Ronan's Report

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..

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..

I can’t believe it’s 2 months since I’ve written a blog! It’s just been hard to find the time. Right now I’m in Dunedin Hospital with a very Pregnant Iza. We thought the little fecker was about to arrive but now it seems he / she was just winding us up. Iza is asleep and I have time to write.

The first thing I have to say is Congratulations to my dad, Joe Creane on winning the European Cup 2019 on Lough Mask in the West of Ireland. I have’t spoken to him yet to hear the details but it seems fish were very hard to find so this was a super result. He won a Burke boat for his trouble. I owned one since I was 21 and they are a super fishing boat.

The guiding season has come to an end. I did a few days in early May and that was it for 2019 unless a winter booking or 2 comes along. It was a super season all up. I’m loving the evolution of my guiding career. Most of my work is now from repeat clients who are becoming good friends. I couldn’t be happier about that.

The Sexyloops connection is getting stronger all the time. I have introduced some of my clients to Paul’s site to help them with their casting, to watch sexyloops.tv, fish with the man himself in Malaysia and read the day to day antics from Paul and the other writers from around the world. Paul has introduced some of his readers and friends to me as a current, active link to NZ fly fishing and guiding. It’s going full circle. More and more of my clients are arriving armed with a SL Hot Torpedo and well versed on whats going on with Paul and Bernd and the rest. One random meeting between 3 anglers in a pub in Waikaia summed it up. After Chip, Simon and I chatted for a while over a few pints we realised we all owned a SLHT #6. Now thats cool. It’s cool because these rods are not mainstream. Paul has them made exactly to his specifications with no expense spared – and their not cheap to make! I think anyone who wants to own one of these rods simply wants to take their fishing / casting to the next level in a more honourable and ethical way than buying the latest Sage before its discontinued next week. The sexyloops crew are the real deal, immersing their lives in fly fishing and casting – without ego! I loved what Simon said to me in the Waikaia pub about SL, “no trucker hats, no hoodies”. If you’re not a regular to the site then have a look!

May is possibly my favourite time of year. Guiding winds down and I have time to fish myself. There are 4 rivers within an hour of me that I can float down or fish land based targeting rainbows and browns (but mostly rainbows, big ones!) on their migratory run up stream to spawn. This May I’ve only gotten out twice. There are a couple of legitimate reasons for this! Iza is 38 weeks pregnant and needs me to be close by and we just bought a house. Were turning the 120 year old piece of history into our home and this has been taking quite a bit of time. I have a workshop too so I’ve also been setting that up to make furniture for the house or whatever else. A man needs a workshop!

I did manage to get a magic day on the water to satisfy my May fishing urge. I took the boat across to an island and fished a piece of water that has never worked for me before. It was fishy though. I threw a long line across to a deep blue hole, let the fly sink and stripped away.. two light taps.. I’ve felt these taps before from big fish.. another tap then a solid connection! The big hen rainbow, full of precious cargo and condition was cartwheeling on the end of my line. I had to give her hell to keep her safely in the lee of the island. I landed her and got a good picture with the 10 second timer before letting her off. She weighed 8.5lbs and was my best fish of the season. I went on the get a 5 and a 7+ so I had a good fix! 

I’m not sure what fishing is coming in the next while but I might sneak out for a look somewhere. First priority is Iza and her precious cargo.

If you’d like to book some winter fishing or enquire about next season please email me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.

Tight Lines,

      Ronan..

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On a short trip to Chicago with Iza last year to see my Aunty Ita I managed to squeeze in a fishing day. One thing that excites me about fly fishing in a place I know nothing about is figuring it out. The first thing was to find a location. I wanted something near the city to see if decent urban fishing existed. There were quite a few lakes in the vicinity of the city and all held fish. The surrounds of these lakes were built up housing estates. After some research I chose Busse Woods Lake. It’s quite big, made up of a number of interconnected smaller lakes with good scope for casting a fly without hooking a pedestrian. Target species? Whatever eats the fly! I tried a number parts of the lake before deciding on a location to focus on. After a short walk along the shore there was nobody around. The people congregated close to car parks or formed tracks but once I got onto a wild lake edge the people / anglers were only visible in boats. I walked the shore, blind casting looking for structure or anything fishy. I picked up a little bluegill and a couple of small bass as I hunted the margins. Then I spotted a decent swirl. I put on a silicon smelt and sent in a number of casts in the vicinity of the movement. I had a take but no hook up, then a follow, another follow; all from the same fish I’m pretty sure. Finally a solid hook up and I landed a healthy largemouth bass, about a pound in weight. I continued my mission around the lake which was mostly very quiet but I picked up another wee bass and a crappie big enough to fight back. As the sun started to set I was about walk back along the shore but I heard some voices, I pushed on a little and met an old man and his dog. We chatted for ages about life in general, only occasionally mentioning fishing! He put me wise to a much easier way to walk back to the car. All up, a very successful day in my book!

For bookings and information about the 2018-19 NZ season, contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website http://www.ronansflyfishingmissions.com

Tight Lines,

Ronan..

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Travelling to fly fishing destinations is not usually cheap, but there are some affordable options around the world. Portugal is one. Target species is carp! Initially I thought about hiring a guide but with a little research I found some decent info and decided to wing it. As luck would have it, my old mate Tonio was in the country and keen to meet for a fish. He also had quite a lot of experience with Portuguese carp so the stars really aligned for me. My research had pointed me towards Lake Alqueva and I also got wind of some small lakes near Evora. This was the area Tonio knew so Iza and I booked our accommodation in Evora first and then on to Monsaraz beside Lake Alqueva. Fly fishing really does bring you to some super places. Evora was a nice little town but Monsaraz was something out of a fairytale! A quaint, rustic, romantic little walled village full of character and history. The perfect place to bring your other half. No need to mention the lake full of carp which occupies much of its magnificent vista. I met Tonio the evening before our 3 fishing days began. We drank a few beers and chatted about old times. Roll on the next three days!

Day 1 and 2 were good. At times the carp were few and far between and we walked kilometres of shoreline in search of them. My flip-flops on day one were a very bad choice of footwear with lots of walking on uneven ground and mud! I don’t know what I was thinking!! When we did find carp they were not easy. As I had learned in the Azores, travelling fish were hard to entice but a fish with his head down and tail up – actively feeding fish were catchable. I was armed with my 6 wt Hot Toroedo and a Harfin reel. 3x tippet seemed to be the right choice for the carp we were encountering. We were using small buggers to begin with but I experimented with other flies, even catching one on a buzzer! One fly really seemed to have some magic though. It was a simple size 12, unweighted nymph with a claret body of possum fur and a red game tail. Once I put this fly on I really started catching. I gave a couple to Tonio and he also did well on it. We fished 3 different lakes landing about 16 carp over days 1 and 2 with the best fish around 5lbs. Good fun and challenging but where are the big fish?? We did see one 8lb plus fish come to think of it, but it was a fleeting opportunity.

Day 3. One of Western Europes largest dams, Lake Alqueva. Tonio had little info on this huge lake so we just picked a random spot near the bridge looking back up towards Monsaraz on the hill. We covered a few ks of shoreline only seeing about 6 fish. We didn’t land any but to our delight they were a lot bigger. Three times the size of what we were seeing on days 1 and 2. We decided to pull out and go somewhere else in the hope of finding better numbers. Tonio had an idea to drive quite a long way, then we followed our noses down some dirt tracks back to the lake. On arrival we knew we in better water. Lots of points, bays, drop-offs and weed beds. The banks were firm and gravelly and not muddy like a lot of previous water. We had lunch in the shade of a cork tree before hitting the water. I couldn’t help but think that maybe the handle of my fly rod originated right here! I went right and Tonio went left. We had walkie talkies to stay in touch. Tonio was just out of sight when he came through on the radio. “I’m in” he said, “and it’s big!” I replied “I’m in too, and it’s big”. The claret nymph once again. My first fish was also my biggest. I’d say 12 – 13lbs. After seeing the larger fish earlier in the day I upped the tippet from 8lb to 14lb. I was very glad I did. The moment these fish feel the hook they go ballistic! They’re incredibly fast, powerful fish and they run! I was delighted with my fish. Tonio was too. We knew the lake had a reputation for fewer but bigger fish so we were hoping to land one each. That was not to be however! Around the next corner there was another one, mooching around in a dense weed bed. I cast the nymph about a foot in front of the fish and let it settle, one twitch as it got to depth and I saw the carp move in slowly, then a quick motion of its mouth and I struck instantly. Chaos! This fish was as good as the first if not better. He went straight out into the lake against tight drag almost to my backing. Then I made a mistake! I told Tonio over the radio that I was in again and inadvertently eased up on the fish as I fumbled with the radio. He got into the weeds and broke me. Lesson learned! The next fish I landed. I ended up hooking 8 and landing 5 for the day, all between 8 and 13lbs. All sight fishing. I know Tonio also had a great day landing a number of fish. A well timed strike seemed to be the key to success. The place is spectacular too. Wide open, wild space dotted with cork trees. I’m not sure what the best time of year to go is but I was there last September.

For anyone living in Europe this fishery is very accessible with regular, inexpensive flights to Lisbon. We saw some great deals from Boston too. There is a fly fishing guide operating out of Evora. He can pick you up at the airport and take you to his base. He has a package deal with accommodation, food and transport included and it’s reasonably priced. You can contact Jose Rodrigues through his website – http://www.carponflyadventures.com. The other option is to go it alone! I was lucky enough to have Tonio to show me a few lakes near Evora. With respect for local anglers, I won’t name these lakes but just look on a map. My guess is that all the lakes have carp (but maybe I’m wrong!). A simple plan if you were to go unguided would be to base yourself in Monsaraz (or anywhere near the lake) and fish Alqueva every day. The lake is vast (250KM2, 1200km of shoreline) with a multitude of different types of lakeshore. The fish are big. Walk, stalk, you’ll find fish! I can’t recommend it highly enough. There are black bass there too!

On a final note, it was really great to hang out and fish with Tonio again. It’s been a long time! We fished almost an entire season together in NZ about 10 years ago. I met Tonio and Paul for the first time a few years before that. They were filming “The Instructor” which I happily got involved in. That was the beginning of my involvement with the madness that is Sexyloops and the beginning of my friendships with both Tonio and Paul. There’s been a lot of water under the bridge since! We had a superb 3 days fishing! I hope it’s not 10 years til we do it again.. Many thanks, Tonio!

Tight Lines,

Ronan..

If you’re thinking about a trip to NZ next season and you’d like my guidance, please drop me a line. Well over half of next season is booked up already. Contact me on www.ronansflyfishingmissions.com or email me ronan@sexyloops.com

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The biggest bit of news since my last blog has not been the 11.5lb brown which equals my second biggest to date, it’s been the arrival of our daughter Adaline Betty Creane. She hit the scales at 6.5lbs. Mother and baby are doing great, though I’m a little worse for wear. Nobody ever thinks of the poor father! My paternity leave was timed to perfection. The due date was the 19th of December so I kept the 16th to the 28th free in the hope that she wouldn’t be late. As I was driving out of the driveway after dropping off my client on the 15th, I got the call from Iza. “Get to the hospital”! was the gist of the call. Some complications meant that she went in the chopper from Dunstan Hospital to Dundedin Hospital while I followed in the 3L V6 Maxima keeping to the speed limit the whole way there. After a long labour Iza popped out the most beautiful little thing I’ve ever seen (apart from Iza). We didn’t know the sex, nor did we care. We got just what we wanted in this healthy bundle of joy!

I have had quite a bit of time to fish myself in the last couple of months and most of that effort has been on the lakes. Fraser and I had a weekend away recently in the Central Lakes. We stayed at Buscot Station Backpackers (there is no other place I want to stay near Omarama!). Day 1 we had a look at the canals then went to check out a spot I stumbled upon last winter. We found a few fish but we needed sunshine to get the most from it. We left to try some other spots but returned early the next morning hoping for some midge eaters. We didn’t find any but the cloud broke up quickly for a perfect blue sky day. There was just enough wind to put a gentle ripple on the water opening it up for perfect sight fishing. A soft ripple like this often makes it easier to see fish farther away than with flat calm. The fishing was insane! We landed 12 trout for a morning session, most between 4 and 5.5lbs. I felt a little sorry for another angler on the opposite shore, he hooked none. A small gold bead PT nymph did the trick. I suspended it under a dry at trout cruising depth. Simple! One of Stu’s I think..

Another day worth a mention was on a local dam day with Robbie. The first farm dam we fished was very low but there were a few feeding fish. The exposed weed made it quite hard to fish. I hooked a few but we landed nothing after a few hours fishing it. We moved to the middle dam, I always thought it was the top dam but the farmer told me about another – the top dam! Anyway, the newly named middle dam was super. The water was high and there were a few trout cruising the margins. Short accurate casts did the trick. Any fly – these fish were opportunist feeders. We caught a few fish, all beautiful hard fighting specimens. One of them was certainly in my top 3 stunning fish this season. I really enjoy to fish with Robbie. There is no greed for fish, no ego, just a genuine love for the game and everything that goes with it from the friendships to the flowers on the banks to the fish. We’ve become great friends over the years, ever since he appeared at mine and Kristians camp way up a back country river at 9am. I was bleary eyed as I looked from my sleeping bag after hearing some rocks move. “Who the hell could have made it this far up river by 9am” I thought to myself.. I then answered my own question.. “It could only be Robbie Mcphee”. It was of course. What did we do? We all fished together. That day we landed about 10 fish from 6 to 11lbs with 2 doubles. Here is the blog! https://www.sexyloops.com/blog/2013/03/27/two-10lb-plus-trout/

Speaking about doubles, I managed to land a monster of 11.5lbs last November. Some solo wilderness exploring certainly paid off!

I’ll leave the photos to tell the other stories! Dunstan has been fishing great but I don’t bother taking many photos there anymore. The silt flats are still firing if you’re light enough to wade them and the willow grubbers on the edges will drive you to drink!

Not too much in the guiding gallery today since I had 2 weeks out. The highlights are in there though. January is booked up so all going well the next guiding report should be pretty colourful.

I’ll take this opportunity to wish my great friend Paul and his wife to be, Ashly all the very best in their life together. I wish I could make the wedding but Paul’s spontaneity is hard to plan around. That is going to be quite a day. Miena will never be the same again! All the best, mate! Next time I’m in Malaysia you’ll have the air conditioned houseboat. Bliss!

I still have some availability in Febuary and plenty in March and April. Let me know if you’d like me to guide you on your NZ adventure. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website http://www.ronansflyfishingmissions.com

Happy New Year everyone.. May it be filled with happiness and fly fishing!

Tight Lines, Ronan..

I did a little research on fly fishing on the Azores Islands but nothing I read was overly positive. Some fish species could be targeted from the seashore on fly; big flies and a super fast retrieve seemed to be the way from an article I read. Lakes held multiple species but I read nothing about any great fishing, only a bit about catching tiny stocked rainbows – feck that! Initially I figured I wanted to take on the sea. My rough plan was to find a sheltered spot on the lee side of the island and blind fish into deep water with a di7. If i spotted surface activity then I’d adapt. Iza and I had 4 days on the largest island, Sao Miguel, with day 3 my only dedicated fishing day. Over day one and two I realised that shoreline access was difficult. Town harbours were accessable and a very good option from what I saw on a leisurely stroll with Iza. We saw mullet and some other small palagics I couldn’t Identify. My gut feeling was that these fish were there for the easy source of food from bread throwing tourists (like me!) so they were down the pecking order as a target species, also I didn’t want to hook a passer by in the face. The point of the main pier in Ponta Delgado looked better than the inside harbour but I never made it out there for a proper look. On a day trip to the most accessible of 4 lakes I found carp! I fished to them for about an hour with a little interest then they shut down completely at about 1pm. The next day was my fishing day.. sea or lake? Having found no seashore spot that took my fancy, this stunning lake which formed in a volcano crater was it. I started at about 8. Earlier would have been better but I found lots of carp feeding over some sand / mud flats. I quickly hooked and landed one on dad’s diawl bach, then hooked another which broke me in the weeds. Action continued. I wont bore you with details but I’ll mention what I think I learned over the day. Cruisers were tough. I may have briefly hooked one. Fish with heads down tail up – actively feeding fish – were catchable. Depending on the depth of water I used a weighted or unweighted PT nymph – one of Stu’s. The key was to make them see it! Due to their foraging in mud or weed and putting up clouds of silt, this was no easy task. Sometimes it took many casts to get the fly in just the right spot. If I could pull the fly slowly across the bottom, right in front of the fishes face then he may well eat it. The next problem is hooking them! I believe they can suck in and spit out the fly in a second so timing the strike was difficult. My best results came by staying in touch with the fly with a slow retrieve and hoping to feel or see the take. The takes were rarely obvious so I resisted the urge to strike. I had about 7 fish eat the fly that I’m sure of. I landed 3. I also sight fished a pike on a size 12 PT.

So, to sum up. Lake Sete Cidades was good! Carp fishing as described in a lake that’s split in two by a bridge, one side is murky green, the other side clear. Both sides fished well. If I had another day at them I’d start at first light. They mostly shut down during the heat of the day, at least they do in September. There are also pike, perch, zander, trout, bass and others. The potential here is incredible. There are no power boats allowed. I’m not sure about electrics. I only fished the easily accessible lake (Sete Cidades) and only from the shore, though kayak rental is possible. I didn’t see another angler. Lake Fogo is even more beautiful and remote. I doubt you’d see another person if you took it on. It’s crystal clear too.

The seashore has to have an abundance of fish, it’s just a matter of finding the spots away from the sea cliffs which dominate the island and learning times of year when different species come close to shore. If my life was different I might just move out there and learn this largely untouched seashore and lake fishery! Nice climate, great food, cheap good beer, beautiful women, friendly people, world class big game in the deep sea. What more does a fella need?? Maybe somebody reading this will take the plunge! I hope so because I want to go back a hire a guide who knows the score!! To say I only scratched the surface here is certainly true, scratched it with one nail. I had about 12 hours fishing with only half an hour on the sea on one of 9 islands.

I wrote the above on my mobile phone while in transit from the Azores to Portugal’s mainland. It was fresh in my mind and I had the urge to write so I did.. What followed was 3 days fishing with my old mate Tonio, before it came fishing in Irleand, USA and Malaysia.. I wish to feck I used more transit time to write because the season is about to kick off here so finding time to write will be tough once again.. If you’re reading this because you’re visiting the Azores, don’t hesitate to drop me line! I’ll tell you what I know – though its pretty much all written here!

Tight Lines All!

Ronan..

For guiding bookings for the upcoming NZ season email me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website http://www.ronansflyfishingmissions.com

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I wanted to chat briefly about the Damselfly nymph and how most anglers standard pattern makes no sense to me. I had some great photo’s of a damsel nymph which was still alive inside a trout I took from Lake Dunstan recently, but I deleted them by mistake!! I put the green nymph in a jar of water with a sprig of rosemary (haha) where he lived happily for a week or so. I watched how it moved, how it swam (or wobbles!) etc. The one thing that struck me was how similar it was to mayfly nymph. I thought this before, but I though I was missing something that everyone else seemed to know because most damselfly nymph patterns have a long marabou tail. Why? A mayfly nymph representation generally has no marabou. I see some merit in a short marabou tail matching the length of the 3 strands in the real nymph. I’m not one for perfect representations of what fish are eating, far from it actually. However in my opinion, a damsel nymph with a long marabou tail is a woolly bugger, not a damsel! I use a long shank #12 PT or similar as a damsel nymph.

Guiding has been happily chaotic! I’m out most days at the moment but I did manage a few days for myself recently. Iza and I fished together for a day and a half too. Next season I’ll do things a little differently. I’m going to put blocks of time aside for me to fish each month. I need it!! I get a lot of what I get from a days fishing during a day guiding but not everything. Fly-fishing is my life and I must make this work. I know some guides who don’t fish at all during “silly season”. I must not let this happen!! This is only my second season so I guess I’m still finding my way a bit. Guiding continues to teach me a lot and I believe the most important thing it has taught me is how much I don’t know!! A great lesson. Therefor time must be put aside to explore new water and simply get better and better at this.

Recently I explored some new water to the north and the east. Some of it was re-familiarising myself with old haunts and some was totally new. Fishing new water is such a thrill! Absorbing everything the river has to offer, the excitement of seeing whats around the next bend, piecing it all together. Putting on wet socks in the morning means you’re in the thick of it!

Guiding has been lots of fun! I recently took Tim Kempton out for a few days. Great craic with him and his mate Fergus. Tim has fished with Paul in Malaysia which makes him the second (I think) to have been guided by both Paul and I in our respective countries (the other being Chuan Tay!). I hope more anglers do this! On the topic of Malaysia, I’m going there this July to fish with Paul for 2 weeks. I’ve been practicing a little from Paul’s instructional video on youtube so when the time comes I hope I’m on form. Speed is very important with trout fishing too so if I can make one second shots for snakehead, I’ll do it for here for trout too!!! Back to guiding, what else.. Some great heli stuff lately with Nick Mills and a fantastic West Coast mission with local regulars Bryan and Tim. That was a real adventure! One thing about heli-fishing.. The chopper takes a lot of the hard work out of it but the best results come if you’re willing to go hard while your in there. That we did! I think we had 14 trout in total for 3 days with the best fish of the trip going to Tim just before the chopper came to take us home. Many thanks to Greenstone Helicopters! Also a new personal best for Bryan, Bob and his birthday fish, the list goes on.. The pics tell a better story anyway!!

Time to prepare! I have an afternoon mission in an hour..

Tight lines!

Ronan..      ronan@sexyloops.com

For bookings and information see my website www.ronansflyfishingmissions.com

For Pure Fly NZ dvd’s go to http://www.flyshop.co.nz/product/DVDPFNZ.html

For stu’s cicada’s go to http://stusflyshop.com/browse-by-fly/dry-flies/cicada/MY GALLERY

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I realised a year or two ago that fishing for really big trout is more about the fish than the fishing; while fishing for average sized or smaller trout is more about the fishing than the fish. Of course both can cross the divide into the other category but generally speaking this is true. For me at least. Really big NZ fish, say in the 8lbs plus class, are often really stunning here in Otago and worth the effort in hunting down. They are few and far between and very hard to catch. Not necessarily because they’re “smarter” than smaller fish (they’re not really!) but because they often take up lies that are very difficult to get a fly to. The bottom of a deep pool for example or under a submerged log, and sometimes they are just really really spooky! These very big fish wont be seen every time you fish a river, some days they may be out visibly feeding and once in a while they may take up a part of the pool where you can get an easy cast to. You just have to persist, be there at the right time. If you can get a fly to one of these big trout without spooking it at all, (there are varying degrees of “spooked”) you’re almost as likely to hook it as a 2lb trout from a riffle. Landing it of course is a whole other story. When it all comes together and you get one of these trophy trout into your net, it’s a real high. If it turns out to be one of the really beautiful fish it’s even better again!  Since the last blog I hunted down some of the big fellas with good success.

Jeff and Myself went and checked out some rivers on the west coast recently. We fished some water I had not seen for a few years. We had a mixed bag. One great river and one not so great but both were absolutely spectacular. The fishing is described in the photos below but there was one little event I’ll have to share with you. (sorry, Jeff!) We were given conflicting information regarding which gate to drive through to get to the river, I thought we were to go through the left gate, but we were told right.. so we both agreed to go right, at least we could come back if we were wrong, right? Jeff fumbled with the padlock before realising it was actually open and that the key we had didn’t fit it anyway. He opened the gate and I drove through. Jeff closed the gate after him and then I waited for a while, “whats the delay” I thought, as I jumped out of the truck. “Ronan, I fucked up” Jeff said. He had closed the padlock and we had no key to open it. There we were, miles from anywhere with the truck locked on the wrong side of the gate. Some Irish/American ingenuity prevailed, much of it inspired by a Macgyver episode I had seen years ago. We managed to open the gate in reverse without doing any damage at all so we knew we could get back out. After driving for a short distance we realised that we had indeed gone the wrong way. We should have gone left! In the end we got to the river and the fishing began.

Have a look at my facebook page to see the results of my happy clients! Plenty spaces still available for the season.. ronan@sexyloops.com for bookings and information.

https://www.facebook.com/ronans.flyfishing

Tight Lines..

Ronan..

Magnificent..

This is why fishing for big fish is more about the fish than the fishing.

Jeff shows the scale of the place..

I had a big trout chase my streamer here..

West coast clarity..

After a great start with a fish each we struggled for the rest of the day.. but what a place to struggle!!

Jeff on a recent mission to the west coast..

Day 2.. Lots of bush bashing to get to the river..

Likely water..

Not a bad start..

In the air..

Full pressure..

In the net..

Fish like this make any day worth while..

This one took a nymph..

Back he goes..

Iza's caramel slice..

Gandalf!

a vein of Greenstone I think..

Nicely marked..

A likely spot which produced a fish..

The iconic NZ symbol..

Heath, A very happy client during a 4 fish day. 5lbs best.

A leisurely morning on the river. Iza caught one!

Goats are amazing creatures. Feck all to stand on and apparently less to eat!

A mountain goat living up to his name!

Thorns..

One for me.. A tank of a hen fish.

No stranger to big trout!

A great fish for Robbie..

Robbie strikes again..

Back to freedom..

A fish in a most unexpected place on the way home!! Spotted by Robbie from 150m.. Great red spots.

Pete with one of two for his day on the river with me..

Pick one, Pete!!

During a mission to North Canterbury with Jeff Forsee at the end of last season, I witnessed something that made me re-think what I thought I knew. Jeff was onto a fish on his bank, a big one. The fish was deep. Jeff persisted with a range of weighted nymphs until he had the heaviest one in his box on, with the little trailer off it. He felt he was not getting deep enough so he pulled out a box of split shot and added some weight, then a little more weight. I’m not sure just how much shot he added but eventually he hooked the fish. A long battle was ensued but we finally got it into the net. That fish was one of the most spectacular fish I’ve seen and it turned out to be Jeff’s personal best. Afterwards, I thought to myself “would I have caught that fish?”. The answer, probably not. I had no split shot and my heaviest nymph was the same as Jeff’s. The only time I ever used shot was in Croatia years ago because of their single fly policy. I thought I had no need for it. I remember Paul Arden talking about split shot for early season NZ fish. I simply thought “just tie a heavier nymph”, which is true but split shot is handy, quick and easy to add and there’s no limit to how much you can put on (within reason!). I had to see this in action to really see the value of it. Shortly after that trip I got some split shot.

Recently, in Otago, about half way through a great day, I sighted a large trout happily feeding. He was moving from shallow to deep water feeding constantly. After a number of careful casts the fish became aware of my presence. He went a little doggo but then continued to feed, this time in deep water only. This gave me a great and rare advantage. The fish continued to feed despite my presence. I could not spook him easily so I cast and cast and cast. As long as a fish is feeding he’s catchable so I persisted. I put on my heaviest nymph, then added lead, then more lead. The river was boiling and up-welling making it hard to get even a heavily weighted rig down, but once in a while, as Robbie pointed out, the current went “clean”, no up-welling. At one of those moments I placed the cast in the right place and the added weight got my fly into the zone. The fish ate. I knew It was a big fish, I’ve caught lots of 9s and this felt just plain heavier. I gave him stick none the less and eventually landed him with Robbie’s help on the net. There were a few unnerving moments as he went under banks and around rocks but we landed him. 10lbs on the dot (Though Robbie thinks he was more, despite the weigh-net!). Thanks, Jeff for the lesson in lead and Robbie for the help landing one of my personal best brown trout.. Finally we cracked a double together!

Tight Lines All..

Ronan..

If your planning a trip to NZ, why not get in touch with me! I’m available to guide and happy to answer any questions you may have.. ronan@sexyloops.com

Old and new.. I hope the new ones are as good as the old ones!

Robbie at the beginning of a great weekend!

Nimble as ever over the rough terrain..

First of the season for Robbie Mcphee..

A strange cloud..

Robbie finds a fish in a very tough spot.. the "Dore's Mr Glister" did the business.. Another big fish but I was too far away to get a decent pic. Crossing was not an option! (again)

Back he goes..

My second of the day. This fish ran me ragged! Down lots of rapids, thought I lost him around a rock, Superb condition and fit as a fiddle!

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Close up!

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The dark shape near the rock is the fish..

Big water!

Difficult terrain for playing fish..

A truly great place..

These fish are very few and far between but I got this one after about 50 casts.. maybe 100!!! The addition of lead shot made the difference..

Iza into her first of the season..

Spotting was still possible in the murky water..

Last weekend on the river. Quite high and coloured but good numbers of fish about.

And this is the fly.. My size 16 2mm tungsten bead nymph. Specific materials or colours are not important.

The feeling of catching such a fish is real high.. This is only my 4th double in 13 seasons.

Happy angler.. We had a ball on the river!

Worth a close up of this stunning fish..

Back he goes..

The largest of the day. We hit one amazing pool stacked with trout!

A fish of a lifetime!

This was the magic pool...