The trees are about to explode into life right now. Some flowers are already blooming in the garden. In the next few days there’ll be a lot more. It’s an exciting time of year watching the cycle rotate again, I’m imagining the trout in the rivers are piling on condition already. In a month it will be all go again.
I was busy at home all winter with various jobs to improve our house. There was still time for some fishing though. Some days were good but the lakes seemed slow to fire up this year. Usually by August it’s very good locally but this year was a little quiet – at least was for me. September should be great on the lakes though – it always is.
Plenty time to stock up on flies for the coming season. You can check out my patterns over at Fulling Mill. Claret nymphs and hotspot nymphs are hard to beat for early season rivers. No harm to have a few streamers too for the high water days and a few 14 kiwi duns for the October hatches. I’m excited to have 4 great new patterns available in January.
Next season is pretty much full til April – which is a good time to fish here. Feel free to get in touch! ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Peace. Ronan..
Good couple of sessions with Shelen on the Clutha..A few fish about.High water filling the braids.A cold, wet day with Graeme..Fishing was pretty good.A nice brown for me from a likely seem.Plenty fish in the net but the highlight of the day was a flask of hot tea!Mackenzie Country with Graeme.fishing was hard but we don’t need many in the net for a great day.A day maker!Great place to be…A couple of books on the dorm table at Buscot station. A great place to stay!Into on straight away on day 2 on a gloomy day.A very good brown.Back he goes..Icy!Graeme covering water with long casts.Beauty in the cold.Working a likely point..Into a solid rainbow..Last cast!4 days on Dunstan with Kevin over a month....this was the only day I took photos!1 for Kevin, 0 for me....very proud of himself!Dunstan has been slow to fire up this winter but on the 4th day we landed 7.A recent day on Lake Wānaka. It was way too high..Nowhere to leave down my stuff to put my jacket on.I rescued these little fellas from the lake. Still rising, the were trapped on a one foot square island. I put them in my hat and waded 500m to bring them to safety.
The season is winding down now with only a few more days booked in. I like this time of the season where I can step back and relax a little. Today I’ve spent some time at the tying desk trying to finalise a few more patterns for Fulling Mill. I’m almost there so hopefully I’ll have a few new patterns in next seasons catalog. Thinking about the season thats been; it was an amazing one for big fish. The best yet I’d say – and the cream of the crop are all in this blog. I like to see one elusive double figure fish each season. I usually do but not always. This season there were 3. They all have a great story.
Steve’s 12lber. Chris, Nick and myself were looking after Joe, Will and Steve for a week. We swapped around the guide / angler combo each day. It was an epic week of adventurous, full-on fishing. Lots of fun with a super crew. On the last day Steve and I were together. We arrived at the river at a respectable time but it was very busy with anglers on all the accesses. We killed time for a few hours fishing unproductive water and then went in behind another angler. He was a few hours ahead of us at this stage. We took our time as we moved up river. I just wanted to find one feeding fish. We found 2. The first wasn’t doing much but we persisted for about an hour. Steve made a few great shots to that fish but no joy. We continued slowly until another opportunity arose. A fish was cruising up and down a cut bank. It was generally hard to see him so we took a safe position well back to get a good read on his beat. He was cruising up and down about 50m of bank. On the first approach we went in my green cicada. Once the fish turned at the bottom of his beat we followed. Our approach was ultra cautious because he was hard to see – we were waiting on a rise to give his position away. The rise came – it was well up the beat so we chased, running up the bank with quiet footfalls. The fish was travelling up much faster than we initially thought. He came into view and slowed down at a choke point. This was our chance. Steve made a good shot and the fish came to the fly but rejected. “Reset” I said. We went back to the start, changed to the tussock cicada and tried again. We waited. The fish rose at the bottom of his beat and we could see him briefly as he turned to travel back up. Once again we chased quietly. Once again he slowed at the same choke point and Steve made another good shot. The fish came to the fly – put his nose on it – and rejected. This time he turned and quickly swam down river looking for us (they do that). We both tucked and rolled quietly away from the bank hoping he didn’t see us. We went back to the start again – reset. I was worried that he was spooked – he was certainly onto us. We waited. No sign. Eventually I decided we should move up a little. There he was, still rising on the upper part of his beat. This time we went in armed with Mcphails blowfly. We followed the fish as he approached the choke point. When he slowed down Steve put in another good shot and the fish swung out and confidently ate the blowfly. A well timed strike and it was all on. The fish was heavy and used his weight and power to bulldoze under the high bank. The rod tip was under water keeping the fish under control and away from the undercut. After a pretty stressful fight I got the net under the fish well downstream of where Steve hooked it. Relief, excitement, exhilaration. This was teamwork and we both played our parts. The tactics were right, the casts were good. A pursuit of happiness that neither of us will forget.
Marcus’s 12lber. By 5pm on day 2 we still didn’t have a fish in the net. On day one on this river system the conditions were terrible. Glaring light from white clouds. We could rarely see well and didn’t get any proper shots. Marcus did hook one on the blind but the leader broke somewhere in the middle of a 3x section. We have no idea why. We do know it was a big fish. Day 2 was crazy. So many things happened that I don’t think I can remember them in the correct order. Without going into too much detail I’ll give you a quick rundown of the day..
We broke in a very big fish early on through some really awful luck. We saw him. An incredibly fat lump of copper. That one hurt. Marcus was almost in tears. He tried to explain to me what he was feeling, “it’s called emotion, Marcus” I said. We laughed. We had multiple eats which just didn’t connect, then a loss – not all big but some were certainly top end. It got to the point that it felt like there was a higher power just saying “no, not today fellas”. We had landed a fish over 10lbs on the first day of the trip so we figured the fishing gods had decided that was enough for us – which we understood. We continued regardless. Then we had a fella fly his drone over to us and chase the trout we were fishing for around the pool. A karearea made a half attempt of attacking it. I wish he succeeded! The drone pilots camp was about a kilometre away. I roared politely to ask him to take his drone off the river. Thankfully he did although the damage was done. We got to the end of the beat by about 4pm. No fish. We walked back to the pool where we had most action. Fish were rising again, although cautiously. They were occasionally refusing real cicadas. We worked our way through the opportunities and hooked and landed 3 from 3. Truely incredible fish. 8.5, 9.5 and 12. All in about 45 minutes and all on my Highcountry Green Cicada. The condition of the first two fish was absolutely magnificent. I totally lost my shit with my Mcleans weigh net trying to weigh the second fish because all the increments wore off. Each time I’d try to count the increments the fish would jiggle as I got near the end – its was extra frustrating because it was so near the 10lb mark and I couldn’t tell if it was over it or under it. The quality of those nets is pretty crap these days. Must get a digital scale. Anyway, back to the fishing – had we landed even one fish during the day we would not have gone back to that pool. I think the fishing gods admired our persistence and paid us off in style. We were absolutely blown away. Especially to catch a 12lber. Fish this size are so rare in NZ, it’s hard for me to grasp that there’s 2 in this blog. Such a rollercoaster of emotions over the 2 days with Marcus. The highs of hooking a large brown on a dry followed by the devastation of a break or a loss. These are no ordinary fish, many would be considered a fish of a lifetime for most anglers, hence the heartbreak when we lose these beauties and the thrilling highs when we succeed.
Lots more to come from this season in my next blog – more big fish too. The pics below take me up to mid March. I limit each blog to about 60 images so that it’s easy to see them all without getting too bored! Still some gaps next season if the USI don’t bring us to WW3. You can contact me on ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
To quote Kurt Cobain, “Peace, Love, Empathy”.. Ronan..
A great day with Will. Most fish taken from backwaters .... but this on came from the main flow. A top end for this system.Joe today. A great start – the bridge fish!On my brown nymph #16.A tiny stream..Down time at Simons Trout Cottage with Nick and Chris! Mighty craic.Great start for Will. Claret 14 doing the business.A dream day! Blue skies and fish looking up..Good for the soul.Plenty quality trout..My tussock cicada accounted for most fish.Taking it all in…The last day with the boys – Steve today… 12lbs. We were both as high as kites after this!What a fish!3 careful approaches to capture this beauty.. One last look before he swims away. A special dayDriving back to see Chris, Nick, Joe and Will for dinner… A few well deserved beers went down with stories from an epic week!Mackenzie with Bryan for a few days.. I love still waters.Cruiser heaven.Exploring. I’ve wanted to check this out for ages.Got this fat beauty on my kiwi dun 14.An unforgettable day with Bryan.. Many fish blind fishing with a double nymph rig.My Straggle Nymph #12 was brilliant on the point. Not many took the buzzer on the dropper.A clue!Bryan had most success with my hotspot 14 fished singly and retrieved slowly.A couple of days with Ron.Fishing was tough but the location was stunning..Nice water..Out with my little buddy..First fish of the trip for Marcus. 10.25lbs.. Hard to beat (but we did!).Amazing fish. We almost walked past her but Marcus had another look as she swung out a little!Wesley dropped in to say hello – we were having a celebratory whiskey!A good day chasing pristine rainbows.Backcountry beauty..Home for the night..Day 1 we had bad light and one heartbreaking loss.. Day 2 was a rollercoaster of emotions.More crazy stuff happened on this day than maybe any day I’ve guided…Still no fish at 5pm…Ended up with 3 – 8.5, 9.5 and 12lbs.The leviathan swims away… Another river, more great trout..Very little activity so we blind fished all day. This 8.5lber made my day!His good side.. A gloomy, wet day – we checked out some still waters I used to fish. If you have Bob Wyatts book “What Trout Want” check out the back cover!This pic is for you, Bob! Ive had may great trips with Marcus but this was next level.Eric.A great day 1.7lb seatroutEric fished well – great company on the river too!Day 2.. Into a cracker!Magnificent seatrout on my claret #14.A little beauty on my kiwi dun from Fulling Mill.Fishy water!End of the day! now for a near 2 hour walk out!A fishless day fishing alone on lower lake Dunstan.
I had great few days fishing with Graeme down south in early October. The highlight was 2 days on a lake we both wanted to explore. I had a tiny bit of info about it but it was really a blank canvas for both of us. The challenge in exploring a new lake is how to approach it. There were 4 main types of water – stream mouths, shallow reedy bays, native scrub shorelines and beaches. We spent time on each and covered most of the lake over two days. To our surprise, the stream mouths were totally dead. The reedy bays were okay on day 1 but very dead on day 2 – apart from a superb 7lber, the only fish we moved from the reeds that day. The native scrub shorelines were okay but we needed to cover a lot of water to find fish. The beaches were consistently good and really beautiful to fish. Sight fishing would be possible from the beaches although we got them all blind fishing – mostly with my Bruiser pattern from Fulling Mill. The lake was weird though. In a good way. It didn’t feel like fishing for trout for me. I felt like I was chasing black bass in another country! Not a single fish rose in 2 days which compounded my feelings. We had calm conditions at times with chironomid hatching but nothing on top. This made the search more challenging because there were no clues. We had good success all up with 10 fish for the 2 days. We worked for them. We were on the water early each day and fished til almost dark each day. Without fish rising or the sight fishing option we had to continuously cast and cover water each day – mostly from the drifting boat. I grew up with this type of marathon fly fishing and I love it. For many anglers it’s too much, too much like a workout and I get that. It is a work out but sometimes it’s the only way. The lake was too high to wade any of the shorelines apart from the beaches. It would be a very different place in low water. I’m looking forward to another visit.
I’ve included some pics from last winter – Some great days out guiding. Other days with my kids and with friends and sometimes both together. Lochlan and Adaline are both regularly catching a few fish now. Lochlan seems more interested than Adaline at this stage – mainly because we sometimes go for a pint and a game of pool afterwards. Not sure why he’d enjoy the pub?!
January, February and March are full but besides that I have some availability. Feel free to get in touch at ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website . To have a look at my range of flies over at Fulling Mill click here.
Tight lines and Free Palestine, Ronan..
Day 1 – Exploring a new lake.Shallow reedy bays – okay on day 1A nice fish for Graeme..Searching…Fishing beside native scrub.. we moved a few in this type of water.A wild and unique place.Pulled up the boat to walk the beach.Lovely!Another fisherman A great fish from the reeds.Day 2 and back to the beach.Good for the soul, this place..Blind fishing the dark tannin water..One on the bruiser pulled up on a beach of gem stones..Back he goes..I have a name for her.. I’ll paint it on soon.Stream mouth were surprisingly dead..Last fish of the trip..Back he goes..Heading home..Clean, green New Zealand! This access is also a dump.Multiple car wrecks, couches, household appliances etc.. but a good access to this stream!Good fishing!Never too far from the road – we had a super hatch in the afternoon.A great day – Plenty to the net.Adaline catches a fish!Great job!Lochlan nets a fish for Guy.A great day out.The best Clutha day in years!We had a great fishing..Back she goes..Over 6lbs, my best off the river in ages. Graeme swings through a nice seem..A nice fish to finish the day.Brendan into one..Shortest drive in 10 years guiding!!A great day with lots to the net.Off to the high country..Cold but the fishing was good..Lochlan fires one out..A nice little trout..A good day with Robbie and the kids..Lochlan works his magic again – he caught this fishing behind me!Freedom for me and Kevin for a few days!Good to get away with my great friend..Fishing was good..Chunky..Another lake on day 2.Cold..Dangerous wading on Lake Tekapo.. Stay on the hard ground!A nice little rainbow!Robbie into a Dunstan brown..The moment the fly came out! Feck!Great to fish with Paul again!Paul Macandrew. One of the best!Paul tripped on the fuel tank, he fell and knocked me over, I knocked Lochlan over and he went over board and took a dip! My spare fleece top converted into a pair of pants!September midge fishing..A brilliant day..A silver beauty..
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..
Continuing from the last blog.. Jeff proudly wears a gift from my daughter, Adaline. She’s a great tier for 7 years old.See the fish? I can’t, but he’s there....and we got him.A new day and a great start..Good action today..Into another..well conditioned brown..A good cast and he ate… but got away.My favourite section on a stunning and peaceful river.A tangle to finish the day!Tough light today.. and hard fishing.I set up a deep nymph rig to blind fish a deep riffle – Jeff got 2 from it!How quickly a day can turn around..and then another on my hotspot nymph.Tough wind a light all day but 3 in the net in the last hour. Never lose heart!The last day and it was freezing.We got his one in the first pool..The weather deteriorated quickly – 2c, we called it early. It wasn’t a day for wet wading.Cloudy and damp, but lovely.It was pleasure to take Evan out for a couple of days.A good caster! Make a massive difference over here.Raining but pleasant.Into another..My trusty Claret Nymph.We also had a great day after rainbow but I lost the pics!Sometimes they don’t have to be big....but sometimes they are! A great rainbow for James.A good day with these 3. Only one in the net but that’s fishing.A full house for Christmas. Guy, Robbie and Mick.Robbie and Wesley.Guy trying out his new Temu rod.Adaline playing a Dustan trout.A great family day out.Weed and mud! Lovely.Great weather, most of us jumped in for a swim.A good day out..Spoonbill, first time seeing them locally.Tiga into one.Superb.Good action..The one that got away..Only a few opportunities today..One of 3 in the net. This was the best.A successful into to NZ fly fishing.January 1 and Robbie lines up his first trout of the year… which he got!Consulting the box of tricks.A lovely day out..And a few trout. This on my hotspot – Now available in a 14 which I love.A stunner for Robbie.Time to walk out.Fellow West of Ireland man, Padraic, having the perfect start to the day.Things went quiet for a good while after that..A blind fished worm to the rescue.And a cracker he was..Fat!Some great action..One on the 16 brown nymph. A little heavier than the 16 claret.And another fatty.Lovely.Day 2 was a lot harder..But persistence payed off.. 16 brown nymph again.
What a month October was. After a dry winter, the rain came with a vengeance in September. By October most rivers were too full and dirty to fish. My policy is to never cancel because there’s always somewhere to fish regardless of past or present weather – and there is! But I can tell you, I was stretched at times in the last month. It became a game of watching online river flows like a hawk. Waiting for gaps between rain events and snowmelt. The latter is so hard to gauge. I’d check the flow late in the evening and it’s looking positive, check again in the morning and it’s jumped 2 cumecs but there’s been no rain.. feckin snowmelt. Sometimes I could successfully get in and fish a section of river before it was blown again the next day – these were the wins!
Another challenge was the state of the 4×4 tracks to get to some of the locations I fish when the shit hits the fan. Holes, ruts, washouts, river crossings etc.. “thanks for the four wheel driving extravaganza” one client said. 4x4ing is usually a relatively small a part of this game but in the last month it was almost a daily occurrence. I had to use my rear locker and low range on multiple occasions during October. The vehicle took some abuse but thankfully I was never stuck for too long. I think only one flat tire for the month was pretty good going. Having had a triple locked 80 series Land Cruiser for 9 years I was a bit spoiled with off road capability but so far I’m loving the Hilux. I’d like some more clearance but besides that I’m very happy with it..
With all the challenges came a few blank days but also some incredible fishing. Most notable was the number of very big trout. I’ve always liked October for big trout and the one just gone has been one of the best I’ve had. Big fish for clients and a few for me too. No doubles though, but there’s plenty time to search out one of those!
I do like when the weather doesn’t cooperate if I’m being honest – although, not as much as the month just gone! I like being pushed onto still waters with clients who’d normally prefer rivers. It gives me an opportunity to show them just how good still waters can be. It also adds locations to my repertoire which helps keep it interesting for me and my clients. Most of my regular clients are now more than happy with either river or still-water, whichever makes most sense on the day, regardless of the weather. The lakes really shouldn’t be a back-up plan, for me they’re a legit option on any day.
With all the flood water around for the last month I have barely seen my local rivers, so I’m looking forward to that. Hopefully the flood damage is minimal. With floods increasing in regularity and vigour some local water can become unrecognisable after a big flood. This one seems like a prolonged flood more than a big one so hopefully no damage will be done. Time will tell.
For the flies that did the damage all month you can check them out here.. For bookings or enquiries you can contact me on ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
No end to the list of war crimes and atrocities from Israel. The plight of the Palestinians is never far from my thoughts… but the world just watches a live holocaust unfolding…
Tight Lines, Ronan..
Brendan and Will during a very successful trip to Mackenzie Country last September.5lbs for Brendan – The best for the trip!The start of a trip with Marcus..Mixed conditions..My first of the season!Marcus into his first of the season..Such stunning trout..Wilderness accommodation..Traditional steak, spuds and beans!A 7lber goes back..Then this stunner – 9lbsOne of my favourite still waters.. But we blanked!The next day was wild! This has to be one of my all time favourite trout.. Big fish kept coming....and another..And then a big one for me.. 8 for the day with half of them between 7 and 8lbs.It was really too high and dirty – but we wanted to see it!Blind fishing streamers and worms and sighting the edges when possible..The best of 2 for the day.DunstanBrad is totally new to fly fishing but he took to it really well after my 4 step beginners lesson.Hi bro Rick has a day or two more experience with a fly rod..Brad into a big one..Second on fly – 8lbs. Back he goes..A brief spell when this section of river was low enough to fish..Nice but nobody home.. at least they didn’t answer the door!Brad and Rick..Untangling..And then a flat tire..Archie – I gave him a lesson in the morning but he wasn’t bad to begin with! It didn’t take long til we had one in the net.The next day it was dirty and unifishable again!Nice to see a clear river during this wet month..Archie in again..This time a better fish!Brilliant stuff from Archie and his dad Nick..2 days with this great fella from the USA… Things conspired against us. We tried hard but had 2 blanks. It happens.A great wave for the bugger..Dave works some likely water..FishyA brutally hard day. Just one chance and thankfully it stuck. 8.25lbsAnother shot of this perfect specimen.Snowmelt playing hell with the rivers..but still waters are generally unaffected..We had a brilliant one hour window when the place came alive..Tough going besides..Lovely place to fish..Driving home.. the track was in the worst state I’ve seen it in.Holes in the track.. this was far far from the worst of it!More snow coming..Heading home..I’m looking forward to some good weather!The rivers still unfishable so were on the secret dam today..Rick and Graham had a ball..Two failed attempts to walk across the pipe – might as well just wade!Buzzer fishing. Blind and sighted.Graham is pretty new to this. He got this one when left to his own devises.I thought we’d get on a river for the last day but snowmelt sent them up again..Windy as feck.Shelter from the wind!Fishing between the trees.Lake Wanaka was so full it was hard to navigate some shorelines.We popped in on Dunstan on the way home and got 3 – 5 total for the day.Graham was very happy with his 2 late trout.. And thats October done and dusted!Time for a wash.
One of the most memorable days of my season was in March. I was out with Skyler and Eamonn. The prospects for the day were good with a little rain forecast in the morning followed by a nice sunny day from about noon. Off we went to the river. The morning was cool and dry. We got rigged up excited about what the day might bring. Shortly after starting fishing some light rain began. As we moved up river the rain turned into snow and the temperature rapidly dropped. This was unexpected but I didn’t think it would persist. Well, persist it did. It got heavier to the point of blizzard conditions and inches of snow started to accumulate on the ground. I was confident it would abate and the sun would come out and warm us up.. but 2 hours later the snow was still bucketing down with no end it sight. We were all wet wading. My feet were freezing – all our feet were freezing. With no sign of a break in the cloud I had to make the very unusual decision to bail out. Nobody complained. Once the decision was made to get out, it seemed important to make haste. Frostbite crossed my mind for the first time in my fishing life. We walked back in the river to stop our toes from freezing. I doubt we were in any real danger but holy feck it was cold. We got back to my truck and headed to the warmth of my house. We had lunch with the heat pump on full and cups of hot tea. After about an hour our core temperatures came up a bit and we were ready for round 2. The sun was now shining and it was nice a warm. Hot even! Such extremes in a day I’ve rarely experienced. It was March 15th which is usually still like summer!
It should be said that this summer was cooler than usual. There were some very cold spells which actually made some options fishable in high summer that usually wouldn’t be. It was also extremely dry. I don’t think there’s been any notable rain in this area for about 6 months.
The photos below tell a few more stories. Trips with the kids and Rahel – our fantastic au pair, a lakes trip with Graeme, fishing with Bryan, the Highlights from the world famous Pisspot and more. Enjoy! Next up will be late March and into April.
For a look at my flies check this out. They’re all available to purchase in-store at Patagonia Queenstown too. To book for next season (filling up fast) contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines and Free Palestine. Ronan..
Bryan works a nice pool..Some dries for summer.. Mostly available from Fulling MillA lovely Southland stream.Plenty fish in this big pool..Working some of the trickiest willow grubbers I’ve encountered.Brian into one during a brilliant day.Cruising a backwater.. I got this one under my rod tip.Nice water. Varied.Out for spin with Lochlan, Adalin and Rahel.Loving it!LochlanThe next day we went to the East coast after Kahawai. Tides were all wrong!Alan..Fishing was no good but it nice to hang out by the sea.LochlanRahel fires one out.Good fun on the dunes.Adaline – That’s Guy behind her trying to catch a fish.Adalines art.Great work.Out with Graeme.Flats.Another one goes back. Graeme learned a lot from Zoom casting lessons from Paul.More flats..A super fish from a foot of water.Right through the boot and just touched the skin!Day 2 – Windy!Good blind buggering.One on the Bruiser.Interesting clouds.Lovely brownie on my indicator dry #12.I usually walk past this water only browsing as I pass it by. On this day it was full of fish!We had some great fishing in the dirty water.The wind didn’t quit!Time to head out.Fellow Irishman, Kevin...we had a nice day.Skyler into one..Solid troutDay 2 was different!Snow. Lots of it.It got heavier and heavier.Made for a memorable day!Skyler managed one..This is Summer.The Bruiser saved the dayBack he goes..Time to bail out of this cold..The same day after a slow, warming lunch.A memorable day for all concerned.John takes the Pisspot.Great craic around the fire afterwards..Brayden and Wesley.
There was a nice mix of fishing to be had in April. At times the rivers were in great shape between rain events and I made the most of those opportunities for myself and my clients. There were a few days where the rain pushed me away from the rivers to take on some lakes – this worked out very well. As anyone who reads this knows by now, I love any opportunity to fish the lakes. Generally my clients prefer rivers but for one reason or another, most of my regular clients have fished lakes with me by now. Some are a little bit on the fence with some aspects of still waters but the majority now love it and usually request at least one lake day on a multi day trip.
Later in the month my streamers really came into their own. As some chunky browns congregated around some high country stream mouths, it was time to get stuck in. I had some great fishing for myself and for my clients landing trout with a few over the 7lb mark.
After 7 months looking after Adaline and Lochlan, our Au pair, Ilana wanted to catch a trout. We got out for a day on Dunstan where I figured trolling sinking lines would easily do the business. It didn’t! She lost one right away, then got a few hits before finally (after many hours!) getting stuck in a 1lb rainbow. She was delighted and relieved, we all were! I prepared it for dinner, crudo style with lemon, salt, olive oil and capers. A lovely way to eat fresh, wild trout.
It was great to see many of my regulars over the month and a few new recruits too. Seeing people coming back for more certainly makes it all worth while.
If you’d like to check out my range of flies for NZ you can do so on the Fulling Mill website. It’s winter now so I recommend my hotspot nymphs for the larger rivers which remain open and my range of streamers for the rivers and lakes. You can see them all here.
Next season is filling up fast but feel free to get in touch to lock in a trip. You can contact me at ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines. Ronan..
The start of a few days with Craig and Peter.It didn’t take long to get a few on the board.Back he goes..A solid bow! My trusty hotspot visible hanging there!A tough day here with high water and limited opportunities.A healthy trout on my Tussock Cicada size 8.Lovely little trout..A deadly pool!Peter with a perfect browny.Take it!He did take it in the end. A super trout..The end of a very good few days.A day trip with a couple of nice Aussie fellas..A few nice browns to the net.Perfect blue sky day.Happy anglers!Not a bad spot..The start of a great day with Luke and Harvey..Harvey into one..Luke had some weird bad luck.. The fish just kept getting off!!Always a great spot..Lovely water..Luke with a good cast..A great bow for Harvey..Off to the highcountry!Late season stream mouths are always worth a look.I had a great day with my streamers.. This one on the Midnight.Then this beauty on the Pyrotechnic.. Another on the Pyro. Primal Bold 6 weight..The Bruiser.. hard to beat.A very fat trout on the Green Machine.Another on the Green Machine.Magnificent spots on this one.Off home after a great day..Back up again with Roger.. The rivers were in flood, but I knew where there were a few trout!A brilliant 7.25lber for Roger.Love the late season colour..Our Au pair, Ilana. She wanted to catch a fish before she left us!These little feckers came too!Ilana did not want to give up – so I had to give in and turn on Netflix for these two. Their patience were running thin!Finally! Persistence paid off. We have dinner.. well, maybe a starter!A nice day on Dunstan with Bruce.His first on fly after a lesson..Not a monster but great to get one on the first day.Enjoying the view..Out with Andrew.. The rod often looked like this!The best fish came in the morning..Another..And another great trout almost in the net..interesting spiky tree.A lovely riffle.Worms are always useful..In again..Another beauty..Same fish just before going back..A great day with lots of trout to the net.Adaline reeling one in..Lochlan and Adaline. They love the river. Hopefully it’ll always be there for them.Success. She decided to return this one.Off home with wet boots and a fishing story!Out myself for a day exploring new water..I had great fishing. After a quiet start it all turned on!Super trout. I recently got some Primal Bold rods for guiding. They are great rods! I got the 5,6 and 7. They all do what they’re meant to do.
It’s great to be busy guiding again after a couple of hard years. November was a challenging month to guide. Not many nice days! Lots of rain and stormy conditions. The rivers were regularly coloured up as a result. Now and again I had to use lakes and still waters to keep my clients on the fish – but of course I adore this type of fishing so for me it’s not really a plan B, it’s just another option. All up it was a successful month through bad weather. I enjoy the challenge of finding good, clear water to fish through these rain events and I’m yet to cancel a guide day due to weather or water conditions. There’s always water to fish!
Fish were a little leaner than usual earlier on in the season. I put it down to the harsh winter and more specifically a monster flood last July which completely changed many parts of my local rivers. Some of my favourite beats were unrecognisable when I went back to fish them with dad in October. Fish numbers and quality certainly suffered as a result. It was really heartbreaking at times. Walking upstream and not even knowing where I was on the beat. Large corner pools gone – pools that I never thought would move. Long sections of pools and bends bulldozed straight and useless by 460 cumecs. I’ve been using all my spare time trying to get out there to rediscover them and find out where is or is not worth fishing. Thankfully I’m getting a good handle on where is fishing well. Fish are in good condition once again and the rivers are starting to get comfortable with their new courses. Certainly my biggest fear going forward are these huge floods. Hundred year floods they call them… the annual hundred year flood I call them! The flood in July did so much damage around the country. I can’t imaging what 2 or even 3 of these events in a short space of time could do. Utter destruction to rivers and fish populations. I have already been hearing some sad stories from the top of the South Island. Anyway, right now the rivers down here are recovering well and fish numbers are still healthy in most of the rivers. Many rivers were unaffected, thankfully.
My own fishing was pretty limited through November because I was so busy with work. I did get out for a relaxing few hours before a 10 day straight stint. Also one big day through a gorge on my annual pilgramige to catch up with my old friend. Check out the full story here. It’s well worth a read!
The gallery below covers the highlights of a busy month of guiding. I was out most days and now I’m taking a few much needed days off. When I get a chance I’ll put together an account of my time fishing with dad in September and October. We fished 26 days so it certainly warrants its own report!
You can check out my fly patterns, the ones I use on a daily basis over here on the Fulling Mill website. If you’re within NZ I may be able to help you out with a deal. Just let me know. I currently have 7 patterns available in various sizes but I expect to have 7 more patterns available next month.
My season ahead is pretty much full – There may be a gap here or there although I know April still has gaps. Feel free to get in touch about guided fishing this season or next (which is already filling up). Contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines.. Ronan..
Lake Dunstsn. A great option when the rivers get dirty. Even the lake was too dirty to fish by the end of the day!A stunning trout on my sunken green beetle – a new killer pattern!Working “O Malleys bank” carefully..Brendan makes a mean coffee! Also smoked trout and cream cheese on crackers.Clear water when everything else was blown! Aside from getting jumped twice we managed 2 good trout.A tough day on a Maniototo still water.Benndan saved the day with one great fish from the river.A very welcome trout.Rivers clear enough to fish by now.Some good fishing!Clearing nicely.Healthy brown trout.Fishing to a difficult brown.A few great days with Bill. This superb 7.25lb trout on day one.More rain.But the fishing was very good.Walking back..A 4 and a 6 SLHT – a great combo for Southland rivers.After a bad start we had a super day!My 16 clarets deadly as always..Best rods for NZ. I now own a 7wt too – a powerful weapon.The trout cottage. Luxury accommodation.The Bruiser doing its thing.A great couple of days with Brendo. Plenty fish!Full but fishable.A lovely early season stream. One for me before 10 days straight guiding.Will – new to fly fishing – landed 3 great fish after a casting lesson!The Hotspot. A very useful fly.A healthy rainbow.Eamonn first NZ trout.Fish of the trip! Over 6lbs on the hotspot..Back he goes – A delighted angler!Another one goes back. A fellow Irishman, we had great craic over 2 days.Another super bow..We had a wicked hatch here for a hour. Not easy but we did okay!Working the water..Out with Gordon – River high and coloured after overnight rain.Into one on the Bruiser.A great fish on a hard day..The first proper sunny day in ages!And the fishing was great.Graham did really well.A spectacular day.. Felt great to be out in it after some cold, wet days.Lovely!Friends of ours, Diana and Shirdoo during a casing lesson.A fun day out but fish were not really playing ball!Shirdoo fires a streamer into a likely spot.My annual pilgrimage....to see this old fella....the only fish in the river, he’s now 10.5lbs. My 4th time catching him.A great day with Greg Ford and his son Chris from Ireland. Great see them over here. I knew Greg when I lived in Ireland from a few meetings on the lakes.A super 6lber for Greg.Chris into a good brown as the rain hammered down. By the end of the day the river was rising a getting dirty.
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..
Out for a look on one of my favourite winter lakes..One of these under a dry and scout the edges.. This is the Fulling Mill Tactical fly box – very slim and lots of room.No joy, but I didn’t mind..Out with the family..Lochlan on the engine..Just me – out in the boat today..This should do! The mighty Bruiser..Hard to find fish.. Pulled up to fish a river mouth.. moved one or 2 decent fish.A tough, cold day. Fish were just not on, but landed four 1 pounders.On the bank today..Once again, fish hard to come by so this super 5.25lber made my day.Another day done..Family walk… with the rod!Dunstan today with Wesley and Guy..We had decent fishing. The lake is very slow to fire up this winter..Wesley fishing O Malleys Bank.Ideal conditions.No good with the nymphs, only buggers. My Killer smelt mainly.Gorgeous day..Fishing these flats always feels promising.Great colour.GuyAny second now….Call it a day..a great day,Lessons for the lads!Great students..No fish on day 1 but day 2 was excellent!Lots of fish for everyone.Cam puts one backThen this! The fish of the trip..A beauty.A lovely winters evening..Day 3. 4 today!Tom landed this super trout..Winter trout flats..Time for Rick to get one.. We worked it for a while until….. he got his trout!Lots of witnesses too!Call it a day – one for dinner!Wesley came to join me for some lunch on shore..It was a good thing he did!The place went cracked for about 5 minutes..The fishing was great!!In the bag..
Between 2002 and 2011 I fished the majority of every NZ season. Total freedom. I’d work in Ireland during the NZ winter and save as much as I could for the next trip to NZ. After moving to NZ full time in 2011, much of the freedom continued – I just had to fit the fishing around work. As a single man I’d fish every weekend, public holiday and day off throughout all seasons. Things are different now. My wife and 2 kids are now my priority. It’s amazing how quickly time passes and I’m enjoying every minute with them. Recently I got a window to go away and fish myself for 3 days. I really don’t remember when I had this last! Guiding is different, I’m talking personal personal fishing time. Mark was on board to join me right away as we were trying to put a trip together anyway. Next I thought I’d ask a few of the other lads. 4 of us ended up hitting the road for 3 days… I forgot how great the freedom of being on the road fishing feels. That was the drug for 9 years of NZ seasons before I decided to live here. Of course I still fish a lot, a few days a week I’ll get out for a fish. Even if it’s just a few hours. But it’s so hard now to get away over night with my 2 little beauties to look after.
We had 3 brilliant days of fishing. We broke up in different groups each day and covered small streams, stillwaters and rivers. It was a nice mix of tried and trusted and totally new water. One of the exploration days yielded a superb find. A piece of water that I cant wait to get back to with better conditions. Also an excellent guiding option. The highlight of the 3 days for me was a stillwater that I used to fish a lot many years ago. Kevin (Shotgun) first took me there in about 2004. I have so many great memories of the place since then. I had magic fishing on it with my dad – some of our best memories of fishing together over here actually. I also fished it with Chris Dore, Bob Wyatt, Tonio, Fraser and now Wesley. Early season access has always been hard to get with lambing but we were just lucky on our day that they had moved the ewes into the next field and the farmer was happy to let us through. About the fishing – Wesley went left and I went right. Numbers were less than in the past but still plenty to keep us focused. We each landed a few of the most beautiful trout an angler can can catch. Sight fishing with a dry dropper accounted for most. When we were almost finished on it, I changed to a double nymph rig to fish some deep water blind. I moved 3 before landing another stunner.. That was the icing on the cake. I have to say, I’m delighted and relieved to have my HT6 again. It’s been cursed that rod! It keeps getting broken – not manufacture error I should say – just stupit shit keeps happening to it! I feel like the curse is now over and I’ll be able to enjoy this fabulous rod again. If not, I have a back up. Ha! Take that, curse!
Part of the craic on a trip like this is getting into the pub at the end of the day for feed and a schather of pints. I rarely look past the steak option and the beer was good. The pub was quiet but 4 like-minded fellas will always have a good time!
3 days, good friends, lots of craic and plenty trout. Now I need another fix!
In other news, I’ve had a few days guiding – delighted to get them under the circumstances. All very successful days with lots to the net each day. The best result had to be from Angela, who after a casting lesson landed three 5lb browns. That was her first day with a fly rod! Pretty amazing result. Great to see Brian again after his 11lber last season. Also lovely to get out with Sam and Fred again. Last time we fished together Sam broke in 4 big trout. On our recent day she made no mistakes! They both landed some magnificent trout. I know Chuan will be jealous..
Pure Fly NZ has moved off mainstream tv and onto youtube. This makes it very easy to access where ever you are in the world! Myself and Jeff had some super fishing in our episode and Nick was right there to capture it all. You can watch it, and all the other episodes from series 4 for free on youtube. Here’s a link to our episode.
If you’re in NZ and interested in some guided fly fishing, feel free to drop me a line to book a trip before you can’t travel at all!! Visit my website or email ronan@sexyloops.com
My nymphs have been accounting for nearly all the river fish and some of the lake fish in the gallery below. If you’re thinking about stocking up for the NZ season, these are my tried and trusted range of weighted nymphs. You can check them out here.
Tight lines, Ronan..
Great fun on the lake in September..
Superb mid-range rods. If you’re looking for a versatile rod for NZ, the Primal Raw 7 is a great option.
Great conditioned fish and plenty of them. I wasn’t hanging out for October 1!
September lake edge cruisers loved my little Claret nymph from Fulling Mill.
No skinny fish which early season is often related to.
Perfect!
Great day guiding Brian. He landed 7 super trout using a range of tactics.
September sight fishing..
Have to fill a few gaps here for the new season.
A box full of my nymphs available from Fulling Mill. Just put Ronan’s nymphs in the search box.
My dads NZ dry. An excellent all round pattern.
Ready for battle.
There’s a few things I need but this will keep me going!
Ready.
First fish of the season!
Mark and I landed 6. Hard to get good pics because we were wading out! A magnificent opening day.
First guide day of the season ..
After a casting lesson Angela landed three 5lbers. An amazing result!
The nicest of the 3 fives.
Out with Samantha and Fred..
A brilliant fish for Sam. Her best of the day.
Perfect conditions.
6lbs for Fred.
Hooked about a dozen, landed 8 great fish.
Reunited with my HT6..
3 days away with Wesley, Mark and Brayden.
Brilliant fishing!
The HT6 is the best 6 weight out there..
Another one goes back..
Brayden borrowed my back up HT6.
Brayden onto one.
End of a great day!
Day 2. The best weather day.
A brilliant fish in the net.
Blind fishing a double nymph rig with the HT6.
Years since I fished here. So many great memories.
The most beautirul trout live here.
6.5lbs of perfection – and strong!
A super moment..
Perfcetion for Wesley.
After the backwater we went up river.
Some beauties for Wesley.
Stunning..
The farther we went the wilder it got!
Lovely.
Long days already and we were in no rush to turn around.
Change flies.
Just seeing a river is so satisfying.
Popped in to fish this backwater. Got one. Lots of potential.
The last pool before the hike out.
One last view of the backwater..
What a day..
This lead to quite a headache on day 3! Might be why I got no photos!!