Ronan's Report

A Season of Extremes…

April 15th, 2023 Ronan Creane No comments

After a hot and dry summer I was very happy to feel the weather cooling down. Autumn is a lovely time of year to fish as the leaves change colour. Trout also change colour as they darken up before spawning. Their colours can be quite spectacular. We generally get regular hatches on the rivers in April brought on by the cooler temperatures. These can produce some great sport. This year the hatches have been fickle so far, likely due to too much water in the rivers. Fish start to move up rivers and congregate at river mouths in preparation for spawning. This can also lead to great fishing opportunities. I have only a few more bookings for the season so it looks like I’ll have some time to indulge myself! I’m looking forward to that. Locally the rivers are in flood right now and they’re very slow to drop because the land is so saturated. One extreme to the other. It’s no surprise as this season of extremes continues. There’s always somewhere to fish though so I’m not too worried!

It was great to take Bernt Johansson fishing in February! We Have a few mutual friends – Paul and Stefan to name a couple. Bernt is a very successful distance casting competitor and has been part of the sexyloops brotherhood for years. Hopefully we’ll meet again.

Much and February and March are covered in the photos below. It wasn’t always easy but the results were mostly very good. I might actually get up to date with my photos when I next write a blog! This year I’ve always been at least a month behind. Enjoy the pics anyway! They tell the story..

You can check out my flies here. If you’d like to get in touch about guided fly fishing over the remainder of this season, over winter or next season you can contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.

Tight lines! Ronan..

Biggsy in action! The most famous of the FARTS.

Categories: Expedition Tags: 100 series, Alan Timmins, Alexandra, Bernt Johansson, brown trout, Bryan Wrighton, Chuan Tay, Kim, Mataura River, Otago, Stuntman, Tim Proctor

The Wilds of New Zealand…

March 29th, 2023 Ronan Creane No comments

I usually get the chance to get into Fjordland once or twice a season. I’ve been a visitor to the area since my second trip to NZ back in 2003. I have many great memories from this vast area with lots of my fishing buddies. Wekas stealing our biscuits (I got the blame), melting my boots and socks beside the fire, almost getting stranded in a flood, filming “the man and his fish”, exploring new rivers, assembling a raft with zip ties, duct tape and tent string, catching seatrout, rainbows, browns, kahawai and jack mackerel, and many more… This trip cemented a few more great memories.

The fishing was magnificent as the photos below make pretty clear, but as I get older I think I appreciate this location and others like it even more. It’s a truely pristine environment. Looking around, it’s as though man has had no impact on the area. Frequently, I found myself gazing up the valley with my jaw hanging open, awestruck, expecting a moa to wander past. I think this is what makes it the cream of angling in many ways. Unreal scenery, gin clear water, good numbers fish of an impressive average size, keen to eat dries (and nymphs!). It’s the picture of NZ that many foreign anglers have in their head. Fish & Game have implemented strict controls on some rivers in the area to prevent overfishing and maximise angler satisfaction. I think they’re working very well. That and the sandflies! We had a few days of fishing back in normal NZ after that (next blog). There was certainly a bit of an anticlimax coming from such a magnificent wilderness which compounds why it’s such a special place.

One of the highlights of the trip was randomly bumping into my great friends Robbie and Tom with a couple of their friends. Plenty room for everyone at the backcountry hut! Good food and fine wine, great company, a fire on the beach, a few beers, plenty craic… what’s not to like. A really great trip. Hopefully we’ll get back next season!

I would like to say that Fjordland Outdoors are a fantastic company to deal with. Very professional and accommodating. Great staff and a super boat to get you where ever you need to go.

As always, my Fulling Mill patterns did the business. Mainly the Tussock Cicada and my range of nymphs. All available here.

Plenty spaces still available for next season. It’s filling up quickly so I advise not wasting too much time to secure your spot. Contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website

Tight lines.. Ronan..

Heading across the lake and into the wilderness.

Categories: Expedition Tags: Bryan Wrighton, Campfire, Fjordland, Fjordland Outdoors, Fulling Mill, Manic Tackle Project, Milford Track Water Taxi, Robbie Mcphee, Simms, Tim Proctor, Tom McAuliffe, Wilderness

“I Put on Wet Socks in the Morning”

February 25th, 2017 Ronan Creane No comments

I wanted to chat briefly about the Damselfly nymph and how most anglers standard pattern makes no sense to me. I had some great photo’s of a damsel nymph which was still alive inside a trout I took from Lake Dunstan recently, but I deleted them by mistake!! I put the green nymph in a jar of water with a sprig of rosemary (haha) where he lived happily for a week or so. I watched how it moved, how it swam (or wobbles!) etc. The one thing that struck me was how similar it was to mayfly nymph. I thought this before, but I though I was missing something that everyone else seemed to know because most damselfly nymph patterns have a long marabou tail. Why? A mayfly nymph representation generally has no marabou. I see some merit in a short marabou tail matching the length of the 3 strands in the real nymph. I’m not one for perfect representations of what fish are eating, far from it actually. However in my opinion, a damsel nymph with a long marabou tail is a woolly bugger, not a damsel! I use a long shank #12 PT or similar as a damsel nymph.

Guiding has been happily chaotic! I’m out most days at the moment but I did manage a few days for myself recently. Iza and I fished together for a day and a half too. Next season I’ll do things a little differently. I’m going to put blocks of time aside for me to fish each month. I need it!! I get a lot of what I get from a days fishing during a day guiding but not everything. Fly-fishing is my life and I must make this work. I know some guides who don’t fish at all during “silly season”. I must not let this happen!! This is only my second season so I guess I’m still finding my way a bit. Guiding continues to teach me a lot and I believe the most important thing it has taught me is how much I don’t know!! A great lesson. Therefor time must be put aside to explore new water and simply get better and better at this.

Recently I explored some new water to the north and the east. Some of it was re-familiarising myself with old haunts and some was totally new. Fishing new water is such a thrill! Absorbing everything the river has to offer, the excitement of seeing whats around the next bend, piecing it all together. Putting on wet socks in the morning means you’re in the thick of it!

Guiding has been lots of fun! I recently took Tim Kempton out for a few days. Great craic with him and his mate Fergus. Tim has fished with Paul in Malaysia which makes him the second (I think) to have been guided by both Paul and I in our respective countries (the other being Chuan Tay!). I hope more anglers do this! On the topic of Malaysia, I’m going there this July to fish with Paul for 2 weeks. I’ve been practicing a little from Paul’s instructional video on youtube so when the time comes I hope I’m on form. Speed is very important with trout fishing too so if I can make one second shots for snakehead, I’ll do it for here for trout too!!! Back to guiding, what else.. Some great heli stuff lately with Nick Mills and a fantastic West Coast mission with local regulars Bryan and Tim. That was a real adventure! One thing about heli-fishing.. The chopper takes a lot of the hard work out of it but the best results come if you’re willing to go hard while your in there. That we did! I think we had 14 trout in total for 3 days with the best fish of the trip going to Tim just before the chopper came to take us home. Many thanks to Greenstone Helicopters! Also a new personal best for Bryan, Bob and his birthday fish, the list goes on.. The pics tell a better story anyway!!

Time to prepare! I have an afternoon mission in an hour..

Tight lines!

Ronan.. ronan@sexyloops.com

For bookings and information see my website www.ronansflyfishingmissions.com

For Pure Fly NZ dvd’s go to http://www.flyshop.co.nz/product/DVDPFNZ.html

For stu’s cicada’s go to http://stusflyshop.com/browse-by-fly/dry-flies/cicada/MY GALLERY

: The first series of Pure Fly NZ is out on DVD! Jeff Forsee and I host episode 6!

: Iza in the water! We haven’t had a chance to fish together for ages! We did some exploratory fly fishing on a trip to the Catlins..

: Some great reds spots on these fish. The river beats we spent 1.5 days on were extremely tricky! No easy casts from long grass, thistles, willows, high banks etc.. The challenge made it some of the most fun fly fishing I’ve had in a while.. Plenty fish to the net.

: The Catlins..

: Breandan?? You were a bit slack on the last blogs Flora & Fauna!

: Small but lovely!

: Fishing in the willows! Not much pressure in here and the fish happily ate a well presented Banana Fly ..

: This was the best fish of 9 landed in 1.5 days.

: Another sharp finned beauty goes back..

: A recent day with Bryan Wrighton. A cloudy start!

: With the sun out we had water to fish! Here Bryan is into his new personal best!

: 8.5lbs.. Tim, you’re going to have to up the ante! He’s beaten your PB by .25 of a pound!

: Cicada time!

: An 8lber for me on one of Stu’s cicada patterns. http://www.stusflyshop.com

: A great fish!!

: What a day.. Summer is here at last!

: A little more exploring and re-familiarising myself with old haunts. The most stunning trout come from tannin water.

: Absolute perfection!

: 2 days on my own on the Maniototo. This 5.5lber was the best. More vibrant red spots! Tannin water produces more red spotted trout than clear water.

: Back he goes..

: The amount of water around this summer was incredible!

: Up bright and early but very few fish about..

: ..so I went to check out some small still waters. If you have Bob Wyatts latest book, check out the back cover.. that was me down there! No joy on this day but there are about 4 good fish in there. One I recognised from about 6 years ago! Still alive.. Browns are amazing creatures.

: This was one of the most exciting places to fish 15 years ago. Not so good now but still has potential.

: I got a couple of beauties here. These dams are not on the F&G brochures.

: Mathias’s Dam. 2 quick fish then off to another..

: The only cloud in the sky parked itself in front of the sun for about 2 hours!

Monster Trout New Zealand…

October 24th, 2016 Ronan Creane No comments

October has been a difficult enough month! Mainly due to lots of rain and snow-melt keeping many Otago and surrounding rivers high and difficult to fish. I saw this as an opportunity to go well away from home and try to lock in and learn some new water. I had a hunch about an area to try and what I found blew me away. On my first visit to the powerful beast that is mystery river X, I found quite a few really big rainbows.. huge actually. I landed one of 14lbs and lost 7 more (shit happens!). I took my good friend and big fish specialist, Robbie Mcphee for a look recently. He managed an 11lber, a 7lber and a 4. I landed an 11lb salmon, totally unexpected and immensely powerful. I passed the pocket water where he was hanging out having not seen a sign of life. Then something splashed behind me. I thought it was Robbie stumbling on the slippery rocks but when I turned around I saw the remains of a splash on the surface (not Robbie falling in, but a fish!). I went back, changed my fly to Stu’s Sonic Minnow and made a cast.. First cast I had a follow from a big grey ghost. I kept working the water.. 10 casts later I was connected to the biggest New Zealand salmon I’ve hooked. After a great battle Robbie put him in the net. I also had a few normal sized trout. This piece of water is still good but I expect these big fish will get off the shallows and back into the deep, heavy water before too long..

If you’d like to get in touch about guided fly-fishing in the lower South Island then drop me an email ronan@sexyloops.com or check out my website, http://www.ronansflyfishingmissions.com

If Stu’s flies have piqued your attention, look here! http://www.stusflyshop.com/select-your-species/

: A pine tree with its flowers..

: Some exploration has led me to some water where monster rainbows live! This psychotic looking brute hit the scales at 14lbs..

: Like a morey eel!

: Back he goes..

: Huge rivers can produce huge rainbows! A 7lber for Robbie.. maybe not huge, but just wait!!

: And this for me! What an animal.. A total surprise to meet a salmon so early in the season. 11lbs.

: A stunning fish..

: Back he goes into his bouldery pool..

: Really striking black spots.. This made my day!

: The salmon couldn’t resist this big eyed streamer from Stu’s Superior Flies..

: Robbie into a huge rainbow..

: 11lbs

: A box of high viz dries from Stu’s Superior flies. I dont use strike indicators, I use a dry instead. These are perfect!

: Some of Stu’s streamers. Kahawai won’t have a chance against these!!

: Some disappointing exploration on a high country stream which I haden’t fished for years..

GUIDING HIGHLIGHTS

If not for local anglers and regular clients, Bryan Wrighton and Tim Proctor, October would have been a lean month! We recently had a 2 day mission on two very different rivers down south. With a narrow weather window between one front and another, I made the call to take it on. Thankfully it worked! Day one had us fishing on a river which was high and a little coloured. I chose this river for day one because these conditions suit it, it would also give day two’s river a chance to settle and clear a bit. The common denominator over the 2 days was high, slightly coloured water. Perfect for streamer fishing.. well, usually. The streamer barely got a chase over the 2 days. I don’t think I’ve ever seen these conditions not suit the streamer down to the ground! Fishing is always able to throw you a curve ball! Thankfully there were good numbers of fish out feeding and reasonably easy to spot. They were not easy to catch however, (they rarely are!) but Bryan and Tim did well to land 9 quality trout over two days all between 3.5 and 5lbs. Most fish were beautifully marked, in great condition and very strong. We’re out again soon so hopefully we’ll produce the goods again..

Tight Lines all!

Ronan..

Ps. Dont forget to check out Sky TV this October 31st. Jeff Forsee and myself will be doing what we do best on episode 6 of “Pure Fly New Zealand”…

: Walking down to fish back..

: Dont look a gift horse in the mouth! We spotted a group of trout feeding during the walk down, we put on a 16 nymph under a dry and Bryan landed this on his 3rd cast of the day!

: Great conditions..

: Tim with his first of the day.. A magnificent specimen!

: Blind fishing a likely drop-off..

: I spotted this fish but then lost sight of it.. I was hesitant to look again in case I’d spook it. Bryan fished to where I’d seen the fish and after a while the dry went down!

: A great moment! A very difficult fish to catch..

: A big brown lives here.. we didn’t get him today..

: Bryan and cows. Day 2.

: Tim with first blood. This was the only fish on the streamer over 2 days. A great moment to see him nail the fly from a swirling eye. No place for a nymph as a drag-free drift was impossible.

: Bryan into one.. all powerful trout!

: I’m trying to scare the fish back up river away from snags!

: Landed! Tim’s turn again..

: I took my netting opportunity when I got it, dipping the net deep!

: A beautifully marked fish for Tim!

: Ready with the net once again!

: That great moment for both the guide and the angler when the fish is safely in the net!

: Everyone’s happy!

A birthday beer for Robbie (and me) he just turned 43.

A pine tree with its flowers..

Some exploration has led me to some water where monster rainbows live! This psychotic looking brute hit the scales at 14lbs..

Like a morey eel!

Back he goes..

Huge rivers can produce huge rainbows! A 7lber for Robbie.. maybe not huge, but just wait!!

And this for me! What an animal.. A total surprise to meet salmon so early in the season. 11lbs.

A stunning fish..

p1100750

Back he goes into his bouldery pool..

p1100752

Really striking black spots.. This made my day!

The salmon couldn't resist this big eyed streamer from Stu's Superior Flies..

Robbie into a huge rainbow..

11lbs

A box of high viz dries from Stu's Superior flies. I dont use strike indicators, I use a dry instead. These are perfect!

Some of Stu's streamers. Kahawai won't have a chance against these!!

Some disappointing exploration on a high country stream which I haven't fished for years..

Walking down to fish back..

Great conditions..

Tim with his first of the day.. A magnificent specimen!

Blind fishing a likely drop-off..

I spotted this fish but then lost sight of it.. I was hesitant to look again in case I'd spook it. Bryan fished to where I'd seen the fish and after a while the dry went down!

A great moment! A very difficult fish to catch..

A big brown lives here.. we didn't get him today..

Bryan and cows. Day 2.

Tim with first blood. This was the only fish on the streamer over 2 days. A great moment to see him nail the fly from a swirling eye. No place for a nymph as a drag-free drift was impossible.

Bryan into one.. all powerful trout!

I'm trying to scare the fish back up river away from snags!

Landed! Tim's turn again..

I took my netting opportunity when I got it, dipping the net deep!

p1100712

A beautifully marked fish for Tim!

That great moment for both the guide and the angler when the fish is safely in the net!

Everyone's happy!

Categories: Expedition Tags: Bryan Wrighton, Cows and NZ rivers, Jeff Forsee, Kahawai, King Salmon on fly NZ, Manshit, Monster Trout New Zealand, mystery river X, Pure Fly New Zealand, Pure Fly NZ, Quinnat Salmon on Fly NZ, Robbie Mcphee, Ronan Creane, Ronan Creane Fly fishing guide, Ronan's fly fishing missions, shit happens, Stu's Superior Flies, Tim Proctor

Early Season Extravaganza!

October 11th, 2016 Ronan Creane No comments

A few of days ago while planning a day fishing for myself, I was surprised to see a perfect weather forecast. Blue skies all day, gentle southerly blowing and a high of 15c. “With a forecast like that for a Sunday I better set off early” I thought. The following morning I was away before dawn. It was a long drive to the river. There was rain first off, then it stopped, then it started again and continued. “Weird” I thought, “It’ll pass”. Before I left internet coverage I decided to check the forecast again in case I made a mistake. I did! I got the forecast for a town in the USA with the same name.. Lesson learned!

There was no going back, and I didn’t want to.. I was excited to take on whatever conditions nature would throw at me. I got a mix of sun, rain and wind all day. High, slightly coloured water too. A streamer day I thought but I ended up catching most sight fishing with small nymphs. Any fish I saw was hard out feeding just below the surface and they were keen to eat my offerings. My own size 16 nymph and one of Stu’s Superior Nymphs did the trick.

The best moment of the day was spotting a large fish swing to the right from behind a deep boulder. I though I had spooked it but wasn’t sure.. I took off the nymphs and tied on a Glister. I slung it across the pool slightly upstream so that it would cross the boulder on its way down. Up from the gloom came the large fish and engulfed my streamer. I lifted into solid weight and the fish played to his strengths and stayed deep. Just under 7lbs. He made my day!

I’m playing catch-up a bit with this blog! Some pics go back to last winter, others from a recent trip to the canals where I finally cracked a big one; 18.5lbs of ugly! Fishing with Guy, a mission to the Coast with Iza, Robbie Mcphee’s 43rd birthday.. Enjoy the pics!

I’ve known Stu Tripney for pretty much as long as I’ve been coming to NZ. He, his shop and his flies have become legendary over my 15 years in NZ. This season I’m putting Stu’s flies through their paces and I’m more than happy with the results. Check them out! http://www.stusflyshop.com

I’ve had a couple of days guiding which have been good, and a few more coming up over the month. There are plenty spaces available and October is a great month! So maybe its time to get yourself down here for a day out! ronan@sexyloops.com for bookings and information.

One more thing, Just in case I don’t get a blog out before October 31st, thats the day mine and Jeff’s episode of “Pure Fly New Zealand” airs on Sky TV in NZ… Good reports from the director so here’s hoping he’s right! http://www.manictackleproject.com/pure-fly-nz-coming-soon/

Tight Lines everyone!

Stuntman Ronan (It’s on my license!) ronan@sexyloops.com

As of now, 2.00pm on the 12th of October, my website is live! www.ronansflyfishingmissions.com

: These few pics of mark and I from winter! Lunch!!

: Up the Clutha in the Wakatipu Anglers Club boat…

: Then to a Clutha braid, no fish but I did rescue Marks hat!

: The Lowburn Inlet saved the day.. as it often does!

: Breakfast for Camo-Guy and I before we hit the Clutha..

: Guy and I..

: Into a wee one!

: Had a couple of these, then off to the lake..

: Guy working on a number of rising fish..

: And he’s in!

: Guy hooked 4 of these and landed 2..

: Then home for dinner.. Iza cooks up a feast!

: Enjoying my portable campfire!

: Iv’e been having heaps of success using Stu’s Superior Flies..

: This is one of Stu’s slender, weighted nymphs. I was able to target trout cruising 10 – 12′ down using these on a long fine tippet.

: Perfection!

: If you’re passing Stu’s Fly Shop, grab a few of these!

: I found a brazier on the river recently so now I can have campfires at home.. Modern technology!! I think this was my birthday party!

: Mission to the Coast!

: Not a touch all morning but lunch was great! Bacon, beans and eggs! Hard to beat.. (pun not intended!)

: The whitebaiters weren’t catching any so no surprise there were no trout around..

: Fish or no fish, Iza and I both love the coast!

: Finally! After about 9 hours fishing a Kahawai for dinner! We forgot the chicken so this fish was very welcome..

: The surf rolls in..

: A perfect sized Kahawai for 2. Filleted in the last of the sunlight..

: The West Coast is a great place to camp and I hope it always will be!

: A pan full of Kahawai.. We had it with spuds cooked in chilli and lime.. Dam good!

: With full bellies, time to relax!

: It was time to put my name on the Canal Big Fish Board! 18.5lbs on a Dore’s Mr Glister. He was a while coming!

: It took me 4 attempts to nail the 10 second timer! #1

: #2

: #3

: #4.. This is his ugly side!

: Size 12, Kamasan B175, 3.5mm tungsten bead.

: A dozen size 14s, a little sparkle can help in coloured water..

: Here’s a dozen of my size 16, Kamasan B175, 2mm tungsten bead nymphs..

: My standard dry.. Basically its always the same. I play around with different bodies and colours but the form remains the same. I design my flies to catch fish and to be very easy and quick to tie. This is also great at holding up tungsten nymphs. Any size, any body, any colour deer hair, any post.