Ronan's Report

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..

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..