Day 1
We headed up the Rangitata valley, and we started fishing some backwaters and side streams. Almost straight away we found some fish but my rustiness showed and I missed an easy take from a good brown. Shortly afterwards the weather changed, the colour of the river started to look more and more like coffee so we pulled the pin. We headed over towards Fairlie and fished rivers and backwaters in that area. I struggled to stay connected to fish, but one of the best moments was when we drove through a small backwater, only to look out the window and see a brown trout cruising towards us. Dan was the quickest and managed to get an eat but missed. So the car was duly parked and we headed off. There were a couple more fish in the backwater and Dan succeeded in hooking a good brown, but when I went over to offer my help the fish bolted to the other side of the stream and broke him off.
Time for one last stream, saw and missed a couple of fish and off to the pub.
Day 2
We headed off with Mat and fished the gorge section of the Opuha. We walked down river in the blazing sun, and at the first backwater I managed to hook and lose a lovely brown - that monkey was starting to get quite heavy by then. We carried on downstream and when we turned to start fishing our way back the weather had changed. It was initially spitting rain and slowly got worse. We saw a number of fish, Mat caught a lovely 5lber and by the time we got back to the car I was soaked. Time to beat a hasty retreat to a warm dry place. After some dry clothes and coffee Dan and I drove back down to his place. We had a short session on the Nunya after dinner but the fish were oh so spooky. The monkey was now a gorilla.
Day 3
Dan had to work so I went and fished the Hakataramea. I had a very enjoyable morning, I caught heaps of fish, but nothing larger than 2 1/2lbs, but I used my 2 weight most of the day and flicking a para adams under overlying bushes with it was a blast. After dinner Dan and I went and had a look at a nearby water race and I caught a lovely 3 1/2lb rainbow on my 2 weight Scott. The fish was sitting just below a pipe, Dan spotted it, I cast a small comparadun as close as I could and up it came.
Day 4
After breakfast Dan and I loaded up his truck and headed off. Plan was to fish a high country river for 2 days, staying in a hut. We drove up past Omarama, and fished the middle section of the Ahuriri without much luck, but it was a good break in the trip, but we still had a fair way to go so we jumped into the car and kept on trucking. The drive up to the river was fantastic, especially once the asphalt ended, and we had to ford numerous rivers to get there.
While crossing one of these streams we both were impressed by what we saw, so grabbed the rods and went for a looksie. First pool Dan missed a fish, second pool there were 2 fish, and I hooked the first one only to have the fly drop out after a few seconds... I had barely recovered from the anguish when I heard a yelp and Dan was hooked up. A short battle later and a 5 1/2lb brown was on the bank:
We drove a bit further to the hut and settled in for the night
Day 5
We woke up to a glorious day, had breakfast and went back down to the side stream of the evening before to sort out some unfinished business. Sure enough the fish I lost the day before was back in station and gladly ate the Carty's GFF that I drifted over it's head:
When we got back to the car, we were just about to head off when we heard the ominous sound of a helicopter. Sure enough, a chopper had landed just upstream at the start of the run we were planning to fish. Highly irritated we headed further up and started fishing. We didn't see a large number of fish but all the fish we caught moved a fair distance to grab the foam cicadas. We did see the same helicopter drop another group in upstream though, so much for the wilderness effect...
Between the main river and side streams we caught about a dozen fish for the day, mix of rainbows and browns, all on dries.
At the end of a long but enjoyable day we returned to the comfortable hut for a plate of pasta and a bottle of Shiraz, drunk from wine glasses too...
Day 6
Next morning saw us catch a few more fish from the main river and the ever reliable side stream, and once again the chopper from the day before... 3 groups in 2 days... what more can I say. We headed back to Dan's after an enjoyable day and a half of fishing, apart from the bloody chopper...
Day 7
Dan was busy so I headed up the Ahuriri, but when I got there the nor'wester was howling. I persisted for a few hours, but casting and seeing the fly was tough, let alone spotting fish. I did manage a nice rainbow though. I ended up back in Omarama where I fished the Omarama stream for lots of fish, the biggest was about 3lb and it really gave me a hard time on the 4 weight - after going from one undercut bank to another it buried itself in the weeds. All I saw was a tail sticking out so I scooped the lot up in my net. Little comparadun again did the damage
Day 8
Dan and I headed off to his secret 10lb stream. It was a beautiful day and in the first pool we saw a huge fish but he wasn't playing the game. We saw a number more, and Dan was the first off the mark with a great 7lber
A few pools later we spotted another good fish, it was sitting at the end of a pool in a feeding lie but not moving much. After a number of presentations it finally decided the GFF was tasty enough and grabbed it. It took off downstream and I had no option but to follow:
After a lot of scrambling, plus an impromptu swim Dan finally managed to net it for me, a lovely 7lb brown:
Fairly lean fish, it was 68cm long...
20m further up in the same pool Dan spotted a cruiser, and when I plopped the cicada fly on it's back it couldn't resist, and a 6 3/4lber soon ended up in the net:
Perfect way to finish off the week, and Dan and I headed off to the pub for a celebratory Speights.
Once again a fabulous trip, NZ rocks and a huge thanks to Dan and Liz for their generous hospitality.
Bring on 2009
