{"id":17020,"date":"2025-02-14T05:26:20","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T03:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sexyloops.com\/blog\/?p=17020"},"modified":"2025-02-14T05:44:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T03:44:41","slug":"christmas-craic-fishing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sexyloops.com\/blog\/2025\/02\/14\/christmas-craic-fishing\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Craic & Fishing…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s busy now! Not much time to think let alone write. The usual for this time of year. The pictures below take me up to early January. They begin with the continuation of Jeffs trip. A tough trip in general but we put it together and had some brilliant moments and solid fishing… and a blank or two!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christmas was a family and friends affair. I always keep a week over Christmas free just for that. There’s usually a straggler or two who appreciate a place to go for the celebrations, namely Alan, who didn’t make it this year. Hopefully we’ll see him next season. Wesley and his family were here for a few days, Guy was here as always and Robbie for the first time in ages. Usually he fishes on Christmas day but now that he’s retired he’s a bit more relaxed. Plenty fishing chat, beers and craic. Absolutely brilliant to be surrounded by friends and family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a generally tough early season things have improved a lot. I’ve really enjoyed this summer guiding. I generally don’t guide much locally from about mid jan til march because there’s nothing much left in the rivers after the farmers irrigate their land. They also get quite warm, due in part to their low flows. Instead I’ve been road tripping and getting into a great mix of water from Southland to Mackenzie Country to the Maniototo. It’s been really good but more on that when the relevant pics make it into the blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing I’ve been doing recently with great success is alternating between two patterns which have been killing it for me this summer season. Dry fly fishing has been A1 and I’m talking dries now. One is my Tussock Cicada in a 10 (also a good caddis pattern) and the other is Mcphails Blowfly. Both available from Fulling Mill. What I like about this combo is the contrast. If one doesn’t work the other probably will. Now that I think about it, I should have fished them both together instead of changing from one to the other.. I used to do that in the past and I really enjoyed fishing 2 dries. When they want dries, fish 2! Why not.. Next time. I’m glad writing this reminded me of that old tactic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To see my full range of flies with Fulling Mill click here<\/a>. There’s a few additional sizes this year which really add to the versatility of the collection. My hotspot is now available in a 14. The brown nymph is available in a 16 which is a little heavier than the claret 16. My cicadas are available in a 6 so when you need a big terrestrial you have it. Also the willow grubs are now available in size 18 and 20. Check them out! Also available in Patagonia Queenstown. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next season is filling up quickly. Feel free to get in touch about booking or with any questions. There’s still availability in April and May this season and through the winter season. ronan@sexyloops.com<\/em><\/strong> or visit my website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tight lines everyone.. Ronan..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Continuing from the last blog.. Jeff proudly wears a gift
from my daughter, Adaline. She’s a great tier for 7 years old.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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See the fish? I can’t, but he’s there..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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..and we got him.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A new day and a great start..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Good action today..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Into another..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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well conditioned brown..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A good cast and he ate… but got away.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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My favourite section on a stunning and peaceful river.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A tangle to finish the day!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tough light today.. and hard fishing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I set up a deep nymph rig to blind fish a deep riffle – Jeff got 2 from it!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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How quickly a day can turn around..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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and then another on my hotspot nymph.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tough wind a light all day but 3 in the
net in the last hour. Never lose heart!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The last day and it was freezing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We got his one in the first pool..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The weather deteriorated quickly – 2c, we
called it early. It wasn’t a day for wet wading.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cloudy and damp, but lovely.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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It was pleasure to take Evan out for a couple of days.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A good caster! Make a massive difference over here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Raining but pleasant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Into another..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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My trusty Claret Nymph.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We also had a great day after rainbow but I lost the pics!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Sometimes they don’t have to be big..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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..but sometimes they are! A great rainbow for James.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A good day with these 3. Only one in the net but that’s fishing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A full house for Christmas. Guy, Robbie and Mick.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Robbie and Wesley.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Guy trying out his new Temu rod.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Adaline playing a Dustan trout.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A great family day out.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Weed and mud! Lovely.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Great weather, most of us jumped in for a swim.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A good day out..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Spoonbill, first time seeing them locally.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tiga into one.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Superb.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Good action..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The one that got away..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Only a few opportunities today..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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One of 3 in the net. This was the best.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A successful into to NZ fly fishing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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January 1 and Robbie lines up his
first trout of the year… which he got!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Consulting the box of tricks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A lovely day out..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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And a few trout. This on my hotspot –
Now available in a 14 which I love.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A stunner for Robbie.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Time to walk out.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fellow West of Ireland man, Padraic, having the perfect start to the day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Things went quiet for a good while after that..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A blind fished worm to the rescue.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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And a cracker he was..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fat!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Some great action..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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One on the 16 brown nymph. A little heavier than the 16 claret.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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And another fatty.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Lovely.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Day 2 was a lot harder..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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But persistence payed off.. 16 brown nymph again.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s busy now! Not much time to think let alone write. The usual for this time of year. The pictures below take me up to early January. They begin with the continuation of Jeffs trip. A tough trip in general but we put it together and had some brilliant moments and solid fishing… and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1284,376,607,454,1405,481,1406,1404,862],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sexyloops.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17020"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sexyloops.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sexyloops.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sexyloops.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sexyloops.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17020"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.sexyloops.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17084,"href":"https:\/\/www.sexyloops.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17020\/revisions\/17084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sexyloops.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sexyloops.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sexyloops.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}