Ronan's Report

I’ve often been asked “so, what was your greatest fly fishing moment?” Every time I draw a blank. When I think for a while something pops into my head – usually something recent because its fresh. Those fly fishing highlights tend to fade but it’s important try to keep them alive. Reliving the memory can be almost as good as being there. I learned that from my friend Robbie Mcphee. I have to say, for me, most of the great highs were with catching big fish. This was one of those.

I fish this river once or twice a season. It requires a long drive and decent hike but the real reason I rarely fish it is out of respect for the fish in it. There are not many and I always feel like it could be a pressure sensitive fishery (if it got any pressure). The most I’ve seen in a day is 6 but usually just 2 or 3. I’ve seen none a couple of times too. I remember the first fish I caught on it 5 years ago. A big, incredibly beautiful 9lber. I caught him blind fishing a deep pool with a streamer. Certainly in my top 5 most beautiful fish. Also a great moment of fly fishing.

I visited the river earlier this season. Wandering up the river paying close attention to the spots where I had seen fish over the years, not seeing any. It’s tough, rough terrain but you have to cover a lot of water to have a real chance at success. I was seeing no fish and feeling a little nervous that I may not get a shot. I got to the pool where I caught my first ever trout on it – that stunning 9lber. I couldn’t see any in there. I kept moving upstream, a scramble to the next pool over some steep boulders and matakauri took my attention off the river. As I found solid footing I glanced down, “holy flip” I thought.. then it dissappeared.. did I see anything? Did I spook it? I kept a low profile and watched and waited. Then he reappeared – Rich golden sides and a green back. A big fish – maybe a double. He was moving around the pool emerging now and again from a deep riffle impossible to see into. I altered my rig to suit the scenario. A big indicator dry and a long dropper with a weighted size 12 nymph. I waited for the best opportunity to cast. “Don’t rush this” I had to tell myself. Then the shot presented and my line found it’s way into some tangle weed. I tried to keep my cool but failed and ended up loosing my flies in a matakauri bush. “compose yourself” I said. “Start again”. I wait and wait – no sign for ages – but then there he is. I wait a little longer for the fish to get into the optimum position. I sent in my cast. I saw the fish see my nymph and rise up through the water to get it. The moment he turned I struck – I don’t know if my dry moved. The fish was on. A very powerful, fast run into white water at the head of the pool, I played the fish to the limits of 3x tippet to keep him away from the sharp rocks and undercuts. He didn’t want to leave the pool and I didn’t want him to leave because there was a 6 foot waterfall down to the next pool. I almost had him in the net a couple of times and then he started moving towards the fall, “no, no, NO” I remember saying out loud as he slid over the fall. I considered jumping in but it was dodgy. I had to climb down. Back up the steep boulders to get down the other side. Much harder attached to a big fish. Trying to keep a tight line to the fish while keeping the fly line out of the tanglesom matakauri proved impossible. The line got caught as I climbed down. I slipped and fell the last bit and smacked the reel breaking the rod tip (that happens!) but I still had tension on the fish, just not a straight line from the tip my now shorter rod. The flyline was caught about 12 foot up in the matakauri bushes and the broken bit of my rod tip slid to the dry. I jumped a couple of times and managed to free the line while trying not to loose tension. The fish was still on. I got into the river where there were no more obstacles and slid the net under the fish. I roared out loud with happiness. I took a moment while admiring my prize trying to take it all in. “I recognise you” I thought. It was certainly the first fish I caught on the river 5 years ago. A quick weigh and he’s still 9lbs and living just one pool away from where I first caught him. I took 2 photos with my 10 second timer and let this magnificent creature back into his original pool. It was an utterly fulfilling fly fishing high. Whenever I get asked that question again, this story will do, but there are a few I feel privileged to say. That was the only fish I saw that day and I won’t go back this season.

Guiding has been going great! Happy anglers catching fish in all conditions. A while back I had a week with Chuan. Always fun, never afraid to take a gamble. He caught a fish of a lifetime – a fabulous 11lb brown. Many more great fish too in a diverse week where we took each day as it came. Planning ahead just didn’t work with a very mixed week of weather and inaccurate forecasting.

I’m way behind on blog photos but I didn’t want to add any more here – it just feels like too many and you’d get bored looking at them!

Still some space in April and plenty in May if anybody would like to come over and see what this is all about. Check out my website or email me at ronan@sexyloops.com

Tight Lines, Ronan..

The river became fishable for the first time in 2 months. It was a gamble to go there but I took a chance on it because last years floods were bigger and did no damage. The difference with this years floods is that they’ve been so prolonged. At first glance the river looked okay so we walked an hour downstream to fish back. On arrival the river looked different. Straightened, pools and islands gone. I said to Philip that I thought I had made a mistake. Trout are very resilient to flooding but when a river changes course then fish have to be displaced. Where they end up is anyones guess. We saw a fish in the second pool which Philip hooked, raising our spirits. Then nothing. The river was unrecognisable. One of the best pools on the river had been all but destroyed. There was a small section that remained unchanged and in there were 2 or 3 trout which quickly spooked. We saw one other in the beat. We were through the whole section in a few hours and then retreated to plan B. A tributary which I hoped would not have been so badly affected by the floods. We saw a fish at the bridge which we didn’t get. Then not far up we saw another which we did get on a small nymph. There was another beside him so things were looking good but the river was obviously ravaged by floods. Uprooted trees strewn over vast areas of river plain. After a positive start the damage became more and more apparent and we saw no more fish. I was almost ready to pull the pin but thought we’d go another bit. I was looking for a great pool. Very stable so I expected it would still be there. It wasn’t! Blown out totally. We marched on, not keen on giving up just yet as stubbornness kicked in. One great pool that I had forgotten about was unchanged and we sighted 2 fish in it. If Philip hooked one, he was going to spook the other so we had to pick one. Philip got into position for the lead fish. A bow and arrow cast was the only option. Philip had never successfully used that cast before so was keen to make it work. A number of shots went in before the trout saw the worm fly. The take was hard to see for sure but I called the strike and the fish was on. A fish like that can really turn a day around. By then it was around 5pm so we decided it was a good time to call it a day. I was delighted with the result considering the state of the rivers. Three hooked, 2 landed and had a few other good opportunities. We happily walked back to the truck. Of course we had to see if the bridge fish was back out and as luck would have it, he was! Philip got into position and this time nailed the cast first time and got the fish. Three rainbows between 4 and 5 lbs for the day. A great day on any trout river but I won’t be rushing back; it was quite heartbreaking to see some of my favourite water ripped to bits. I’m not sure how long it’ll take those rivers to heal.

On a more positive note, I finally got back to Southland after flooded rivers kept me away for about 2 months. A few tough days just as the rivers cleared but then we had a few days where everything was right. As luck would have it I was fishing myself while guiding on 2 of those days. Very fulfilling fishing with a great fishing partner. He came through Sexyloops so he’d have to be! His SLHT is well and truly broken in.. Thanks, Alan..

Tight Lines All and a Happy New Year!

Ronan..

Day 2. Tough fishing again but we managed 3 to the net.. one of which swam out!

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..with large trout!

Day one of 3 with Guy. First cast!!

Back to Southland for a look for the first time in 2 months! Floods kept me away.

Lovely to see the rivers fishable again!

We had pretty hard fishing. We had to cover twice as much water as usual to find decent numbers of opportunities.

Guy hooked a lot for the day landing 5 or 6. Smaller than usual..

..but a couple of healthy bows.

Day 3. Something a little different!

We had a 30 minute window when it "turned on"..

Back he hoes.. A most enjoyable few days with Guy. He landed 11. There were 2 more that escaped out of the net!

Manuka in flower.

Regular client, Philip back for more!

A fish late in the day. Always very welcome!

We had a very good day! Landed 2 and got beaten by trout taken mayflies. Very difficult indeed!

Over 6lbs.

Day 2, Some local rivers are finally fishable but sadly totally ruined from the incessant floods. We lost this fish. One of 2 we saw in the main river.

Plan B. Also destroyed from the floods but we got 3 good bows from a few stable pools.

The flooding was bananas. I didn't expect this much damage.

A rare pool undamaged from the floods. Philip did well with a bow and arrow cast here!

Good fish!

We didn't get the "bridge fish" on the way up but he was back out on the way back down. First cast in the right place and there was no hesitation! Hopefully these river heal in time..

Day one of 3 with Alan. Off the mark in the first pool.

We had a few of these before moving to a wee stream.

Small, magical water..

7 for the day with a couple of 5lbers.

The problem was there were too many fish! Spook one and he'd tear up the pool spooking his friends. Some even ran up riffles alerting the trout in the next pool before we got there. Still great fun!

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Cold, wet and cloudy. The fish were pretty non-responsive but we got 4.

Alan in again.. After loosing a few he really wanted this one in the net..

..we got it!

Very enjoyable day in adverse conditions.

Day 3 - Sight fishing all day!

The fish were on! We hooked all of the first 7 sighted fish before I let the side down! 6lbs for Alan.

Alan and a spiky plant!

The sun came out at lunchtime. I blind fished a fast deep run with a worm fly and got this super fish a hair under 7lbs.

Back he goes.. I was delighted with this!

The run where I got him..

Great backcountry water!

Riverside wild flowers..

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It's a while since I've been to this spot! I forgot just how beautiful and prolific it is.

Super water all the way!

We lost one here..

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Dandelion kinda thing!

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..

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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...