Archive

Posts Tagged ‘Wesley’

An Adventurous May..

August 28th, 2024 No comments

Sometimes things happen in fishing to put your resolve to the test. How much do you want to go fishing? Well, I answered that question one day in May when myself and a Wesley tried to get to a high country lake. There had been rain overnight so I expected snow on the higher portion of the track. I figured we’d have a crack regardless. I’ve towed the boat up there is various levels of wet and snow without any major trouble. Having said that, in the past, most of the seriously wet conditions I’ve experienced happened to be on the way down the hill, so I had gravity on my side. This was to be the wettest I’ve experienced getting up the hill..

My boat is pretty heavy – not sure how heavy exactly but it’s no dingy. Onwards up the track without issue. It was raining but the track was okay. We hoped the snow would be above the lake elevation but no such luck. Driving through the snow and everything still seemed good – no problem with traction. There were very fresh tracks through the snow in front of me so I assumed another angler had the same idea. This was comforting! We were almost at the lake when we had a steep decline before a steep incline. The decline was fine. Half way up the incline I lost traction. I reversed and tried again without success. Getting out to assess the situation I realised how bad the track was. A mix of mud, ice and snow. No chance. I put the waders on because it was such a mess! After a good few more attempts the truck was well stuck in the ditch with the trailer at an angle. I tried to take the trailer off but the weight on it due to the unusual angle made it impossible to remove. At this stage I couldn’t go forwards at all and the angle of the trailer meant I couldn’t go backwards either. What now? Reduce air pressure maybe.. Then the fella who was ahead of us came back down. He was from the North Island and just down for a tour. I was very happy to se him. His 4×4 was well kitted out and he gave me a tow out. Even with him towing me we couldn’t get to the top of the hill with my boat on the back. We did manage to straighten my truck and trailer. We had no choice but to abandon the boat and fish the bank. It was now easy to remove the trailer but turning it around wasn’t possible. Just too steep, slippery and generally shite so we rolled her back into the ditch where it was safe and secure. I hoped we’d sort that out at the end of the day when the track had (hopefully) dried a bit. Without a trailer and with the help of my new friend we made it to the top of the hill. It was to be an easy drive to the lake from there. I jumped out and thanked our saviour. Peter I think he said his name was. We said farewell. As his Pajero passed my boat, he started sliding towards it on the greasy track. I tried to push his truck away from the boat, for all the good I did and also called at him to floor it.. It was that or he’d hit the boat. He just about scraped by without contact and went about his day.

Now there’s a new problem. In the unlikely event of another vehicle coming up he would also be likely to slide into the boat, especially with the track in such a mess after our antics.. so I can’t leave it there. The lake is in sight but I have to rethink this. On the side of the the steep, muddy track there was a strip of grassy verge just wide enough to drive on. Traction seemed good and the ground firm, but there was no room for error with a steep hill on the side. The only chance was to reverse back down the hill on the grassy verge, hitch on the boat, pull it out of the ditch and then floor it up the hill on the grass and then get back onto the track on the top of the hill before the big rock.. Jeepers.

Aside from the safety issue of abandoning the boat in a dodgy place, I really wanted to use the boat on the lake that day so the decision was made. Let’s do it. I reversed down with a few test forward movements to make sure I could go forward. Everything seemed good. I got near the boat and we were able to pivot her in the ditch and hitch it on. Rear locker in, low range too. I popped the boat out of the ditch and gave it the beans up the hill. The left turn before the rock to get back onto the track proved tricky, probably due to the rear locker engaged and snow on the grass. I couldn’t stop, thankfully the front wheels got some grip and got me back on track. Fuckin hell. Relief. That took hours. It might seem crazy with the steep hill on the right to have attempted this but I had to get the boat out of there. We looked at other options too like rolling the boat down the road without the truck attached but we were already half way up hill when the shit hit the fan. This was likely to end in disaster. With the state of the track reversing back down was not an option.. Whether I should have done it or not, I did.. and was it worth it?? Yes. The question is, If I still had my old 80 would I have gotten stuck???

May was also a good month of guiding. Not always easy in a some crazy conditions. 3 blizzards, rain wind, you name it, May had it. Certainly an adventurous month where nothing got in the way of the fishing.

To see my flies over at Fulling Mill check this out. They’re also available in store at Patagonia Queenstown. To enquire about this seasons guiding availability you can get in touch here or at ronan@sexyloops.com

Tight Lines and Free Palestine, Ronan..

Restoring the Boat!

September 20th, 2023 No comments

I find it easy to start on a project if its small. Large projects can be a little daunting. Because of this I trick myself into large projects by doing a small part, convincing myself that that’s all I’ll do. Hence, I frequently don’t have ‘before shots’. By the time I think to take a few pics I’m already well advanced with the project so that ship has sailed. This is what happened with the boat recently. Initially it was just a little repair, which lead to repainting the repair. Then I thought I should repaint the cabin. Before I knew it I had many components taken off to allow for easy surface preparation and painting. Then I ordered non-skid paint for all the traffic areas – this had never been on the boat before. The whole job took me 2 weeks. It’s amazing how boat restorations absorb time. I almost did inside the cabin too but I managed to curb my enthusiasm just enough to not. It can wait. I did the roof inside alright because it needed it.

She always had a hatch on the cabin but it was damaged and didn’t stay on. I fixed that and also built a removable door so that I can close off the cabin for sleeping in or keeping gear dry in bad weather. I’ve been threatening sleeping in it for ages but still haven’t. No excuse now! She still doesn’t have a name by the way…

I’ve had the boat for 3 years and she’s had a lot of use. She’s been stored outside all that time. Mostly under a tarp but often not. Because of this she was in need of a tidy up, some repairs and a paint job. It’s done now! From now on she’ll have a roof over her head. Next up for restoration is Daltona. She will ride again (again).

It was good to get out guiding recently. Dan and I went to Mackenzie Country to fish the lakes. Late August. The fish were there in good numbers in 3 of the 4 places we went. They were not easy. Very spooky but not impossible. To me, this is perfect. Without some challenge it’s not that interesting. Fast, accurate shots made all the difference – especially when keeping the loop travelling low and fast over the water. Big open loops spook a lot of fish in calm water. I often side cast to ensure the loop stays low. Speed is such an underrated skill. It’s something a fella can practice. How fast can you get the fly off the hitch and in front of a cruising fish? This and other aspects of speed and accuracy were some of the things we worked on. We had some really good fishing where it all came together. Dan landed some really solid, fat trout up to 7lbs which is a top end fish on the Mackenzie lakes.

Also did a little uneventful exploring on the Clutha locally. Nothing to report from it. I had a few outings to some local river mouths – they were decent. Last but not least, Wesley and I (mostly Wesley) changed the bearings on the boat trailer. It was great to learn this skill from someone who knows what they’re doing.

That’s me up to date again! The season kicks off in a little over a week. Needless to say I’m looking forward to it. There’s a few gaps, not many but feel free to get in touch with any questions about availability. You can contact me ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website. You can check out my Fulling Mill fly patterns here. Some of these have been tweaked and improved for 2024.

Tight Lines and a big Happy Birthday to Sexyloops! 25 today! Ronan..