Fly Fishing with Chris Dore

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