Ronan's Report » Marcus Fletcher

Precious Cargo!

May 24th, 2019 Ronan Creane No comments

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..

: Joe Creane takes the European Cup, 2018! Congratulations!!

: Day one of 3 with Andrew..

: The rain came in but we had super fishing landing at least a dozen.

: This run was full of fish!

: This was the best out of it..

: Day 2 with everything flooded! It took a while to find fishable water..

: The fishing was good once we found the spot..

: .. a good hatch and lovely trout rising..

: Andrew did well..

: Time to call it a day..

: Day 3, a little farther north. This 7.5lber was a surprise! Andrew nailed a very tight cast to get this one..

: 2 deer wandering the river!

: Some good rainbows too..

: Autumn colour..

: Super fish!

: Chuan into one on an exploratory day..

: A lovely silver bar. This fish was all we saw so we changed plan..

: ..Likely water..

: Beautifully marked brown..

: In again..

: ..cracker!

: Gleaming!

: We had a good week.. Decent numbers of fish and sufficiently challenging!

: This river regularly carves a new path meaning that to know it requires regular attention!

: ..stunning!

: Small water..

: ..solid fish!

: A tough day this one.. fish not out!

: Then the river went green!!?? No rain, no farming which I’d expect pollution from. It was gone in the morning.

: This from the green tinted water to save the day..

: Steak.

: Any man that would complain about steak, spuds and black chilli beans isn’t a man at all!! (This is Chuans happy face)

: Gorgy water.. and another tough day..

: .. not bad..

: This is where he was..

: Lots of history from the gold mining days..

: A cold start! Broken ice in the winch, droplets frozen on the front of the truck.

: The crane!

: Beautiful morning.. but cold!

: yes, cold..

: This looks alive!

: Congrats Chuan!

: At #1. First place for Chuan Tay with this fish just under 9lbs. This fecker goes hard..

: A couple of days with Robbie..

: Plenty fish and fun!

: Healthy fish!

: Robbie..

: Football!

: There were 4 in the run and we got them all!

: Robbie into one..

: An odd rainbow for good measure..

: Not bad..

: Then this one over 6lbs.. Super!

: A little exploring..

: My dream cottage. I want to build one just like this!

: Over a hill to explore a lake. It was okay with lots of summer potential.

: Brown trout!

: Brown trout!

: I had a great few days with these fellas! Garris (on left) was a beginner and Butler had solid experience..

: Superb condition! Migratory fish are the best!

: Wesley and my dam still working (sort of)!

: In the gorge..

: Day 3. Garris finally got his shit together and started catching fish! His first broke my rod..

: ..but we got the fish! It was great watching Garris go from scratch beginner to putting out a good line and catching fish by day 3. 6 to be precise! Keep it up!!

: Beautiful..

: And then a tank of a rainbow..

: Superb!

: Garris with another..

: Great few days! Looking forward to next time..

: Strong as a horse this fella!

: Tough day but we managed 2..

: ..and got a lift out..

: ..a lift out is always a happy bonus!

: Breakfast before going into the gorge..

: Lovely water..

: Always tough going..

: ..always beautiful!

: We hooked 7 landing 4. This was the cheek of a brown. The blue was so striking!

: Fish of the day!

: Change of pace..

: We had good fishing!

: Brown and rainbow trout skins are getting my attention lately.

: Super trout!

: Streamer time!! Sometimes you need weight!

: Why not stick on a couple of eyes..

: Misty morning..

: ..and the fish were on!!

: This was the 3rd..

: More and more of my clients are arriving with Sexyloops Hot Torpedos. Brendan broke his in in style! 7lbs..

: Back she goes with her precious cargo..

: Magnificent water..

: ..and equally magnificent fish..

: One of 7 on day 2 after a blank on day 1. This fish went bananas! What a trout..

: Change of pace for day 3.

: Nice water..

: We landed 4.

: Day 4. 8 for brendan..

: A smoked 1lber for lunch!

: Streamer time!

: To round off the 9 photos, my best of the season so far. It took me til May to catch a fish worthy of my own leaderboard! Next season I’ll fish more..

: Then this 7.. I also had a 5.

: Heading out for a float with Chris!

: Tough day, just a fish each.

: A rainbow for Chris..

: ..and one for me!

Categories: Expedition Tags: 80 series land cruiser, Burke Boat, Chris Dore, Chuan Tay, European Cup 2018, Iza, Joe Creane, Marcus Fletcher, Precious cargo, Robbie Mcphee, Ronan Creane, Simon Svan, Winter fishing NZ, Winter Rainbows

What Defines a Trophy Trout?

April 22nd, 2018 Ronan Creane No comments

When we think of trophy trout many of us think about the elusive 10lber. Clearly a trout of this size in NZ is a trophy but there’s more to consider. Rainbow trout live about half as long as a brown trout making it much harder for them to reach 10lbs in weight in a natural, wild environment. I have never caught a 10lb plus rainbow. I have landed at least 3 of over 8lbs which I believe to be trophies. From my own experience, I would equal a 10lb brown to an 8lb rainbow. It may be more relevant to say that a trophy trout is relative to the fishery. Anyway, I’ve gone away from the point I had intended to make. There is another trophy trout available in NZ. I think the ultimate prize is not only a very big fish but a very beautiful one too. I think that the odds of catching a big and a beautiful fish are stacked against you, so it’s okay to reduce the “trophy” weight a little! On a recent 5 day trip with my friend and client, Marcus, we got one of those. It was the last fish landed out of 24 for the trip! The scenario was interesting. We were deep in the backcountry and time was running out. We got to a pool and there were 4 visible trout. Mostly around 5lbs but one was clearly bigger than the rest. Certainly 7 plus. I know this section of river to hold some of the most stunning late season trout I’ve seen and I really wanted Marcus to catch one of those. We both agreed, go straight for the big one even though doing this would most likely spook the rest. Marcus sent in a good shot and the fish ate but no hook up. The fish stayed happily in position so he tried again with no response from the trout. I made a number of fly changes with no joy. The other fish were getting a little agitated but generally pretty happy – then I spotted a new arrival to the pool glowing with striking orange colouration. Marcus had seen him moving from the left side of the pool to the right, I missed that but as soon as I saw the fish I knew he had to be our number 1 target. He maybe looked a little smaller than the big one but these orange browns are unique to this river. I’ve been lucky enough to land a few over the years. Our attention moved to him. He ate the first nymph Marcus cast to him but didn’t stick. A few casts later the trout decided to move around the pool passing right under Marcus, eyeballing him as he went.. I passed him my streamer rod before the fish left the pool. Sometimes a spooked fish will still eat a streamer. Marcus sent in the shot, strip strip strip and the trout nailed it! The battle was chaotic including me nearly falling into a deep hole of swift water in my attempt to net the fish. Thankfully the fish stayed on and we landed him downstream a short while later. A truly spectacular trout – he hit the scales at just under 8lbs. One I wont forget. The photo I got does him some justice but it was hard to get a great shot in the low light of the gorge. A trophy trout? You decide!

This blog brings me up to date with my guiding escapades. I’d like to give an account of all the days out but the photos and captions will have to do! I’m loving the evolution of my guiding career. More and more repeat business, forging great friendships with those I guide, more multi-day trips, fewer Queenstown pick-ups. Next season is filling up incredibly quickly so please get in touch if you’d like to lock in a trip.

I managed lots of time to fish myself in the last 2 months so my next blog will be about that.. Some big / beautiful fish, fishing with dad, Robbie, Jeff, Kota etc.. I’ve also started doing a little editing again. I have 3 short films on Vimeo. Here are the links..

Willow Grubbing https://vimeo.com/265928287

Fishing with Dad and Shotgun Kevin https://vimeo.com/264378584

In the Gorge https://vimeo.com/263071289

Thats all for now.. Still plenty spaces in May! For bookings and information contact me on ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website http://www.ronansflyfishingmissions.com

Tight Lines,

Ronan..

Five Days With Marcus..

: Day 1. Tough day on the river, though we landed 2. We fished til beyond sunset landing two more on the secret dam. Nymphs and streamers moved quite a few more..