Blog

Chuckin Streamers

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 04:58:00 -0400

'Chuck n chance' or is it more technical than that?

and

I think theres more to it than chuck n chance.

On rivers where trout display predatory behaviour or smaller fish make up a substantial portion of their diet, streamer fishing can be uber effective. Why throw a small size 18 hares ear with precision when the fish may move two or more metres to hit a size 2 woolly buggar?

I use flies such as the Double Bunny or my purpose made 'Mr Glister' streamer, which is pretty much just a conehead rabbit type thing with a magnum zonker strip and a bit of flash. Designed to be durable, quick sinking, and easy to cast, Im embarrassed at how much time I spent playing around with this pattern before settling on this basic, and rather common tie.

Due to the size of the streamers I favour I use a 7wt rod and a floating line with an aggressive front taper to ensure energy is transferred right to the fly. The Airflo EGO line or the SAGE performance taper 2 are ideal. My leader is simply 8 - 12 feet of 10lb maxima mono.

Techniques? Fish them upstream as you would your typical nymph, either dead drift (the rabbit provides oodles of movement) or strip it a little faster than the current. Maybe pitch them slightly upstream, mend as desired and fish them on the swing. If you want to catch a large trout, simply find a river that holds big fish, and pitch a streamer through the pools, along cut banks, and up into the fast water at the heads of pools. Big fish love big streamers, and you will be suprised at the results.

Streamers also come into play for hitting those 'hard to reach' places, maybe across a heavy current, or other places where getting a natural presentation is tough. Smallfish are expected to swim across the current, and so drag is not a problem with a streamer.

Its all fun.

Winter Update

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 20:59:00 -0400

It is shaping up to be the best snow season here in the Queenstown area in a long time they say, and whilst many are getting down upon the slopes, I’m getting down to where the fish are in the Wakatipu.

It’s that time of year where the browns are mostly up the tributaries getting busy and the rainbows are still remaining deep prior to gathering at the rivermouths. They can still be caught however wherever an inflow enters the lake, and hi density lines are the name of the game to present your fly to where they sit.

The main lake is still holding colour after the monstrous floods of April and so bigger and brighter flies are required to attract attention. Red Setters and bright coloured Glo Bugs seem to be doing the job, and I’m finding a very slow retrieve allows more time for the fish to detect ones lure.

DI 5 lines and short traces are my usual tactic at this time of year, and all the major rivermouths will produce rainbows. My usual tactic is to begin by hanging a glo bug static across the lip, and this will often hit any fish that are hanging about the drop offs. If this fails to attract attention then the Red Setter or similar streamer is cast out along the edge of the rip and slowly retrieved. As mentioned, it is important to get deep here, and these drop offs are often deeper than expected.

Over the next few weeks the numbers of bows should increase around the Rees, Greenstone, Von and Lochy and the fish will move into shallower waters, more accessible to the fly angler.

Locally, lakes Johnson, Moke and Kirkpatrick are close – to - home ‘lunchtime’ options for those adept at stripping wee wets and woolly buggars in intermediate lines, and on the brighter days sight fishing with chironomids can be a blast.

And as for the rivers, whilst many browns are already well and truly up the tribs of the Upper Clutha, there are still a few good fish to be found around the confluences with the main river. Rainbows are following and the riffles are still producing well with traditional ‘Tongariro style’ nymphing techniques.

Quick run-down – a 3m level leader of 8lb fluorocarbon, a hi-viz indi and either a pair of weighted nymphs, or a double tungsten and a Glo Bug. Toss this rig upstream and dead drift through the riffles and along the drop offs. Couldn’t be simpler.

Some of the bigger fish can be found deeper in the pools and for these, double handers sporting heavy tips and skagit lines are the way to go. Focus on maintaining a controlled swing around any object which will break the current; trees, gravel bars, larger rocks etc.

My opinion is that the Clutha is stepping up as a winter rainbow fishery, and many days last season outshone some of the famed North Island fisheries in both fish numbers and size.

The Southern Lakes fishing scene is just starting to heat up as the temperatures cool down. So if you are coming through for a day or two up the slopes it may just be worth packing a rod or giving me a call.

Check out my winter options here

Chris

Catch and Release

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:50:00 -0400

It is important to preserve resident fish populations by correctly handling, and releasing your catch. Unfortunatly, whilst many anglers practise catch and release, their handling of the fish leaves a lot to be desired.

The above video was created by On The Fly Productions in conjunction with Fish and Game NZ to educate anglers on how better to respect the fish, and release them with the best chance of survival.

Always use a knotless, soft mesh net and ensure the mouth is wide enough to comfortably slip the fish into. Beaching the fish can work at times, but the fish must not be hauled across the rocks and should remain in the water at all times. Netting ensures the fish is secured correctly and often quicker than other techniques.

Always wet your hands prior to handling the fish to preserve the protective slime layer over their skin. Failing to do this can result in infection and illness.

Keep the fish in the water at all times - water should be running across the head and gills and preferebly the fish should be fully submerged. Lift the fish slightly to get your 'grip and grin' shot, but never too high or for a period longer than but a few seconds. Immediatly afterwards, the fish should be returned to the water.

Never squeeze the fish, especially around the stomach area, and avoid touching the gills at all costs. Never bend the fish as you will see in many 'hero' shots, for this can permanantly damage the spine.

Respect your prey. Ensure you use tippet and gear sufficient enough to land the fish quickly and carefully and know how to utilize rod angles to bring the fish to the net at the soonest. Prolonged fights dont make you a hero, just the opposite.

Chris

Winter Vistas

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 04:56:00 -0400

Double Handers are the best way to efficiently fish our larger winter rivers

Stillwater Tactics; "Plonking"

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 02:27:00 -0400

Plonking is a technique gaining popularity in competition circles and gives the angler another productive option on those calmer days, when the lake is like glass. Often in such conditions fish will shy away from a retrieved fly, and so we must do something other to grab their attention.

A calm day often means tough fishing

As with many nymph-based Stillwater techniques, plonking is most effective over the warmer months when insect activity is at its peak. However, being inquisitive creatures, plonking a heavy nymph around the deeper drop offs on those calmer days of winter will often interest a feisty fish.

Look for flats and weed beds supporting decent depth (2 - 4m), as well as deeper channels, drop offs and holes amongst the weeds.

Plonking essentially consists of dropping a heavy, tungsten fly or two beneath a buoyant dry, or indicator of sorts. The audible disturbance this rig creates as it enters the water draws fish from afar (more pronounced in calm waters) and a suitable fly sporting lots of movement will often take the fish as it sinks through the water column.

Above. 'Littles Plonkers' as sold by Manic Tackle Project

Bloodworms and damsel nymphs with long, marabou tails and oversized tungsten beads are my usual as a point fly providing fish-catching movement galore, and a lightly weighted midge or soft hackle on a dropper above provides a more subtle option for the more wary fish. Keeping the weighted fly on point will keep everything tight throughout the drop and indicate the strike at the earliest instance.

You will need a buoyant indicator or well hackled dry fly to hold up your heavy plonking nymph, and I tend to favour those Mill Stream stick on foam jobbies for both buoyancy and convenience.

Most takes will come as the flies sink through the water column so maintaining contact the instant your nymphs touchdown is a must. A couple of quick, immediate strips will remove any slack line and hit any fish that close in on the splash, and a slow figure 8 retrieve just to keep in touch ensures no slack line enters your system during the drop. Too many fish are missed due to slack line in Stillwater situations so by using low stretch lines and following the aforementioned advice even the most subtle of takes will register.

Plonking also produces well on smaller stillwaters

Keep your line short and keep a close eye on your indicator as your flies sink. Tighten on any movement or suspicious actions of the Indi as not every strike will be obvious. After 30 seconds or so, slowly raise your nymphs towards the surface before ‘hanging’ them briefly, and recast to a different position – one cast, one location; if you don’t hit a fish on your first cast, move along to the next position.

So give plonking a shot the next time you are out on a dead calm lake, or in a gentle wind riffle. It can draw in fish and provide action on what could very easily be a slow day.

Also check out Loch Style and A Question of Retrieve also by Chris

Chris' Fly Casting Clinics

Mon, 31 May 2010 01:47:00 -0400

Chris is a Federation of Fly Fishers certified casting instructor and as such, is internationally qualified to teach, improve or correct your fly casting technique. Available for group, or one-on-one sessions, consult Chris for any of the following:

The Foundations of fly casting - building a repeatable stroke
Roll casting
Improving accuracy
Improvements and adjustments for distance
Presentation and slack line techniques
The 5 essentials
Dealing with the wind
Single handed speys and dynamic rolls
Double Handed fly casting
Advanced mechanics
Fault diagnosis
and more.......

Cant decide? Maybe check out the following:

Learn to fly Cast

An introduction to the fly rod and associated equipment, how they work, and the fundamental mechanics to get you ruinning with good form. Learn basic overhead, and roll casting techniques and a demonstration on dealing with the wind.

Duration: 90 Minutes

Cost: $100 NZD 1 Pax or $150 NZD for 2 ($75 each)

Intermediates / Improvers '5 Essentials' Clinic

Self taught? Been flyfishing for a while? There are 5 essential elements to a successful cast. Let Chris indoctrine you to these, and introduce you to effective drills to better your casting stroke.

Duration: 90 Minutes

Cost: $100 NZD 1 Pax or $150 NZD for 2 ($75 each)

Introduction to Presentation and slack line techniques

Learn to improve short line accuracy and present your fly in a variety of situations. Learn the straight line presentation, as well as the pile, tuck, serpentine and easy curve casts.

Duration: 90 Minutes

Cost: $100 NZD 1 Pax or $150 NZD for 2 ($75 each)

Adjustments for Distance and Accuracy

Learn the secrets to improving both distance and accuracy with good-form mechanics and additions to your stroke. Learn how to Improve tracking, power application and timing, and learn the double haul.

All going well you will learn to drift, and shoot line into the backcast.

Duration: 90 Minutes

Cost: $100 NZD 1 Pax or $150 NZD for 2 ($75 each)

Advanced Fly Casting

One on one, we will work to improve the efficiency of your stroke. Improve accuracy, distance and your repitoire of casts including single handed spey techniques, dynamic lifts and advanced presentation techniques.

Duration: 2 hrs

Cost: $150 - Maximum one pax only.

Group Clinics

Half day clinics available from $50 per person. Get a group together and let Chris design a clinic to suit you.

POA

Contact Chris on 027 693 3027 or at chris@troutsafaris.co.nz to plan your fly casting progression.

All clinics are performed on grass. On water tuition available, but pricing will differ.

Because life's too short to not catch fish!

Get out there!

Mon, 17 May 2010 20:58:00 -0400

Hey all, and I hope you're all still out there getting amongst it. Whilst the end of our annual freshwater fishing season has come to an end for many waters there are still a lot of opportunities out there for the hardcore angler.

A lake tributary

With little over a week to go on our southern lakes tributaries this is one of the best times to chase big-jack browns as they move up from the lake and / or lower reaches towards their spawning grounds. Many of these fish will be flighty, being in new surrounds and the cooler temperatures dont always bode too well for feeding activity. This is where big streamers come into play. My 'Dores Mr Glister' streamers are designed for these situations with lots of weight, lots of movement, and an aerodynamic profile to ensure it moves through the water freely. Check out www.MANICTACKLEPROJECT.com to see where you can pick a few of these up.

The 'Dores Mr Glister'

Likewise, rainbows are already beginning to move around our lake deltas and are providing great sport. It is wise to carry a selection of sinking lines from fast intermediates for stripping across the shallows without 'waking' on these calm, pre-winter days, through to hardcore DI 7 designations for getting right down to where the fish will hold over the drop offs. These fish are still chasing our freshwater inanga and so sparse grey ghost type of flies, fished in a team of three work well, or you can really try and excite these fish using other options. Orange 'blob flies' and similar hotspot style streamers hit well on winter rainbows, and whilst I encourage people to vary their retrieve, often the fast, 'balls to the wall' type of stripping madness will seal the deal. Dont worry - you cant strip faster than a fish can swim.

In the words of James Brown "You gotsta get down".

And coming into winter we have the larger waters of the Upper Clutha river available. Large, deep and fast flows often intimidate most people who know not where to start. Look for structure and focus on those areas you can access, particularly within a few rod lengths of the bank. The secret is getting deep enough with the right flies to get down to where the fish lie. This often meand weighted leaders, split shot and heavy 'bombs' which can prove disasterous to cast on traditional fly gear- this becomes the domain of the 'double hander' making short work of getting big flies and heavy sink-tips down, fast.

A nice, late season rainbow

As one of the only Double Handed fly casting instructors in the Queenstown area I am offering 'Introduction to Spey' trips to initiate people to the techniques and theory of Switch rod fishing. Spey tactics are applicable to any large water fishery from the Tongariro to the braided Canterbury rivers, through to coastal esturies for sea runners. Check out my winter options page for more info on my winter fly fishing offers.

Rene showing the effectiveness of Spey

So throw on your thermals, pull on your overcoat and get out there amongst it - because life's too short to not catch fish, and what else are you gonna do this winter?

Chris

Fly Fishers Inc relesed at last!

Tue, 04 May 2010 17:06:00 -0400

New Zealands online fly fishing magazine has just released its first issue.

Check it out for a cool, funky, local read

http://www.flyfishersinc.com/index.cfm

Mataura Madness - Get in while it lasts!

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 06:54:00 -0400

Well the short, sharp change to autumn sure has the Mataura firing! The past week has produced well with plenty of early fish nymphing throughout the shallower riffles and spinner falls once the grasses have warmed.

Brendon Nicholls with a great autumn brown

Mid afternoon dun hatches are gaining momentum and the fish are just starting to lock onto them. Its non stop fly fishing heaven!

For the persistent angler there are good numbers of fish to be had. It is important though to adapt to the situation. Just yesterday a client and I were working a riffle with a tungstan glister nymph and after a couple of quick hookups moved up a little, only to begin picking up on the bottom. A quick change to a pair of lighter nymphs put another fiesty fish in the net before the action slowed again. Another quick change to a little more weight, along with a slightly longer leader set up and we were in the game again!

Simon Hill scores!

Over the course of a single run you may change flies and tippet set ups several times if you are working it right. Along the shallower edges with more gentler flows you may utilizer a short indi-nymph set up for some hard and fast action before re-working the drop offs with a longer leader and heavy nymph combo, this time removing the indicator and utilizing 'contact nymphing' tactics to attain depth.

On shallower, wider riffles lacking features such as drop offs, guts, current changes etc a pair of nymphs or soft hackles swung 'across and down' style will cover the water efficiently, as will a small dry dropper combo, the shallower water lending itself perfectly to a wee emerger or para pattern worked through carefully.

Simon Chu 'contact nymphing' likely water

So call me now and get in amongst it all! Some of the finest fly fishing action of the season is yet to come!

The Seasons Change - Thoughts for success

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:35:00 -0400

So the past couple of weeks have been interesting indeed! Summer disappeared with a bang, bringing snow to the hills and blanket flooding not often seen in these parts.

Rob Vaz with a change-of-season monster

However, the rivers have recovered and are in fine form for those who can adapt to the conditions and with the background knowledge of where to find productive waters in changeable conditions.

In the high country

Whilst the summertime cicada populations have taken a hit, it is still worth prospecting the high country on warmer afternoons with a large dry, for whilst there may not be many naturals on the wing, the prey image of the large terrestrial will still be fresh in the trouts mind.

For the most part, our backcountry fish will be more so nymphing, and it is important to fish at the depth of the fish – they won’t often lift for a nymph in cooling temperatures, but will happily accept most things which enter their foraging zone. Many nymphs are simply not heavy enough, even with tungstan beads. Most autumn nymphs I tie incorporate oversized tungsten beads along with an under body of lead. Split shot is often applied to the leader in order to attain depth in the faster flows, and above all, keep your nymphs small – you must represent the size, general shape, and the depth at which the naturals are present. If the trout appears to be ignoring your nymph, it doesnt mean you are fishing the wrong pattern – you simply arent getting deep: Lengthen and maybe lighten your leader, change your casting position, implement a different slack line presentation or add a peice of shot. If he is feeding he can be caught. Fact.

Hotspot Caddis - a great late season pattern.

Green Caddis, Mayfly bombs, stoneflies – as long as they get down to where the fish want ‘em, you are in with a grin.

However, in the high country it is the streamer which I use to the fullest extent. Sight fishing with streamers can be fun. Deep holding, dormant fish will often break out of their lull as they switch from the ‘need to feed’ to the ‘need to protect their territory’ mindset, and the aggressive nature of autumn fish plays into the anglers favour. Double bunnies or conehead streamers work a treat when fished on a level, 10lb leader and 7wt rod. Keep your eye out in stores for my ‘Dores Mr Glister’ conehead streamer, designed to get deep, cast easily and hit these bigger backcountry trout.

Simply pitch them upstream either blind, or ahead of a sighted fish and dead drift them back down as you would a standard nymph. Maintain contact with your fly and when it tugs; tug back! See the following videos for a demonstration of short line, dead drift streamer techniques. Keep your eye out for the fish sitting just off the drop offs, but a rod ahead of the angler.

Vid 1

Vid 2

And the lowlands

The shift from our summertime approach however is more to do with water temperature. Whilst this recent downward plunge in the mercury will send trout in the cooler, high country waters into preparation mode for spawning, the cool, crisp mornings giving way to pleasant afternoons really get the mayfly going in the lowlands.

Following the rains of recent, knowledge of the more stable riffles will produce the goods. Lesser sections of river will have had their mature mayfly populations obliterated, and only the larger, more stable rocky riffles will have survived.

When prospecting riffles I utilize a longer leader leading to a pair of small, tungsten mayfly nymphs. Indicators are helpful at times but I feel they restrict ones drift somewhat, and many hits go undetected due to the time they register to sight. Contact nymphing with a longer leader and without an indi is my preferred method in faster waters, and one is often left wondering if the take was felt, seen or ‘sensed’ afterwards – a great feeling indeed.

Hatch time is the usual – fish well, present better and use small, flush floating emergers for success. Study the rise form for it is not unusual to get a spinner fall coinciding with an emergence of duns, and with mass amounts of mayfly on the surface fish will often lock on to a specific prey image to the detriment of all else. If they are locked onto spinners, an emerger will be met with random success and if they are locked onto emergers and you are presenting a full floating dun, in the words of Al Pacino – ‘Forgeddaboudit’.

April provides some of New Zealands best, and some would say only, true match the hatch fly fishing opportunities. Check out my page on Awesome Autumn opportunities and get down south for some of the best dry fly action of the season.

Bring it on!

Chris

Hotspot 'Mr Glister' Streamer - Simply Awesome!