Monday 30 July 2012

Miserable, just miserable.

To the people who managed to go fishing on the one fine day we had in two weeks, congratulations. The rest of us have been braving the elements to go fishing. I did this a couple of times but my efforts were rather unsuccessful however it sorted out the fishing withdrawals I was getting. (Random movements of the casting arm, hearing fish tailing in a quiet room, etc) The one positive that can be taken from this atrocious weather is that when the rain stops the spawning fisheries should be firing, or so I'm told.

Being miserable and staying inside has never been so good though. Plenty of sport on the TV with the Olympics, the Chiefs winning and I'm actually getting a fair bit of Uni work done. And we are getting ever closer to October!

To supplement your already packed TV schedule, here is a little treat. The full DVD can be purchased from Fish City for $39.99. Enjoy.



a BACKYARD in NOWHERE official HD trailer from Sellfish Media & Smatis Film on Vimeo.



Saturday 21 July 2012

I haven't been fishing.


One of the best things about starting this blog is that it forces me to get outside and go fishing in order to keep what I say fairly relevant. I am therefore not so happy to report that this will be the first week since the creation of this blog that I have NOT been fishing. In a week marred by high flows, illness and other such factors, I have not been able to get out at all.

The Tongariro area reports good fish but hard fishing after the rain we had which put a 600 cumec flood through Turangi. This surprises me although I think the lower river would be the best place to go right now.

For the Rotorua region, you had to get in quick. The fishing in the rain and immediately after was great but is slowing down again. A buddy of mine fished amongst the heave and leavers at Rotoiti and although they claimed the fishing was hard, these reports need to be taken with a ten kilo bag of salt! These old boys are expert wool pullers.

So I have been watching internet fishing videos, tying flies and reading articles. I have even been doing the odd bit of uni study. Yesterday I was officially grumpy that I could not get to the water. Even as I sit at my computer and write this while drinking a cold beer, I sit and wonder what could have been in the past week.

However, it has dawned on me that it is these frustrating moments of real life that make the fly fishing all the more appealing. Too often I have blurred the line between fishing and real life. For me and I'm sure plenty of others, fishing is a chance to escape real life and just get outside and not think about anything but yourself, your cast and that fish that keeps following your bloody fly but won't eat it (week before last) Not having fished for well over a week, the next time I go fishing will be amazing, regardless of the result. I will just be pleased to get out there and do something which I enjoy.

So the next time you are at work or can't go fishing for whatever reason, just tell yourself you are racking up enjoyment points. The more of these points you get, the more you will appreciate and enjoy the time you do get to spend on the water. I find it makes things just a bit more bearable.

During my internet travels I have found this. Enjoy!


Saturday 14 July 2012

Summer can't come fast enough...

I was flicking through some photos of my trip down to National Park in February and although I do appreciate the winter version, fly fishing is certainly a summer sport. I can't wait for the long days and the bright sun which causes all sorts of bugs to hatch. This then gives you what is without a doubt the purest form of fly fishing, dry fly. Nothing in our game even comes close to watching a fish come up and gently sip your offering from the surface. Still a few months away yet though....

As it's my last week of uni holidays I have put a bit of effort in. The Waikato river was attacked with the switch rod and a couple of small bows were a nice surprise. I was also snapped off by some bohemoth fish that may well have been a Taniwha. My mate Josh and I also fished the same little stillwater I've been trying to work out and managed to land quite a few. One more day of filming and I will be able to start production on a new video.

Until then, here is an entertaining clip which shows just how unpredictable fishing really is... Enjoy. Classic reactions too.


Friday 6 July 2012

Winter Bugs (not the kind that make you sick)

It is cold. It is very cold. It is the kind of cold that makes you want to go all grizzly bear and crawl into a hole and sleep until it gets warm again. Unfortunately, we are not as awesome as bears so we have to spend the winter actually doing stuff.

On the plus side, winter is a great time to fly fish. Fish hang around the colder edges of lakes and they head back down the bigger rivers. Fish do feed less often in the winter however they still feed and with more food in the water right now that one would think, the idea of having to endure another winter becomes a little more bearable. (<PUN)

Anyway, the smaller lakes have been fishing very well and throwing nymphs around if your standard baitfish patterns aren't working can be very productive especially if the fish are visibly feeding. I recently read an interesting article (can't remember for the life of me where) which suggested that winter is a time when our waterways are perhaps most rich with aquatic insect life. We just don't see anything resembling surface hatches due to the insects life cycle stages at this time. Makes sense and was interesting reading for sure.

As far as my activities go I have been checking out a little stillwater from time to time and getting a good fish or two out of it. Compiling more and more video footage so hopefully a new production can go in the works soon. 

Also, I got myself a new Scott 8wt so I am dead keen to go give that a thrashing somewhere. Have only given it a little bit of a cast so far but I was really impressed with that. However, it is not until that you land a fish with a rod you can truly say you have tested it so it shall be 'put to the test' in a couple of days time!

I'll leave you with an all time favourite Fly Fishing film trailer of mine. The 'trout bum' lifestyle is one of the coolest things ever and through fly fishing people are able to experience culture, nature and generally different stuff than the average person would experience. And they have a bloody awesome time doing it!