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.
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..
I’ve know Bob since my first visit to NZ in 2002, I actually met him a year or two before at his home in the US. He cooked dinner for us. A New York Strip I recall. A very memorable steak! Bob is now 82. My annual brief is to help him catch a trout on his birthday or he jokingly (I hope) reckons he wont be around for his next birthday. No pressure or anything!! To relieve some of the pressure we have 2 days to catch the fish because it’s still his birthday in the US the following day. To add a little pressure the trout must be caught on a dry. We’ve succeeded in our quest for the last 3 years and I hope we can keep it going for another 23! This year we had one heli day into a beautiful wilderness river and a day with our mutual friend Camo Guy in his boat. Both days we were successful on dries and the weather was great – unlike last year. Cheers Bob! Bring on the next one..
I remember fishing with Alun earlier in the season. We were having a good day. Fish were out and Alun was doing well. We got to a spot where we could see a fish on station. He wasn’t doing much but he was moving to eat now and again. Alun covered him a few times. He looked at the dry once but surprisingly never moved to the nymph. After a number of casts Alun gave me the rod to have a go. I sent in a cast and the trout moved right up to take the dry but refused last moment.. my dry / nymph continued to drift. As I was about to take it out to recast, 2 fish cruised up from a dark, deep pool below. I left my flies drifting.. they perfectly intercepted one of them which ate my nymph and I landed a lovely 5lb seatrout. A bonus, lucky fish. I was not complaining. After this I gave Alun back his rod and he had another cast to the original fish. Up he came and nailed the dry! A nice scenario from a great season.
The weather for this entire level 4 lockdown period has been flippin unbelievable. Blue skies and light wind just about every day. There is a chance we’ll drop back to level 3 in a week, in which case fishing will be allowed again. Personally I don’t think we should rush to level 3 but if we do drop back I’ll certainly be making the most of the last few days of the brown trout season. If not, there’s plenty fishing in winter whenever we do get to level 3, some of the best of the year actually. I’m missing the water, thats for sure, but I’m happy to wait for the greater good – not that I can harm myself or anybody else by fishing alone but that’s not the point..
Some nice images below from the season pre-lockdown. I hope you all enjoy them.. Also a link to a short film by a mutual client of myself and Jeff Forsee. It’s from a recent trip with his friend Matt. Thanks Pat! Here it is..
Let me know if you’d like to book a trip next season. No deposit necessary until the travel ban is lifted. Visit my website or email me ronan@sexyloops.com
Tight Lines, Ronan..
Bob into one of his birthday fish.
Guy into one!
Bob again..
Guy Hague and Bob Toffler. The 2 people I’ve known the longest in NZ. Great friends!
Bob knows how to play a trout.. Success! Birthday trout on a dry. This is actually day 1. WordPress selected all the pics in reverse and I cant fix it. I could in the past. WordPress is shit.
Giving him stick!
Bob and Carole.
Carole into one from “the pool”. Sadly some pools were removed by the recent floods.
Super water..
Nice way to travel!
Lovely..
Adam with one of the best rainbows of the season..
Great 2 days with Alun!
Lovely, clean fish. No marks..
Alun nets a fish for me!
One for me! One of only a few seatrout of the season.
Another great fish for Alun. 5 for the day.
Trout face!
Nice stream. This was day 1 with Alun. Just one for the day!
Walking home.
Out with Ron and Joe. The river warmed up at noon and the fish totally shut down.
A day out myself with my Sexyloops HT4. Some rod!
Some craic with these fellas! Fitz and Biggsy. Prout FARTs.
The thunder rolled but the fishing was okay!
Ominous..
The spotting rock..
A fine fish for Fitz.
Small stream nymphing..
Spectacular markings!
Some of the best red spots I’ve seen..
Amazing..
Early morning.
Not a breath of wind..
One cruising the edge..
Which Biggsy got..
Off to the high country.
Biggsy works some deeper water..
Not a great shot but this fish went 7lbs. A trophy for this lake. The biggest I’ve seen of it to date.
Back he goes. You can get a better appreciation of his condition here.
Unusual markings for this lake. Usually they’re much more golden.
Trout food.
I kept a nice 3lber to cold smoke.
I had a super couple of days with Robbie. Plenty good fish.
Stunning!
A bright Rainbow.
I think we got 6 for the day. This was one of the best. Day 2 included a 6lb brown and a 7lb seatrout. No pics unfortunately.
My fly tying assistant!
2 great days with Philip.
These are some of the prettiest fish in the world!
Colour and condition.
I love this place..
Day 2. We lost 6 before landing this cracker over 6lbs.
A day with Maureen and David. The river blew out over night so we fished a lake. One for the day but a real beauty..
I love it when I get a booking through Sexyloops. There’s a certain familiarity and understanding right from the start which relieves any pressure. I can simply plan the best trip I can. I basically just plan to do what I’d like to do which is not always the case. Dealing with Grunde was easy because we are like minded – like most Sexyloopers. He was happy to have me fish too so this was a trip I was really looking forward to. I had a rough plan in my head for the 4 days which included hiking into the backcountry but on the first day the weather turned for the worse. Extremely worse! A weather system which was destined to wreak havoc on the South Island landed on day 1. I know many guides cancelled bookings because of it. I’m lucky because I love the lakes which means I never have to cancel due to weather – I haven’t yet anyway. Apart from on the morning of day 1 there wasn’t a river to fish anywhere for the 4 days. We took on a very varied list of still waters from tiny to huge through almost every type of weather. We successfully blind fished with dries and nymphs on day 1, we also had a few shots to rising trout. Day 2 was all blind fishing with small streamers. We sight fished everything on day 3. Some magic fishing. Nine trout from 4 to 6.5lbs, mostly on dries. Day 4 sort of beat us. We got a few trout but the wind got really crazy. Every time I’d change location to avoid the wind it would change direction to ruin the new location! You’ll have days like that. All up it was a great 4 days of fly fishing – not for everyone I’m sure but we loved it! Looking forward to next time, Grunde! Thanks!
Feel free to get in touch with any enquiries for next season. Don’t worry about a deposit under the current circumstances – just let me know the dates you’d like. Hopefully the travel ban will be lifted by next season. Contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Good luck! Ronan..
Day 1. We fished the river in the morning til this happened..And it got much much bigger! Plan B was some some small still waters.. Casting dries around the edges was very good!Another for me. Brilliantly coloured this time. They’re all so different.After a few missed opportunities this one to the net and Grund was off the mark.Back he goes.. 4 for the day.Day 2. With all rivers flooded it had to be another still water. This time to the high country.We needed serious rain gear! I had 2 Simms jackets and this emergency poncho. The poncho was great!The rain pissed down all day. This was the system that wreaked havoc all over the lower South Island. We had really good fishing with small streamers.Stunning fish are the norrm on these high country lakes.Rain, mist and wind.. Cold too..But good fishing!Grunde in again..Super fish!Rain.One more beautiful trout before heading home. Super day with 6 to the net to 5.5lbs.Day 3. With rivers in flood this was a busy lake! 7 anglers on it. We got there early and staked our claim on a great 150m shore. A perfect blue sky day was very welcome after 2 of the wettest days I’ve guided.9 for the morning mostly on dries.. including this double hook-up.
A very memorable moment.
Nice markings.. Plenty more opportunities in the afternoon but no more landed.Day 4. Still on the lakes. We managed 3 or 4 but the wind got insane!yep, insane!Some Fulling Mill flies.Sensibly packaged. Good flies.Some of my own flies. My go to dry. This with a yellow body was great for cicadas this year. Lake edge cruiser fly.My #16 nymph with a 2mm bead. This fly has accounted for 5 double figure trout from one river!#12, 3mm bead. For depth or coloured water. The butt is backing line, possum body.
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..
No trip to Ireland is complete without a few days on Corrib. It’s a lake that has rarely been very kind to me but that does not stop me wanting to go back. It’s an amazing lake. It would take a lifetime to get to grips with the entire 44,000 acres. Maybe multiple lifetimes. There is still so much of Corrib I have not seen. It’s an explorers dream with deeps, shallows, points, bays and islands making up the lake. It encompasses many townlands on it shores from Galway to Oughterard to Cornamona to Cong to Headford. The fishing varies from early to late season with very specific times of different fly. The chironomid first, then the olive (a small mayfly), then the large danica mayfly then the sedge. Of course the fly seasons overlap but with such specifics in trout food, the fly and method selection is very important. There are many other flies on the water too just to add to the puzzle. Caenis and terrestrials for example. Traditional wet fly techniques have taken a back seat to various nymphing methods in the passed 20 years, especially with chironomid and olive fishing. Let me know if you ever want to go and I’ll connect you with the right people.
I had 3 days out while at home. John and I went out on day 1. John hadn’t been out for a while so he was unsure where the good fishing was. We went to some trusted deep water where wet fly fishing can produce the goods. John got 1 of about 1.5lbs and I blanked.
Day 2 was with Dad and Tom Doc. This was a social outing as much as a fishing day and the craic was great. We went out in Toms dad’s boat. A beautiful custom built Philbin Lake Boat. A pleasure to be out in. That boat has seen some action and anglers over it’s lifetime, and she still looks new. We fished very close to where John and I fished but we were on the fish. Tom is a guide on the lake and fishes most days so he knows where the fish are. It didn’t take long for us to start moving a few. This was my day as it turned out. Out of 8 landed I had 6 with the best over 3lbs. I was delighted, as was Dad and Tom. Lunch on Inchagoill with the traditional Kelly Kettle was super. The cup of tea from Tom’s Kettle will not be beaten! It’s so good that I decided to bring my Kelly Kettle to NZ. Thanks Tom for a great day out..
Day 3 – I didn’t expect much. The forecast was for horrendous wind. Rain too, and the lake was high and rising after rain. The reason for going out was give the New Zealanders who were over for the wedding a taste of Corrib. We had 3 boats. John and Fraser in one, Dad and Damien in another and Myself, Wesley and Mark in mine. It was a day where open water would have been very dangerous so we stayed in relatively sheltered bays. The craic was good but the fishing was bad. The pints flowed afterwards which made the world good again!
Still lots of space available in the current season for guided fly fishing in New Zealand. Contact me on ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight Lines, Ronan..
John into one from the deep.
Windy, rainy day. We struggled to find trout..
Foreboding skies..
Out with Dad and Tom Doc..
Into the fish of the day!
A good Corrib brown. Back he went!
The Kelly Kettle in action..
Tom Doc.
Making the tea..
Let it stew..
Tea, sandwiches and craic!
Back out after lunch..
Wesley and Mark out with me..
John and Fraser I think..
In for lunch. The highlight of the day!
John and Fraser.
The whole crew for the day. From left Mark Adamson, Fraser Mackenzie, Damien O Malley, Wesley Snipes, Joe Creane and John O Malley. A historic day!
Another season has landed. My new seasons resolution is to explore more, fish more and fish better, think like a trout! I was itching to get back at the rivers. I wanted to check out new water so that’s what I did. I walked a wee stream for miles and it was decent, lots of walking between fish but I like that. I did spend some time blind fishing streamers in corner pools but it wasn’t working. Sighted fish were few and far between but they were big and keen to eat pretty much anything as long as it was well presented. I had one on a Cicada and another on a #6 leggy dry stonefly! The reason I always use a dry as an indicator..
October is quiet on the guiding front, not sure why but it will give me time to fish myself. I have some things I want to do. Mostly exploratory to keep the learning curve moving the right way. Watch this space!
I added a few pics of Moher Lake in County Mayo in the West of Ireland. John O Malley and myself used to hitch there in our teens getting in all sorts of trouble with bailiffs, parents and even a wee run in with the law, but mostly just having a great time fishing as free as birds. Mrs McDonnell who we rented the boat from would let us camp on the lake. We’d fish it from dawn til dusk! So many great memories. I went back with James while I was back home. I was happy to go back for a trip down memory lane and James had never been. I heard it was well stocked last year so I expected the same this year. The farmer who rents out the boats said it was fishing very well but we only met one stocked fish all day. I could tell it was in a while by it’s well mended fins and bright flanks. We had non stop action with about 50 little native browns, about 3 to the pound, maybe 4. Sadly the lake wasn’t stocked this year but the IFI are still taking full price to fish it. Unfair? Yes, I think so. Still a nice day out!
Lots of availablity this season for guided fly fishing in the south of New Zealand. February is full and March is almost full but plenty room besides. You can contact me via my website or email me ronan@sexyloops.com
Tight Lines, Ronan..
A small headwater stream. Lots of walking between fish..
..but worth it!
Blue skies, snow on the ground, cool and crisp..
..some magnificent fish around!
Snow melt should keep the rivers full for a while.
This tank was sipping down little mayflies, I threw a #6 indicator dry to him and he sipped it down just the same! The next day one took a cicada..
Just under 8lbs..
Stunning! Now a 1.5hour walk back to the truck.
Day 2. Feckin freezing! And 50kph wind.. A cotton bag made a good hat! Yesterday the draw string made new laces for my boots..
Great start..
About 4ks later, this!
Same fish.. Magnificent 2 days on the water over 3 streams.
Moher Lake in Co. Mayo in the West of Ireland.
Fishing with my good friend James.
Corned beef and tomato sandwiches! Lovely!
We landed about 50 of these..
..Small, but these are adult browns.
The lake wasn’t stocked but we still paid full price! We were hoping to get into some 1 to 3lb stocked browns – big enough to fight back!
I can’t believe it’s 2 months since I’ve written a blog! It’s just been hard to find the time. Right now I’m in Dunedin Hospital with a very Pregnant Iza. We thought the little fecker was about to arrive but now it seems he / she was just winding us up. Iza is asleep and I have time to write.
The first thing I have to say is Congratulations to my dad, Joe Creane on winning the European Cup 2019 on Lough Mask in the West of Ireland. I have’t spoken to him yet to hear the details but it seems fish were very hard to find so this was a super result. He won a Burke boat for his trouble. I owned one since I was 21 and they are a super fishing boat.
The guiding season has come to an end. I did a few days in early May and that was it for 2019 unless a winter booking or 2 comes along. It was a super season all up. I’m loving the evolution of my guiding career. Most of my work is now from repeat clients who are becoming good friends. I couldn’t be happier about that.
The Sexyloops connection is getting stronger all the time. I have introduced some of my clients to Paul’s site to help them with their casting, to watch sexyloops.tv, fish with the man himself in Malaysia and read the day to day antics from Paul and the other writers from around the world. Paul has introduced some of his readers and friends to me as a current, active link to NZ fly fishing and guiding. It’s going full circle. More and more of my clients are arriving armed with a SL Hot Torpedo and well versed on whats going on with Paul and Bernd and the rest. One random meeting between 3 anglers in a pub in Waikaia summed it up. After Chip, Simon and I chatted for a while over a few pints we realised we all owned a SLHT #6. Now thats cool. It’s cool because these rods are not mainstream. Paul has them made exactly to his specifications with no expense spared – and their not cheap to make! I think anyone who wants to own one of these rods simply wants to take their fishing / casting to the next level in a more honourable and ethical way than buying the latest Sage before its discontinued next week. The sexyloops crew are the real deal, immersing their lives in fly fishing and casting – without ego! I loved what Simon said to me in the Waikaia pub about SL, “no trucker hats, no hoodies”. If you’re not a regular to the site then have a look!
May is possibly my favourite time of year. Guiding winds down and I have time to fish myself. There are 4 rivers within an hour of me that I can float down or fish land based targeting rainbows and browns (but mostly rainbows, big ones!) on their migratory run up stream to spawn. This May I’ve only gotten out twice. There are a couple of legitimate reasons for this! Iza is 38 weeks pregnant and needs me to be close by and we just bought a house. Were turning the 120 year old piece of history into our home and this has been taking quite a bit of time. I have a workshop too so I’ve also been setting that up to make furniture for the house or whatever else. A man needs a workshop!
I did manage to get a magic day on the water to satisfy my May fishing urge. I took the boat across to an island and fished a piece of water that has never worked for me before. It was fishy though. I threw a long line across to a deep blue hole, let the fly sink and stripped away.. two light taps.. I’ve felt these taps before from big fish.. another tap then a solid connection! The big hen rainbow, full of precious cargo and condition was cartwheeling on the end of my line. I had to give her hell to keep her safely in the lee of the island. I landed her and got a good picture with the 10 second timer before letting her off. She weighed 8.5lbs and was my best fish of the season. I went on the get a 5 and a 7+ so I had a good fix!
I’m not sure what fishing is coming in the next while but I might sneak out for a look somewhere. First priority is Iza and her precious cargo.
If you’d like to book some winter fishing or enquire about next season please email me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.
Tight Lines,
Ronan..
Joe Creane takes the European Cup, 2018! Congratulations!!
Day one of 3 with Andrew..
The rain came in but we had super fishing landing at least a dozen.
This run was full of fish!
This was the best out of it..
Day 2 with everything flooded! It took a while to find fishable water..
The fishing was good once we found the spot..
.. a good hatch and lovely trout rising..
Andrew did well..
Time to call it a day..
Day 3, a little farther north. This 7.5lber was a surprise! Andrew nailed a very tight cast to get this one..
2 deer wandering the river!
Some good rainbows too..
Autumn colour..
Super fish!
Chuan into one on an exploratory day..
A lovely silver bar. This fish was all we saw so we changed plan..
..Likely water..
Beautifully marked brown..
In again..
..cracker!
Gleaming!
We had a good week.. Decent numbers of fish and sufficiently challenging!
This river regularly carves a new path meaning that to know it requires regular attention!
..stunning!
Small water..
..solid fish!
A tough day this one.. fish not out!
Then the river went green!!?? No rain, no farming which I’d expect pollution from. It was gone in the morning.
This from the green tinted water to save the day..
Steak.
Any man that would complain about steak, spuds and black chilli beans isn’t a man at all!! (This is Chuans happy face)
Gorgy water.. and another tough day..
.. not bad..
This is where he was..
Lots of history from the gold mining days..
A cold start! Broken ice in the winch, droplets frozen on the front of the truck.
The crane!
Beautiful morning.. but cold!
yes, cold..
This looks alive!
Congrats Chuan!
At #1. First place for Chuan Tay with this fish just under 9lbs. This fecker goes hard..
A couple of days with Robbie..
Plenty fish and fun!
Healthy fish!
Robbie..
Football!
There were 4 in the run and we got them all!
Robbie into one..
An odd rainbow for good measure..
Not bad..
Then this one over 6lbs.. Super!
A little exploring..
My dream cottage. I want to build one just like this!
Over a hill to explore a lake. It was okay with lots of summer potential.
Brown trout!
Brown trout!
I had a great few days with these fellas! Garris (on left) was a beginner and Butler had solid experience..
Superb condition! Migratory fish are the best!
Wesley and my dam still working (sort of)!
In the gorge..
Day 3. Garris finally got his shit together and started catching fish! His first broke my rod..
..but we got the fish! It was great watching Garris go from scratch beginner to putting out a good line and catching fish by day 3. 6 to be precise! Keep it up!!
Beautiful..
And then a tank of a rainbow..
Superb!
Garris with another..
Great few days! Looking forward to next time..
Strong as a horse this fella!
Tough day but we managed 2..
..and got a lift out..
..a lift out is always a happy bonus!
Breakfast before going into the gorge..
Lovely water..
Always tough going..
..always beautiful!
We hooked 7 landing 4. This was the cheek of a brown. The blue was so striking!
Fish of the day!
Change of pace..
We had good fishing!
Brown and rainbow trout skins are getting my attention lately.
Super trout!
Streamer time!! Sometimes you need weight!
Why not stick on a couple of eyes..
Misty morning..
..and the fish were on!!
This was the 3rd..
More and more of my clients are arriving with Sexyloops Hot Torpedos. Brendan broke his in in style! 7lbs..
Back she goes with her precious cargo..
Magnificent water..
..and equally magnificent fish..
One of 7 on day 2 after a blank on day 1. This fish went bananas! What a trout..
Change of pace for day 3.
Nice water..
We landed 4.
Day 4. 8 for brendan..
A smoked 1lber for lunch!
Streamer time!
To round off the 9 photos, my best of the season so far. It took me til May to catch a fish worthy of my own leaderboard! Next season I’ll fish more..