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!
Between 2002 and 2011 I fished the majority of every NZ season. Total freedom. I’d work in Ireland during the NZ winter and save as much as I could for the next trip to NZ. After moving to NZ full time in 2011, much of the freedom continued – I just had to fit the fishing around work. As a single man I’d fish every weekend, public holiday and day off throughout all seasons. Things are different now. My wife and 2 kids are now my priority. It’s amazing how quickly time passes and I’m enjoying every minute with them. Recently I got a window to go away and fish myself for 3 days. I really don’t remember when I had this last! Guiding is different, I’m talking personal personal fishing time. Mark was on board to join me right away as we were trying to put a trip together anyway. Next I thought I’d ask a few of the other lads. 4 of us ended up hitting the road for 3 days… I forgot how great the freedom of being on the road fishing feels. That was the drug for 9 years of NZ seasons before I decided to live here. Of course I still fish a lot, a few days a week I’ll get out for a fish. Even if it’s just a few hours. But it’s so hard now to get away over night with my 2 little beauties to look after.
We had 3 brilliant days of fishing. We broke up in different groups each day and covered small streams, stillwaters and rivers. It was a nice mix of tried and trusted and totally new water. One of the exploration days yielded a superb find. A piece of water that I cant wait to get back to with better conditions. Also an excellent guiding option. The highlight of the 3 days for me was a stillwater that I used to fish a lot many years ago. Kevin (Shotgun) first took me there in about 2004. I have so many great memories of the place since then. I had magic fishing on it with my dad – some of our best memories of fishing together over here actually. I also fished it with Chris Dore, Bob Wyatt, Tonio, Fraser and now Wesley. Early season access has always been hard to get with lambing but we were just lucky on our day that they had moved the ewes into the next field and the farmer was happy to let us through. About the fishing – Wesley went left and I went right. Numbers were less than in the past but still plenty to keep us focused. We each landed a few of the most beautiful trout an angler can can catch. Sight fishing with a dry dropper accounted for most. When we were almost finished on it, I changed to a double nymph rig to fish some deep water blind. I moved 3 before landing another stunner.. That was the icing on the cake. I have to say, I’m delighted and relieved to have my HT6 again. It’s been cursed that rod! It keeps getting broken – not manufacture error I should say – just stupit shit keeps happening to it! I feel like the curse is now over and I’ll be able to enjoy this fabulous rod again. If not, I have a back up. Ha! Take that, curse!
Part of the craic on a trip like this is getting into the pub at the end of the day for feed and a schather of pints. I rarely look past the steak option and the beer was good. The pub was quiet but 4 like-minded fellas will always have a good time!
3 days, good friends, lots of craic and plenty trout. Now I need another fix!
In other news, I’ve had a few days guiding – delighted to get them under the circumstances. All very successful days with lots to the net each day. The best result had to be from Angela, who after a casting lesson landed three 5lb browns. That was her first day with a fly rod! Pretty amazing result. Great to see Brian again after his 11lber last season. Also lovely to get out with Sam and Fred again. Last time we fished together Sam broke in 4 big trout. On our recent day she made no mistakes! They both landed some magnificent trout. I know Chuan will be jealous..
Pure Fly NZ has moved off mainstream tv and onto youtube. This makes it very easy to access where ever you are in the world! Myself and Jeff had some super fishing in our episode and Nick was right there to capture it all. You can watch it, and all the other episodes from series 4 for free on youtube. Here’s a link to our episode.
If you’re in NZ and interested in some guided fly fishing, feel free to drop me a line to book a trip before you can’t travel at all!! Visit my website or email ronan@sexyloops.com
My nymphs have been accounting for nearly all the river fish and some of the lake fish in the gallery below. If you’re thinking about stocking up for the NZ season, these are my tried and trusted range of weighted nymphs. You can check them out here.
Tight lines, Ronan..
Great fun on the lake in September..
Superb mid-range rods. If you’re looking for a versatile rod for NZ, the Primal Raw 7 is a great option.
Great conditioned fish and plenty of them. I wasn’t hanging out for October 1!
September lake edge cruisers loved my little Claret nymph from Fulling Mill.
No skinny fish which early season is often related to.
Perfect!
Great day guiding Brian. He landed 7 super trout using a range of tactics.
September sight fishing..
Have to fill a few gaps here for the new season.
A box full of my nymphs available from Fulling Mill. Just put Ronan’s nymphs in the search box.
My dads NZ dry. An excellent all round pattern.
Ready for battle.
There’s a few things I need but this will keep me going!
Ready.
First fish of the season!
Mark and I landed 6. Hard to get good pics because we were wading out! A magnificent opening day.
First guide day of the season ..
After a casting lesson Angela landed three 5lbers. An amazing result!
The nicest of the 3 fives.
Out with Samantha and Fred..
A brilliant fish for Sam. Her best of the day.
Perfect conditions.
6lbs for Fred.
Hooked about a dozen, landed 8 great fish.
Reunited with my HT6..
3 days away with Wesley, Mark and Brayden.
Brilliant fishing!
The HT6 is the best 6 weight out there..
Another one goes back..
Brayden borrowed my back up HT6.
Brayden onto one.
End of a great day!
Day 2. The best weather day.
A brilliant fish in the net.
Blind fishing a double nymph rig with the HT6.
Years since I fished here. So many great memories.
The most beautirul trout live here.
6.5lbs of perfection – and strong!
A super moment..
Perfcetion for Wesley.
After the backwater we went up river.
Some beauties for Wesley.
Stunning..
The farther we went the wilder it got!
Lovely.
Long days already and we were in no rush to turn around.
Change flies.
Just seeing a river is so satisfying.
Popped in to fish this backwater. Got one. Lots of potential.
The last pool before the hike out.
One last view of the backwater..
What a day..
This lead to quite a headache on day 3! Might be why I got no photos!!
From about mid July, trout start repopulating the lakes in large numbers. Spawning for most browns and many rainbows has finished. This is a great time to fish the lakes. The trout are keen to pile on condition, so the fishing can be superb. You’ll pick up some skinny fish but it’s quite amazing just how good the condition is on the vast majority of these winter fish. I’ve been out quite a bit making the most of it. When conditions permit, I’ve had some great sight fishing along the edges. When the wind has been up, my possum & marabou buggers have been doing really well. I’ve been fishing another method too. Something new for me.
This method is simple. I have fished it before but never quite like my current approach to it. It’s a dry / dropper rig fished blind – okay, so nothing new there – but for me there is. Normally when the wind gets up and I can’t sight the edges I turn to a bugger or small streamer. I love this method so it was hard for me to change. I always thought that nymphs fished blind under a dry in the wind would work. In fact, I knew it would work, but would it be better than buggers or streamers? Probably not – but maybe. Recently – finally – I put it to the test, both shore based and drifting. Like any blind fishing, it’s not just chuck and chance. I’m always looking for structure, contrast, weed beds, sand patches etc. The trick is to cover as much likely water as possible, as efficiently as possible. so, while drifting for example, I fish a relatively short line. Long enough so that fish near the fly won’t see the boat. Keeping it short gives me the great advantage of being able to pick it up and lay it down with just one false cast. Speed can be key here. 3 or 4 false casts and you might drift past a good weed patch, or spook fish by carrying too much line for too long. I don’t leave the fly sitting for long. About 10 to 20 seconds, then pick it up an place it somewhere else. I’m always aware of the speed of the drift versus the water I want to cover. A drogue is on the cards. It’s a very involved way to fish. It requires focus because you must have your fly in likely water all the time to stack the odds in your favour. Thats what blind fishing is come to think of it. I’ve mainly been fishing 2 to 4 feet of water with this method. At this depth I know I can get my fly to “likely trout cruising depth” quickly. I’ve been using my size 14 dark nymphs with a 2mm bead to suit this depth, but there’s loads of scope to take it further. Bigger, more buoyant dries holding heavier mymphs on longer droppers for deeper water. maybe more than one nymph? This method really suits boat fishing because you can find large expances of ideal water and work it. Thats not generally as easy from the bank but it’s a good tactic on the shore too. The advantage of the dry fly indicator over direct nymphing is the static or sinking presentation and the indication to strike. Typical to most methods, I’ve had days where everything sticks and days where I lost a lot of fish.
To weigh it up against bugger fishing – you’ll cover more fish with buggers but they won’t all eat. You’ll cover fewer fish with this dry / dropper method but more will eat (in my opinion!) I think the only way to test it is to fish against Jeff Forsee on buggers while I use the dry dropper. That said it, the dry / dropper method suits both anglers fishing it because bugger fishing is quite dispuptive even to the water outside the anglers focus. There would have to be some rules to give both methods equal footing. I’m sure Jeff will be keen! (We would have been out there doing it yesterday only for this feckin lockdown – which I fully agree with!)
Guiding through winter has been quiet which is pretty normal. However, my now regular client, Bill was down a few times. We had good fishing, mixing it up with sight and blind fishing on a number of lakes and working on casting. While up in Mackenzie country we had an encounter with an absolute monster. Sighted on a lake edge. I’d say 12lbs plus. I don’t think canal fish can get in to this lake, so that was a genuine monster. He was hovering with his dorsal just poking out. One good cast from Bill and the trout violently spooked, shifting a lot of water. I’m itching to get back! That was certainly a fish of a lifetime and I want to catch it.
In other news, I’ve been using my green boat a bit lately. She still has no name! I totally misjudged it as a boat. I thought it was too heavy for fishing shallows and only good for cruising with the family. To my delight, It’s great to fish from and drifts like a dream. Ideal for one but fine for two too. Wesley was out with me recently and he found it really easy and comfortable to fish from the hatch opening. It works like a lean bar whichever way we drift, so I don’t need to mount a casting deck on the bow – though I might anyway! It’s a very versatile boat. Easy to tow and launch, very economical with a 15hp 4 stroke Evinrude – clips along nicely with that, drifts well and easy to cast from with nothing for flyline to wrap around (well, almost nothing). The other big advantage is the cabin. It will keep any amount of gear dry and out of the weather and there room for me to sleep in it. I’m really looking forward to the future with this boat. Some of you may remember Daltona. She’s still in the workshop and the renovation is moving forward very slowly. I will get there!
I wrote a piece for Fulling Mill lately about my top 10 trout for the 20 – 21 season. Here is a link to it. Some great trout in there and a brief recap on each one.
If you’d like to get in touch about guided fishing this season or next please do. Strange times but it costs nothing to have a chat! Email me at ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight Lines, Ronan..
Out on my own – Waitaki.
A good July day. Landed 4 including this one on a dry – Indicator Klink from Fulling Mill. This has become my go-to dry.
Out with the family for a few hours.
Lochlan
Adaline
Lochlan after catching his first trout! In all the panic I didn’t get a pic of the fight.
He wanted to eat it!
Trout is a family favourite for dinner.
Scouting some water for some upcoming guiding. Plenty trout!
Low water but fishing well.
Out with Bill.
SLHT 6wt – Now Bills favourite rod.
Good fishing!
Flats!
When the wind got up the buggers came out!
Waitaki. They were here a week prior but they were hard to find on this day.
We worked hard in the wind and got a few.
No wind today!
We fished a few spots before finding fish.
Not many fish around but Bill landed 2 good trout.
Nice place to catch a trout..
We watched the mist slowly advance up the lake all day. Finally it got to us!
A quiet stream mouth.
Ducks!
Back on Dunstan.
Lost this one!
Saw a couple here.
Then the wind increased and fishing really amped up.
The Harfin reel well christened.
Small streamers doing well.
Heading out myself..
Pulled up the boat to walk a flat..
Lots of healthy trout about. Love that Primal too!
This was deadly fished blind under a dry.
I love boat fishing.
Won’t be breaking any speed records but the 15hp Evinrude does the job.
Pulled up to go for a walk.
This flat was too shallow.
Back in the boat and the action continued. Plenty fish for the day.
I never worry when the regular season ends because we have good winter fishing locally. That said, last winter was hard work, so I hoped for better fishing this winter. The winter season usually kicks off with a bang as some big rainbows move up river in May. This year saw very few fish move in May. Also, feck all in June and now were well into July and still no great action. Every day out I find some fish, but not the big thumpers I need to scratch this itch. I want a big silver bar – fresh out of the lake, or just a plain big bow. For the 5 or so winters before last winter I always got them. Plenty of them. But not this year or last. Last year I had the excuse that I was busy with 2 very young kids, but this year I have fished it a lot. I have guided it and fished it hard. Lots of days, but I simply have not had that great day. I think the fish are there in very low numbers. Maybe the run is still to come! I certainly hope so. Lately I’ve actually gotten fed up going out to fish it. At the end of each fishing day, I return saying “right, thats it, not going back”… but the next time I have a window, I’m back out there, frustrating myself once again – sometimes not enjoying it. I move quickly to cover multiple spots which have always held fish. I also look in new water, blind fish, sight fish. Really work it hard but nothing decent to report apart from some dark 2 to 4lb bows or 1lb maidens but thats simply not what I want. I’m not greedy either – If I could catch one fresh run 6lb plus rainbow I’d be happy. That would make my winter. One day out – one of the few days with decent action – I hooked 8 only landing 2 rat bows. One fish I lost that day was one of those special fish, but I only caught a glimpse.
I had to get well away from the local in search of some good fishing. I went to fish some lakes I like to fish in winter. It felt like I hadn’t caught a decent trout for ages and I couldn’t take it anymore! The day on the lake saved my sanity. I worked a rocky shore hard all day with dries, nymphs and streamers – sight and blind and landed 7 trout to 7lbs. Lots of reel screaming runs from super trout.. I feel like an angler again.
Feel free to get in touch about guided fly fishing over winter or next season. Check out my website or email me @ ronan@sexyloops.com.
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.
Over this season I’ve seen 2 trout that I had first seen many years before. Both from high country rivers where trout are known to get pretty old. I contacted my friend, Rasmus Gabrielson, to find out a bit about how old trout get. Rasmus reckons from some surveys done on one of the rivers that it would take a brown trout about 12 years to reach 9lbs. 9lbs is important because both trout were that weight when I caught them first. The first trout I caught back in 2013. He was one of the most spectacularly coloured trout I had ever seen. He had a dark patch on his right gill cover. This would make him easy to identify if I was to ever see him again. Over the years I did see him on occassion. The dark patch easily visible as long as there was no wind riffle. His colour never seemed as striking as when I first caught him but I always assumed it was the same fish. Twice he ate my clients flies but but each time the rod came up empty. It wasn’t until this season that the stars aligned for Robbie to catch him. If it wasn’t for the dark patch on the gill I would never have picked him as being the same trout. For confirmation I compared photos and the spots matched. Some spots seem to have moved a little, some new ones have appeared and some have disappeared but its still easy to see that it’s the same trout. The dark patch has gotten much darker. Whats really amazing is that if that fish was 12 when I caught him first, he’s 20 now and still going strong.
The other fish I first caught in 2015. He was also one of the most beautifully coloured and marked trout I had seen – and still is to this day – both are actually. After I caught this fish I didnt see him for years. I caught him again in 2020 and again in 2021. Still the same weight and still looking good. Assuming this fish was 12 when I first caught him, he’s 18 now and also still going strong. I caught this fish from 2 adjacent pools. The first fish mentioned has been in the same pool for every sighting. This really proves the territorial nature of some trout. It also proves their resilience and ability to be caught and released many times. There’s photos of both trout on their first and last capture at the bottom of the list below. One has certainly changed a lot. Rasmus told me about brown trout from Norwegian high country lakes reaching 30 years of age. I wonder if we have a 30 year old brown trout in NZ? I think we could.
I’ve picked these two examples because they were such memorable fish. It’s also easy to know that they are the same fish. I have other examples too of old trout being caught many times over many years. It seems very normal for them reach a certain size and then maintain that weight. Some older trout stop spawning, making reaching old age more likely. Spawning is very hard on trout and claims many every year.
In other news, it’s been a great couple of months of fishing. I’ve been out a lot myself and had some big and beautiful trout. I’ve done some guiding. I didn’t expect to guide a double figure fish this season with so few guide days due to Covid travel restrictions, but Brian from Christchurch proved me wrong. We flew into a wilderness river on day 3 of 3. Fishing was slow – the only way to make it work was to cover kilometres and maximise opportunities. With this plan we found fish. At the end of the day we found a monster! He took the dry but Brian briefly foul hooked him in the tail on the strike. Luckily the trout didn’t seem didn’t seem too bothered and continued feeding. He took my #14 brown nymph a few casts later. This fish faught hard and Brian played him really well. At the very end, almost in the net, he made a dash under a rock. Fully under. We couldn’t see a fin! One chance before the tippet abrades off the rock – go and pull him out! I walked out to the rock and slid my hand under feeling around for the tail – taking a shot of water down my waders as I did. I felt the tail and got a firm grip and pulled him out and put him in my net. What a relief! I was expecting it would be a “one that got away” story! The fish weighed just under 11lbs. To me he looked like an early lake run trout. He was twice as big as any other fish we caught that day.
With the travel bubble open between Australia and NZ, the end of my season is pretty much full but there’s still lots of availability in May. Still plenty availability between now and April 18 for anglers within NZ. Feel free to get in touch. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight lines, Ronan..
Out for a day on my own checking out some new water..
..some great fish.
One on my red and black nymph.
lovely clear water.
Day 1 of 3 with Brian.
Flew into this wilderness and caught heaps!
Day 2. No chopper but plenty trout about.
Brian landed a good few of these..
Day 3 – Back in the chopper!
Stunning place..
Fishing was tough but the afternoon really switched on for an hour.
Strong fish!
Stable boulders and the fish were there.
Love that definition from olive to silver.
A solid 6lber.
Love this feature in a rainbows tail.
Then this!
Just under 11lbs of magnificence!
Just under 11lbs of magnificence!
“take your pick” Robbie looks in my flybox..
Some new water. Fishing was good but quite a lot of walking between pools.
Lovely,,
I wonder how long the cave will last?
Fish of the day..
Nice water..
Day 2. Big fish hunting..
We had ideal sighting for about 2 hours..
..then cloud.
One very big fish for Robbie. I caught this fish in 2013!
We continued walking ,any kilometres.
Good light at times.
walking, searching..
Then this! Another very big brown.
The light was poor but I just managed to sight this fish. Delighted I did!
Happy men! Now for the big walk out.
27000 steps for 3 cracking trout. success!
A great fun day with Andrew and Will.
Will off the mark..
That smile was there all day!
Andrew into one. A pleasure to have these fellas out..
..they learned and enjoyed!
Lovely spot!
A quick snap on the walk down..
First of the day.
Hard to spot in a deep riffle. Very satisfying fish.
Bryan in..
His favourite fish to date.
That is amazing!
Then me again in the same pool. All about the same size.
I turned over a piece of wood in the local river..
Full of life.
Trout food!
And then a great fish! not bad for a short session..
Last winter we had a little treat! Fish & Game opened a river to anglers to fish for monster rainbows on their spawning run. These fish reach incredible sizes from living in a man made canal system. Like a giant spring creek, the canals have a constant flow and they’re always cool. Perfect for trout to grow year round. They have a diet which consists largely of cockabullies, snails and fish pellets from under the salmon farms, all aiding their rapid growth. For the most part, these fish spawn in the canal system itself but some have the opportunity to spawn in a river – the one that was opened to anglers last September. I spoke to Rhys from F&G about the decision to open it. He said that by that stage in the winter all the redds are already full of eggs so no damage can be done to future stocks by fishing to the new arrivals. He also said that the river would not be opened in September again. This decision was due to the expected onslaught of foreign anglers next year. A pity I thought. I sugested making it for residents only. This year it was for residents only because there were no foreign tourist anglers due to the Covid travel ban. The river was busy at times but there was room for everyone. The perfect case study. In my opinion, making it for residents only would be a very easy management system and we could keep this unique fishery open in late winter. Last Septembers successful opening provides strong evidence that it would work. We also chatted about leaving the river open in May to allow people to fish for the first run of large browns which have all but gone by September. Who knows what will happen here in the future. I think the closed season in NZ in general is in need of a total overhaul. Many closed seasons make no sence and protect little or nothing – especially on lakes and still waters.
Needless to say I had to have a crack at this river. It’s possibly the best large trout river in the world at this time of year. I fished it for 3 days over the month landing 10 between 13 and 25lbs. It quickly became clear to me what I loved most about these winter rainbows. Not the fish or the fishing but the fight! Usually I like that trout are not like bonefish. I like that I can get them in quickly so that I can get back to the fishing. These were different. Unique because how often are you not worried about loosing a 10 to 30lb trout? I loved leaning into these brutes with heavy gear. Get them in fast and returned after a quick snap. I used an 8wt TCX, a Lamson reel with a decent drag and 12lb Maxima. No playing around with 5 or 6 weights. In the great scheme of my fly fishing I rarely fish for anything over 10lbs so it was great just to feel that weight and power on the other end. Watching a 20lb trout run, jump and thrash with the rod hopping and reel screaming was some of the best craic I’ve had fly fishing!
I chose a method at the start of day one which I stuck with each day I fished. I blind fished a weighted streamer (possum and marabou of course!) on a long leader fished on a floating line. This worked well because I could get the fly deep with some simple mends. Depth was key for me to blind fish the deeper water. A sinking line can be a disaster with heavy didymo and large boulders so more reason to use a floater. I love the control with this method. I can get the fly to the depth I want and make it move how I want. Not so easy with a sinking line since you lose much of your ability to mend. Dead drifting the streamer through deep bouldery runs or moving it slowly was the most effective for me. 9 out of my 10 trout over 3 days were bright, healthy hens. Just what I wanted. I saw some fellas happy to fish for coloured up jacks off redds at the tails of pools. This was not for me but each to their own. I did throw a few casts at these fish but when I got the feeling that they were spawners I left them alone. One thing I learned from this trip was that I really dislike fishing with egg flies – so I didn’t!
In more recent news – the new season has been fantastic so far! Some very big fish about too. I’ve already had 2 over the mythical 10lb mark. More about those and the season to date in my next blog. The boat has not been out yet but I do have an engine on the back of it now so I’m just waiting for the opportunity to get out there. I’ve had a couple of very successful guide days with clients landing trout to 8lbs. Some more work coming up too so very happy about that! Myself and Jeff have another epsiode of Pure Fly NZ coming up soon. We have a plan to watch it at the pub since neither of us have whatever channel it’s on. Duke I think. I’m looking forward to watching it. We had a some great action. It’s always a lot of fun filming with Jeff and Nick. We’re all on the same page. Anybody within NZ who’d like to get in touch about some guided fly fishing, I’d love to hear from you. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website. For a look at some of my fly patterns available at Fulling Mill click here.
Tight lines.. Ronan..
This fire was huge..
Leaping flames..
Adaline. Shes not 3 yet but she sort of gets it!
A morning fish with the kids while on holiday.
Off to the river for opening day.
Cold..
..Very cold..
..but great to be out in.
First fish. A colourful, crazy looking jack.
Quite a nice fish though..
Then this. The best from the 3 days. 25lbs.
Another pic. I really struggled with the 10 sec timer on my phone. You get the picture though!
One on my hotspot nymph. All the rest were on streamers.
15lbs. This fly and a few more of my flies e available at fulling mill.
About to go back..
Next spot.. still cold!
21lbs.
Some flies for the follow up trip..
Much nicer weather.
Some superb trout!
Not a bad place to be..
First run down the pool in the morning.
Rainbow
Late in the day..
One for Bryan..
big!
Back he goes..
Back he goes…
A very good pool.
WAC legends and myself.
A lake day for Bryan and me..
Beautiful place but the fishing was just okay.
a good one for me..
..and for Bryan.
Healthy brown on the HT4
Checking out some new water.
Very windy..
..but around the point we had shelter.
One for Jeff..
One for me.. Had to climb the fence during the scrap!
Every now and then the prospect of a fishing trip is incredibly exciting – more than the average trip. I get that buzz if I’m going abroad to experience a new fishery, or exploring new water, maybe in a new wilderness area. I think the key word is new. Seeing a piece of water for the first time is always exhilarating. A trip myself and Bryan put together last January was one of these. One of these with bells on! Not just one piece of water to explore but lots. We pooled our resources and planned a wilderness float trip. NZ was our oyster! Where do we go? After studying google earth for ages I had an idea. I knew very little about the chosen system which included lakes, rivers, streams and backwaters but that was the point. Some real adventure! We took plenty safety precautions. We went in with one sat phone and a PLB each, life jackets, raft repair kit, plenty food and first aid kits. The NZ wilderness is no place to take lightly. The river looked pretty safe to raft on google earth. Once everything was prepared and packed, it was time to hit the road to get the helicopter into the wilds!
On arrival, the pilot came out to greet us. As we chatted he gestured towards the raft fully assembled on the trailer and asked if that was the pack raft – sarcastically of course. There was a breakdown in communications in our correspondence. They thought pack rafts and we though they could sling-load the 40kg raft in. It turned out that they can’t sling load with passengers and even if they could it would be a very slow and therefore expensive trip. No problem though! We disassembled the raft and the pilot easily got it onto the back seats and into the pod on the side of the helicopter. We were off!
The flight in was spectacular. They always are. Mountains, rivers, forest and then our destination became visible. The weather was good and excitement was hard to contain. We landed and got our bearings. We had a rough plan for the 3 days. I had marked every place of interest on NZ topo 50. To fit them all in we had to get cracking. Once I reassembled the raft the trip was underway..
The fishing on day one was pretty poor. Lovely lake flats with only a few small trout. Then a river to explore. Lots of potential and reasonable numbers of mostly old looking trout – spooky trout! Some of the spookiest. We blanked on that river, but it was a magical spot and I’ll certainly have another go sometime. A few riffles and runs but mostly glass calm, slow moving pools. There were some stunning big lake like pools too but these were inaccessible due to treacherous soft silt.
After fishing the river we had a pretty major piece of water to cover to get to camp. Lots of rowing and drifting. The rain had come in as we fished the stream and it kept coming. As we travelled down the system the un-forecasted rain got heavier. Our gear and ourselves were getting soaked, even through rain gear. Camping outside was not too appealing at this stage but thankfully there was a backcountry hut not too far downstream. We jumped out now and again to fish likely water but the rain was getting to the point that the hut really started to beckon. With the GPS function on NZ Topo 50 it was easy to find the hut. We pulled up the raft and secured it to a tree well up a sandy bank in case the river rose with the rain. Once we got the gear into our home for the night we could relax a bit. I got the fire going while Bryan put on the spuds, then we hung up all the wet gear – almost everything! We demolished a couple of rib eyes with black beans and spuds. Some nice wine too. We slept well to the sound of rain even if we were a little anxious about the state of the river in the morning.
Day 2. The raft was still safely secured to the tree. The river had doubled in size over night but was perfectly clear and fishable. This was a huge relief since the rain didn’t quit until after we ate breakfast. With great excitement we took on the river. We started blind fishing all likely water and Bryan quickly got a nice 3lber to put us on the board. Then I hooked and lost a better fish and sighted another. As the sun broke through the clouds the cicadas started chirping and the trout responded. We had a spectacular few hours of fishing in the afternoon. One spot took us ages to pass because every time our flies passed the drop-off a trout would eat the fly. Dream fishing. All beautiful, healthy 3 to 7lb trout and mostly on a large Stu’s Cicada. The water was quite diverse in its make up. Lots of bouldery pocket water, some large pools, sandy glides, cut banks and fallen trees. A real wild river. We were sad to have to leave it to continue our mission downstream but we had more water to explore in our limited timeframe. The thrill of new water never waned and once we were back on the raft we couldn’t wait to see what was around the next bend. Before we made it to the next camp spot we had some good fishing on a small, tannin tributary. Very interesting spot. I got a follow from the same fish to my streamer about 10 times without an eat. Bryan had a nymph a foot under a dry. I suggested that I’d tease the trout in and then remove my fly quickly so that Bryan could cast to the fish. It worked a charm and the trout took the nymph while wondering where the glister disappeared to!
Back on the raft it was time to think about making camp. We had heard about a bushman living somewhere in the valley and that he didn’t mind a visitor. When we saw smoke coming from a chimney we decided to go and investigate. Sure enough it was Bruce. He opened the door with a big smile on his face and invited us into his house – which he said nobody owned and we were welcome to stay. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth we did stay. The craic was great! We took out our bag of wine and filled up everyones cup, steaks on the pan, cheese and crackers to start. This was one of those unforgettable experiences and we both knew it and made the most of it. Bruce regaled us with stories about many topics from eels to DoC to politics to topless women. We tried to take it all in while adding a story or two of our own.
Day 3. In the morning we had breakfast together before taking on our respective days. There were a few flags on my map yet to explore. Bruce was able to put me wise about which ones to avoid – not because there were no trout there necessarily, but due to the logistics of bush-bashing in to them. We said goodbye to Bruce but he said he’d be down to the helicopter later to chat to the pilot and to see us off. He took off down the river with his 15hp while we took a more leisurely pace. Over the day we found some really nice water. A pool with a waterfall that really must be right up the with the most beautiful places I’ve caught a trout, a backwater off the main river with lots of eager but pretty small trout. The size really didn’t matter to us though. The location and the quality of the fishing more than made up for that. Then a tiny spring creek with some quality trout that we didn’t catch and finally another lake edge to explore while we waited for the chopper. About half way through the day the rain made another appearance and quickly closed in to the extent that we weren’t sure if the helicopter could fly. Bryan got on the sat phone when they were a bit late only to get no solid information – they weren’t sure either! The pilot was stuck somewhere due to the weather and fuel was an issue. A short time later we heard the helicopter in the distance. He landed and seemed a little panicked by the weather closing in and fuel was indeed an issue. The helicopter had no pod on the side this time, so we quickly loaded everything onto the back seat of the helicopter. It was a tight enough squeeze but no problem. After we said farewell to Bruce it was time to go. Bryan and I both fitted in the front. At first the pilot thought he’d have to drop us to a road about 50ks from my truck but thankfully as we flew we caught a gap in the weather and made it back to the heliport. Absolutely pissing rain again, we hurriedly unloaded the helicopter and jammed everything into the back of the truck – far from the tidy truck that arrived here a few days ago. A quick change into dry clothes and we were heading home. What a trip – certainly, one of the best.
Let me know if you’d like to book a trip for next season. With all the uncertainty in the world right now my season is filling slowly so there are plenty spaces available. Email me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website. I do not offer guided float trips by they way! But for anybody interested in this style of fishing you should contact Wanaka based Greg Dougherty.
Tight Lines! Ronan..
All the gear weighed before loading into the chopper.
Some great views on the way..
Might be worth a look!
Checking out some potential fishing water before landing..
The boat reassembled and loaded up. Now for some fishing!
Stunning flats but only a few small trout about here.
We gave it a couple of hours but nothing much happened. A few 1 to 2lbers..
Pulled up at a river mouth..
Exciting! Crystal clear..
Some stunning water but mostly glass calm pools and some of the spookiest fish in NZ!
Off down river and the rain starts.. Fishing has been tough!
We found a rising fish here. Late in the day, we were cold and wet! Hard to muster the enthusiasm to take the shot. No joy!
After multiple kilometres of rowing and drifting we made it to a cabin..
With all the gear soaked this cabin was bliss. Camping was the plan but we were glad of the hut. Steaks and spuds on. Time for a wine!
The rain didn’t quit all night.
The river had doubled in size but was still clear. Phew!
It didn’t take Bryan long to open the account.
Clouds starting to break.
We prospected fishy water with some success.
Then we got onto the good stuff!
Lovely!
Super dry fly action!
I’m not sure what hawk this is. It looks different to the common one on the roads.
The fish of the trip!
Heaven!
We had good fishing in the pocket water.
Bryan works his way upstream..
Another fat reel screamer!
Time to go back to the boat and continue our mission..
A rare opportunity to cast from the boat resulted in a magic slow motion take from a solid brown.
Result!
Another little stream to explore.
Okay fish numbers but we didn’t land any here.
On we go just enjoying the float and the wilderness.
Tourists!
The river gets bigger as we progress downstream. I’m on a constant lookout for logs or dangers, always trying to pick safe lines.
Night 2 camp after a great day!
We heard of a bushman living in the vicinity. We saw smoke and called in.
Bushman Bruce gave us a great welcome.
We had dinner, told stories, drank wine and generally had the craic. An amazing, fortuitous experience. Great to meet Bruce.
Day 3. A quick 10 sec timer shot before we go.
Some more banter..
Bruce has stuff to do..
..and so do we. A little backwater off the river.
What a place.
The fish weren’t big but they were happy to eat.
Stunning.
Bryan in again..
Brilliant markings.
Another healthy little trout.
This was a little better!
Bryan into a good trout.. The unweighted PT was all they wanted.
Great fish.
Trout skins. All unique.
Back on the boat..
Another stream to explore..
A tiny creek but it held a few trout..
No joy but they were there.
This was possibly the most spectacular spot I have caught a trout. Worth the effort to get there.
There were 2 or 3 here. After I got the first one the others disappeared.
Trying the streamer..
Wow!
Almost time to go..
Last look for a trout before we go..
With weather closing in the chopper only just made it to us.
No pontoon this time..
..so the boat and all our gear goes onto the back seat.
Bruce has a chat with the pilot before we take off..
