Ronan's Report

Between late April and now I fished with a few good friends. First up was Dan, it was good to spend time with him on the water hoping for some late season magic. It didn’t really happen on the river unfortunately but thats how it goes. Staying at Peters Farm Lodge in the Maniototo was a bit of a treat. A cozy, homely accommodation with plenty old character. Getting back there after a massive day on the river was just right. We cooked enough for 4 and to our surprise we ate it all. It really was a big day. We burned off whatever food we had and a lot more. A frosty start on day 2, we gave it our all again. I had a small stream in mind but it had virtually no flow. Things didn’t really go our way but it was still a solid couple of days. Fishing is certainly not all about catching! We did manage to scratch a few out over the couple of days though.

Myself and Jeff struggle to line up our fishing schedules these days. However, we managed a trip in May and one in June. Long overdue. We had 3 fishing days in all, one in May and 2 in June. On the May Day we tore up the lake in Jeff’s family boat to a distant river. $100 worth or petrol each way. 100hp 2 stroke engines, holy feck they’re thirsty.. It was worth it though. We got into quite a few gleaming, fighting fit rainbows on a perfect weather day in a spectacularly beautiful, wild environment. Not a person to be seen.

In June we went up to Mackenzie Country for a couple of lake days. Jeff towed his raft to give us more options. We booked into Buscot Station backpackers. A place I’ve been staying at for over 20 years now. Tony owns and runs the place. He can talk at length on any topic with genuine knowledge from both sides. It’s a pleasure to stay there. Having the craic with Tony, warm clean beds, interesting guests; it’s always a great stay. Jeff and I had 2 nights there. A perfect fishing base. Day 1 we fished on foot. We walked a lake edge for the day mostly sight fishing. I also picked up a couple blind fishing murky water. The best fish of the day was a cracking 6.5lber. Sight fished with one of dad’s deadly epoxy buzzers. Even if still water fish are not specifically feeding on midge pupa they nearly always recognise them as food making them one of the most deadly flies to fish on any still water at any time of year. On day 2 Jeff put his raft in. Same lake but today we had the ability to fish the water we couldn’t reach from the shore. We did well. Landed about 7 up to 5 or 6lbs ish. The best thing about the raft day was how it tied the whole section of lake together. We covered a lot of water and left no stone unturned. between the shore day and the day afloat we now have a really good understanding of that part of the lake. Suddenly it doesn’t seem so vast.

Most seasons I catch up with Dougal for a fish. We left it late this year but had a good day on a high country dam in mid may. We met at the Adventure Hub Cafe. A great spot for a coffee and a chat before venturing up to the lake. Dougal wanted to learn the lake so he brought his boat. This suited me. For a change I wasn’t the one towing or operating the boat. I was able to advise Dougal on the safe runs and areas to be careful in and where I found fish over the years. We’d pull up the boat and fish the shore in opposite directions working the rocky edges. Thats where the fish seem to be late season. We had lovely conditions. Light wind and cloud and plenty active fish. Small brown buggers in the light wind worked best. A great day and I took a couple for dinner.

Had a good day out with Conor for the first time in a few years. Guy also came along and Lochlan too. fishing was surprisingly slow but we all had some action. I think we needed some wind. No wind and full sun all day. Thats not always ideal late season. Lochlan lost 3 in about 10 minutes. He wasn’t bothered, thankfully.

I had a few good days guiding too. Great to see Brendan over for his late season visit. He landed some brutes of trout. Nice to take Chris out again after so many years. We had a day pre covid with 2 of his friends but this time he was back to get the full one on one fly casting / fishing experience. New to fly he did great over 2 days catching fish both days and really getting to grips with casting.

To check out my range of flies over on Fulling Mill click here. 4 new patterns coning next year. I’m looking forward to seeing them available. Next season is almost fully booked but there’s still a few gaps here and there. If you’d like to get in touch you can do so through my website or email ronan@sexyloops.com

Peace – wouldn’t that be nice. Ronan..

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..