Ronan's Report

After walking all day, getting very few shots and only a small fish each, Mike and I were ready to pack it in. There were a couple of backwaters just up ahead so I suggested we take one each before quitting. Mike took the small one while I took the big one.. I made a few blind casts with the bugger out into black water while carefully spotting the edge. No sign of life. I figured there were no fish in it and looking at Mike fishing his backwater I think he thought the same. Then to my right I noticed movement. I looked and saw a fish of at least 8lbs. He was very close to me so ducking suddenly would have been more likely to spook him than just standing still so I made a very quick, short cast to intercept his path and then froze.  My only movement was short retrieves to give life to the fly. Suddenly a big gold flash from the dark water and the fish was following…. I stripped line until the fly was about 4′ from the rod tip, then I thought the fish ate so I struck. I was wrong. The fish disappeared into the black with an unhurried pace. I took a few short casts into the vicinity but nothing happened. A few moments later, assuming the fish was spooked, I hitched the fly and started reeling in. Then it happened again. God spoke! Honestly, I dont know why but I unhitched the fly and took a final shot and nearly had the rod pulled from my grip. Immediately the fish jumped and I knew what I was into; a very big, spectacularly marked brown trout with an unusually red tail. I knew it’s tail was red because I could see it glowing with the sunlight shining through it as the fish jumped repeatedly in the first minute of the short battle. Mike came straight over with the net. He saw the fish as it jumped and knew he had to help. This fish was too important to lose! After a few short lunges away I got his head up and Mike netted the fish. I weighed it, then we took a few quick photo’s and released him. It was truly one of the most amazing, rewarding, satisfying, thoroughly electrifying, fish I have ever caught.. An end to a difficult day that put both Mike and I on a natural high. One fish can really turn a day around!  We stopped on the way home and had a beer or 2 at the local. Deserved!

Ronan..

ps. If you enjoy my weekly report please subscribe at the top right of this page. The more the merrier and there will be a prize drawn at random from the first 100 subscribers!

9.25lbs of happiness.. Hence the slightly manic, ecstatic grin!

Things have been quiet on the angling front lately. The days are short and cold but fishing opportunities are available if I go and look! The days I have gone in search of trout have not produced much lately but last weekend I took the Wakitipu Anglers Club boat out with Nick Moody and had a really good day. There were only a few fish where I expected to see many and they were not in form to chase a woolly bugger and no other search method grabbed me. Wolley bugger or nothing! Searching was the order of the day. This is the norm for speculative lake fishing from a boat and I really enjoy it. Nick was new to it and at times I could see his confidence in the area’s we fished lapse a little. You have to have total confidence in every cast to nail blind lake fishing. Eventually we found a good area and for about an hour I had some exciting fishing. It didn’t happen for Nick but it will. With time and practice new methods and techniques take root and develop.

Ronan..