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Posts Tagged ‘West Coast NZ’

One Extreme to the Other! (and the Piscatorial Pot, 2019)

March 24th, 2019 No comments

My main observation over the last month was during a time when a cold southerly came through putting an end to the cicada and shutting the fish down. Fishing got very hard. As anglers some of us need a reason as to why the fishing gets hard but we can only speculate. It seemed as if when the cicadas stopped floating down the rivers that fish didn’t know what to do so they did nothing. Maybe they were waiting for their next source of food to become mainstream? Maybe it was a drop in barometric pressure? A sudden fall in water temperature? Maybe a little of each? All rational, human conclusions. The truth is that (in my opinion) it’s possible, even likely that it was none of these. Something we’ll never know. All I know is that fishing got very hard for over a week. As a guide this is tough. I hate saying “you should have been here last week” so I try not to. Thankfully, most anglers understand that hard fishing is always on the cards and that it’s rarely easy.

Just as interesting was watching it all turn on again. Over a couple of days the fishing went from the toughest all season to some of the easiest! A word that is rarely thrown into fly fishing for trout but feck it, at times it was easy! Fish wanted to eat and they would travel to eat a fly. They weren’t particularly spooky, just eager. This is what anglers dream about. The rare time when trout drop their guard and go on the prowl. It has been great fun watching it happen. A pleasure watching anglers in their element and having a blast. That’s what its all about. Five recent guide days went above 15 fish for the day. During the difficult spell, 1 per day was pretty much the norm. Chalk and cheese!

The story of the progression from bad to great is well told in the photo’s below. They begin when the going was tough!

Here is a link to a short film I made from a nice moment during 2 days in a relentless gorge..

THE PISCATORIAL POT…

St Patricks Weekend coincided with the annual Piscatorial Pot fishing competition. I run it for the Wakatipu Anglers Club on Lake Dunstan. It seems to be growing in popularity in the club circle. I think this is more to do with what comes after the fishing day, which is Iza’s cooking! We also have a few drinks and the craic is always great. We didn’t quite push through til dawn this year but close! A big thank you to Iza, Ivy and Mike for all their help.. If it wasn’t for them it would have been a sausage sizzle!

The fishing for the last 4 years has been hard for the competitors. The winner is the angler with the most fish over 350mm. Usually one or 2 trout wins it. This competition was different. Anglers were catching fish! I think we had about 18 fishing with a total of about 12 trout landed. I got out for an hour to see how things were going and to try to catch a fish (I didn’t). I saw Conor and Jakub (IRE, CZ) catching some fish from the boat. I was delighted to see this. Wesley Snipes (IRE) had 2 fish, Simon (CH) had one.. Some real competition.. Camo-Guy (ENG) disappeared down the west shore for the day. When I met him in the evening he told me about some great fishing. Not big fish but he landed 4 between 360mm and 410mm on a black bugger. To add a bit of competition to the competition, the winning anglers nationality also goes on the cup. So far its two for NZ, two for Ireland and now, thanks to Guy, one for England. Guy is one of my oldest friends here in NZ so it really was a great pleasure to present him with the cup – even on St Patricks Day!! Congratulations Guy! 

Thanks to Manic Tackle Project for sending down a couple of t-shirts and caps to spice up the prizes!

I have about 15 days available in April, and a few this week. Flick me an email if you’d like to get out for a trip.. ronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website.

Tight Lines,  Ronan..

 

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Two big sea-trout on together!

August 21st, 2014 No comments

Day 1. I arrived at the water just after the tide started to flow. I’d have liked to have been earlier but with the Haast Pass still undergoing road works after a major slip a year ago, it was the best I could do. I was the first vehicle over the pass in the morning. I read the water, formed a quick plan and then put it into action. I fished the sand bar near the river outflow and picked up two 1lbers. Then I fished the beach all the way to the surf. In doing this I realised yet another variable in coastal river mouth fishing. The water current from the river does not change direction at the same time as the tide turns to come in. The water level rises but the flow remains the same until the tide eventually overpowers the river into reverse. It took three hours into the flowing tide on Saturday and a bit less on Sunday for the current to change direction. I’m sure this varies due to all sort of things such as wind direction, moon phase, river height, the list goes on..

By the time I got to the end of the beach affected by the river, the tide had started to push a wall of coloured salt water against the river current. I walked with it fishing in it, in front of it and in the mix. I had some follows but all was quiet. I knew a chance would come sooner or later. Then, unexpectedly spotted a big trout cruising the edge. It’s unusual to spot them. I put my 2 fly rig (one tied to the bend of the other) in front of him and waited as my di5 pulled the flies into the zone. Strip, strip, strike, fish on. A solid 5lb seatrout ran repeatedly and jumped often. This was the type of fish I come to the West Coast to see. Those perfect specimens. Pure silver, fat, strong, well marked… Suddenly another fish came charging in and ate the other fly. “Player 2 has entered the arena” sprang to mind (I watched “Shaun of the Dead” recently) Player 2 promptly pulled the fly out of player 1 and then ran for the salt. Early on the first run the fly left him too. Also about 5lbs. I went from 1 fish to 2  to 1 to zero all in about two seconds. Fuck. That said I didn’t really mind because it was a pretty cool experience and I believe my first double hook up in NZ! I hoped that that was not my only chance of the day. On the coast opportunities don’t come often so you need to make the most of the ones you get. I hooked one more that day but it too got away. Also a good fish by the feel of it but I never saw it.

Day 2. I woke up where I wanted to fish. After checking around the remains of my beach beech fire for any rubbish or belongings, I rigged up. This day I had a chance to fish the bottom of the ebbing tide. It was a cold, breezy morning. I had a good feeling as I approached the beach. First cast, nothing,  second cast…solid take, very solid in fact. Then a slow, steady run…. on and on.. sometimes coming near the surface where he’d shift lots of water without breaking it, a sign of a heavy fish.  I got some line on the reel. I had another one of those reasons for coming here on the end of my line. The fight went on for a while and I had my 7wt tcx well bent in him the whole time. I recovered some line, then more.. almost to shore and ready to beach. I caught a glimpse of her, I saw the silver head of a hen fish as it made one more head shake which broke the tippet.. I put my head in my hands. I wanted to see that fish.

I’ve been fishing for almost 24 years and I’ve caught many trout. At this stage I don’t worry about losing a fish, not usually anyway. But occasionally I lose a fish that hurts a bit.. this was one. It was a large, perfect trout.. I have no doubt.

Once again I hoped that was not going to be my only chance of the day. It was early after all, I had hours to catch a fish. I was reluctant to stop for lunch in case I missed that potentially fleeting chance. I ate as I walked between locations. There was the river mouth, the rip-rap, the beach and the surf all within about 300m, so enough distance between the top and bottom of the beat to eat on the move.

I worked the spots.. I had a follow from yet another big fish from the river mouth, a yellow eyed mullet from the rip-rap, a 2lber from the beach, nothing from the surf. As the tide pushed in and changed the clear river water to tea coloured salt,  I found myself back at the river mouth. I was hoping that big follower might still be there and my luck might change.. I had a lot of casts, every one as far as I’m able. Let it down deep into the channel.. strip strip strip.. Sometimes I’d try varying the retrieve. Sometimes stripping at twice the speed with that retrieve Peter Hayes showed me in Tassie.. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9_n10L0Dxo) … Then a strong take, It worked! A big fish by the feel of things. A heavy, dogged fight. No big runs, just deep and slow. Over and back in front of me for quite a while. I didn’t want to push him too hard after my break off in the morning and I definitely did not want to lose another big trout. Eventually I could see my tapered leader so I was gaining on the fish. I still could not see him. I kept the pressure on. Then a flash of silver, then some colour.. Is it? Fuck. It is.. A Kahawai! Not all bad though, They are great fish to catch and to eat. Just a little disappointing when expecting a big sea-trout.

One thing I’d like to mention.. Two actually. I realised one reason not to tie a fly on to your cast by tying directly to the bend of the hook. Two fish on together can’t work! The point fly is bound to pull the other fly free. Had I tied my second fly on a dropper I may have landed both those fish. But then, if your aunt had balls she’d be your Uncle. The other thing, Umpqua 10.7lb co-polymer really let me down. When I tested it after the break off I realised it was weak. Terrible knot strength. I wont be under gunned when I’m back at the coast again very soon..

Ronan..

Ps.. The sand-flies were brutal and I forgot my repellent..

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Striking Gold!

January 2nd, 2014 2 comments

So far on this holiday season the fishing has been pretty average. The first mission to the coast with Guy and Jeff was okay, the second with Mark Adamson was a bit worse. The mouths didn’t fish well, but then, in truth, we did not really give them a serious run. One was too coloured, one was full of glacial silt but just fishable, and the tide was wrong when we had time to fish another. So if conditions were right they may have been epic, but my gut tells me otherwise.

Mark and I had 2 days on the coast. Day one we tried some mouths as I just mentioned, also a spring creek but it looked as though someone had been in there earlier that day with a chainsaw. Possibly to clear a run for a jetboat, or to get bulls out of a grazing area farther up the creek. A farmer told me that. Either way, It felt like a waste of fishing time being there. The water was spectacular though. We tried another spot with no joy, so we went to the pub for a steak and a pint.

Day 2 we fished a typical, large west coast river. It was high after rain but clear. I got one on a dry right away. Mark spotted the fish but as he was not set up, I took the shot and got the fish. It’s essential not to fuck around when an opportunity presents itself. Take the shot! Waiting for someone results in too many lost chances. I’ve learned this many times. We expected plenty more shots but unfortunately, they did not come. We got 2 each for the day, 3 on that river and one on a river during a quick stop on the drive home. So not many fish, but a truly great day in one of the nicest places I’ve seen.

My old friend Kevin Alexander, who you’ll know from many previous blogs, has just moved to Cromwell. We’ve been doing some gold dredging and some fishing as well as eating and some drinking. It’s great to have him and his family here and he’ll probably be popping up on this a lot more from now on. Soon we will fix Daltona! She’s been idle too long.

This has been a good Christmas so far for catching up with friends, especially Bob Toffler. Bob, I’m delighted that broken leg healed up and thank you for showing me your secret spots! I managed a 5 and a 6lber to finish off 2013..

Happy new year everyone from the thundery and rainy Otago night… I don’t know what’s in store but I expect I’ll stay in NZ, especially after reading about the Irish Budget. They’re squeezing every last drop out of those who remain..

Ronan..

 

 

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Falling down holes…

December 24th, 2013 No comments

I tried to warn Jeff about a deep hole in the ground. I had just spotted it and managed to avoid it. I turned my head and called back to him. The message just made it to Jeff’s ears as he fell down the hole. It was pretty deep and a very funny moment. Watching someone fall over is usually funny. As the day progressed we both took a few more tumbles down holes hidden in the long grass. At the end of the day while rushing back meet Guy who was waiting for us, Jeff fell pretty deep into a hole. He got out, then fell into another. I had time to take a picture. I laughed loudly as he struggled, cursing out of the hole. Once he was out we continued our trek out. Our conversation turned to falling down holes. I was telling a story of how I just missed out on a 7′ drop earlier that day and then on to a story from the Tasmanian highlands. Just as I got to the good bit of the story (the fall!) I vanished from Jeff’s sight. My right leg went down a hole and did not reach the bottom. I was left bent sideways in the hole from my left leg to my chest, which took all of the impact. I was a bit winded and shocked but unhurt. All I could hear after some all too  brief concern was Jeff’s Laughter, shortly followed by my own. I dragged myself out of the hole and continued. Within a few steps my bent hip was straight again.

The story of our 3 days on the coast is told in the photo’s below.

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Happy Christmas everyone! Guy and Jeff, Thanks for an eventful few days!

Ronan..

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