Ronan's Report

I’ve been up to my eyeballs lately and it has been hard to find the time to write. I’m busy at work, working on visa stuff, doing a few jobs around the house, nursing a few injuries, the list goes on.. Needless to say I’ve been on the water every weekend (bar one, I had to rest to allow my hand and back injuries to recover so Iza and I went walking locally.. hence the flower pics!!)

Dunstan is fishing well. Good sight fishing to be had around the edges and on the flats. I know the boat would be great on it but mine is out of order just now. Last weekend I had the best fishing on the silt flats blind fishing a couple of spiders. I fished them the same way my father would, just figure of eighting, staying in touch and waiting for resistance. Great fish too. Some over 4lbs and in great condition.

Mark and I found a gorge on a local river on Google Earth. It had and entry point and an easy exit about 6-8ks farther up. What was in between didn’t look too tough but you can’t be sure, I learned that before! So, we took it on even though the water was high. Sort of a mistake as it turned out. Sight fishing was tough in the deeper pools and damn all fish were out in the water we could see. The going was tough. Just about every step took extra effort and moving up stream in the river was very limited with the steep sides and deep water. Basically we bush bashed, climbed and bouldered all day. I love it. Being in a gorge is one of the best things about NZ fishing. Tough gorges, like this one, see very few anglers. One needs to be a little bit adventurous (some might say mad, but not me) to enjoy them. It’s important to realise the risks involved and not be Gung ho while in the thick of it. When climbing I try to assess the risks as I go. If a section appears dangerous, I look to see if there is something to grab on to if I slipped, a crack, a sprig of thyme, whatever. If there is nothing I’ll find another route. Occasionally you have no choice but to make a risky manoeuvre. At these times you need to keep your nerve, don’t hesitate. Always try to help your fishing buddy.

This gorge seemed to go on forever! We thought we were near the end but we weren’t. We thought it was flattening out but then it got steeper, we thought it was getting easier but it got harder. Mark was getting impatient. He just wanted out, some of the riskier climbs were taking their toll. I wanted to see it through. Thankfully there was no place to climb out and shortly after we made it to the bridge. The fishing was not so good but the gorge was awesome.. in the true sense of the word.

Guy was here recently. We planned a trip to the coast but we turned back with the rainfall increasing as we drove west. We fished Dunstan instead! Good old reliable Dunstan. Hail, rain, snow or sun, it will fish.

Great to fish with Kevin, Mark and Guy recently!

Ronan..

Ps. Here is a short article I wrote for Manic Tackle Project recently.. http://www.manictackleproject.com/friday-fly-day-ronan-creane-contributes/

Gorge with Mark, Dunstan with Guy. Nov 2014 048_1024x768

Rocks!

Okay, Breandan.. you have work to do!! What are these Otago flowers?

Here is the field!

A tiny bunch of flowers from a field of them...

My mother says these are Californian Poppies..

??

I've been pretty efficient on the vise lately! I have a half decent range of nymphs again..

This is my lightly weighted size 16. If I had only one choice of colour for this fly it would be black or dark..

My simple spider. I pretty much always tie this in a size 14. Kamasan B175 like all my flies. Dries included.

This is my size 14 tungsten and lead nymph. I like this shape and proportion in any size.

A young paradise duck dives to escape me and my camera!

Kevin into a good rainbow..

Solid..

A nice brown for me shortly after..

Some trout from the lake made into fish-fingers..

Not many of these..

Size 14 simple dry. Floats nice and high. Good on its own or with a light nymph under it.

Slightly larger than the last with a post for vis. Simple.

Gorge with Mark, Dunstan with Guy. Nov 2014 043_1024x768

This unweighted spider has been deadly on the lake. Singly or on a dropper, blind or sight.

Dries too.. Need to tie some little black dries for Dunstan.

My standard dry.. capable of holding up a couple of nymphs.

The next few pics are from a tough 8k gorge Mark and I took on for the first time. It was tough!

No problem for these fella's!

Twisted metal!

Lots of this..

A brief respite on an old miners track..

This bit required some proper rock climbing.. You have to keep you nerve.

The view from the top of the rock through my glasses.

More bouldering..

Amazing cliffs.. In the end, this day became more about getting out... in one piece!

The only decent fish of the day..

Breandan! Whats this weed and is it polution related? Okay, I realise this may be too much for one blog!!

It appeared to be getting easier but then got harder! I love gorge fishing...

Mission to the coast with Guy.. We turned back when we saw this!!!

Lunch at Dunstan in truck.. The picture doesn't show it but the rain is torrential.

Dunstan with the sun out.. Its fishing very well right now.

Lots of these on every mission out there. I spent last weekend on it for about 20 fish.

Sean McCarthy from Tasmania was over for a month and we hooked up for a fish last weekend. The weather has been infuriating lately. Blue skies Monday to Friday, then the weekends turn bad. This weekend was no exception. The nor’wester was blowing at gale force both Saturday and Sunday and then Monday was beautiful. Thankfully the weather is crap right now so maybe this weekend will be good? The forecast looks good and I expect to be on the water with Graeme and Dorothy Williams From “Insight Flyfishing” so I’m hoping for the best.

Aside for the maddening conditions it was great to fish with Sean again. The truck was loaded up with all the gear needed for a full on fishing mission. It was like fishing with Paul or John again.

In a little over a week I fly home to Ireland for Christmas with the family and to be John O Malley’s best man at his wedding. I’m looking forward to the change of pace, Guinness, no 5.30am alarms, winter pike fishing, family, friends and some mahseer fishing in Thailand on the way back to NZ.

While writing this I heard the very sad news that Dale E Pearce has passed away. Dale, you will not be forgotten. I’m really glad that I got to know you. It was always fun to be in your company whether drinking or fishing! You’re a legend in my book. Thanks for the laughs! I often think of that weekend at Moke Lake when I ended up crashing in the back of your van with you! There were some severe hangovers the next morning and what a fright we both got! Tight lines mate.. (I will find that farmer where you said on Benmore and get permission to fish that water, or maybe I won’t get permission….)

Ronan..