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..

It’s June now but it’s mild and lovely. I’m in the workshop most days building a fly tying desk for myself. I’ll write a blog about the whole build. I’m over three quarters way through and enjoying the whole process. This is a time of year I really love. Little to no guiding, I step back from work. I look after the kids, the house, the garden, make stuff in the workshop, travel and fish. I sort of retire for 4 months. The seasonal nature of the job means I have no choice. I think it’s the best thing about being a guide down here near the bottom of the South Island.

Recently I said goodby to my great old friend Bob Toffler. Those of you who’ve been on here over the years will have been familiar with him. Many of my friends knew him and had great time for him too. I met him over 25 years ago in the US and we were great friends from the start. I’ll compile some photos and write a piece about him in the near future. I’lll miss him!

The Singaporean gang have recruited a new member to the party. Tuck. We had a good trip around Southland and a bit locally. Nice thing about having Tuck around was his “friends” took the piss out of him more than me. Quite a relief.. Great craic with Singapores finest as always..

The big fish theme continued through March and April with quite a few fish between 8 and 8.5. It’s so good to see these tanks sliding into the net. Myself and Robbie saw a few on a couple of still-waters, sighted and blind taken on dries, nymphs and buggers depending on conditions.

I hope to get out soon with Jeff and Robbie, probably not at the same time but who knows, for a bit of winter fishing. It’s been good so far. Check out my flies over on Fulling Mill. If you’d like book a trip you can get in touch on ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.

My thoughts as always are with the people of Gaza and now Lebanon. One genocide isn’t enough for you know who..

Tight lines… Ronan..

It’s busy now! Not much time to think let alone write. The usual for this time of year. The pictures below take me up to early January. They begin with the continuation of Jeffs trip. A tough trip in general but we put it together and had some brilliant moments and solid fishing… and a blank or two!

Christmas was a family and friends affair. I always keep a week over Christmas free just for that. There’s usually a straggler or two who appreciate a place to go for the celebrations, namely Alan, who didn’t make it this year. Hopefully we’ll see him next season. Wesley and his family were here for a few days, Guy was here as always and Robbie for the first time in ages. Usually he fishes on Christmas day but now that he’s retired he’s a bit more relaxed. Plenty fishing chat, beers and craic. Absolutely brilliant to be surrounded by friends and family.

After a generally tough early season things have improved a lot. I’ve really enjoyed this summer guiding. I generally don’t guide much locally from about mid jan til march because there’s nothing much left in the rivers after the farmers irrigate their land. They also get quite warm, due in part to their low flows. Instead I’ve been road tripping and getting into a great mix of water from Southland to Mackenzie Country to the Maniototo. It’s been really good but more on that when the relevant pics make it into the blog.

One thing I’ve been doing recently with great success is alternating between two patterns which have been killing it for me this summer season. Dry fly fishing has been A1 and I’m talking dries now. One is my Tussock Cicada in a 10 (also a good caddis pattern) and the other is Mcphails Blowfly. Both available from Fulling Mill. What I like about this combo is the contrast. If one doesn’t work the other probably will. Now that I think about it, I should have fished them both together instead of changing from one to the other.. I used to do that in the past and I really enjoyed fishing 2 dries. When they want dries, fish 2! Why not.. Next time. I’m glad writing this reminded me of that old tactic.

To see my full range of flies with Fulling Mill click here. There’s a few additional sizes this year which really add to the versatility of the collection. My hotspot is now available in a 14. The brown nymph is available in a 16 which is a little heavier than the claret 16. My cicadas are available in a 6 so when you need a big terrestrial you have it. Also the willow grubs are now available in size 18 and 20. Check them out! Also available in Patagonia Queenstown. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about them.

Next season is filling up quickly. Feel free to get in touch about booking or with any questions. There’s still availability in April and May this season and through the winter season. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.

Tight lines everyone.. 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..

The season is hurtling along! Here we are in January already. This can certainly be the hardest month of the regular trout season. Rivers get low and warm. Trout can get extra spooky and sometimes stop feeding in the afternoons. It’s very important to know which rivers to avoid so as to prevent undue stress on trout. Catching a trout in a warm river can easily kill it. With the farmers draining all but the last drop out of the local river it’s basically unfishable due to warming. It’s likely to stay that way for at least a few more weeks, maybe months. I have to turn my attention to cooler rivers and lakes. We need rain to top up and cool down the rivers but there’s none in the forecast. I have a very busy time coming up with some regular clients and I have formulated a good plan – I hope!

On a positive note, the fishing has been very good so far this season. Happy clients and I’ve managed to get out myself a few times. I had a day out on a dam recently with a morning of fishing to rival just about any dry fly fishing I’ve had. Green beetles on the water and trout feeding on them. Not sight fishing, fishing to rises – even better! Spending so much time guiding on the rivers has made me love the lakes even more. That’s what I want on my days off right now and this day really delivered. Engrossing fishing – moving quickly to intercept fish with fast, accurate casts. At least, that was the objective! Putting a fly in front of a tracking trout is so exhilarating – will he take it?? These’s nothing else going through my mind as that fish is hopefully continuing to track towards my fly. I can’t see him. The cast is based on where he’s most likely to be heading based on the previous rise or rises. To see that head come out of the dark water and confidently take my dry… just magic. 5 out of 6 fish that morning took me well into my backing. I play fish hard and I generally only see my backing once or maybe twice a season so this was just unreal. A breeze got up in the afternoon and the rises almost stopped. I wanted to go and check out a bay I like in the wind. I tried to drive there but ended up getting bogged. It was quite an ordeal to get it unstuck but thanks to Don from Wanaka we got it out. Probably took 5 hours all up! Still a great day. I went back for a day since and parts of the lake were very warm. Guy and I found decent fishing in cooler bays but the number of rising trout compared to the number of flies on the surface told me that most fish were already retreating to the deep. It’s too dam hot!

I’ve got another 7 patterns available with Fulling Mill. This makes the range of flies a pretty comprehensive one for NZ. They’ll cover you for just about anything you’re likely to encounter. With willow grubs in full swing on southern rivers and cicadas winding up, there’s a couple of reasons to check out the new patterns. You can see them all here.

The photos below are from December so I’ll have to get another blog out soon to catch up on the more recent stuff. I’m trying not to overload my blog with pictures!!

Still some gaps in April and plenty next season. You can contact me ronan@exyloops.com or visit my website.

Tight lines.. Ronan..

This has been a real winter. One of the harshest I’ve been here for. Lots of wind, rain, frost and snow – so different to the mild winter last year. Usually by July the fishing on the lakes starts to improve, but this year it took a lot longer. Locally, the lake fishing only picked up earlier this month. Mackenzie Country a little earlier in August. There were always a few fish to be caught but they took more persistence and some were on the lean side. I really don’t mind not catching many fish in a day – or any for that matter. I enjoy the search, trying to figure it out, working hard to put it together. It is a bit a kick in the balls when I can’t figure it out but this is part of continuing to learn – or adjusting what I already know – or think I know! Afterwards, I’ll consider what I might have missed and think about what I’ll try next time. There were days this winter when the fish really seemed “off”… like there was little or nothing I could do to drag out a result.

I have my parents here at the moment so dad and I are fishing most days. This is exactly what I need after a tough few months of colds, flus and covid in the family – and a bad injury to recover from after a dog bit my face. The fishing has been excellent so far – mainly because we have my boat to make the most of the lakes. More about this in my next blog as I haven’t downloaded any photos yet! We’re heading north tomorrow for a few days and then the rivers will open again on October 1. So, I have a very full on 5 weeks of fishing ahead with dad and then guiding kicks off full bore in November. Happy times! The rivers are looking good now after being high and dirty for much of the last few months..

This is a good time to stock up on nymphs, dries and streamers for the coming season. Some of my most successful patterns are available on Fulling Mill. They’re all designed for the NZ fishery and well tested!! I’m very happy to say that I’ll have 7 more patterns available next year.

Still a gap or 2 in the coming season if you’d like to book some guided fly fishing. Contact me – ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.

Tight lines all and enjoy the new season! Ronan..

Piscatorial

          1. Of or relating to fish or fishing

          2. Involved in or dependent on fishing

Months ago I agreed to run one of our fishing club events. Mike had an idea that there needed to be more events close to home so Lake Dunstan seemed perfect. It’s my home water so I was happy to organise it. I was unsure of what to do to make the day unique and enjoyable so I thought back to some Irish competitions. I had never fished the “Piscatorial Pot” on Lough Corrib but always wanted to. Both my father and John O Malley won it recently which may have helped it spring to mind.  I decided to steal that idea but needed a little more…  The Irish angling legend, Jackie Coyne, runs a competition on Lough Roisin Dubh at the end of every fishing season. Over the course of the day every angler gets an hour in a lakeboat. I also decided to adopt that idea and a new competition was born. The Piscatorial Pot (NZ).

A scrap of Macrocarpa with the lettering freehand routed into it made the base. A little stain, oil and rustication for effect. 10 minutes on ebay and I had a piss pot. Put them together and we have a perpetual pis-pot.

There were not too many fish caught over the day but Colin Kelly managed a solid fish of 3.25lbs making him the winner. James Waggett was not too far behind with a 2.5lber. Colin has been a member of the club for years and is never afraid to put in the hard yards. Spin gear or fly, kayak or bank, river or lake, Colin will be there in the thick of it. I was happy to present him with The Piscatorial Pot.. though, I’m not so sure that he was as happy to receive it!!!

We all had a great day on the water. Afterwards we enjoyed the craic, good food and beer or two.

Cicada Time

Right now it’s cicada time here in NZ. Some hatch from forests, some from barren grasslands, some are very big, some are quite small but trout love ’em all. On Saturday Iza and I took out the Wakatipu Anglers Club boat to fish a piece of shoreline on Lake Wakatipu that has treated me well over the years. Conditions were good. We had a breeze which varied in strength but was fairly consistent and able to push a few bugs onto the water. I drove the boat into quite a big chop to get to the area we wanted to fish. I set the boat up for kilometres of shore drift, an occasional pull-start to keep us tight to the shore and we were fishing. Iza quickly hooked and lost a really good fish by this shores standards, about 3lbs. Shortly after she hooked and landed one… then another.. then another and so it continued until she had 11! Casting, striking and playing fish all nicely in tune. By 4pm we got off the lake, the wind was shifting all over the place, dropping and gusting and the rain was bucketing down. We finished with 18.. (yes, she out-fished me!)

Something interesting to note for our day afloat was that we did not see a single cicada on the wing or in the water all day. Neither did we see any trout free-rising yet we landed 18, all on chunky dry cicadas. The takes were all confident sips, no slashes or smashes and easily missed in the wave.. On a few occasions I didn’t see the rise until it was as big as a dinner plate, some Iza didn’t see until her rod was bent. This is not an unusual phenomenon. I remember fishing with my father, Joe Creane, on Lough Corrib years ago. Mayfly time but no fly on the water and nothing rising. 10 boats in the bay catching very few, all stripping wets. Dad and I had 13 on dries (most on a size 10 adams). It’s not the first time I’ve seen this in NZ either. Fly on the water or not, trout will recognise a large dry as food at certain times of year.. It might be worth fishing one in October or any time for that matter! I bet you’d be pleasantly surprised..

That’s it for now.. If you want to win The Piscatorial Pot, Join the club.. The Wakatipu Anglers Club that is..

Ronan..

Another view from farther along..

A new gorge with Robbie Mcphee.. Climbing out of this part of the climb gave me a healthy tingle of fear. Its a long way down and the bottom is out of sight.

Colin takes the first "Piscatorial Pot" victory. A very deserving winner he is.

Lots of climbing!

The Piscatorial Pot, 2015 040_1024x768

2 of these for the day..

The Piscatorial Pot, 2015 009_1024x768

11 of these all on a single, blind fished cicada.

Iza into her first of 11 for our 5 hours afloat! I managed 7.. What have I created??!!

Waka, poolburn with Iza, Guy. Feb 2015 054_1024x768

I made the base for the perpetual pot from a scrap of Macrocarpa at work. I oiled it with a well worn out pair of underpants.

Wakatipu glows when the sun shines. Our dries are visible here. This was a magic piece of shoreline!

Waka, poolburn with Iza, Guy. Feb 2015 070_1024x768

Catching fish makes an angler happy!

Iza kept her fly tight to the shore..

This little fela from Poolburn Dam. Breandan??

A silver one.. They come in a range of colours on this shore during cicada time..

The Hot Torpedo under strain..

During a day fishing on Poolburn it pays to put some pots down. We got a bakers dozen of big crays (Koura)!

Lunch with Guy.. We didn't see a single cicada on the wing or in the water all day nor did we see a single free-riser.

A fat little brown on a cicada. I fished a clear intermediate and a bugger. 2 each for the day.

Waka, poolburn with Iza, Guy. Feb 2015 135_1024x768

..while Guy and I prepare the koura..

Iza makes some sag aloo..

Koura! Common in many of the dams around here and absolutely delicious!

Heading in...

Boiled and shelled, before a brief flash on the pan with some butter, garlic and chili.

A few cutlets off a 15lb rainbow from the canals thanks to Guy.

Dinner!

FFFFF isn't that right, Bob!

I forgot my weigh-net and my lunch. After climbing into the steep sided gorge I broke my glasses. What a start! The prospect of not being able to verify a double, should I catch one, worried me more than the difficulty of landing a fish in a gorge without a net. A day without food I can live with. I tied my glasses back together and took on the day.

I fished to a decent number of fish over the course of the day. They were off, not feeding, dogo. Some were incredibly spooky, some allowed me to get a second shot in but then bolted. I took various measures to beat the situation; long leader, extra long leader, fine leader, small flies, streamers, single fly etc but it didn’t matter. I could see from the manner of the fish that they were not playing. They were sitting very still, tail barely moving in the glassy tails of the pools. I pushed on, I decided that on a day like this, my only chance was to cover lots of river and therefore more fish.

At around midday after an early start, I found a small brown happily feeding in a slightly riffled tail of a pool. I put on a dry and he ate it first cast. The bigger fish, seatrout, were still dogo. Try as I might, I could not get a hint of a positive response. Nevertheless, I was happy in my surroundings and still confident that I’d find a decent fish on the fin. Time flew by and before I knew it I was approaching the last pool of the day. I spotted a big fish at the tail. I quickly took my shot. Nothing. Five more shots, still nothing. Streamer… the fish sidestepped the fly and then bolted for cover. I took a few more steps to look up into the pool before climbing out of the gorge and walking out. There was a decent fish on the fin. Ha! I got into a good casting position but could no longer see the fish through the glare. I went back out of the glare to see the fish and mark his position off an overhanging rock. Back into position and I took the shot.. the fly landed where I wanted it to. I watched as the tippet sank beneath the glare.. The tippet was being pulled under at a constant rate by the single weighted nymph. Suddenly, the sink rate increased, just by a little. This was evidence enough to strike. The fat hen fish jumped repeatedly then charged up the pool, while trying to get under every rock and ledge on the way. I landed the fish, took a quick photo and then happily climbed out of the gorge. I had a secret farm dam in mind for the next day…

This weekend? Coast?? Not sure yet!

Ronan..

A stunning 3lber from a wilderness gorge.

Some superb fish swim in the secret dam.. Lots of little ones too, great promise for the future.

Hooked em, broke in him. Lost sight of him as he swam off.. I cast again in the murky water after retying an identical fly on. Suddenly, a solid take from the murk. I got my fly back!

This was my last cast of the day! The fish were incredibly spooky and difficult all day.

These inquisitive calves were brave.. the ring leader kept bringing them closer to me!

Easy morning on the Waiau in Te Anau..

Guy drives into the morning mist!

I wore out 30 out of the 36 studs. Time for a new set! Worth the money for the grip!

The fishing was very bad on the lake so I collected some firewood instead.

Iza's first casting lesson!

We pulled up on a gravel bar. The fishing was terrible!

Ready!

A quick look back after the climb out!

The murk where he lived!

I think these are tiny snails. they were in the surface film. They collected on my hand as I retrieved..

Last weekend I went to Waikia to meet and to fish with Ken Whelan and David Lambroughton. Ken has been working in Ireland since 1975 as a fisheries scientist and his work is well known throughout the country. He has been in charge of the Marine Institute, amongst other organisations, and has run many projects studying everything salmonid and beyond. I often heard his name when I was growing up in the Irish angling circuit so it was great to meet and fish with him to put a face to the name.

On Saturday Ken and I fished the Mataura below Gore. The day was very cold and overcast and not a day for David’s style of photography, so he did some editing instead. On speaking to a local angler we found out that there was no evening rise to look forward to. Also he mentioned seeing very few fish in the flat water this season. This didn’t bother me too much. I took Ken to a favourite spot of mine with plenty of riffles. They were slow by Mataura standards but we managed to hook about 12 or 13 fish in the morning session, landing 4. We explored some new water in the afternoon but did not have much action. That said, I had a totally absorbing hour fishing to willow grubbers. I hooked and lost 2, but it was a super 60 minutes.

Back at base that night the steak sizzled on the barbecue, beers were cracked and the craic was good. We spoke about all things fishing and non fishing until Ken and I got stuck in a heavy conversation about Irish seatrout, salmon and salmon farming. This put David to bed. It was great to speak to someone like Ken who has put his life’s work into the topic. I learned a lot and the following are a few facts I’d like to share.

1. Ken filmed what I’m about to outline with a childhood hero of mine, Eamonn De Buitleir. When Salmon pair up to spawn on the redds, the female will usually be accompanied by more than one male. This I knew, what I did not know was the fact that male par (3 to4 inches long) can also fertilise the eggs. This is the piscatorial equivalent of precision bombing! These little par can get right in amongst the gravel to deliver the goods right on target. What is not known is whether or not they die after spawning like most Atlantic salmon do. Pretty amazing anyway. If salmon do it, trout might do too.

2. Most of us know seatrout as a sea fish which enters fresh water to spawn a number of months after arrival. In Ireland, most seatrout enter the rivers in July and don’t spawn until December. There is another strain of seatrout around the Irish coast which enters the rivers from the sea in December. They spawn asap and get back to their life in the salt in as little as 36 hours.

3. Ken told me about an experiment in which he needed a number of small brown trout to see how quickly they could adapt to saline conditions. The plan was slowly subject them to salt water, but for a reason he told me that I can’t recall they ended up putting all the trout straight into full on salt water. The trout appeared to be out of breath for a short while, but then they were fine. None died. These fish’s ancestry had not seen salt for 10’000 years. So estuarine fish can easily feed in salt and fresh without hesitation. My own fishing experience had suggested this, but now I know it.

4. All of the remaining wild salmon from Portugal, Spain, France and the South of England as well as Ireland, pass by the Aran Islands on their migration to their feeding grounds. To place a salmon farm right in this salmon corridor will put these wild fish in grave danger. No person has the right to give this proposed farm the green light. This is not just an Irish issue.

5. There were heaps more interesting facts, but I’m getting tired typing! Ken’s new book, Nomads of the Tides, is on sale now. I’m looking forward to reading it. I’m sure there is plenty info in the book which I can apply to NZ seatrout. http://www.medlarpress.com/8166-Fishing-Books-Nomads-of-the-Tides_by_McCully–Whelan.html

After a good nights sleep in a farmhouse bed, I was awoken by 12 gunshots from an angry farmer. The shots were fired while he roared like a man possessed at his dogs. Some may have died, I’m not sure. The insanity was at the next farm and neither I, David or Ken investigated.

I think I heard of David Lambroughton a year or so ago. He’s a photographer and a fly fisherman. His work is vibrant and colourful, some may say too much so, but on meeting the man all the colour makes sense. I really like what I’ve seen of his work and some of it is simply spectacular. Check this out… http://davidlambroughton.com/?pageID=813801#

David made me his special concoction for breakfast. It consisted of juice, banana, oatmeal and other stuff all whipped up in the blender. It was guaranteed to keep us going all day. Shortly after, we all set off to fish a section of a favourite river of mine that I had never fished before. The water was ideally low. The river was pretty tough going, which was no surprise to me as it usually is. The slippery rocks were a surprise though. Like ice! I need to replace all the studs in my boots. I have 3 left out of about 40! We were in the water almost all day. The banks were impenetrable. After about 4ks and 3 sighted fish we emerged from the forest. David did not get any pictures, which was his mission for the day. Neither Ken or I had a fish. Ken wandered on up river which was straight at this stage and flowing through easy farmland. I spotted one in a deep riffle which ate the nymph first cast. Shortly after I had another shot which I made a balls of. Ken had a shot to a rising fish on his bank without success. 100m from the truck I spied a nice fish, I put on David’s dry cdc pattern which he had given me after breakfast. First cast, the fish ate. That was it. As many fish in the last km to the truck as in the whole day up to then. That’s how it goes.

Ken and David, Thank you both for your hospitality.. David, Thanks for putting up with two mad Irishmen! I realise one is difficult enough..

The weekend with Sean McCarthy and the following weekend with the Wakitipu Anglers Club mission to Manorburn will have to be told in photo’s below because I’m all typed out!!!

To those of you who emailed me, I’ll get to you as soon as I can. Every minute of every day is accounted for these days, which is just how I like it!

Have a great week, Ronan..

The fishing was generally bad last weekend. Guy and I fished together in my boat for most of Saturday. Little rainbows were active at times and we managed a few browns. Peter, now a New Zealander but born in Hungary, had a good day on the shore but the numbers of cruising browns were way down on the Benmore I know, probably because the lake was so low. On a positive note the weed beds are as healthy as I’ve seen for years.

On Day 2 I was on my own. I went to one of my usual haunts to fish some flats, edges and backwaters only to be greeted by a howling nor’wester. The wind in NZ is unrelenting and often ruins the fishing. I started on the shore because I didn’t want to chance putting the boat in. I got one and lost one. The flats were as clear as could be with the right amount of water covering them and plenty weed beds evident. One can only cover so much from the bank so I walked back to the truck and put the boat in. I had to fish the flats and from the boat is the best way to do it. It was seriously hard going. The wind was pushing the boat down the drift so fast that I could barely strip fast enough to stay in touch with my fly. I need a drogue! Sometimes I’d throw out the anchor to give an area a chance but drifting, albeit at super high speed produced more fish. Conditions like this demand a lot from an angler. Casting, boating, angling, and sanity will be put to the test. I don’t know anyone else who would do this!

When I was walking back to take the boat out I felt some fear but I had no choice. The decision was made and in a sense I was no longer in control. Something else drives me at times, from somewhere deep inside and I’m glad it does. I’ve had some great and terrifying experiences because of it. Fear is good.

Ronan..