Duckbill's Fishing Blog

Florida Keys - April 2011

2011-05-04T20:18:00.020+10:00

As the fourth and final part of my epic 40th birthday fishing trip I finished things off with a week in the Florida Keys. I booked 5 days of fishing with Capt. Brian Esposito, and leading up to my arrival in Florida things were looking good. Brian's last email said the tarpon were streaming down the flats on the oceanside and things were looking promising. I landed in Miami early Sunday morning, picked up my rental car and headed south. After 2 hours I was in Islamorada, my base for the week, but the motel room wasn't ready - Brian had booked me a room at the Sunset Inn. Not the fanciest place in town, but the bed was comfortable, the shower hot and the AC worked, so as far as fishing base camp goes it ticked the boxes. It was also just a couple of blocks away from the Lorelei, a great spot to have a beer and watch the sun go down after a day's fishing.

Having some time to kill I headed over to the World Wide Sportsman for a look around the big store, and had lunch at the Fish Company outside. There was a big square pool area full of tarpon, and after lunch they got fed too - amazing stuff. Then it was time for Robbie's Dock to go and see more tarpon being fed. Robbie's is an institution and a must visit, $1 gets you in and then I started taking pictures of people hand feeding the tarpon. Here are some shots:

Brian picked me up at the motel the next morning and we launched from the marina just down the road. A quick run saw us out the front on a clear sandy bottomed spot as it was expected to be overcast. While rigging up the tarpon kept swimming past under the boat, and this constant stream of fish on the ocean side was to be the case for the next 4 days. By mid morning I had cast to dozens of fish but they all showed no interest, but the sight of 100lb fish cruising along was almost enough in itself. The sky cleared up a bit and we moved to a slightly weedier spot, and shortly afterwards I had my first eat. How these fish survive baffles me, as the amount of chaos created to eat a tiny fly just can't be right, the energy balance is all wrong. But the fish leapt and cartwheeled and after about 30 minutes I had the leader inside the tip, and my first Keys tarpon was captured. Shortly afterwards while trying to leader it the hook pulled free. It was estimated at around 80lbs and great fun on the 10 weight, even though I did feel a tad undergunned. Another eat shortly after but no hookup.

After lunch we moved to another spot called the Yellow Brick Road where the flow of tarpon was unbelievable. They stuck out so well that one had plenty of time to get ready, but pretty much all the time there would be no interest from the fish. Mid afternoon I got another eat, and in 15 seconds it was all over, holes in the water everywhere and hook pulled!!! Another eat later on and day 1 saw me with 4 eats, 2 jumped and 1 landed. Amazingly the fly that did the damage was a small (1/0) palolo worm imitation !

Day 2 saw us oceanside again, it wasn't quite as breezy as the day before and even though we saw huge numbers of fish they just weren't interested - stats for day 2 were 1-1-0, I hooked a cracking fish but had way too much drag and ended up with a straightened hook!!!

Day 3 and oceanside again, we tried a few spots but ended up at the Yellow Brick Road. The poon were streaming along steady, mainly heading south, and mid morning it all finally came together, I managed to get the fly in front of a giant toad that gently sipped the worm and it was on. She jumped and jumped and then decided it was time to go to Cuba. I have never pulled so hard on a fish for so long with a fly rod, but after 1 hour she was alongside and Brian managed to grab hold of her for the 1st time. 2 more breaks for freedom and after the third lip grab the bite tippet finally wore through. Brian estimated her at greater than 120lbs and she truly was huge. And to top it off for the whole fight she was shadowed by 2 smaller fish, probably males that must have tried to make the most of the opportunity. What a fight, what a fish ! Another hookup and bustoff later saw the day end with a 4-2-1 and a huge smile on my face. The sun was out so I snapped a few shots on the way back:

Day 4 saw us head over to Flamingo in the morning, but the wind made life difficult so we ended up oceanside and the fish weren't quite in the mood, with the day yielding another 1-1-0

Day 5 was forecast light winds so we blasted over to Flamingo. We fished a channel out the front of Flamingo where we saw 2 fish roll, I hooked and lost the 1st and shortly afterwards hooked and landed the 2nd, a lovely 40lber. Then we headed off to a larger inland lake where we started to find large laid up fish in the shallow murky water. These fish just sit there, immobile and barely visible. Flies were larger black and purple zonker affairs on 2/0 hooks, and if the fly landed on the poons nose the take was instant. First fish garbaged the fly and tore off so fast I didn't stand a chance, the line wrapped around the reel and in less than 5 seconds it was all over. Estimated at over 130lbs it was the largest I hooked. Next we found a slightly smaller fish, I got an instant eat but the fly came out, so I recast and it ate again. This time it stayed connected and after 45 minutes with the 10 weight a 110lber was boatside. Again the 80lb bite let go so no pic, but etched in my memory. The tide went slack so we headed off to fish for redfish. I caught a few on the 6 weight which was great fun.

Then we started seeing lots of sharks on the flat, so after catching and cutting up a few ladyfish it was shark time. I managed to land a few lemon sharks:

We then tried a few clearer flats where the fish were an amazing jet black. A few found but no eats, and it was time to head back to Islamorada.

Final tally for day 5 was 5-2-1 and a great way to finish things off. Brian really put in a great effort, best guide I have fished with to date for sure, can't recommend him enough. I can't wait to return.

And what better way to end the trip with a walk down one of the bridges to see the sun go down.

And next time I have to take a cameraman along to take shots while I fight the big ones - any volunteers?

NZ 2011 Trip Report

2011-02-25T21:46:00.014+10:00

After missing out in 2010 it was time to head back to the South Island for another week of mega trout bashing. My good mate Wes joined me in the trip over the ditch after a 4 year hiatus, and as usual we flew into Christchurch. Last minute planning and discussions with my Kiwi mate Dan who we were going to fish with for the week saw us catching the 7:20 flight to Queenstown on the Saturday morning where we were met by Dan. After a coffee and a “gourmet” pie it was off to the lower Mataura, and by 10:30 we were on the water. We fished one of the accesses above Athol, but the overcast conditions made spotting difficult. We saw a few fish but no luck so we headed off for plan B to a tributary. It didn’t take long before we started spotting fish but they were quite wary, first contact was a side stream where after a couple of tricky casts into the 1m wide ditch ended up with a hookup. The fish raced up and down and promptly buried me in the weeds – fish 1, David 0. Shortly afterwards in the main stream we came across another fish that was cruising up and down. I popped a cast upstream but it looked like the fish had spooked. I tried again a bit further and to our surprise it came back down and swallowed the fly. After a great little fight trying to keep it out of the weeds a 5 ½lb brown was in the net, what a great way to start.

We fished our way up the stream, saw a few more fish but they were quite spooky in the shallow and narrow stream. Once back at the car we had a look at the pool above the bridge and sure enough a couple of fish were in there feeding away. Wes popped down while Dan and I spotted, and after a few casts and fly changes Wes finally came up tight. He was so enthralled that he actually admitted to trout being good fighters and not sluggish at all.

A 4 1/2lber for Wes, first fish on his Abel S5N Prosek Von Behr. Time to move on and we headed to Stu Tripney’s shop where we caught up with Stu and his folks, what a great bunch. Stu’s Fly Shop is an absolute must visit and George Tripney will be behind the counter for a few more weeks, he’s a true character.

Pizza, Aussie Shiraz and great conversation for dinner, and after dinner it was down to the river for an evening session, not much happening hatchwise but right on dark a few splashy rises indicated it was caddis time – I managed to land a couple of small to mid sized browns before we called it a day.

Day 2 saw us head down to Fjordland. We had an extra member to our party, Paige Olsen form the US who owns a lodge and flyshop in Wisconsin. First stop was the Tea House in Mossburn for a Venison Pie, fantastic as always. Next stop was a true Fjordland river surrounded by beech forest and full of sandflies. Lovely looking stretch of water, but apart from one fish raised by Dan but not hooked, devoid of fish. So off again for plan B which was the middle section of the Waiau, where the river was flowing high but clear. The banks were mostly flooded so difficult to fish, but we found a good run and double nymphed a whole bunch of rainbows to about 4lbs. Plenty of fish and good fun. We then headed up to Te Anau for dinner and a kip.

Day 3 saw us head off to fish the Eglington river. A glorious blue sky day greeted us with no wind, and it didn’t take long for us to start catching fish. We all caught fish, and saw lots as well, I ended up with 4 browns and 2 rainbows to 6lbs, but I lost a much larger fish. It emerged from the depths, swallowed the cicada fly, and I felt three distinct bumps as the fly came out of it’s mouth without connecting – easily over 8lbs, maybe larger. Highlight of the day for me was a section of river that I reached after a pretty crazy bush-bash through all sorts of spiky and thorny trees. I emerged into a section of water full of dark boulders, under the trees and managed to catch 2 fish and lose another 2 all in about 100m. Goes to show that the effort is often worth the reward. And to top it off on the way back to the truck I spotted a huge fish in an eddy right next to the road. On my third cast the drift was right and it slowly but surely moved up from the depths. About 5cm from the fly it suddenly stopped, it’s fins flared and it bolted away at full speed. I have never seen a fly have that effect on a fish, but it was the same cicada imitation that caught all the fish that day...

Wes, Dan and I then headed up to Mavora lakes where we camped for the night, in preparation for an assault on the Oreti the following day. Roast Chicken, venison salami and more Aussie reds for dinner, as well as a Central Otago Pinot Noir.

Day 4 saw us head up to the top beat of the Oreti. We got there fairly early to beat the crowds, and the cloud cover was still there. Perfect conditions for an hour long hike down the valley, and by the time we were ready to fish the clouds had burned off and we were greeted with a glorious sunny day

We started fishing our way up the river and it didn't take long before we started to spot some fish. It wasn't easy going, the easy spots were often not interested, we had more success looking for them in faster water. It didn't take long before I hooked and landed my first for the day, a typical Oreti beauty that came in just under 5lbs

The cicadas were chirping so fly selection was a no brainer...

Wes managed to spot and cast to a good fish all on his own and almost pulled of the stunt but the fish changed it's mind at the last moment.

Next it was Dan's turn to spot, hook and land a lovely 6 1/2lber:

Time for a spot of lunch with Dan and some masked weirdo we bumped into...

And then onwards. I had a dash of bad luck, with the hooks pulling or missed strikes on another 3 fish, one of which was a cracker. We were almost back up at the car and while Wes and Dan were exploring a side stream I spotted a tail waving near an undercut. First drift of the GFF and whammo. A great fight later that took me to all the undercuts in a 100m stretch of river and it was mine, a cracker just over 6lbs

So all in all a fantastic day on this famous river, and rightly so. Good run for me on the Oreti, 2 out of 2 so far... Back to Stu's where I cooked up some "Penne all'Amatriciana", washed down with more Aussie reds.

Day 5 saw us head over the mountains to fish another backcountry river. The drive up was great, through the clouds until we hit the top where we were greeted by glorious sunshine once again

We made our way down the valley and found a spot with no other apparent sign of life and hit the river. We started rigging up for what was dubbed the "3% Reunion Day" Dan, Wes and I are all proud owners of the beautiful Limited edition Abel James Prosek "Von Behr Trout" Super5 - only 100 were made. We lined them up in all their glory for a couple of shots:

We walked about 1km or so and neither of us spotted anything, so we headed back to the car to try further downstream. While having a chat I looked into one of the lakes next to the road and what do you know, a big brown slowly cruised by. Action stations !!! I tracked it's beat, and on it's next pass cast out the GFF. The trout slowly cruised up, had a good long look and refused !!!. Time for a different fly, off with the cicada and on with a blowfly. I remembered the advice given to me by Dan who is a world authority on blowflies - green-arse in the backcountry, blue-arse in dairy country - and tied on my version of a Muz Wilson Dunny Budgie in green locofoam. Then I waited for the trout to cruise back, popped a cast in front and up he came and engulfed it. A short stoush later and very lean 5lber was in the net. In good condition it would have easily gone 8lbs, maybe a diet of mice is the go?

Dan and Wes in the meantime had a couple of refusals from another fish in the same lake so we headed off to explore the chain of lakes. Next lake I came too after Dan had been past, it was tannin stained but just as I arrived I saw a large back right in shallow. A quick flick of the dunny budgie prompted a swift take and it was on. The lake wasn't very large and the fish did a few laps staying well deep. It felt like a solid fish, but I wasn't prepared for what emerged from the depths, a crocodile of a brown trout that pulled the scales down to 9lbs.

This trout was in much better condition and had a huge wide head on it:

A few photos and off it went into the depths.

Then it was Wes' turn, I spotted a rise in the neighbouring lake he covered the cast and after a few endless minutes he had a take, only for the hook to pull. And so it went, some lakes had smaller eager fish of around 3lbs, some larger ones. We all caught fish and mid afternoon happily called it a day and headed off for the long drive back to Dan's.

Day 6 saw us return to Dan's 10lb creek. This river doesn't hold many fish but they are all big. Another glorious sunny day and it didn't take long for Dan to spot a fish for Wes. A couple of casts and it was on, but it broke Wes off. Next it was Dan's go, and he spotted a monster of a fish in mid current. A number of casts and fly changes gave no result and the fish spooked off. My turn next. Wes spotted the fish in a long and rock enclosed pool, the glare from my position made it difficult and I only saw the fish from time to time as it cruised the pool. No result with the cicada so I tied on a nymph. A few more casts later and it looked like it wasn't going to happen, when the fish came up and nailed the GFF. A spirited tussle and a beautiful 7 1/2lber was in the net:

A lot more walking, a few more fish spotted, casts to but no more luck. And that was that for 10lb creek, as always a fantastic bit of water.

Day 7 and Dan was busy on the farm so Wes and I headed up the valley to fish the upper section of the Ahuriri. The forecast was for weather to move in but the drive up was fine. By the time we got to the top section though menacing clouds on the mountains and a strong wind meant dirty water and no fishing there. So we retreated downstream to a smaller sheltered stream where Wes and I had a fantastic day with the 2 weight and the 3 weight. We caught lots of fish, many rainbows, and some browns as well, the best being this 3lber on my Scott G2 2 weigh. It gave me a really hard time on the light rod.

This was followed by a great evening session with the caddis flies and we both landed lots more fish. A great stream and a great plan B.

Day 8 and the weather had moved in. We went looking for spring creeks and ended up on the Grays. Lovely stretch of water but the wind and clouds made it hard going. A few fish came to the net, some larger ones spooked but at least we didn't blank. On the way back to Dan's we popped into the Mary Burn, a couple of small fish landed and again some larger ones spooked, definitely not aided by the conditions. We couldn't really complain as we had fantastic weather for pretty much all the week.

Day 9 and end of trip, back up to Christchurch on the shuttle, and apart from another Virgin software glitch and 2 hour delay an uneventful return home.

Once again a super thank you to Dan and his wonderful wife Elizabeth, the most charming of hosts, and the new espresso machine has lifted things up a couple of notches.

2 days later the terrible Christchurch earthquake struck, and I am deeply saddened by all the loss of life that has occurred. I am sure the Kiwis will pick themselves up and rebuild it better than it was before, they are a proud and tough lot and will make it through this difficult time.

A day on the Test

2010-08-13T20:02:00.006+10:00

Who hasn't heard of the river Test, in Hampshire UK? After having read so much about it over the years I always hoped to get the chance to fish it. So when I got to the UK while on holiday I got in touch with my good friend Mat McHugh of Flyodyssey who managed to get us on to a beat at Kimbridge. Ed from the Stockbridge Orvis shop accompanied us for the day as it was one of the Orvis beats that we fished.

The river was as I expected, lovely weed beds, manicured banks with short grass and a 1-2m thick river edge left as cover. The river was packed full of fish, too many in my opinion, but given the cost of fishing these beats people expect to catch fish. The majority of fish were rainbows, all good sized and fully finned, with some browns as well, along with a good head of local grayling and some pike as well.

There was the occasional swirl so I rigged up my Scott 2 weight and fished dry flies. Mat and Ed followed suit and soon fish started coming to the bank, taken on daddy long legs and small tan CDCs. I had lots of refusals but insisted and managed to land some good fish which were fun on the light rod:

Fish of the day for me though was a beautiful 3lb grayling that slurped down the #16 hare's ear CDC that i floated over it. Great fight and great fish.

So all up I landed 4 rainbows, 2 browns and a the grayling as well as lots more little grayling. The fishing was by no means difficult, mainly due to the large number of fish. Not much surface activity, we didn't stay till the evening, but it must be awesome during the mayfly hatch aka Duffer's Fortnight.

Thanks to Mat for letting me finally tick the box.

Exmouth June 2009

2009-07-12T19:38:00.027+10:00

I flew over to Exmouth, WA, to join a friend of mine who has left everything behind in Sydney except for his boat, truck, camping gear and fishing gear (of course). Jono Shales has driven across and when I caught up with him, he was based in Exmouth. We had talked about his planned trip for quite some time, during that time we communicated a fair bit on how to modify his boat to make it perfect and in the end he got a good result. Funnily enough it is almost a photocopy of mine, except for the shorter lean post, he is a short arse ;-). He is chronicling his travels on his website - http://www.swoffa.com/

Day 1
I flew to Perth the on to Learmonth, where Jono picked me up and took me back to what would be Base Camp for the week:

where I dropped off all my gear, got change, grabbed the rods and off we went for a quick fish. it was a bit windy, but we headed up to North West reef for a few hours where we hooked up a few fish and got sharked or broken off. Good start.

Day 2
Next day the conditions weren't too bad, wind was from the South east so we hit the western side of the peninsula. We launched at Tantabiddi and headed south. Just out of the southern passage through the reef we came across the first pod of whales:

The first of many encounters. We came back through the reef near Pilgramunna and started fishing the flats. Patchy cloud made life difficult, and apart from a large trevally, numerous little cod and assorted smudges we didn't have much luck so we headed out wide again. We found schools of stripey tuna which initially were very frustrating until we dropped down to 15lb tippet, then it was all too easy:

We kept one for berley and anchored up to try and catch some mackerel. It didn't take long for things to go off, I hooked a beast right next to the boat (no wire) and after a good run it bit me off. So on with the wire and after a couple more chases and hits I finally landed my first ever shark mackerel:

Few more encounters and it was time to head back. Shame the big ones got away, but at least we had dinner, and it tasted really good on the BBQ.

Day 3
The wind was blowing from the south so we headed to the bottom of the gulf for some exploration. 5 minutes out of the marina we came across some longtails and it didn't take too long for one to hit the deck:

We explored a number of flats and inlets, and again the clouds made it difficult. Particularly frustrating were a couple of very large Blue Bones that we saw at the last minute. So we gave up and headed out to a shoal to try our luck dredging. We anchored up and it didn't take long before I got a massive thump and I was on. The headshakes indicated Golden Trevally and sure enough:

We caught a number of these great fish, all large and good fighters.

We also got blown away by some big spanish mackerel. Back to base camp and more shark mackerel for dinner. One can get used to this...

Day 4
With the boat fully fuelled, we packed up food and drinks and headed off for a couple of days:

We headed straight across the gulf to explore some flats where Jono had had some good luck the weeks before. We came to an island, which had a long sand spit on the lee side, with birds diving and the occasional splash. We were drifting in 1m of water when I saw some nervous water and I made a cast. The fly landed and was promptly charged by 5 hungry mactuna. The one that I hooked off took off on a screaming run, tuna go really hard in shallow water. After a long run, half way through the wind back there was commotion followed by a thump and a large red patch appeared. This is what was left:

We then moved on to some other flats and while waiting for the tide to rise a few blind casts brought up a few new species, including this black spot tuskfish:

Once again the clouds made life difficult, so armed with half the mactuna we headed off to tackle mackerel. Action was fairly hectic but both Jono and I couldn't get one to the boat between sharks and bite offs, but finally I got one, my first on fly:

No where near as big as the one that I lost prior (shirt buttons and flylines don't mix) but perfect eating size:

Jono also managed to add a new species to his list - a batfish:

Last hookup of the session was a hoot. Big hit, line starts peeling off the reel and just as Jono said "that's a big fish" a 2m+ whaler shark leapt out of the water, did 2 barrel rolls and broke me off. Big fish all right...
We originally were going to be camping out, but the guide and the caretaker of Wilderness Island Lodge (Shane and Harry) had a client there for the next 6 days so invited us to stay so we could add company. We headed across and got there at dark, and while tying up the boat heard a quad approaching - thanks Harry for coming to pick us up). We cooked up the spanish mackerel and hit the sack.

Day 5
Rain, wind and clouds, not a great start to the day, but I still managed to get a few pics of the place. Wilderness Island lodge is a great setup, safari tents to sleep in, a couple of toilets, a saltwater shower and a large communal dining area.

While having breakfast Harry got back and broke the bad news - Jono's boat had come off it's mooring overnight and was sitting on the rocks, all scratched up. Jono headed straight over and came back with some pictures:

It didn't look too bad and anyway, until the boat was afloat again we wouldn't have known so while we waited we went crabbing. Harry is a bit of a magician when it comes to catching mud crabs, it didn't take him long and no.1 was in the sack:

After 3 more it was my turn, Harry found a good looking hole and after a bit of poking around I felt the unmistakable hollow metallic knock of a mud crab carapace. The bugger didn't want to come out but after a good tussle dinner was complete:

After lunch we headed down to the rocks to wait for the tide to come in, and after a few casts I managed another new species, a Mangrove Jack:

We spent a couple of hours catching all sorts of critters, adding to the species list while we went. The boat finally floated off and wasn't taking on any water, so we went out to the shoal of the previous afternoon to try our luck on the mackerel. No mackerel, but some good trevally, Goldens and Gold Spot. Jono caught a good gold spot, and I lost a good one too...

Then it was back to the Lodge for dinner - mud crab. Before:

After:

Day 6
We woke up, had a big breakfast and then packed our stuff onto the boat for the trip back across. We said goodbye and thanks to Harry and Shane, and their Japanese client Jun. We retrieved the boat with trepidation, but the bilge was dry so that was a good sign. We were just about to leave when Jono suggested getting a crab or two for dinner, and this time all I had to do was look down and grab one that was walking past the boat. No luck with any others, our hook wasn't long enough, and the tide was going out so we headed off. Once again clouds so no point bothering on the flats, off for some dredging. We managed to catch a couple of school mackerel that were chopped up for "upgrade" purposes. Then the hammerhead sharks showed up at the back of the boat - first one around the 40kg mark that swallowed my dead drifted fly and screamed off. I applied heaps of pressure and it broke off. A few more hits and bust offs and another smaller hammerhead turned up. He swam behind the boat for a couple of minutes inspecting our flies but no luck. Probably around the 20kg mark, would have been manageable. Then the bigger brother appeared (50kg+), ate my fly and screamed off too. I hung on for a bit longer but once my backing started to get low I put the hurt on and broke him off too... I knew I should have packed the 13 weight...

An entertaining session with some good fish hooked but apart from the small ones nothing to the boat. And then back to Exmouth to get the boat looked at by the local fibreglasser. Highlight was "spaghetti al granchio" - mud crab spaghetti - beautiful.

Day 7
We headed out on the western side, objective was a large spanish mackerel or two. Plenty of whales around once again:

as well as turtles and a big pod of manta rays. After a bit of searching we found the stripey tuna and had some good fun catching them, keeping 3 for berley:

Down with the anchor and out with the berley. First spot didn't turn up much so we moved north. We had barely started berleying when Jono hooked up on a mackerel which shortly afterwards went airborne and got promptly eaten. We persisted for a while without a single touch, until a 2.5m hammerhead showed itself at the back of the boat. All he wanted was the tuna carcass and wouldn't go away, so we decided to have a bit of fun. Jono tied the carcass to some rope and the action started:

After that we decided to cop a feel when the shark came close to the boat, and then Jono took it one step further:

After that it was time to head back to the ramp, where finally the sun showed itself again after all the clouds:

Day 8
With only a few hours to spare we went back to where we started, North West Reef. As soon as the tide started to run out a current line formed and we had 3 hours of absolute mayhem. Massive narrow barred mackerel and monster queenfish were around, but unfortunately in the company of a huge number of angry sharks. We both hooked up numerous times but didn't stand a chance, you couldn't even let the fish run on freespool, it would be over in less than a few seconds. We went through lots of flies and wire all to no avail, but still hectic and great fun. Then before I knew it it was back to the campsite to pack up and jump on my plane.

Thanks a lot Jono for inviting me over. Shame the weather never gave us much of a chance to check out those flats on the eastern side of the gulf, but we still did well given the conditions, and had a blast. Plus I added another 14 new species to the list, current tally is 95, not far to go. Hope to fish with you again soon

NZ 2009 Trip Report

2009-02-24T21:30:00.018+10:00

Another year and another great trip to NZ. My how time flies...

Day 1

I once again flew into Christchurch and Dan swung round on Saturday morning and off we went. We headed over Arthur's Pass and fished a couple of rivers over the pass on our way to Hokitika, where we saw a few fish and I managed to lose a good fish on a cicada, not the best start. We then checked out a weir and canal section that was meant to have fish. We saw three good ones in the main basin but they weren't interested in our flies, even though they seemed to be active. Then a couple of spring creeks outside Hokitika, not much to be seen apart from the ever present bridge fish that spooked when I drifted a fly over it's nose. Fairly slow start to the trip.

Day 2

We woke up to another glorious day and headed south to fish a spring creek I had fished back in 2007. As I remembered it was stunning, and the fish were out and about. There were quite a few active and we managed to catch most of the ones we saw, they were refreshingly easy.

First good fish of the trip was this 4lb brown, a bit lean but actively feeding behind a weed bed, and it took a small nymph and put up a good fight on the 4 weight Scott:

Then it was Dan's turn to catch a lovely fish, and I even managed to get him to smile for the camera

We made our way upstream catching lovely fish like this one:

And this one was actively feeding on the surface and fell victim to a #14 sparkle dun:

One the way out we crossed a narrow ditch and on queue a good fish rose. We jumped out of the truck, and first cast it took the dry and promptly buried itself in the weeds. I jumped into the ditch (about 1.5m wide and thigh deep) and start prodding the weed with my foot. The fish took off upstream full pelt, weaving in and out of the weed and promptly bust me off. Was easily over 5lbs, NZ is amazing, there are trout everywhere !!!

We drove south and fished a large spring fed river for the afternoon. Once again there was a bridge fish feeding actively albeit in about 2m+ of water. I put a couple of casts over it before it slowly moved away and disappeared. We worked our way upstream and saw heaps of fish, but they were sooooo spooky. One barely had a shot at them before they bolted. We tried everything without any luck, until I managed to catch a hyperactive 4.5lber that looked fairly fresh from the sea. It put up one hell of a fight and was in awesome condition:

Small head, thick shoulders, vivid blue gill covers:

Dan also managed to catch a lovely brownie, but compared to the number of fish we saw it was tough...

Day 3

We went back to the river we had fished on the afternoon of Day 2 and fished up from where we had finished. Once again heaps and heaps of fish, but no luck. We came upon a pool with about 4 fish in the main deep section that didn't give us any joy, and then we saw what looked like a medium sized fish sitting on the edge of a drop off in full current. I went for it and tied on a big terrestrial, my version of a Muz Wilson Stimulated Sandwich and covered the fish. Up it came, inhaled the fly and went nuts. After a great fight:

We finally got the net onto it and were astounded for it pulled the scales down to 6.25lbs:

A couple more shots:

A quick revive and it was off:

Dan then cast a Bionic Bug to the next fish which promptly chased the fly 20m downstream with it's mouth open but missed - amazing. After those 2 fish it was back to more refusals. We then headed off south again and tried a river north of Haast. We only had a short time but in one great long pool of fast water we raised 8 fish on Carty GFFs and landed 5 to 5.5lbs - awesome. Next year we will have to spend more time exploring that one. Then off to Haast to look for accommodation and as had happened 2 years prior there were no vacancies. So we headed off to the beach, I slept in the tent and Dan slept in the truck.

Day 4

Restless night and in the morning there few million famished sandflies waiting for us. We got the hell out of there real fast and headed south. We tried to get into one river but found a locked gate, and when we drove up the other road someone was already there. So we headed off even further south to try another river. First pool we found a fish, Dan covered it a couple of times but no luck. We then walked for at least another 3km without seeing another. We tried further downstream and again only saw 1 fish. Time to pull the pin and back north we went and over the Haast pass back to the east coast. We fished a stream we had fished the year before, and only found 1 feisty rainbow that slammed a GFF:

The main river was very low, probably the cause of the absence of fish. Still a stunning place though:

Day 5

Dan had to head back home so I abandoned him by the roadside and headed south. In reality the kind soul left me his car and hitch-hiked home, what a legend !!! I drove to Athol and popped into Stu Tripney's shop but he was out guiding. So after 5 trips avoiding it I finally fished the Upper Mataura. It was everything I had heard but better. Lovely clear water, plenty of feeding fish but TOUGH !!!. The majority of fish were nymphing hard in the riffles and impossible to tempt. I somehow managed to hook 2 but lost the both. By then I was down to 6X tippet and one spat the hook and the other bricked me under a willow. I then started to focus on the fish hanging just behind the willows in shallower water, and these seemed interested in taking dries. I hooked 3 and finally after a great battle on the 4 weight managed to land a 5.5lb absolute stunner of a fish:

After seeing lots of fish I finally called it a day and headed back to Stu's. Caught up with him and had a long yarn. He was one of the guides on a Seafaris trip I did up at Cape York last August.

Day 6

I woke up to a foggy grey day. All signs indicated it would burn off but it still took a while for me to get going, and by the time I got to the car park at the start of the walk in zone on the Oreti, 3 cars were already there, one per beat... After a bit of thought I decided to head up behind the first group, hoping to pick up a straggler or 2. They had chosen beat 2 which was a good 45min hike up river through the heather and the gorse, a tough slog. I started fishing but saw very few fish, the ones I did see were stationary on the river bed, not interested in anything. After about 1 1/2 hours I caught up with the guys in front, Henare, a guide from Queenstown and his client John, from the US. I had a good chat with them and being a bit lost for ideas they allowed me to tag along with them and fish the bits the braids they weren't fishing. After a short while the river split in two, they headed up the larger branch and I headed up the smaller. I was walking along an undercut bank, casting the fly along the edge when a good fish came out from underneath and had a good long look at the GFF and turned away. I tried 3 more flies for the same result, and then downsized tippet to 4lb. First drift with a Stimulated Sandwich and whammo, it was on. Only for a short time though, for after 30 seconds or so the hook pulled - AAARGHHH.

A bit further upstream I came across a small waterfall with a deep pool below, dark and ominous. One of those polls that you just know are inhabited by a monster but impossible to fish. I cast the fly and as it drifted around towards the bank a large black fish emerged, snaffled the fly and bust me off - Double AAARGHHH !!! I caught up with the guys again, and Henare then said they were going to stop for lunch so pointed to some trees in the distance and said "fish from there". I thanked him and headed off. I started fishing again, and the first good pool I came to I saw it, a hog sitting about 1m down against the bank in 1.5m of water. I took a deep breath, retied my fly, tested it and cast. The fly drifted down to the fish and up it came, oh so casually, and inhaled the fly. I set the hook but nothing, the fish didn't budge. Another tug and it was finally off. What followed was an intense chase up and down the bank, the fish wanted to go upstream into the rougher stuff, I wanted to get it down to the gravel beach. I would run ahead and pull from above, it would turn, swim down almost to the beach and then head back up. After what felt like a lifetime it started to tire, moved over the shallows and I pounced and netted it. It pulled the scales to 8.5lbs, a gorgeous fat, thick beast of a brown:

After a few more pics I gently revived it and let it go - I was stoked. After that it was time to head back, a good 1 hour and 45 minutes back to the truck. I probably walked more than 20km that day but was it worth it. My first time on the Oreti culminated with a cracker of a fish !!!

Day 6

I had driven down to Te Anau where I caught up with Nick Reygaert of Gin Clear/The Search - Tahiti/Fly Fishing Film Festival fame. We had planned to fish the Eglington but woke up to wind and rain so gave that away. Instead after a great wild venison pie and an awful coffee from Miles Better Pies we headed off to a nearby lake. After a few casts I started to get some knocks and shortly afterwards landed a small rainbow. A few casts later towards the end of the retrieve I noticed a bow wave behind my fly and then wham, fish on. Nick shouted out to let it run and did it run. When the backing knot went through the tip guide I realised it was a serious fish. Nick rushed back to grab the camera while I fought the fish, and when I got back I had a 7.5lb fat and colourful buck rainbow on the bank (edit 22/3/09 - well how about that, I made it onto the front cover of NZ Troutfisher - nice one Nick!):

Nick Reygaert Photo

A gorgeous fish in trying conditions. I managed a few more small fish and Nick caught a couple of ballistic 3lbers that fought like mad. We then called it the day when the rain started to go horizontal. A big thanks to Nick, twas good to catch up and see you in Brisbane for the Film Festival. I then started the long drive back to Dan's, with an obligatory stop at Stu's.

Day 7

It rained all night so no rush to get up. After a great breakfast cooked up by Dan's lovely wife Elizabeth we headed off to try our luck in a local lake. The water was quite dirty, and apart from a swirl at my fly and a fish dropped at the bank we didn't have much luck. After lunch we tried a nearby local water race that had been kept low during the rain and I managed to nail 4 fish from one culvert, all feisty rainbows. Practically in Dan's front yard. Those kiwis have it good. After dinner we had another quick session and managed a few more a bit further downstream A good way to end the week given the appalling conditions, 100mm of rain in 24 hours. The next day it was back to CHC for the flight home, another trip done.

I just love NZ !!!

La Loue - a day on a classic french river

2008-07-12T13:31:00.013+10:00

I was recently in Lausanne, Switzerland for a wedding, and prior to heading over I did a bit of research on the fishing options in the area. Just over the border, about 1 1/2 hours north of Lausanne in the Jura region flows the Loue. The Loue is one of the classic French rivers, a lot of fishing history has come from the area, which also includes the equally famous Doubs and Ain. Aime Devaux, Charles Ritz and Madame De Chamberet are some of the names linked to the area that jump out. On top of that, when I was living in Italy, I heard the Loue mentioned a number of times, it was one of "the" places one had to fish, especially the section of the river belonging to the Sansonnens family. The "Parcours Sanso" is widely regarded as one of the best fishing sections in France. The opportunity to fish somewhere I had always wanted to fish was finally going to come to fruition.

I posted up a query on the PIPAM forum and thanks to a helpful forumite - thanks Silvano - managed to obtain Sanso's phone number (+33 3 81 60 32 17 - no email there...) and other information including a very handy link to the river levels Once in Switzerland, the weather was good, the river levels were right and a quick phone call to Sanso confirmed that all was good, so I set off. Shortly after Pontarlier one enters the valley of the Loue, a breathtaking spot. The Loue is actually born from a cave, the area is all Limestone and the "Source de la Loue" is worth a visit. From there I drove on to Ornans, through the town and onwards till the small hamlet of Cademene. From there it was a question of following the phone line poles out of town, and staying right un til there was onl y one line left. The road gets smaller and smaller, runs through some thick forest and finally ends at the farmhouse - google maps link I parked, and after a quick chat with Madame Sansonnens and paying the 30 Euros for the day off I went. I parked the car next to the river and immediately saw lots of fish. The stretch is catch and release and absolutely packed with grayling and trout. The trout in particular are very distinctive, they are brown trout with 3 black vertical bars and are native to this area only. They are known as "truite zébrée" and are very striking.

The view downstream from the farm house

The river upstream

I started fishing from the car, with a tiny nymph suspended under a klinkhammer. There were plenty of fish out and about but given the fairly intense fishing pressure (there were at least a dozen other anglers on the same stretch that day, and it was mid week) they were tough. Refusals were the norm, even with 7X tippet. I did manage to catch a few, and lost a few more, the bigger ones getting away. One especially large grayling refused the fly twice, took it the third time and came off after about 1 minute. Was a shame for it was a cracker. I worked my way upstream, dodging other anglers and had a little bit of success, but all susbsurface, there were no rises. I did see the occasional large mayfly, the proper one, i.e. ephemera danica, but the fish didn't seem interested. They make great photo subjects though:

The grayling were also stunning, their large dorsals full of red and blue spots:

A small but colourful grayling

As the day progressed things got quieter and quieter. The other anglers all disappeared for a long lunch, I thought they had it figured but I managed to catch a number of fish deep nymphing while I had the river all to myself. As evening approached activity started to increase and I finally managed to catch one of the prized "zébrée" trout while fishing a #16 comparadun up a riffle:

Around 8pm the river really came to life, with at least 6 different types of mayflies in various stages of their lives floating down the river, along with the occasional caddis, in varous sizes and colours. The fish started rising everywhere but it took me a while to figure out what they were taking. I started from the largest mayfly and worked my way down. Not surprisingly, they were taking the small cream coloured one, and after digging out a #18 cream CDC thorax dry from the box, it was 5 grayling in 5 casts, the largest going at least 1 1/2lbs, a great fish and a great way to end the day. At 10 they were still rising but I had a long drive home.

So all in all the Loue lived up to it's reputation. I only had one day and chose that stretch, but there are a number of other options, another well known stretch being the one run by the Hotel De France. There are other options as well on the nearby Doubs and Ain, and 1 week could be easily spent in the area.

NZ 2008 Trip Report

2008-03-15T21:09:00.007+10:00

This year I headed over to NZ on a solo trip. Well solo in that I flew over solo, but once there I was picked up by my good friend Dan and we fished together most of the week. I flew into Christchurch and next morning Mat flew in from the North Island and the three of us headed off.

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

La Spezia

2007-07-12T18:31:00.000+10:00

While on holiday in Italy recently I was invited to go fishing in the Gulf of La Spezia by two friends from the MedFlyFish forum, Marco and David.

We headed out early in the morning from where David's boat was moored:

We headed out of the gulf passing in front of beautiful Portovenere:

The church on the promontory was where Byron used to get his inspiration from, or so they say:

Moments after going past Portovenere we found what could have been a school of bonito but they disappeared never to show again. We then headed north opposite the Cinque Terre, and then back south, into the gulf again and eventually ended up fishing a beacon where we caught lots of Sugarelli, a type of horse mackerel that were very tasty when they ended up on the barbeque later that evening.

All in all we didn't catch anything else, but as my first boat based saltwater flyfishing trip off Italy it was fascinating, especially being confronted with amazing landscapes and vistas, so different from my usual haunt of Moreton Bay.

David said that in September/October there is much more activity, they catch dolphinfish, bonito and other tuna species. I must get back there at the right time.

Tumut Trip - June 2007

2007-06-22T20:42:00.000+10:00

I flew down to Canberra to fish the Tumut River in NSW with some friends from the Flylife Forum. I was hoping for a shot at my first Aussie river trout. Two friends from the Forum, The Warnes (Jnr and Snr) picked me up at Canberra airport and then we drove over to Tumut where we met up with the other forumites the Swadlings (swaddo and fatso) and with Nigel (coarsefisher).

Water levels were very low and the fish were obviously not too active as a consequence, but there was some surface activity and I managed to catch fish mainly working the faster riffles with a bit more flow. I had a really great weekend, very relaxing, great company, and managed to catch a few fish too, nothing huge, even though I did spook one up near the dam that left a wake worthy of a wakeboarder.

It was good to finally catch some Aussie river trout, mainly rainbows but a few browns thrown in, and it was on a good mix of nymphs and dry flies.

The most memorable moment of the whole weekend though was Dave Warnes actually declining to accept a fly I had tied specifically just for him - which is a shame for I managed to catch a few fish with it the next day, unlike someone who shall not be mentioned that actually blanked . The NABF nymph works

Anyway, thanks to all the guys for the hospitality, it was well worth the trip down, must do it again next season. Weather was lovely too, even though the river was very low, so I was told.

Some pics:

Proof that the NABF nymph did work:

And "that" t-shirt again

NZ 2007 Trip Report

2007-04-07T19:02:00.000+10:00

Wes and I flew into Christchurch this year, landing late on Friday evening(9th February). We picked up our rental car, a trusty Toyota RAV4 (http://www.avis.com/) and headed off in search of our motel (219 on Johns)

Day 1

We got up early and headed north to Hanmer Springs. After breakfast at the local bakery we went fishing, starting off on the Boyle near the confluence of the Doubtful. Conditions were tough, very overcast and flat light made spotting tough. We saw 2 fish but had no luck. We headed over the Lewis Pass and fished a beautiful looking stretch of the Maruia, the cicadas were definitely around but we had no luck again, only a couple of small browns. So onwards we went through Reefton and to Larry's Creek. When we got out of the car the cicadas were deafening so armed with confidence and foam cicadas we hit the river. The slightly tannin stained water made spotting tough, but I managed to catch 2 beautiful browns fishing blind.

6lb brown

5 1/2lb Brown

The sandflies were out in force but long sleeves, sun gloves and repellent kept them at bay. We then headed back to Reefton and found a B&B for the night. The town was invaded by bikers so we were lucky to find a room.

Day 2

We started the day off on the Rough, we fished the section above the sawmill. 2 guys were at the car park when we arrived, and a guide with clients came past and had the keys to the gate so he headed up north. We sorted things out with the other 2 guys, and off we went. I caught a lovely 4lb brown pretty much at the first pool on the trusty GFF, and we carried on blind fishing our way up, we saw a couple of fish but most were spooky or not interested. Morning tally for me was 4 fish to 4 lbs and Wes caught a lovely 4 1/2lber.

Wes' 4-1/2lber:

My 4lber:

In the afternoon we tried another river, the Waitahu, and I saw a couple of fish but no luck, while Wes caught a lovely 6 1/2 lb brown

Wes' fish

We then headed south to Hari Hari and had a quick look at the LaFontaine hoping for an evening rise but no luck. We stayed at the local motel, a bit rustic but who cares.

Day 3

We fished the middle section of the LaFontaine. Water is peat coloured so spotting was near impossible and there were no rises so we nymphed our way up. Not much luck apart from a lovely 4lber I pulled out of a deep pool:

In the afternoon we tried another nearby spring creek which is gin clear and beautiful. Some fish were rising and others were feeding and we had a great session catching fish to 4lbs in a beautiful setting.

Wes managed to catch this one though...

We jumped in the car again and headed south. Plan was to spend the night in Haast but when we got there Haast and all the neighbouring towns were full... After many phone calls we managed to find a free room at Mavora so off we went.

Day 4

We woke up and checked out the bible (John Kent's South Island Guide) and looked into jet boating or flying into a river in the area but gave up in the end - too exy and too late, so on Simon Chu's advice we headed off to Poolburn. We got there and started stalking the banks. After a short while we spotted a large fish feeding so I climbed down and had a go. I ended up missing it when it torpedoed out of the water and slammed the cicada fly. The wind picked up and we caught some lovely fish to 5lbs casting into the wind on the foam lines. The fish in Poolburn are a beautiful colour and when they hit the cicada you could see a bright orange/red flash appear.

We then drove up to Omarama stopping to have a look at the Ahuriri, and I had a quick cast near the bridge and managed to miss a huge fish that was feeding tucked in hard against the cliff edge... We stayed at the local pub, beer is good but get there before 9pm otherwise the kitchen is shut and the only thing left is hideous pizzas (as an Italian I object to calling it a pizza, but I couldn't think of any other name for it).

Day 5

We fished the same section as the year before and saw a lot less fish and didn't manage to catch any. There were lots of fresh boot prints so it must have been fished the day before. We tried further up and had more success, I hooked and lost a large brown on nymph in a deep fast run and then found a couple of fish actively feeding off the surface. After many casts, refusals, fly changes I finally caught a 6lb brown after having gone down to 6X tippet. That was one of the most satisfying fish of the week. Only got this pic before it slipped out of my hands, broke the tippet and got away...

A bit further up we found a back eddy with a large fish that eagerly took Wes' GFF and after an intense struggle it was landed.

Wes' 7-1/2 lber:

and the pool it came from:

We were really lucky with the weather:

We then headed off to Dan Isbister's place where once again he put us up and took us fishing, what a champion.

Day 6

We fished the Maerewhenua in the morning, as always it was lovely and full of fish. We found one fish feeding hard against the edge on a run and I finally managed to get a rise when I switched to a size 16 sparkle dun and 6X tippet. After a good tough fight where it took me upstream I landed a 5lb rainbow:

Here's a video of the capture:

I managed to catch one more around 3lbs and we spooked many many more.

Spot the fish:

We headed back to Dan's, and after dinner and drinks we hit the Nunya for a short but intense evening session where I managed to catch a lovely 4lb brown:

Day 7

We headed off with Dan to a secret spot with his in search of the NZ Trophy - a 10lber. The river we fished was lovely and perfect for spotting. We didn't see many fish but the ones we saw were all very big, and after a longish walk we found what we were looking for. I clambered down a cliff and up boulders till I got into position, and on the first good drift up it came. A short tussle followed where I managed to get the fish into a little side pocket and then I pounced. We then realised that we had left the weighnet a km or so downriver, so we took a guess and conservatively called it between 9 and 10lbs. No lie detector so no trophy, but I was elated nonetheless. He was a huge fish, with a massive head and eyes:

Here's some video of the capture:

What a morning, we celebrated when we got back to the car with a Speight's

We then said goodbye to Dan and his lovely wife Liz and headed off to Fairlie where we were due to meet up with Simon and Mat, who had promised some spring creek fishing for the next day. We drove over via the Hakataramea Pass, stopping for a quick fish but the water was very low and warm.

Day 8

We headed off with Simon and Mat to a secret spring creek and we were not to be disappointed. We had barely set off when in a small drain a fish came past. Mat was our official photographer for the day and took some great sequences of shots:

Another sequence:

And another:

Video:

We had a great morning casting and catching browns and rainbows in beautiful surrounds:

Bonefish flat???

We then headed back to Fairlie and finished off the day stalking the bank of Lake Opuha where caught some lovely browns on small dries:

The gang:

Day 9

Time to leave. Mat and Simon headed off to fish further south and Wes and I went back to lake Opuha for a quick last session. We caught more fish the highlight being a brown from the dam wall which meant that at one point Wes had to hold me by the feet while I passed my rod under a cable stretching across from the cliff below. All good fun:

And that was it for 2007, a fantastic week with great weather, great company, and extraordinary fishing. 90% of the fish were taken on dries, and 60% of those on the trusty Carty's GFF foam cicada in green or black.

Los Roques report - June 2006

2006-07-16T17:54:00.000+10:00

“Gental presentaiscion” – Jesus’ words ring through my mind as I get ready to cast. The big silvery grey tail is waggling away on the edge of the flat 15m away. The size 4 white gotcha lands half a meter in front of the tail and I wait for it to sink, “sink da fly, sink da fly” again another one of Jesus’ mantras. “Chort streep, chort streep”, instruction number three and the tail moves forward and dips up, I feel a subtle bump on the line, and a strip strike and a few microseconds later I am hooked up, with the bonefish tearing off line in its quest for freedom.

I am on a pancake flat, located roughly in the middle of the Archipelago of Los Roques, in Venezuela, South America. Los Roques is an agglomeration of around 300 islands and pancake flats. The water on the pancake flat is about 30cm deep and the flat itself is for the main part covered in turtle grass. Everywhere I look there are silvery grey tails, waving around like small sailboats in the wind. The bonefish is running around on the flat spooking fish everywhere, and after an initial strong run he comes in easily, but spooks once he sees me and off he goes again. After a few more runs I finally managed to get the fish close and grab the leader, and then I have him, a solid fish of around 7lbs. One striking thing about bonefish is the bigger they get the larger their heads become. This one must also spend most of it’s time in shallow water for the bottom half of his tail is worn out and flattened. As I release the bonefish I get a thumbs up from Jesus who is on the other side of the flat.

People go to Los Roques mainly for bonefish. There are lots of bones, mainly in the 2-5lb class but bigger ones are around, they largest I caught was estimated 4kgs (9lbs) by the boat captain, and some of the fish that swim up and down the beach and around the jetties are easily into double figures. There are also tarpon and permit, but in nowhere near the quantities. The best spot for tarpon is along the main beach on Gran Roque, early in the morning, where they follow the dive-bombing pelicans and pick up the scraps. The odds are however heavily stacked in the tarpon’s favour, there are boats and mooring lines everywhere. In all I hooked and jumped four, two off the rocks and two from the boat. In all cases the fly was the same one, a size 1/0 white and grey nipple duster, designed to imitate the hordes of baitfish that cloud the beaches. During my stay I cast to 5 permit, 4 of which were at least 10kg but not interested in the least. Some do get caught but there are only a couple of flats that hold them.

As far as equipment is concerned there are a couple of points which apply to all. Firstly, use long leaders. In some cases the guides were getting us to use 15-16’ leaders. What worked for me was a 9’ tapered 12lb leader with 3-4’ of 12lb fluorocarbon as a tippet. With regards to rod weights, it really depends on one’s casting ability. It was windy all the time, some days more than others, but the standard practice is to wade downwind. I used a 9 weight the first day and a 7 weight for the rest of the week and this proved to be the perfect combination. I took 5 rods but I have never been a light traveller. I used my 10 weight rod when fishing off the beach in Gran Roque. If I had to restrict myself I would have taken a 7, 9 and an 11. This would cover all the options. Reels need to be matched to the rod and have a reasonable capacity, but without overdoing it though. Most of the time the bonefish would get 10-20m of backing at the most but rarely more, quite often none at all. The longest run I had from one was around 50m. Good knots and as tight a drag setting as you are comfortable with will ensure that you don’t spend hours winding backing back in. I used an Abel Super 6 which had about 190m of 30lb backing and a WF7 line on it and I never felt undergunned. The flylines I used were a SA Bonefish floater on the 7 weight for all the shallow water work, a Rio Tarpon I/I intermediate for the deeper water and the tarpon, and a Rio Mainstream floater on the 10 weight off the beach.

There are a large variety of fishing areas in Los Roques, and there were four different areas that I fished. Below is an outline of the various environments and the techniques that worked for me.

Inside Flats – These are the small flats that fringe the islands. They tend to be marl with turtle grass, some coral and the occasional patch of sand where they widen out a bit more. You will have mangroves on one side and a drop off on the other. The fish tended to be in fairly large schools in specific spots that the guides knew off by heart, along with cruisers where the flats were narrower. These fish would patrol the mangrove edges. The fly that worked best for me was a size 4 gotcha with a white calftail wing and small bead chain eyes. On the larger patches of turtle grass where the bigger schools were a dark brown or olive crab fly on a size 4 also did some damage. The technique was to present the fly as delicately as possible, let it sink down and settle on the bottom and then to retrieve it with very short and gentle strips.

Pancake Flats – These are normally about the size of anywhere between a tennis court and a football field and are surrounded on all sides by deeper water. The fish come onto the flats when the water is deep enough for them to move around and then they leave once it gets too deep. At low tide there will often be schools of bones swimming round and round, and one can attempt an ambush shot. This was my preferred environment, for every time we fished these flats there were dozens of silvery grey tails waggling in the air, an awesome sight to behold. They tended to be similar to the inside flats as far as morphology is concerned, being covered for the most part in turtle grass. On approaching the flat, the captain would drive upwind and kill the motor and drift in the last 150m. Almost every time we landed on the flat we would be greeted by hordes of tailing bonefish.

Beaches – These were white sandy beaches with varying amounts of seaweed and algae. The bones would patrol the beaches looking for baitfish or follow the pelicans and feed on the stunned baitfish. On the outer islands I mainly walked the beach looking for fish and then would target them with a size 2 baitfish imitation like a grey and white nipple duster or similar. On Gran Roque the tactic would change, and I would use my 10 weight rod, 30lb tippet and locked up drag. When a pelican would crash into the water I would cast as close to it as possible – not too close for they often went for the fly, and are a pain to unhook. Once the fly would hit the water I would let it sink for 10 seconds or so and ten start the retrieve. The takes would be anything but subtle and the fight would be short but intense, rod tip low and lots of side pull to stop the fish from getting into the ropes, and on more than one occasion I had the hook straighten.

Mangrove lagoons – I only spent a short time fishing the lagoons, targeting tarpon. There were quite a few baby tarpon around but we didn’t have much luck, only eliciting a couple of strikes but no successful hookups. One member of the party did however manage to catch one on the first day, the only tarpon landed during our stay.

To sum it all up, it was a wonderful experience, the fishing was challenging but after following the suggestions from the guides the results came for everyone. We went in June which is low season for American fishermen, but not as far as the fishing is concerned it definitely isn’t. There are plenty of options for the fishing, a few days with a guide are a must but then DIY fishing can be enjoyed. There are water taxis to take one to the major islands, and plenty of bonefish and tarpon along the main beach to keep one entertained. In other words, I can’t wait to get back there !!!

NZ 2006 Trip Report

2006-03-21T17:19:00.000+10:00

We arrived in Dunedin on Saturday 4th March (2006) and met up with Kiwitroutbum (Simon) who supplied us with info, flies, materials, lent Wes a flyline (with reel) and fed us timtams and coffee, what a guy, too kind… Armed with all the info we headed off to Gore full of expectations for the next day, A cold spell and a fair bit of rain had come through the week before but the rivers were falling and things looked promising.

Day 1: We fished the upper Mataura for the first day until mid morning when we got blown off the water…

Fishing the upper Mataura:

No hatches and discoloured water so off to the middle Oreti, but not much luck there either, again more wind….

Day 2: We headed off to check out the Pomahaka but that was also very high and discoloured, and after a lot of driving we gave up and headed back to Gore to fish the lower Mataura, only to arrive on the water just as gale force winds started blowing… So we retreated back to Gore for the customary photo under the big trout:

To top that off it rained all night and next day all the rivers were brown, with the Waimea flowing out of its banks…

Day 3: So after a morning spent looking for clean water we found the Mararoa clean and not too high. We fished that for most of the day, again with wind and rain keeping us company apart from the odd moment of sunshine to give us hope. I managed to catch a few rainbows, the largest around 4lbs, which put up a great fight in the fast current.

One of the Mararoa bows:

Wes looking the part:

Kiwi Burn Swingbridge (heaps of didymo downstream, a lot less above):

We tried another spot downstream but there was heaps of didymo around, not very nice at all, and no fish caught either… After more rain we gave up and went back to the motel to dry off

Day 4: We gave up on Southland and headed north to Omarama, stopping off along the way to check out a few spots, but again rain and wind… We made it to Omarama, found a place to stay and fished the Ahuriri delta for a couple of small rainbows, and I briefly hooked and lost a large brown in one of the backwaters. We had an interesting experience when we took the wrong turn on the track and ended up in a swampy marsh… I struggled through, Wes spat the dummy and went back to the car. We tried again after we were informed that there was an easier track which we found without too much trouble – another lesson learned…

Day 5: We fished the upper Ahuriri and had a memorable day, clear skies, no wind and plenty of big fish around. It was quite cold so no cicadas around but the first fish I spotted obligingly took the nymph, and weighed in at 7.5lbs:

Next it was Wes’ turn and many spooked fish later he finally caught his first good brown, a beautiful 4lber:

I ended the morning with 2 browns (7lb and 5lb) and 2 4lb rainbows, plus 2 lost fish and a few more missed strikes… What a spot, absolutely stunning…

5lb Ahuriri brown:

4lb Ahuriri rainbow:

We fished the lower section that evening where I caught a few more nice fish.

Day 6: We headed back up into the valley but the wind was back in full force, so we went down the valley. The Hakataramea was running very low so we fished the Waitaki in Kurow and I had a great session catching 4lb rainbows and browns… We then headed to Waitakidan’s place, after he had kindly offered accom for the next 2 days. Highlight of the day was Wes’ first involuntary river swim…

Day 7: Dan took us to one of his favourite streams and we had a great morning, we spotted lots of fish but I only managed to land one, a lovely 4lb rainbow...

The fish seemed to have other things on their mind... Dan did a great job as spotter and also cameraman, the video will be out in your local shop soon… That afternoon we fished the Waitaki and I had another great session with 8 fish caught, rainbows and browns to 4lbs…

4lb Waitaki brown:

Day 8: Dan took us to his NUNYA and we had a memorable couple of hours fishing for 3-4lb browns in the beautiful stream. 2 fish each, with Wes catching a lovely fish on dry fly too, a great way to finish off the trip. I pulled out the Scott G 884 for the occasion and it was just perfect:

Wes and Waitakidan:

Ouvea

2005-07-10T21:29:00.000+10:00

Back from Ouvea, New Caledonia to a windy Brisbane. Had a great week long holiday, with 3 days in Noumea and 5 in Ouvea. Managed to get some fishing in as well which is a bonus. I mainly fished the northern flats which friends had recommended. It is a good 40 minute walk from the end of the road, down the beach, across the first creek, down the next beach and over to the main channel. We had rented a scooter which had great wide tyres that made driving down the beach with 2 on board a breeze, and saved a good 25 minutes of walking. Conditions weren't the best with 15kt winds and clouds and showers as well which made it tougher. The tides weren't quite right either, but it wasn't planned as a fishing holiday... Spent a long time walking the inner and outer flats and didn't see much at all, apart from small lemon sharks. In total I saw 4 bones on the flats, three of which were moving quickly back out to sea, and another that just wasn’t interested, Caught heaps of small GTs, barracuda, and a host of other fish on the flats, including some feisty spangled emperors, but no bones. I did fish the deeper water at the edge of the flats and that’s where I had more success. On the first day I caught a nice (3kg) golden Trevally and shortly afterwards was blown away by a good sized bonefish – drag was still too tight… On the second outing to the Northern Flats I fished the deeper channel further north and finally caught my first bonefish, not huge at around 2lbs, but still a bone nonetheless. I also hooked an absolute snodger, and had him almost to the beach when 2 sharks appeared and even though I jumped in to scare them off it didn’t work, and one of them ate the bone. Bloody Noahs, they hassled me even there... I was hooked up to the shark for about 5 minutes until he wore though the leader… To top it all off about 15 minutes later I cast at a school of fish and hooked a silvery white steam train that took off full speed, jumped and was gone, pretty sure it was a milkfish… So not much luck for me… On the way back to the scooter I had another cast in my golden trevally spot and caught a beauty of about 5kgs, my best to date… To sum it up, even though I did catch a few fish including my first bonefish I am not sure that I would recommend Ouvea as a bonefish destination. Too much hard work and a lot of walking on the flats without seeing anything… While I was there I hooked up with the local dentist who is the only fly fisher on the island. He is currently fixing up a 4m boat that he will be able to pole around with and explore the area a bit better, and will keep me updated with the progress. I also met up with Claude Lombardo in Noumea at Marine Corail, he had tried setting up a small bonefishing operation in Ouvea but gave up in frustration, for many reasons, the main one he told me about was the constant hassles with the local tribe, and their changing moods. He was very helpful with information, and I definitely recommend looking him up if one has some spare time in Noumea. The shop is in the town centre and easy to find. I had no problems with the people I met, but I was only there for 3 times and it doesn’t take many negative experiences to sour things… Anyway, I hope the dentist manages to start catching bones consistently, he also had wonderful stories about the fish one can catch around the bommies – big GTs, dog tooth tuna, green jobfish, and then tuna, Wahoo, sails and mahi mahi a bit further out… Now for some pictures:

My bonefish

Close up

My best Golden to date - lovely fish and great fighters...

Beach driving - New cal style

One of the many cudas...

A bit of scenery

The northern flats, when it wasn't raining or cloudy

A new species for me - Trumpetfish

The northern channel, locally known as shark pass, so I discovered

And the best way to end the day, enjoying a "Number One" beer while watching the sun go down into the sea, something us East Coasters don't normally see...