I\u2019m back in Miena in the central highlands of Tasmania and it\u2019s just as I remember it! It\u2019s been difficult so far, reliable lakes and methods seem to have changed slightly so I\u2019ll have to adapt. That\u2019s my first observation and it could be wrong, time will tell.<\/p>\n
After I left kevins company on the morning of December 26th<\/sup> I went to Te Anau. Feeling a little lonely and unmotivated I went to the Waiau River and quickly became motivated and content. There were fish about and they were feeding. I had excellent sight and blind fishing on both nymphs and dries. I had lost a lot of interest in this river of late because I thought fish quality and quantity had deteriorated. I was wrong; the fish were in top condition so I was in no rush to any other river for the time being. I had a few days fishing alone averaging 11 a day before Sean arrived to join me for a few days from Railton in Tasmania. You may know Sean from such films as \u201cBig Fish Week part 1 & part 2″. We tried some lake edge fishing which was pretty unproductive so it was back to the river! Stefan from Sweeden was not too far away so he came to join us for a while.<\/p>\n On the last day of 2011 Stefan and I fished together. That morning session on the Waiau with Stefan was everything I love about fly fishing. Stefan was easy to fish with and sharing the water was a pleasure. So I guess that\u2019s the first thing, good company. The second thing was the weather; we had a perfect blue sky day with a gentle breeze in our favour. The fish were out in great numbers and feeding. The condition of the fish was as good as I\u2019ve seen on this river. Sight fishing with nymphs accounted for most fish but the dry also worked. My \u201cStandard nymph for NZ\u201d nailed \u2018em, particularly a size 10 grey version. (There\u2019s a blog about it\u2019s tying from about 2 years ago!) I gave one to Stefan and he started cleaning up with it after a slow start. It was pretty much constant action with superb fish; many of them were around 5lbs, both browns and rainbows, which is 2lbs over average. I had one of about 7.5lbs which is a trophy on this water and my personal best off it. Another angler came to fish the same water and since we had such top class fishing already we left it to him with half the water untouched. We blanked on the section we went to next! Perfect!<\/p>\n This was of course the festive season so Sean, Stefan, Myself and Ruth (a friend from home working in Te Anau) took part as one would expect. Good food, friends, fishing, festivities and The Redcliff Bar made it a Christmas and New Year season to remember.<\/p>\n And so after a very fast 3 months in NZ my visa was almost up, so I was Australia bound. Melbourne for 10 days catching up with my brother Conor, Matt (also in \u201cBig Fish Week\u201d), Paula 22, Tim, James \u201cthe rock\u201d Simpson, kate and Jess. Lots of good times, eating out, pints and pubs. The highlight of the trip was The Great Ocean Road. Some say it should be renamed The Good Ocean Road or even The Ok Ocean Road but I thought it was pretty great. \u00a0Conor and I borrowed Matt\u2019s car and spent 3 days driving down the coast. We got lost briefly while wandering off a marked track to check out some serious ocean swell and stunning cliffs. We had to bush bash back to the car which is not a good idea in Australia.. Especially if you\u2019re wearing shorts! All\u2019s well that ends well… Sincere thanks to you all for all your help with accommodation and lifts to and from the airport! Matt, when I visit you in Canada I\u2019ll expect my own bed!!!<\/p>\n The next blog will be up soon and it will be all about fly fishing in the Tasmanian Highlands.<\/p>\n Do what makes you happy!<\/p>\n Ronan..<\/p>\n Ps. My good friend Bob Toffler broke his leg recently but this has not stopped him fishing. River access is a problem however! Bob lives in Balfour. I have a favour to ask any of you who can help. If you know of any river in the Balfour area or beyond where a fella could easily drive to, set up a chair and sit on it and wait for a fish to rise please let me know. roundstoned@yahoo.co.uk<\/a> or facebook me. I\u2019m the only Ronan Creane.<\/p>\n Thanks in advance!<\/p>\n\n\t\t