After a hot and dry summer I was very happy to feel the weather cooling down. Autumn is a lovely time of year to fish as the leaves change colour. Trout also change colour as they darken up before spawning. Their colours can be quite spectacular. We generally get regular hatches on the rivers in April brought on by the cooler temperatures. These can produce some great sport. This year the hatches have been fickle so far, likely due to too much water in the rivers. Fish start to move up rivers and congregate at river mouths in preparation for spawning. This can also lead to great fishing opportunities. I have only a few more bookings for the season so it looks like I’ll have some time to indulge myself! I’m looking forward to that. Locally the rivers are in flood right now and they’re very slow to drop because the land is so saturated. One extreme to the other. It’s no surprise as this season of extremes continues. There’s always somewhere to fish though so I’m not too worried!
It was great to take Bernt Johansson fishing in February! We Have a few mutual friends – Paul and Stefan to name a couple. Bernt is a very successful distance casting competitor and has been part of the sexyloops brotherhood for years. Hopefully we’ll meet again.
Much and February and March are covered in the photos below. It wasn’t always easy but the results were mostly very good. I might actually get up to date with my photos when I next write a blog! This year I’ve always been at least a month behind. Enjoy the pics anyway! They tell the story..
You can check out my flies here. If you’d like to get in touch about guided fly fishing over the remainder of this season, over winter or next season you can contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines! Ronan..
Biggsy in action! The most famous of the FARTS.Super bow..Fitz casting to a fish..Another aerial battle!On the Waiau – post the Fjordland adventure with Bryan and Tim..No problem getting down but getting back up was another story!Almost there..I didn’t even catch a fish for my effort!Camp. 2 more fishing days ahead.Thinking outside the box to get away from the many anglers around this season in Southland. We had brilliant fishing and didn’t see a boot print.My kiwi dun was just the ticket..A likely riffle..A cracking fish on my claret 16...he took me to my backing on 5x.Likely water..Tim under the bridge..Last day. Tim with the last fish…..before this southerly screamed in! A good time to call it..John and Bernt.Not easy fishing but we got a couple and had a decent amount of chances.Not sure why my camera went BW!Fishing with Alan for a couple of days..Into a solid trout!Great water..A magnificent 5lber for me on the Hotspot #10.Delighted with this..Alan into one..I love this pool!!!Alan casts to a happy fish..Very nice water..Working a likely pool..A proper pint at the end!Day 2 – chasing something big.. the one in this pic is big!!We saw a few in the morning but then the southerly wind came up and stopped all activity.This kind man gave us a lift back! Happily locked into the back of a strangers truck!! Beats walkin’!Definitely beats walking..One more option back at the truck before we call it a day....Alan got this beauty..Day 1 with Chuan and Kim.. First pool and Kim is in!Then Chuan..Chuan and his fish!Chuan looking “cool”. Obviously.A good start for Kim before the feckin river came up and got dirty. We managed a few more.Plan A was taken so we went to Plan B..It was okay..A good 6lber for Kim. Very welcome during a hard week of fishing.Back he goes.Spectacular!Singapores finest!One for Chuan on my Tussock Cicada.A lovely fish..Not very much happening but what a place to be.A healthy little seatrout for Chuan on my Tussock Cicada.An easy day!But feck, it was tough. I managed one myself right at the end on my Bruiser..My personal best from the Upper Mataura. Over 6lbs.He was right in there beside the reflecting stick. I got him on my kiwi dun.Kim into one..Lovely.. on my new Straggle Nymph.Fishing to a fish..Last day..Men and their shticks.Chuan into one....and another.. Much better this time.Fatty!Back he goes..One of my favourite spots.. Sadly now so overgrown with willows that it’s barely fishable.We ended up loosing this one at the end of a very well fought, technical battle.. Losing fish is generally not a big deal (for me anyway!) but this loss was disappointing. Last action from a tough week!
In 8 years guiding I never had a flat tire. Then I got a good one! The tire disintegrated beyond repair. No big deal, just put on the spare. Luckily I had a second spare but it wasn’t on a rim. The problem was getting it onto the spare rim so that I could continue working as normal. I didn’t want to chance going off the grid without a spare tire. The next day was Sunday so we changed the plan and fished locally with the intention of getting my other spare tire put on the rim the following morning once the mechanics opened. 8am on Monday we arrived at the mechanic to have the job done so that we could head into the backcountry. Turned out it was a feckin’ public holiday so we had to spend another day without going too far from home just in case we got another flat! Thankfully, the fishing was good!! 8am on Tuesday we arrived at the mechanic for the second time. Steve had the spare on the rim in jig time and were on the way after 10 minutes. Of course, normally I’d have been on the road an hour earlier. We got to the river to find the first beat occupied. No problem I thought, I wanted the 2nd beat anyway.. We got there to find we had just been beaten to that one too! Plan C was decent but we had a big fish in mind and it didn’t really cut the mustard. We waited 4 hours and then fished behind the anglers on our favoured beat. We found 2 fish, both of whom almost took the fly… but didn’t. That feckin’ flat tire really changed how our fishing unfolded. Such is life. I got a full new set since!
You can check out many of my flies over on the Fulling Mill website. I have 14 patterns available, all tried and trusted for NZ and they’ve been pretty successful around the world too.
Plenty spots available for next season and bookings are coming in regularly. Feel free to get in touch. You can contact me on ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines – Ronan..
Alun and John.We had a decent week of fishing but not much came easy.Beautiful rainbow.Fishing buddies!Wild mint in flower.John into a bog bow.He did well to keep this 6lber out of the snags.Moving on up.The wildlife!Walking down..John into one.John with one..A super 6lber for Alun.Then this. A very big sea trout ate my tussock cicada.Over 8lbs.. Not sure the pic does her justice..Alun took this as I was releasing her. Such a perfect specimen.Good sport on the lakes..John had great action in this corner!A lovely place to spend a day but the fish were not active at all..Stunning..John.A lovely scene..Hard not to take lots of photos here..One for Alun – finally!!Out with Marcus. We walked 22.7 kilometres for one chance.Sunflowers. Nice to see a field with something other than cows and sheep!Lovely fish..We had a good morning but things went quiet in the afternoon..6.5Maniototo backwaters. I love ’em!Walking back....to spend some time on a small stream before the end of the day. 2 fish in this scene!They both ate but neither made it to the net..This 5lber did though..Nice to see a stream full of water after so much low water this summer.Love this shot!Onslow.Otago shadows.More shadowy hills..A beat Marcus and I both love..Searching..A stunning fresh seatrout!So often they arrive with serious scars. Sharks? Seals? Who knows..A solid brown.Another seatrout.A powerful paddle!One on my highcountry green cicada.Flowers.The flat tire that changed the week!!!Wildlife.A beauty from a highcountry tarn.Super colour.The scenic drive home.My great friend Bob, catching his birthday fish!Giving him stick!Bobs birthday lunch with me and Owen.Birthday team..Owen into one!A leisurely fish..Grubs!Time for a fly change.Owen working some nice water.
The season is hurtling along! Here we are in January already. This can certainly be the hardest month of the regular trout season. Rivers get low and warm. Trout can get extra spooky and sometimes stop feeding in the afternoons. It’s very important to know which rivers to avoid so as to prevent undue stress on trout. Catching a trout in a warm river can easily kill it. With the farmers draining all but the last drop out of the local river it’s basically unfishable due to warming. It’s likely to stay that way for at least a few more weeks, maybe months. I have to turn my attention to cooler rivers and lakes. We need rain to top up and cool down the rivers but there’s none in the forecast. I have a very busy time coming up with some regular clients and I have formulated a good plan – I hope!
On a positive note, the fishing has been very good so far this season. Happy clients and I’ve managed to get out myself a few times. I had a day out on a dam recently with a morning of fishing to rival just about any dry fly fishing I’ve had. Green beetles on the water and trout feeding on them. Not sight fishing, fishing to rises – even better! Spending so much time guiding on the rivers has made me love the lakes even more. That’s what I want on my days off right now and this day really delivered. Engrossing fishing – moving quickly to intercept fish with fast, accurate casts. At least, that was the objective! Putting a fly in front of a tracking trout is so exhilarating – will he take it?? These’s nothing else going through my mind as that fish is hopefully continuing to track towards my fly. I can’t see him. The cast is based on where he’s most likely to be heading based on the previous rise or rises. To see that head come out of the dark water and confidently take my dry… just magic. 5 out of 6 fish that morning took me well into my backing. I play fish hard and I generally only see my backing once or maybe twice a season so this was just unreal. A breeze got up in the afternoon and the rises almost stopped. I wanted to go and check out a bay I like in the wind. I tried to drive there but ended up getting bogged. It was quite an ordeal to get it unstuck but thanks to Don from Wanaka we got it out. Probably took 5 hours all up! Still a great day. I went back for a day since and parts of the lake were very warm. Guy and I found decent fishing in cooler bays but the number of rising trout compared to the number of flies on the surface told me that most fish were already retreating to the deep. It’s too dam hot!
I’ve got another 7 patterns available with Fulling Mill. This makes the range of flies a pretty comprehensive one for NZ. They’ll cover you for just about anything you’re likely to encounter. With willow grubs in full swing on southern rivers and cicadas winding up, there’s a couple of reasons to check out the new patterns. You can see them all here.
The photos below are from December so I’ll have to get another blog out soon to catch up on the more recent stuff. I’m trying not to overload my blog with pictures!!
Still some gaps in April and plenty next season. You can contact me ronan@exyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines.. Ronan..
Great day out with David and Sabrina..They both landed a few solid fish..Sabrina on the last cast of the day! Icing on the cake..Time and his brother for a few days..Good craic as always!Wilderness..Cracking fish for Graeme.Tim has one in his sights..A beauty. Tim is a big fan of the HT series. I Think he has them all!Lovely water..Pretty trout..Graeme with his fan club.Bro’sBack to Davids place for food, drink, and craic.Back to business..Graeme releases a nice brown..This for took Tim way into his backing. Incredibly fast and powerful trout.Another beauty for Graeme in the last 100m. The last cast!Out myself for a day..Magnificent fishing..Most beautiful.A fat 5lber on McPhails Blowfly from Fulling Mill. A great general terrestrial pattern.BeetlesI adore this place..Another great trout. Spectacular dry fly action.. and a great day out.. until....bogged.I walked a few ks to get help after 2 hours trying to unbog my truck..No better machine to pull me out..High lift jack to get me out of the ruts first..We drove out together.. Big thanks to Don Lousley for his help!Great couple of days with these 2! Plenty trout to just under 7lbs.Almost 7lbs of magnificent brown trout on my new Straggle Nymph.Christmas dinner starter. Cold smoked trout and trout ceviche.Out for a fish myself..Trusty Claret doing the business.Checking out some new water.Broke my rod in 2 places. This streamside repair sort of worked.Spiky fecker.A day afloat with Guy.The lake is warming up fast..We had okay fishing in cooler bays. This was my first fish on the HT7 – love it.Guy – and a trout for dinner.First on a bugger then a few on dries.Guy with a lovely fish on my Kiwi Dun.Serpent rock. A hull buster!A great day out..Heading back home through the minefield.
Just a quick blog today to clear the decks. I had a busy and successful season finale with some superb trout for clients. One very big fish to report on too. Before I get to that I’d like to share the rest of the seasons highlights. It’s a while since I put up a blog so some of these photos go right back to summer! I’ll also be changing back to the previous blog format after this one. Paul and I made this change back to the old format because it seemed like a good Idea, but the one I’ve been using for the last few years is much better for images. I put a slideshow at the bottom or you can click on the thumbnail images, but you have to go back to click the next one. WordPress can be very user unfriendly at times!!
Some exciting stuff coming up – Jeff and I will be doing another episode of Pure Fly NZ with Nick Reygaert. We have some ideas but nothing is set in stone as yet. Also the Piscatorial pot! I probably wont run it this month but I hope to run it in June. We’ll certainly need a good stock of wood for the brazier – which wont be a problem! Also a potential visit to the coast on the cards..
If you’d like to get in touch about guided fly fishing next season please get in touch. The season is already quite full but still some decent gaps for multi-day trips. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Enjoy the pics below and I’ll be back soon with something more!
Tight Lines, Ronan..
ps, Here is a link to my flies available from Fulling Mill.
I haven’t needed the winch often, but it saved me here! The grounds seemed firm under foot – but it wasnt!
Natures paving..
No fish – but very enjoyable none the less.
Out with Michael.
He’s been out with me a few times now, working on casting..
..and catching plenty fish!
The beginning of a solo day.
Tough going but managed 2 in a pool near the end of the day.
A decent seatrout.
Scrambling country!
The beginning of a few days with Brian.
Perfect conditions and plenty fish..
A great pool this one..
Day 2. Plenty action but just 2 to the net.
Including this solid bow and one bigger.
Fishing myself today..
Some exploring.. No fish but promising water for October.
Change of location and decent fishing.
Lovely water.
Doesnt get much nicer!
The sun makes this place look extra stunning.
a 5.5lb bow on my Kiwi dun.
The line jumped and wrapped as a rainbow ran. Nothing I could do!
Redemption. On the dry again.
Out with Robbie. First fish of the day.
Then this super bow over 6lbs.
Robbie into one.
Changing tactics..
A solid bow.
Day 2. Robbie works the eye.
Great day!
Robbie into a goodie.
A beauty for me.
And this superb fish a while later.
Same fish..
A beauty for Robbie..
A quick close-up..
..and away he goes.
Then another for Robbie..
..and another!
Just me today.. The Hotspot takes this lovely fish from a deep riffle.
The grip and grin! A very handy way to photograph fish..
.. this is a nicer way but harder to get right.
Nice conditions. We had months of this in central over late summer.
A sper 6lber to finish the day – on my Brown Nymph.
It’s been a very full on start to the year. Some guiding which has been great but more importantly I’ve had a lot of time to fish myself – I’m not quite sure how that happened but I’m not complaining! There’s been lots of highlights. One of them, the biggest highlight for sure was a trip to Fjordland with Nick Reygaert. The trouble is, too much other stuff has happened since to do that trip justice in a shared blog. It deserves it’s own report and it will come!! I’m just not sure when yet.
Another highlight I’d like to mention was on a day I went in search of a big fish or 2 on a solo mission. It was a day when I needed to walk a lot of river to find fish. Over the day I walked about 12 kilometres of river and only saw only 5 fish. 3 of those I landed. Number one and two took my Kiwi Dun without much difficulty but the 3rd was a different story. This turned into an hour long cat and mouse tactical battle on the last pool of the day. It started as I approached a long, slow pool and saw some nervous water half way up. Then a rise in the same area. “Brilliant” I thought, “theres a fish in the pool”. I advanced carefully up the pool looking as intently as possible – then I spooked a small fish of about 3lbs. That was not what I was expecting. Surely that was not the fish I saw first? I didn’t think it was a small fish. On the reasonable chance there’s still a big fish cruising the pool, I’ll continue to proceed with caution – that was my thinking. Sure enough, I saw another rise and it looked big. “Game on” I thought. I moved slowly to intercept the rise but could not see the fish. Then he rose under the cut bank at my feet. Knee length grass obscured me from the fishes vision and I could just make out his tail as it pushed him gently upstream and out of sight. The light was not great. This was the point when I decided to take a more careful approach than I might usually take. I decided not to persue the fish by way of following him up the pool because I thought I could easily spook him. Instead I decided to reset altogether. I went right back to the start of the pool and started my approach again. I ended up doing this numerous times. Somtimes I got a half chance, sometimes a brief visual, sometimes nothing. On one occasion I got a great visual and enough time to make a cast. 3 actually. I covered him each time with the dun and he totally ignored it each time. The fish was cruising like a trout looking for a cicadas but there were none on the water – at least none that I could see. I put one on anyway and once again reset. Back to the start. Another careful, slow and stealthy approach. Then, right up at the head of the pool I saw him rise. “Now” I thought.. I ran lightfooted half way to the rise then slowed right down. My thinking was that if he was cruising towards me after that rise he should be close now. From a crouched position I was scoping all round, now staying still. Then I saw him – cruising at 45 degrees away from my bank but in my general direction. I laid out my cast and dropped the cicada about 2 metres in front of him with an intentional plop. He immediatly set his course for it and cruised confidently all the way to it and….. chomp. The lift into such big weight is like a drug and I’m certainly addicted. What a high.
I thought he would make the magic 10lbs. He looked it during the fight but my weigh net said 9.5lbs. Of course it doesn’t matter but there is a certain fixation people have (me included!) about those ellusive double figure fish which is why I like to say the weight. That was the end of a really amazing day in the backcountry. I had the whole upper river to myself and I walked pretty much all of it.
In other news, I’m delighted to have another 4 fly patterns in the 2022 Fulling Mill catalog. I could not be happier with how well the team at Fulling Mill replicated these flies. 3 of them are streamers and one is a dry. One of the streamers is the tried and trusted Bruiser. Immortalised in the Lake Pukaki episode of Pure Fly NZ. This fly caught all the fish for both Jeff and myself on day 2 – before it had a name! The 2nd one is the Killer Smelt. A newer pattern designed to immitate cockabullies and smelt. I’ve had great success on this fly. It works well in clear water when darker streamers will get follows but not takes. This is also great in the salt. And last but not least is the Green Machine. Lighter in colour than the Bruiser and darker than the smelt, this fly completes the little family of streamers. In my humble opinion, what sets these flies apart is their simplicity. Just 2 main componants of possum and marabou which seemlessly gel together in the water. Their profile is very lifelike with natural, fluid movement. Another advantage of these flies is that they don’t wrap around. They’re tied on the Fulling Mill Competition Heavyweight hook which is incredibly strong. Just as good as the Kamasan B175 which I always used in the past, now I just use the FM version. The dry fly is actually one of my fathers creations which he’d been tying for NZ for about 10 years, so it’s very much tried and trusted. It’s a favourite of many of my clients as well as one of my own. The only thing I added to this fly was the sighter post to make it more visable. In a 14 its a great mayfly immitation and the 12 is superb for larger mayflies or as a general dry. I’m excited to see how these flies do around the world! I know dad has had a lot of success on his dry on Lough Corrib in the West of Ireland during olive and sedge hatches. A good friend is using them in Tasmania right now. There’s a batch of 60 streamers headed to Malaysia to help Paul fill up 6 boxes of flies for the guides involved in the Sungai Tiang project. I’m really looking forward to seeing them in action over there! I know my good friend John O Malley is going to give them a swim on Corrib for early season brownies. I’m confident they’ll work well. All my Fulling Mill patterns are available here.
Feel free to get in touch about guided fly fishing on the lower South Island for the remainder of the season if you’re within NZ. For those of you abroad, it looks like visitors will be allowed in this October – although a dates has not yet been set. Feel free to get in touch to arrange a booking starting in November to be on the safe side. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website
Tight lines! Ronan..
New flies for Fulling Mill.
The Bruiser. Tried and trusted and immortalised on the Pukaki episode of Pure Fly NZ.
The Killer Smelt – A great cockabully or smelt fly.
The Green Machine – Simplicity itself, a great streamer.
Out with Michael on a day when the first cast was all important.
A lovely trout on my brown nymph.
Out with Wesley and Mark.
One for me to open our account.
Wesley.
Some colour but thats no harm!
A great fish for Mark..
..on my Claret Nymph.
Weslry resorts to the worm!
Nice water..
Out with Matt for the day..
First of the day..
Very good fish!
Stunning day – but didn’t see as many as expected.
Out on my own!
Small water..
..with crazy strong rainbows.
One on the claret nymph..
.. and one on the hotspot.
Big fish hunting today – solitary. The best way.
I walked many kilometres..
A relatively small fish to start. 5.5lbs on my Kiwi Dun, now available from Fulling Mill.
Stunning water..
9lbs on the Kiwi Dun – A great fly invented by my dad.
Well taken!
The Kiwi Dun a bit bedraggled after 2 hefty trout..
Old Split Fin’s pool..
At the end of the day this 9.5lber on my cicada. My best of the season.
Back he goes. About 12kms of river for 5 sighted fish – 3 to the net.
Up to Central with the family and the boat!
My Kiwi Dun..
.It did very well in size 12 for these cruisers of the trout flats.
Trout flats at their best!
Adaline!
She loves the water!
Family holidays are better with a boat!
Great day out..
Loads of fish in the vicinity of where the boat was tied up.
How good is this? Just brilliant!!
Out with the HT4 – Super rod..
Lunch time!
Then back to this..
There was more water in this outtake than flowing into the Clutha.
The start of a fantastic day with Josh and Courtny.
After a casting lesson it was non stop action..
5lbs – Josh had to work for this one!
One for Courtny..
4.5lbs – her first trout!
Low and clear..
This fish went nuts. First run was as fast as I’ve seen a trout move.
It feels like the season has only started and it’s January already. This is why I try to get the most out of winter fishing – once the regular season opens, it’s over in no time, it accelerates. I guess thats why we have to make the best of everything. Life is short and we don’t know whats coming. On that note, I’m certainly trying to make the best of these challenging times. Yes, my business is in ruins and I worry about and miss my family in Ireland but all other aspects of life are better. Family time, my own fishing time, time in the workshop and restoring our old house and garden. In a normal guiding season I don’t see the inside of my workshop and maintaining the house is limited to mowing the lawns now and again. I know I’ll miss this when things go back to normal. In fact, it’s made me rethink what’s actually important so much so that I’m considering reducing my number of guide days per year to keep more of this work / life balance that I’m enjoying so much. I think when all this is over many people will realise the good points of this strange time – and there are many, at least there are here in NZ. I want to enjoy the good bits right now and forget about the negative as much as I can. I’m not going to look back and think I missed out or could have done things differently. I’m thankful to be in NZ where our freedom has not been affected like peoples in other parts of the world.
I’ve been on the water 3 out of the first 4 days of this year. Good results from various conditions. I have a very exciting exploratory backcountry mission coming up so this year is kicking off in style. More on all that in my next blog.
I’m attempting to improve my photography a little. David Lambroughton has been giving me a few valuable pointers. I’ve taken my wifes 10 year old Lumix GF2 out of the closet and got a polarising filter for it. I love the results. Polarising was always something I wanted from my picture taking but waterproof cameras are limited in this regard. Putting my sunnies in front of the lens wears thin! Don’t worry, you wont see “Photography” after my name or watermarks on any images! The photo’s below tell the story of a great finale to 2021.
I have 4 new patterns coming out this year with Fulling Mill. 3 streamers and a dry. I’m excited about that. More on those soon. My nymphs are currently available here.
Feel free to get in touch about guided fly fishing whether your in NZ or abroad. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines and I sincerely wish you all a great 2022. Ronan..
Day 1 of 2 with Dougal. Off to the highcountry.
Beautiful water. Very few trout about..
Not ideal sighting conditions but things improved in the afternoon.
Some sunlight!
Split Fins old pool.. I think he’s finally done his dash.
Enjoying the view.. One small trout for the day.
Day 2. After a very slow morning things picked up in the afternoon.
A fiesty 5lber for Dougal..
On the board!
A large trout with a larger eel behind him. The eel passed the trout like a ship in the night.
Worth a streamer shot.
One at the end of the day on my brown nymph!
An hour on a small still-water with Kevin..
Not many fish about today..
Just half an hour to fish on the way home..
Off to the wilderness with Wesley.
rigging up..
Windy!
A great start on a sheltered shore – my Killer Smelt took this one.
Same fish better showing the beautiful copper tones.
Unrelenting wind!
Wind like this brings me back to fishing Corrib and Mask. I love it!
Not much action in the waves today.
It didn’t let up for a minute all day..
Wesley takes a nap..
Fishing the rolling wave..
Lunch time.
Back to the gales!
Some shelter behind points, bays and islands – On this day, this is where the fish were..
Brilliant fish..
One more to finish the day..
Walking back.
Still no let up from the wind.
Another day, another still-water – a farm dam.
Beautiful..
Wesley stalking one..
A hefty lump of a brown for me!
Wesley is in..
Back he goes.
Great to have options when rivers are high and coloured.
Off to another lake during a cold southerly.
I had some great fishing..
This on on “the Bruiser” My possum and marabou streamer, soon to be available from Fulling Mill.
The HT6 bent again!
Super fish.
No Irish lake angler wouldn’t love these conditions..
They were in the waves today..
Guiding Philip. He had a great day!
The best of about half a dozen.
Same trout on my faters little dry – also soon to be available from Fulling Mill.
Superb.
Out with Graeme and John..
Fewer fish than I expected but we made up for it by covering more ground.
A good brown for Graeme. 5 for the day! Graemes worm was deadly!
As soon as the trans-Tasman travel restrictions were lifted I had some of my regulars booking trips. I didn’t think it was going to happen but finally, it did. It felt great to be busy again and things are looking good for May too. I had 8 consecutive guide days to finish off the regular season and managed a day myself on the 30th to polish it off. It wasn’t always easy and hatches were average to poor apart from one day where it really fired. Generally, April is the best month for mayfly hatches down here, so when it doesn’t happen it’s a little disappointing. Some days when the hatch was happening, we were almost running up river to find rising trout before it switched off again. Because it can switch off so suddenly! On one of the days, fly was pouring off for a while in the late afternoon. We got a couple during the hatch, then it stopped. Then 30 minutes later fly was pouring off again but the fish didn’t respond. 2 variables, fish and fly – and they both need to be “on” for it to work! All up, the guiding days went very well. I really enjoyed the time with my regular clients who are also friends at this stage and great to meet Vipin and Dave for the first time. About that day, Vipin was having a run of bad luck. Hooking fish but loosing them, getting the eat but not the hook-up and loosing a very big fish at the net. He landed a small one just big enough to count. At the end of the day I decided to look in one more pool to see if he could have another chance at a decent fish. There he was – under a tree. Vipin is a novice caster and this was a very tough shot for any angler. I coached and encouraged him and tried not to get frustrated. Then he made the side-cast land close to the target, the fish turned and swam downstream to see what made the disturbance and ate the fly. We got the fish and that absolutely made the day.
One thing I started looking at recently is the step counter on my phone. According to it, I walked 103kms in 8 guide days. The biggest day was nearly 19kms and the smallest was over 8. An average of 13kms per day. That all sounds about right to me. Walking is an integral part of fishing in NZ. Its not all on the river of course. Many of the 103 kilometres were walking to a river or river beat where vehicle access is not permitted, or climbing in and out of gorges. Ultimately, the harder you can go the more fish you’ll catch – or, at the very least you’ll see some great country!
The story of the 8 guide days is told in the photos below. I included the fish count so you can get a clear picture of just how varied that can be. Out of the 8 days, 2 were very hard where we could easily have blanked but managed 1 and 3 respectively. All the other days were good to very good. It goes without saying that angler ability has a huge role to play. The great thing about taking Marcus out, for example, is that I don’t have to plan much around wind because he can cast into it with relative ease. So where am I going with this? I’m not sure really, but casting skill and fitness are clearly of key importance to a successful trip here. One thing I think I need to advise my clients on at the time of booking is to get out and practice casting as much as possible. Also to get out walking a bit just to raise the fitness a little if needs be. It needs to be said though, you don’t need to be a marathon runner to have a great time fishing in NZ. There are plenty great options to suit anglers not keen on, or not able for big walks.
Still spaces available in May and it can be a super month! Feel free to get in touch. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines, Ronan..
Day 1 of 8 – guiding Vipin and Dave today.
Vipin’s fish, proving the value of “one more pool”
Dave and Vipin did well with about 6 for the day.
Day 1 with Marcus – Backcountry
First of the trip – on a deep nymph rig in a deep pool!
Fishing was good!
Fish of the day and the trip. 8lbs.
Still an odd cicada about.
Another stunning late season trout. 6 for the day averaging over 6lbs each.
Day 2.
This was the best of 9 from day 2.
Amazing halos. A late season spectacle.
Day 3. Feckin’ hard!
A small fish at the end of the day to save the blank.
Day 4. Greeted by the rare NZ elephant.
Into a brown right away.
Autumnal brown.
You can’t put a foot wrong in here!
Seatrout
I love this gorge.
A brown with magnificent blue.
Deep pool..
Best seatrout of the mission. 7.25
Only a seatrout will have spots like this. Bright orange.
Nice holding water, but most does not hold fish.
But this one did.
Climbing / walking / scrambling continues.
Day 5.
We had a dozen solid trout..
..a super cap on a successful 5 days.
Day 1 with Bill.
His SLHT 6 is christened.
We had 5 or 6 for the day.
Day 2. Great start!
But then it got very hard. very few fish.
Lots of deer though.
after just 2 fish for 6 kms, we changed location..
Managed to put another on the board. 3 for the day.
I hired a babysitter so I could fish the last day of the regular season!
Well worth it..
My Fulling Mill Claret nymph still doing the business..
..but we had 7 of 9 on dries. A nice fish for Wesley.
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..
Out with the family.
Trying to catch a fish with Adalines rod! I like this new look.. Barbie chair / pink rod / trolling!
Off to a high country lake..
Almost there.
A clue!
..which paid off..
Mixed weather.
Tom on the shore.
Another brilliant fish.
Off to the Maniototo for a day. Just me.
Went very quiet after 12 noon but I had some continued action in backwaters.
Landed 13 but nothing over 4.5lbs. I was hoping for a big fella!
Off to the highcountry again.
This time with Shotgun Kevin and Tassie Sean.
Off to an island with the rowboat.
Beautiful place to fish.
My best of 2 for the day. Sean and Kevin also caught fish.
So much like fishing Corrib.
The row back across into the wind was a bitch!
No trailer, no roof rack, no problem!
The start of 3 great guide days with James and Bill.
Day one – small water.
Pretty good action with rainbows.
Healthy, very strong fish. Makes them hard to handle early in the fight.
James in again. 3 for the day between them.
Super fish.
Day 2. Looking for a big brown in the backcountry.
After a slow morning, Bill livened things up with a lovely seatrout.
Took a dry 3 times, third time lucky (for Bill!).
Great brown for James.
Crossing..
This superb hen moved a few feet to intercept Bills blowfly. A truely great fish. 7.25lbs.
Back she goes..
James into another.. The action got better and better as the day progressed.
Day 3. Off the mark with the bridge fish.
A super 5.5 for James.
Bill takes aim.
We had to chase this fish around the pool. James did well to make him see his fly. Up he came and took the dry. Well fished.
Bill into a large brown which got away.. Really enjoyed the craic with James and Bill. Looking forward to next time!
Adaline and Lochlan. They both love the water!
Looking for fish!
Adaline and I with my recent endevour – trout paintings! More on this later but feel free to get in touch if you’d like one.
2 days with Matt and Cami. Cami is 11 and just starting her fly fishing life.
Beautiful wee brown.
Leisurly fishing..
By the end of day 2 she was throwing a great line. Unfortunately the trout were not on that day. Matt got one good fish.
My flies available at Fulling mill. Still doing the business. I need to stock up with my own patterns.
My hotspot nymph.
Great day out with Bryan. Lots of fish!
Trout habitat!
Last pool of the day. This fish took my size 16 claret nymph.
Bobs birthday again! Our mission is to catch a trout – preferably on a dry.
The fishing was very very tough..
..but there’s always booze..
last ditch attempt..
go to a different stillwater. It was very low and slimy but we could sight it in the cloud. We found one good fish..
..which Bob got!
A lovely 5lb brown.
Day 2 – to the highcountry. Bob fished dries all day.
I fished my possum / marabou bugger. Moved 7, landed 3 for the day.
Sometimes they’re simply magnificent.
Nice tail!
My streamers. Simple and incredibly good!
Best of the day and my personal best off the lake at 7lbs.
I’ve had the boat out a couple of times now with the family. She’s lovely! Not built for speed but she gets along just fine. I played with the trim on the engine trying to get the bow down with the throttle opened up. It seems weight up the front might be the only option to get the bow down to plane properly. I’m not convinced that more power would get much more speed but I could be wrong. Even with the 15HP Evinrude I found myself throttling down for optimum performance. I remember learning about “hull speed” years ago – that a yacht cant go past a certain speed based on its hull shape and weight. I’m looking forward to seeing if I can knock a bit more speed out of it with somebody up the front. Maybe with correct weight distribution more power would equal more speed. Time will tell! Cant wait to get it out for an exploritory multi day lake trip. There’s enough room to sleep on board and heaps of space to carry gear. Now to find the time to do it! She also needs a name…
Plenty good fishing lately. I’ve put some highlights in the gallery below. My annual pilgrimage into one of my favourite and most physically demanding gorges was successful. Just like last year I found only one fish – turned out it was the same fish as last year. I’m starting to think he’s the only fish in the river and I’m not joking! I’ve watched fish numbers decline since I started fishing it 6 years ago. No idea why. Such a pristine backcountry river. Great to see my friend for the 3rd time. He’s still 9lbs, in great condition and still in the same part of the river. Funnily enough he was the first fish I ever caught on the river 6 years ago and currently he’s the last. Now he seems to have the whole place to himself. He must be old. 6 years ago he was 9lbs so he must be at least 15 assuming 1lb growth per year til he reached 9lbs. No science behind that, juat a guess. Hopefully when I go back next season I’ll find a new fish in one of the pools – and maybe I’ll see my old friend again too. (this is the blog he appeared in last season. I’ve spent the last hour trying to find the blog he first appeared in but I can’t find it!)
The weather has taken a turn for the worse. Bad timing as I’m supposed to be fishing down south with Robbie today and tomorrow. It’s been raining heavily for about 30 hours now. All rivers in flood. I might hit a lake myself tomorrow. I spent today sweeping water out of the workshop while trying to make some furniture. Guttering and drainage around the house need attention. I’ve added it to the infinite list of jobs!
Feel free to get in touch about a guided fly fishing trip. Plenty spaces in my calendar this season! Check out my website or email me directly ronan@sexyloops.com.
Tight Lines & Happy New Year! Ronan..
Dan and John – the day begins.
It started slow but then really kicked into gear.
Great shelter from the howling gale in the trees.
Thanks Dan for these great images from the day.
Nice pool..
Another great fish.
Every one built like brick shithouses.
Fish of the day for Dan. 7lbs. Best of 8.
off on her maiden voyage with her new crew.
The crew..
Took Lochlan a while to find his sea legs!
No bother to Adaline!
Pulled up for some lunch.
Lochlan did well in the end!
The start of 2 days with Bryan.
Day 1 was for numbers – we landed about 25 from 1 to 3lbs.
very healthy trout
Love those black flecks..
End of day one.
Day 2 was about quality.
we landed 4 I think. 5-6lb fish.
Another good fish for Bryan.
My annual pilgrimage into the gorge.
Found one fish deep in a pool. My hotspot 10 will get down.
6 years ago he was bottom pool, last year the top and this year the bottom!
3rd time catching this old battleaxe.
still looks well.
Always about 9lbs.
Plenty food..
Fishing with Guy.
Lots of very small fish about making this 3lber seem big!
Off to the highcountry with Wesley and Mark.
I’m enjoying this Primal 7wt from Manic Tackle Project.
A cold St Stephens Day, this was the only fish we landed.
I compiled this guiding gallery a couple of weeks ago now. Loads has happened since and it’s pushing the contents of this gallery to the side, which of course it shouldn’t because there were some excellent days on the water which I have accounted for here, but I really want to clear the decks now for more recent fishing, which has been superb!
One trip worth a mention was with Andrew. He had 2 days to fish, day one was off the charts landing 6 trout with the biggest hitting the scale at just over 9lbs. That fish took some work. We fished to him for about an hour before I put on one of my fathers unweighted size 14 hares ear nymphs. Andrews first cast with that fly and it was all on! Second biggest was 7lbs. They were all great trout.. Day 2 we blanked bringing us back down to earth. It’s funny how it goes!
It was great to see Brendan and Dave again. They were over for 5 days, Day one was simply magnificent with 11 fish to 7lbs, Day 2 and 3 were also good days but then I got struck down with severe stomach cramps. I gave the lads my truck and some info for their last 2 days. They landed another 9 trout. It took me 5 days in total to come right which included 3 nights in hospital. They were my first sick days in 5 years guiding.
I also took out Micah Adams and his friend Dave. Micah has been involved in fly fishing TV in Australia. We had a very enjoyable day on the water even though it was a pretty hard day. Micah got a 3lber on a dry and Dave landed a super 6lber.
The weather has been nuts. Rain, wind, hail, flooded rivers etc.. I like it when the conditions go to feck. It makes me think outside the box, take gambles, use what I’ve learned over the last 18 years in NZ. I’ll put a trip together for my clients regardless of what mother nature throws at us. I will use every avenue available to me to make it happen. Crazy weather seems to be pretty normal now so if a fella can’t adapt he’s in trouble!
The next blog will be about one of my own greatest moments in fly fishing with a superb old 9lber and The Mighty Chuan landing an 11lber.. Not mouse eating monsters, just bonafide brutes!
I’ll let the photos tell the other stories. Still some availability for this season if you’re thinking about coming over. Visit my website of contact me on ronan@sexyloops.com
Tight lines & screaming reels for the new year! Ronan..
Day 1 – Andrew off to a great start..
Super..
Small water..
..with big fish..
..some very big! After 6 super trout to over 9lbs on day 1 we were brought back down to earth on day 2 with a blank! That’s fishing..
Martina & Jeff..
A baby lapwing (I think!) using stillness as camouflage. It was almost his undoing!
Martina crossing the backwater..
Finally! Second last pool of the day. Fish were just not out!
Relieved guide and happy angler!
Some exploring with Guy..
This stream flows into the lake. I saw 2 in 100m. I’ll be back for further exploration..
Searching the edges. We landed 3, met about 10.
Day 1. First fish of the trip for Brendan..
Then an equal PB for Dave with this 6.25lber.
Lunch! Brendan’s coffee has become something to look forward to..
In again.. They landed 11..
..including this brute. The best I’ve seen from the river at 7lbs.
Same fish..
Last of the day.. Now a near 2 hour walk out! Well worth it..
Day 2. Evidence of some of my river keeping! That was a 12″ limb. I was only just able to drag it out. Makes this pool fishable where it wasn’t before. Every angler should carry a saw!
One on a dry..
This 6lber broke the rod but we had a spare..
A 6lber for Dave too..
2 fish on day 2.
Day 3. Something a bit different.
Great action in the morning!
But a quiet afternoon. 4 for the day.
Matt, Charlotte and Sarah. I had to make a few adjustments to cater for a 14 month old which was no problem! 5 trout for the day and a great experience for all..
Matt had a magic hour after lunch..
Day 1 with Mike and Gauri..
We managed 3 for the day in tough light. A great result!
Another super trout..
They wanted clear water, big trout and beautiful scenery..
..the weather was out of my hands!
This is at 4pm..
This was 4.10pm! This was an important trout as it was the only one of the day..
A great ending..
Lovely!
Simon out for a day..
3 for the day. Nothing big but decent fishing..
Gordon. Day 1 was for casting and technique. I chose a venue with lots of smaller trout – lots of targets to practice on!
It was a great success!
Plenty of these about..
A mixed bag of conditions.. which has been the norm for the passed month.
10 minutes of crazy rain then out comes the sun again..
Day 2. Incredibly spooky trout. we really struggled. 2 eats all day with nothing to the net..
..then in the last 200m Gordon landed this 7lber.
Same fish.
And then this 5.25lber.
How quickly a day can turn around! The dream finale. The mission for day 2 was to catch one or 2 great fish. Mission accomplished.
Flowers.
More flowers..
Micah and Dave.
Decent conditions.
We found a decent number of trout. The lads landed 1 each for the day. A 3lber for Micah and a 6lber for Dave..