Fly Fishing with Chris Dore

Well this recent hot spell sure got things moving. Rivers dropped and trout rose, with manuka beetle and cicada beginning in the high country. And the trout sure were ready; those previously only reached by double tungsten bombs now sat higher in the water actively searching bugs. Mcneils manuka beetle and the usual collection of parawulffs, blowflies and the like were top producers but after a month of fluctuating river flows, fish became a little wired.

This is where those who have put in the effort to not just learn reaches, off plane casts and other accurate presentations, but to make them instinctive reaped the benefits. its one thing to read about a cast, practise it a few times and think you have it locked down but to practise until you no longer need to think about them, ingraining them well and truly into your muscle memory, and performing them intuitively is definatly the way to go.

Water temperatures are starting to soar on many lowland streams with temperatures just today hitting 23 degrees celcius on the Pomahaka. In these conditions, fish become rather docile, and so the riffles, shaded, cut banks and deeper water is where they will be found. Water temps in the high country will remain cooler, and so hitting the headwater streams may provide better opportunities for some.

Blistering on our lowland willows is increasing and it won't be long I feel until we see the well anticipated willow grub start to appear in our more sheltered lowland valleys. Grubbing trout require the most precise of presentations and so if you haven't already, start working on the casts described above to get into form prior to these wee terrestrials falling. Check out www.ontheflydvds.com/pages/Tutorials.html  for top online casting tuition and www.chrisdore.com/willowgrubbing.htm for my personal thoughts on hitting willow grubbing fish.

Coming up to the silly season there are likely to be more anglers out and about on southern waters, so how do we deal with added pressure?

Trout may feed a little more carefully as they become bombarded with blowflies and cicada by the masses. So why not give them something a little more subtle to catch them unawares? Often from here on in a size 12 CDC emerger becomes my go - to backcountry pattern when trout are on top. Even if feeding on large terrestrials trout are less likely to suspect an innocent looking 'film fly' than a big floater that they are likely to have seen on a daily occurrence, often presented on less than perfect drifts.

Look for water that may often be overlooked as others race towards the headwaters. And if you enjoy stillwaters now is the time to visit the main southern lakes, and the many smaller waters in the area to enjoy avidly feeding trout without the crowds. An aggressive floater with a selection of beetle, cicada and mayfly patterns will hit those fish feeding off the top, and snails, chironomids and damsel nymphs will hit those cruising a little deeper across the shallows.

And if nothing seems to be happening around the edges then look to the fast intermediate line, a short section of Fluro and small olive woolly buggers and the like fished across the drop offs and around the weedbeds. New Zealand's Stillwater scene is extremely undervalued, with often bigger fish and better numbers coming to the net in most lakes.

And finally do not forget your angling etiquette. It is extremely bad form to enter the river above another angler and even worse form to camp at an access overnight. These things are frowned upon locally and on some waters an angler can require many miles of river to fish throughout a given day. If uncertain, walk upstream and locate the on stream angler and have a chat as to their intentions. They were on the river first, and so they have that beat, but on the other hand they should also be open to water sharing arrangements. Check out www.sexyloops.com/articles/etiquette.shtml before venturing out onto the river.

So get out there and have fun. Season greetings to all and fish hard, but safe.

Chris