I rarely fish for anything over 10lbs so it was great just to feel that weight and power on the other end. Watching a 20lb trout run, jump and thrash with the rod hopping and reel screaming was some of the best craic I’ve had fly fishing!
I chose a method at the start of day one which I stuck with each day I fished. I blind fished a weighted streamer (possum and marabou of course!) on a long leader fished on a floating line. This worked well because I could get the fly deep with some simple mends. Depth was key for me to blind fish the deeper water. A sinking line can be a disaster with heavy didymo and large boulders so more reason to use a floater. I love the control with this method. I can get the fly to the depth I want and make it move how I want. Not so easy with a sinking line since you lose much of your ability to mend. Dead drifting the streamer through deep bouldery runs or moving it slowly was the most effective for me. 9 out of my 10 trout over 3 days were bright, healthy hens. Just what I wanted. I saw some fellas happy to fish for coloured up jacks off redds at the tails of pools. This was not for me but each to their own. I did throw a few casts at these fish but when I got the feeling that they were spawners I left them alone. One thing I learned from this trip was that I really dislike fishing with egg flies – so I didn’t!
In more recent news – the new season has been fantastic so far! Some very big fish about too. I’ve already had 2 over the mythical 10lb mark. More about those and the season to date in my next blog. The boat has not been out yet but I do have an engine on the back of it now so I’m just waiting for the opportunity to get out there. I’ve had a couple of very successful guide days with clients landing trout to 8lbs. Some more work coming up too so very happy about that! Myself and Jeff have another epsiode of Pure Fly NZ coming up soon. We have a plan to watch it at the pub since neither of us have whatever channel it’s on. Duke I think. I’m looking forward to watching it. We had a some great action. It’s always a lot of fun filming with Jeff and Nick. We’re all on the same page. Anybody within NZ who’d like to get in touch about some guided fly fishing, I’d love to hear from you. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website. For a look at some of my fly patterns available at Fulling Mill click here.
Tight lines.. Ronan..
This fire was huge..
Leaping flames..
Adaline. Shes not 3 yet but she sort of gets it!
A morning fish with the kids while on holiday.
Off to the river for opening day.
Cold..
..Very cold..
..but great to be out in.
First fish. A colourful, crazy looking jack.
Quite a nice fish though..
Then this. The best from the 3 days. 25lbs.
Another pic. I really struggled with the 10 sec timer on my phone. You get the picture though!
One on my hotspot nymph. All the rest were on streamers.
15lbs. This fly and a few more of my flies e available at fulling mill.
About to go back..
Next spot.. still cold!
21lbs.
Some flies for the follow up trip..
Much nicer weather.
Some superb trout!
Not a bad place to be..
First run down the pool in the morning.
Rainbow
Late in the day..
One for Bryan..
big!
Back he goes..
Back he goes…
A very good pool.
WAC legends and myself.
A lake day for Bryan and me..
Beautiful place but the fishing was just okay.
a good one for me..
..and for Bryan.
Healthy brown on the HT4
Checking out some new water.
Very windy..
..but around the point we had shelter.
One for Jeff..
One for me.. Had to climb the fence during the scrap!
A new season has begun. With it sees the start of my involvement with Fulling Mill. They got in touch with me about a year ago about filling some gaps in their range of flies to suit NZ rivers. I agreed to help. My fly design has always been about simplicity. I see no need for elaborate, time consuming flies. There are a few key features that are important and as long as these are met, the fly will work. For a nymph the most important features (or triggers) are size, profile and to a lesser extent colour. When tying for myself – usually the night before a trip – I’d rattle up a few flies to fit this bill. The colour often varied depending on my mood or whatever materials were at hand but the sizes and profiles rarely wavered. Tying for Fulling Mill I had to keep true to this and basically come up with some set patterns based on what I tie for myself. I got to work and 3 patterns were selected for the 2021 catalog. With these 3 patterns in my box I’m confident that I’d be covered for at least 75% of my own river nymphing needs. Add a few unweighted PT nymphs and your getting there! Of course theres always scope to add, adjust and improve as new ideas come along so hopefully I’ll add to this small collection in the future.
One thing that I really pushed for right from the start was to have the strongest hooks available used in my nymphs. There is nothing worse than losing a trout because a fly opens out. My patterns are tied on the very reliable Fulling Mill Competition Heavyweight hooks. The same gauge and shape as a Kamasan B175 which I have always raved about. I’ve been putting the samples to the test and have had no issues with these hooks.
Here’s an explanation of each fly and how it came to be.
The Hotspot Nymph. This fly was designed with a few things in mind. Firstly, the hot spot makes the fly stand out. Great for coloured water – a regular variable in NZ with frequent rain events. Secondly, depth. This fly is tied in a 10 and a 12 with a tungsten bead to suit. Great for getting down quickly in deep or fast water. Thirdly, as a carrier. Very often this fly is too big to catch wily NZ trout so I use it’s weight to get a smaller, more imitative fly to depth. Deadly in conjunction with my claret nymph in a size 16. I tie it on a 12″ dropper off the bend of the Hotspot nymph. This double nymph rig is usually fished 3 to 5 feet under a buoyant dry or indicator.
The Brown Nymph. My go-to nymph. This fly is tied for general use. If I’m not sure what to put on, I put this on! Tied in a 12 and a 14 it’s often small and imitative enough to to be fished without a trailing smaller nymph. This makes it easy to manage under my dry or indicator. This is a great imitation of common NZ mayfly nymphs but equally successuful as a general imitator of trout food.
The Claret Nymph. This is a multi purpose fly. Tied in a 14 and a 16 this fly is imitative of much of the food in a trouts diet. In slow water it can be fished singly but in faster water I usually trail it off a larger heavier fly to get it to depth. I have caught more fish on this fly in NZ than any other. On one river it has accounted for 5 double figure browns so this little fly is not to be underestimated. This is a deadly pattern on light tippet for spooky, difficult trout. It’s also one of my go-to flies to suspend under a dry for lake edge cruisers.
Some of you reading this might be thinking “what about caddis stuff”.. Fair thought! Personally I never get too excited about caddis flies. They are certainly part of a trouts diet but any of the nymphs mentioned above will catch a caddising trout. It comes back to size and profile. A fish that’s eating small brown caddis nymphs will eat a well presented small brown or claret nymph – even if the profile is geared slightly more towards mayfly nymphs. That said, there are times when specifics in a fly are important and with that comes the endless list of flies that you can add to your box!
These patterns are now available to buy on the Fulling Mill site. Click here to have a look! Hopefully you’ll put a few in your flybox for this brand new NZ season. I wish you the same success that I have had with them. Feel free to get in touch with any questions or feedback, I’d love to hear.
Plenty space available for guided trips this season! For those of you reading within NZ, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to drop me a line to get the ball rolling. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website
Tight Lines, Ronan..
Samples of my own patterns from Fulling Mill.
Not much scope for river fishing with small nymphs over winter, but I tried! Small fish but look at that face! One for the 16 claret nymph.
Jeff with a solid lake edge fish on the Hotspot Nymph.
One on the brown nymph suspended under a dry on a lake edge.
On this day I landed 5 for over 80lbs, One on the Hotspot Nymph, the rest on my streamer.
Heavy enough to get to depth, visible enough in turbulent water and strong enough to get the fish in the net! 15lbs.
10 sec timer shot before she goes back. More about this sureal day soon..
Opening day 2020! Out for one hour. The river high and coloured.
Perfect for this fella!
Hooked 3, landed 1.
First of the season on the HT4.
First brown of the season! I thought I was fishing to a 4lber but when I lifted the rod this magnificent 7lber jumped.
Very happy with this..
Lunch!
Then this! What a day.. Htspot nymph again.
Then a day at the rainbows. This on the brown nymph.
The brown nymph. This fly has accounted for countless trout since my first trips to NZ.
It’s hard to get time to fish at the moment! Iza is very busy with work which means I’m looking after the kids. I’m also putting a lot of effort into restoring our house and making furniture for it. I enjoy the tools almost as much as fishing. Its easier to work on the house if I have a 2 hour window because winter fishing options very close to Alexandra are limited. So I need at least half a day free to get out for a decent fish. I think I’ll do a lot more fishing once August comes around. I’ll put the home restoration project on pause and concentrate on fishing again. I also need to make time to finish restoring mine and Shotgun Kevin’s old boat, Daltona.
I’ve had a few days out since the last report. Unfortunately I have not seen any really big rainbows this winter. I heard the big fish ran early (back in March). The deluge of rain last February may have triggered this. The fishing was decent every day I was out with fish to about 5lbs.
I had a very enjoyable live chat with Justin Spence and Matt Klara from Big Sky Anglers on Instagram recently. We chatted about my approach to guiding and fishing in NZ. Here is a link if you’d like to watch it!
There has been some positive talk about opening up our borders to Australian tourists so hopefully by October I’ll be back in business. Feel free to get in touch to chat about a trip! Contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight Lines – Ronan..
Possum and marabou streamers with dumbbell eyes. They get deep quickly!
Winter rainbows.
Cool water!!
Another good fish.. This one on a Fulling Mill streamer.
Searching.. You can find a migrating fish anywhere!!
I love this corner. Always good for a fish!
Landed a few like this little one.. Not finding so many big ones this winter.
This was always a bitch of a corner to fish.. It’s a bit easier now!
River keeping is always on the cards..
A slip with the saw and I got 6 nice nicks!
My streamer.
Heading out with Wesley for the day.
Ready to rock!
A quick river crossing..
..and the action began! We landed a few on this bend..
