The New Zealand Troutfisher · It is place of hushed haunts, spooling thrum, scrums of tackled trees, swirls and eddies softly knotting, stones which mark the crossing spot, braids

Trout Fisher163

SUMMER 2017/2018$9.90

Trout Fisher

CONTENTS

RIVER . . . 2 By Brett Reid

VINYL INDUCTION . . . 4On the Bank with Peter Storey

SUMMERTIME, AND THE . . . 8Eastern Bay of Plenty with Dave Barrett

THE BEETLE BUG . . . 10By Mick Hall

RIVERWATCH . . . 12By Grant Muir

NEW PRODUCTS . . . 14From Manic and Kilwell

TOPPING OFF THE FLY BOXES . . . 16By David Lambroughton

LETTERS . . . 18Geir Sogn-Grunwåg on the Guides Licence

TROUT WITH A SUMMER SAUTE . . . 20Wild to the Table with Tony Smith

OF SMALLER STREAMS . . . 22Marlborough with Tony Orman

New Zealand's only dedicated trout fishing magazine

163 SUMMER 2017/2018

ISSN 1173-1761 PRINT; ISSN 2230-6420 DIGITAL

No part of this magazine, in any form, may be reproduced in any way without prior permission of the publisher. Any items bearing © also require permission of the author

All enquires to the publisher:

PO Box 10105 Rotorua Mail Centre Rotorua 3046 [email protected] (+647) 3628 914 (call-minded)0274844494 (text) @TroutFisherMagazine

FRONT Concealment (David Lambroughton)

HERE Caution (David Lambroughton)

www.nztroutfisher.co.nz 1

TEA BAG CADDIS . . . 24At the Bench with Oliver Edwards

APPRECIATING THE LITTLE THINGS . . . 34By Andrew Hearne

OPENING & CLUB TRIP . . . 38Canterbury with Tim Wood

FISHING WITH MR OTIS & LIFE IN GENERAL . . . 42By Mel Hollis

THREE LAZY FELLAS . . . 46By Garrett Evans

2 Trout Fisher 163 Summer 2017/2018

River(For Mike)

I have been many pastimesthough never a fly fisher.But I know a man who isand will always be.I heard him speak of it,the backcountry river,how it calls to a man aloneor maybe with one other good ration of a blokewhose small talk permitsbreathing space for contemplation.

My recollection goes like this … It is place of hushed haunts, spooling thrum,scrums of tackled trees,swirls and eddies softly knotting,stones which mark the crossing spot,braids of light, shadow pools mountain fed,a dwarf spit’s curl of sand and lee,sand-fly sunsets itchy red.

These last words broke the spell.The room had a question about the cast.It is a transfer of impulse, he said,a swell of tightly sewn light,the toss of a ball to a child, an arc that unfolds like the wings of an origami bird in flightor the tail feathers of a pīwhakawhakaas it goes hawking for moths and flies.

The river man’s lines were carefully weighed.It isn’t the jagging of a Brown Trout’s carnivorous trophy mouthwhich ardently summons men to curvy bendsand wild banks of untamed grass.It is the rapture of walking in, waiting,seeing small Arcadias in the river’s window.

I began to feel time’s slow press against my legs,water-rubbed stones, smooth and sure, under my feet.The lesser known river stands to endure.

BRETT REID



Vinyl InductionOn the Bank with Peter Storey

Originally there was going to be a beetle pattern this issue, another obvious choice for the next two months with Oliver covering caddis. Then I remembered Mick's offering and somehow, that one hit the right chord. So this pattern follows on from the last with a tie designed primarily for sight fishing.

Free-living Rhyacophilidae caddis larvae are the hunter spiders of the river. They inhabit sheltered areas of river bed debris, crawling around attached to a silk lifeline, catching and eating other invertebrates they encounter. They also have a relatively high demand for oxygen and are therefore usually found in large numbers in the faster-flowing areas of cleaner streams and rivers. To some extent then, they can be seen as an indicator of reasonable water quality.

These larvae can grow quite large before they pupate; 3cm is not uncommon. We have 57 species described here in NZ so far but the differences between many is apparently so small they must be raised to adult to separate. The line drawing above is one of the most common, Hydrobiosis parumbripennis, and that line represents 1mm. These photos are of a very similar and typical upper North Island free-living caddis from the Ngongotaha. It's about 20mm long and has the same gentle downwards bend as Hp through that length, which shouts emerger hook to me.

Green Caddis imitations are sight fishing patterns par excellence. The larva's body, translated into vinyl over wire, results in little wind resistance and a fast sink, with enough signature to attract attention if needed. Something that can be cast into a tight spot and lifted out again with little disturbance if the occupant is unresponsive or simply looking elsewhere.

With that sort of challenge in mind, here's a ploy you may care to try sometime; an induced take, of sorts. Because it sinks quickly this is a pattern that can be raised and lowered repeatedly in front of a totally indifferent fish's nose, in a last ditch attempt to provoke reaction. In my experience such fish will either attack a fly presented this way or still ignore it, at which point I'll move on. This might not seem over-sporting but for me anyway, just reaching a position to try it with a 7' 3" rod represents a very satisfying experience, whatever results. The last fish I tried this on, late October, did absolutely nothing but this one to the right, pictured from where I'd been casting at it for about 15 minutes, an hour or so before, positively savaged the fly overleaf when I finally hit his nose, working off about 18'' of tippet. He's around 3kg, a typical golden-olive Ngongotaha brown whose weight only becomes fully apparent once it rolls over – a magnificent sight at your feet.

Two images of the same free-living caddis larva from the Ngongotaha. Willingly or not, these green larvae move downstream with the flow, those I've seen swimming like seals as they go. Notice how much the colour of the head changes with the angle of light. The chestnut tips which appear on the head and forelegs shout 'Sawyer' wire finish but plain copper is probably sufficient.



GREEN FREE-LIVING CADDIS LARVA

Hook: 12-14 emerger or terrestrial

Weight and Head: fine copper wire - this spool of ultra-fine electrical wire has been 'Sawyer' plated but 'plain fine' tackle shop catches fish as well.

Body: green vinyl

Tying on the wire Whether tying at the bench or on the bank, with thread or wire, I always thread the loose end through the hook of the eye and secure it with a couple of whip finish turns, to prevent the body coming loose on the shanks. I taught myself to do this with my fingers and have never used a whip finishing tool since.

Tie in the vinyl

Body Taper Most of these fee-living larvae have tapered bodies. Doubling the loose end of the vinyl back towards the hook bend adds width with less weight as building the same taper with wire. It's all about horses for courses with hand tying and I've chose vinyl because this fish is lying so shallow and I want the larva to drift rather than drag its way to the fish.


Lock in the vinyl with wire When I'm happy with the taper I'll run the wire back to the bend of the hook and throw another whip turn. Then I'll bring the wire back to the eye, build a head and whip finish the wire.

Building the vinyl bodyThe only tricky part about this is working out how much vinyl to put on. I'm going for a fairly fat look here, with minimal accuracy in the segmentation but ensuring it's there nonetheless. If you make multiple coats, lock off at the head and tail, to prevent movement.

FinishingWhip finish behind the head, breaking off the vinyl as you finish – it's quite elastic – 4 fish so far and numerous snaggings, and it's still intact.



Summertime, and the living is easy...Eastern Bay of Plenty with Dave Barrett

Blame it on all the rain this year but Peter and I never got out for the sea run browns, again. Oh well, maybe next year. Nor did Sonik Sports want to know anything about my broken rod. Up to now (late October) it has been pretty wet and my Rangitaiki River has not been fishable really since the big flood that took out the town of Edgecumbe back in April. I

had a float down recently and was amazed how the river has changed. I can confirm there are still fish there.Speaking of fish, if you are around the Wairoa River near the power station on SH 29 in Tauranga, pull into Ruahihi Road

and park on the verge. Sneak over to the creek that travels under the road and have a look. You should see dozens of Banded Kokopu. Chuck a cicada or other bug in (without a hook in it) and watch. Then consider how they made it up from the Wairoa River and you will appreciate the significance of marginal water ways to our native fish.

As a sometimes-guide, you really shouldn’t give away too much information or you only wind up getting work for two months of the year but that’s okay, because I really do not mind telling people how and what I do. There is so much fishable water here in the Eastern Bay and the resource is so underutilised that I’ll just go to the next spot. So let’s move forward to the summer and the awesome dry fly fishing to be had. There is this kind of magic that happens near the end of January when the trout start focusing on cicadas during the day. Up to that point they just don’t seem interested in anything but small beetles and caddis on the surface. The cicadas can be quite loud on sunny days in December but it can become deafening in January. That’s when you know it is about to happen.

Cicadas are believed to have crossed the Tasman Sea within the last 11 million years and have evolved and diversified into 42 endemic species and sub species identified thus far. The larvae live underground for three to five years sucking on roots and moulting a few times. They crawl up out of the ground and have their final moult before becoming the adults we see and hear. Then they are said to live as adults for two to four weeks while still feeding on sap. Believe it or not, only the males sing to attract the females. They do their thing, lay some eggs, then die.

The cicada fishing went crazy from the beginning of February last season as per normal. I took a lot of footage and posted some movies on our You Tube Channel called AIMS Limited. We even used some giant size 4 patterns to great effect but noticed a lower hook up rate. Note that the cheekiness I gave to my old man was simply “payback”. Then around the 20th we had an unseasonable amount of rain which dirtied and raised the water. That was no big deal as it is still easy to target the edges. But the neat thing is that you can target feeding streams, especially clear spring creeks.

As you know, the cool spring creeks attract the brown trout in particular this time of year. When Keith Carran from Havelock North came back, that was exactly the plan. We would put the canoe in above Lake Matahina then target several spring creeks above and along the lake. In the first one we sight fished a few browns successfully. The second creek was amazing. The lake level was high and the creek was backed up enough to paddle up. With trout cruising along literally in the paddocks, we spent the rest of the day targeting them. I took some footage and the Youtube video is called, “keith carran 27 2 17”. Under normal water conditions it is extremely difficult to target these fish, let alone get a cast in. I will be waiting for the same conditions this summer.

So make a plan this summer to target your favourite river or lake near you when the cicadas start falling in the water. They come in all shapes and sizes, so have a variety of patterns on hand. Cicada patterns tend to work for me right up to the end of March. If unsure locally just ask around and remember to count to three in slow water.

www.beguided.co.nz


THE BEETLE BUGBy Mick Hall

Within the world of fly-fishing it is more than common for a flyflicker to have a bunch of favourite fly patterns in their fly box that do not necessarily imitate any particular bug. When they are placed in front of old speckles however, well, that’s another story. Great flies such as the Royal Coachman, Royal Wulff, Humpy, even Warryn Germon’s

Frumpy or the Red-tagged Humpy can also be included in the group

Warryn's Frumpy

Red Tag Humpy

Royal Wulff with Rubber Legs

Among these flies are some of the most commonly sold or tied patterns in the world. At a guess I would expect that the old Royal Wulff would line the banks of more streams than just about any other fly. But why? Well these flies fit into a category we loosely call “Search Patterns”, simply because they really don’t imitate anything at all.

From early summer on a lot of our mountain streams take on what I call the champagne look; the waters are clear, cool and sparkle with life, the air is full of bugs that give off a constant hum as they go about their day doing what bugs do. For me this is the time to head off for a while and check out a few streams around my home.

At this time of the year old speckles is more than often looking to the surface as a source of drifting food. The tucker on offer is a bit of a smorgasbord. Beetles, Ants, Midge, Caddis and Mayfly make up just a part of the mix of food drifting down through the system. During the daylight hours trout are rarely in a selective feeding mode; in fact they will often have a go at anything that even resembles a feed. Hence the need for search flies.

Search fishing is normally practised during the heat of the day and the key to success is to look for water with plenty of oxygen and surface movement that can act as a bit of cover for our finny mates. Bubble lines are a great indicator, as they are created by tumbling water and tumbling water generates oxygen and cover.

It often amazes me how these bubble lines are so often overlooked as fish holding lanes but then again, I suppose that leaves more fish for me. The fact is the current actually holds the bubbles and channels them down the stream following the centre flow of the current. The two key elements here are the bubbles assist in giving cover to any fish that may be lying in the run and secondly, the current channels any floating or sub-surface food forms along the same line.

It is a common thought that most flyflickers start off their fishing life with a searching pattern of one form or another. So many of us in our early days simply want to fish mountain streams and dream about bobbing a dry fly down along some bubble line or riffle. To do this successfully we need flies that sit well on the water and, above all, float well. I suppose the other most important aspect is that the chosen fly actually attracts the attention of old speckles.

One very keen devotee of this form of flyflicking is a friend of mine, named Bintoro Tedjosiswoyo. I first met him many seasons ago and at that time he was (and still is) a sponge for knowledge. Bintoro did a day with me and went on to teach himself fly tying. Today his fly-box is a brimming example of the fly tier’s art, Royal Wulffs lined up like little soldiers along with nymphs, caddis and a fly that caught his eye when reading “Tactics for Trout” by Dave Hughes, 1990, called The Beetle Bug.

Of the Beetle Bug Dave Hughes writes: When I want to fish a dry searching pattern, and I see no evidence in the air or on the water that some other dressing might be better, the Elk Hair Caddis is the first fly I reach for, usually in #12 or #14.

The second dressing I reach for is the Beetle Bug, again in #12 or #14. The Beetle Bug is a look-alike to the Royal Wulff, but it produces better for me. It’s that confidence factor thing again.

I fished the Beetle Bug constantly when I was young, tying it with a deer hair tail, red floss body, white calf tail wings, and coachman hackle, which in those days, given my budget, was a weepy thing from a barnyard rooster. I switched to the Royal Wulff at about the same time I began to upgrade my tying materials and abilities. I caught lots of fish for several years on the Wulff dressing.

One day, just a few years ago, Bob Borden told me about some modifications he had worked on the old Beetle Bug. Bob owns a fly tying products company. He changed the tail of the Beetle Bug from soft deer hair to stiff moose fibres, dyed some fur fluorescent red for the body, and substituted white calf body hair for the crinkly calf-tail wing. “Try it” Bob told me. “For some reason it brings fish up when they won’t take anything else.”


Well Dave goes onto say that he tried it and now it is one of the best things since sliced bread. If it was me who had read that little story, I feel I may have just left the old Beetle Bug lying between those pages but for Bintoro this pattern caught his imagination and he tied up a few and took them off to one of favourite waters. Since then, whenever I talk to Bintoro I ask, “What did you catch it on?” and the answer keeps coming back “the Beetle Bug”. Serves me right.

Mike Hugue of Badger Creek Fly Tying in New York filled me in with a bit more on the background of the Beetle Bug. It seems that Bob Borden is the owner of Hareline Dubbing and the dubbing used in his version was in fact Hareline Dubbing Rabbit Dub, Fl Red #06 and that he first put the new pattern together way back in 1970.

Hugue goes on to tell us that the original Beetle Bug was made by Audrey Joy, the famous Northwest Tier at Meir and Franks department store in Portland Oregon. Audrey’s fly was basically a Royal Coachman without the Peacock Herl and had a floss body.

In a little booklet produced by Inland Empire Fly-fishing Club in Spokane Washington titled “Flies of the Northwest”, 1974, they give the original pattern as being called the Beetle Bug Coachman. The pattern is as follows:

Hooks: 10, 12, 14, light wire (an ideal hook would be the new Partridge TDH Dry Fly hook with its slightly wider gape)Tail: Brown Bucktail, tied under the body, cut tapered to pad bodyBody: Red Floss, doped (treated with head cement)Wings: White calf tail, upright, dividedHackle: BrownData: Above are specifications for the fly as tied by Audrey Joy, Portland. A high-riding pattern, the Beetle Bug Coachman is popular with Oregon stream anglers.

Again in Terry Hellekson’s mammoth work, “Fish Flies” Volume One, we actually find out who invented the Beetle Bug. “Originated in 1920 by John Dose. For those of you interested in the history of fly patterns it should be noted that this Wulff-like pattern was being tied a decade before any of today’s Wulff patterns. It was possible one of the first dry fly patterns used for steel head. It is also tied with yellow or orange bodies. We should possibly be calling all such designs “Dose” rather than “Wulff”. How does “Royal Dose” sound?”

The only difference between the patterns featured above is that Dose’s original had natural brown Bucktail for a tail. The balance is the same. Steven Welsh also tells me of another version where the body is tied with Red Macaw and ribbed with gold wire to re-enforce the body material.

The tying shown here above, as developed by Bob Borden and tied by Bintoro, is as follows:

Hook: Partridge TDH Dry Fly hook fine wire wide gapeSize: 12-18Tail: Moose Body Hair or ManeBody: Hareline dubbing, Fl Red #6 (as a substitute any bright red dubbing material would suit)Wing: White Calf tailHackle: Coachman Brown

Thanks mate for putting us all onto a great fly.


RiverWatchBy Grant Muir

Declining water quality is something that all freshwater anglers have been seeing for quite some time. Rivers and streams that once provided an abundant resource for fishing have, in many cases declined to such an extent that there is no aquatic life left. This has been the case for my beloved Pahaoa River that runs around my farm in Hinakura. In

2002, it was alive with fish, literally jumping out of the water. Fly rods always hung at the back door, for family and visitors alike to go and catch a feed.

Ten years later in 2012, the river was devoid of aquatic life. Its fish were long gone, washed up dead on its shores for lack of oxygen and a life sustaining environment. Over the years I made many attempts to draw this to the attention of the regional council and my neighbouring farmers whose farm practice was a major contributor to the aquatic decline. The river and my concerns appeared on many national television programmes and the award-winning documentary River Dog. Every time I discussed the degradation of the Pahaoa River with those in authority, I was told to ‘prove it’. It seems that without sound scientific water quality data from the river nothing could or would be done to enforce the already existing environmental standards.

I was determined to at least try to save this river, as many anglers will empathise with me, when it comes to rivers and streams you have your favourites. They become part of your family. You get to know them and love them. And it is heart breaking when you watch them die. So, with the help of Victoria University’s Doctor George Allan and Winston Seah of the Computer Science and Engineering faculty we began the RiverWatch project.

Over the last five years we have worked with students to build and develop accurate and robust water quality monitoring technology and a data dissemination platform. As we worked on the project we realised how un-scientific the water quality data being collected by authorities was. Also, the data was not robust because it was collected at a single point in time and did not reflect the overall condition of where the sample was taken from. We also discovered that turbidity (sedimentation) was the primary cause of habitat loss for aquatic species. In fact, New Zealand has ten times the world average of sedimentation. So much so that water quality testing instruments from other countries (that cost tens of thousands of dollars) do not work in our extremely muddy waters. When designing RiverWatch, we refined the parameters that were the most important to those that engage with the water quality.

In 2016, we finalised and built our first working RiverWatch prototype. This was tested for accuracy alongside regional council instrumentation and integrated into our data collection platform on the WaiNZ website and RiverWatch app. The prototype was awarded the 2016 WWF Conservation Innovation Award and with the $25,000 award we continue to develop RiverWatch for commercial production. We approached many organisations that were engaged with water use and its quality for funding. But found little appetite from these organisations and farming leaders to support water quality testing. We continue to fund RiverWatch from our own resources.

By mid-2017, we had built prototype version three that tests for turbidity, conductivity, temperature, pH level and dissolve oxygen 24/7 at pre-determined time intervals. Alongside this, we had also developed an IoT, LoRa communication platform for remote areas and integrated data collection for real time web browser connection. Having exhausted our own funds we turned to Pledge Me crowd funding and the New Zealand public, hoping that their support and enthusiasm for clean water would enable us to fund the next stage of the RiverWatch development, which is building ten prototype units for beta testing throughout the country. This campaign closed 18 September with $50k raised, allowing us to build 8 RiverWatch units for beta testing through out the country.

We chose not to test for water soluble nitrates because, to date there is no reliable way of measuring nitrate concentrations on a 24/7 logging device. However, we are actively pursuing research and development to add this measurement as a sixth parameter to RiverWatch. Our data collection platform runs algorithms across the five parameters, providing indicators of nitrate levels but not parts per million.

One of the most important measurements for RiverWatch is turbidity, with many of our rivers running brown and murky for over 70% of the year. Sedimentation has a major effect on sustainable aquatic life, destroying spawning grounds and habitat. Coupled with dissolved oxygen depletion during the low-flow summer months it has created a perfect storm for the survival of aquatic life. Basically, if the fish can’t live in the water, then all the water can be used for is irrigation and this seems to be the place that we have come to in the water debate of 2017. Your support and the support of your friends and others that care about water quality is now vitally important. We do need your help to bring RiverWatch to all our rivers, lakes, and streams. And to prove once and for all, the systemic level of water quality degradation that is occurring in every river.

riverwatch.nz • [email protected] • 06 306 9619fb.me/RiverWatchNZ



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Topping off the Fly BoxesMaking your best impression on the Deleatidium hatches with David Lambroughton

For the past few years I’ve met the Mayfly Hatches with my Looped Wing Emerger. With a trailing shuck, a quill body and synthetic wing pulled over some hackle, you can easily imitate any Mayfly. But for durability, be sure to counter wind some extra small black wire over the quill body. For NZ waters, brown is the colour of the predominate Deleatidium

hatches and I find the Tiemco #2488 in a size 14 about perfect to tie them on.IN PRAISE OF UNWEIGHTED NYMPHS ON SMOOTH WATER….I think few anglers actually realise the effect of tippet squiggle on smooth water and at the usual 20-40 feet distances, you won’t see it but the fish most certainly do. That’s why on big flat smooth pools on rivers like the lower Mataura, you’ll usually do better by fishing down and across to feeding fish. The squiggle will still be there but the fish will be much more forgiving as the fly comes into their window fly first, with the squiggle on the far side of it. That’s also why, when I’m fishing those lovely Spring Ponds in the Southern Alps, usually with my little Rubber Spider pattern, I find the easiest fish are the ones coming towards me and the hardest are those going away.

But on smooth pools on small streams and Spring Creeks you have to fish upstream to keep yourself hidden and I often had a hard time fooling fish on upstream dries on the smoothest pools. With clear water and bright sunlight, I also noticed that often it looked like a big snake was crawling down the stream bed as the light refracted off the indentations of the tippet squiggle that you don’t get with choppy, broken water. So I started tying more unweighted nymphs and like the Tiemco #9300 for these. They land about as softly as a dry but take the tippet down nicely. And if the wind comes up a bit, a glass bead can be just enough to sink the nymph without giving the game away.

Also, because these nymphs are so light you can use an extremely small indicator. I should also add that unweighted nymphs swim much more freely in the water and the indicator response is often delayed because of it. So I like the indicator to tell me when my nymph is getting close to the fish, and then I watch the fish and not the indicator.


Top to bottom, left to right:

Rubber Spider

Glass Bead Heads

Just a wire rib

Looped Wing Emerger


LETTERSHi PeterThanks for the spring issue which arrived yesterday. Very good and in particular I liked the Letters section and the letters in it. I agree with your comment on the letters linking guiding and license sales and that you urge F&G to discuss and decide on the guiding industry. In my opinion, the unregulated guiding industry must be a main concern for any fishers in NZ, local and foreign. The sheer growth in numbers of guides and the way they occupy rivers day out and in throughout the whole season is the main problem – not the tourist fishers they try to attract with their trophy trout marketing in social media and elsewhere. Using choppers to access the backcountry also contributes to overcrowding. Limiting guiding and creating many more remote experience zones without choppers would certainly mean less pressure. Why not let the backcountry be a special place you really need to put some effort into reaching?The open way you as an editor address this issue is fruitful for discussions and stands in stark contrast to the surprisingly guide-friendly F&G magazine. Please continue the open approach and perhaps get F&G to comment on how the guiding business should be regulated in the future?

Geir Sogn-Grundwåg, Norway.

Hello, Geir.The last Minister of Conservation asked F&GNZ to make a clear case for introducing a guiding licence which she could present to cabinet. The new Minister will doubtless want the same. Eugenie Sage: https://www.greens.org.nz/candidates/eugenie-sage-mp is a top level Green Party MP and a possible candidate for co-leadership. She's also been given the Land Information portfolio, which suggests the new government is responding to recent negative shifts in public opinion towards the management of public land and especially, its sale to overseas interests without public approval. She's also Associate Minister of the Environment to Labour's David Parker (Attorney General, Economic Development and Trade & Export Growth).Only the Environment Ministry is in Cabinet, however: https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/our-business-units/cabinet-office/ministers-and-their-portfolios/ministerial-list – this strongly suggests the Conservation and Land Information portfolios have less priority inside the Labour/NZ First/Green coalition at this point.So, in my opinion Fish & Game NZ is unlikely to do or say anything about the guides' licence until this new government shows its intentions towards the public estate and its commercial use. Meantime they will also need to learn how the new Minister operates and to what extent her personal freshwater conservation goals match those of licenced anglers.I personally believe Fish & Game (and DOC in Taupo) should help this Government, via the Minister, find a legal solution to private capture and overuse of the trout fishing resource, which are clearly linked in some parts of the country. As the law stands landowners control access to trout where no public access exists, while wealth facilitates access to the remotest trout on public land. Both these realities clearly conflict with public interest, trout being public property. Until they are resolved, I for one suspect the public will continue to lose control of this and other public recreational resources to private and/or commercial interests.Whatever other services they may provide and wherever they may operate, trout fishing guides are first and foremost a commercial access-facilitating medium between licensed anglers and the resource. Given that the most expensive licensing option is $20 per day and an average day's guiding is another $750 on top, to stay in business guides must logically take clients where other anglers are fewest and the resource best matches their needs. Knowing exactly how many guides there are in the country, where and how they operate, and how often, is therefore a critical step in finding an equitable solution to private capture and overuse of the public trout fishing resource.Yes, I've ignored uncontrolled helicopter access but one step at a time. This new Government represents NZ's best opportunity to settle such issues over the last quarter century. Let's give it every opportunity to meet expectations.



A RIVER RULES MY KITCHEN by Tony SmithFood styling and photography by Deborah Aspray, Motif Photography, www.motif.co.nz

Tony Smith was born in Dunedin, educated in Temuka, Alexandra and Gore, and has been a chef for more than 40 years. He is a keen outdoorsman and conservationist, who loves trout fishing and small game hunting, and sees himself as a typical Kiwi bloke – a fan of rugby, BBQs, beer and wine, with a penchant for New Zealand’s Pinot Noirs.

RRP $59.99 | Hardback and full colour throughoutPublished by HarperCollins NZ | www.harpercollins.co.nz

Trout with a summer sauté, labna and dukkahWild to the Table with TONY SMITH

Summertime, light and fresh, anticipate the catch (not always a good idea) and make up the dukka and labna in advance so then there is little to do. If no trout are harvested, bread, crisps, with the labna and dukkah is damn good social food anyway. These are Middle Eastern inspired flavours so a decent summer night helps also. Serve as a plated meal, or if

the trout needs to be stretched a little, this makes a nice platter dish to be shared with a glass of fruity white or lager.

DUKKAH½ cup cashew nuts1 tsp cumin seeds2 tsp sesame seeds1 tsp coriander seedsA pinch of sea salt

Place the spices into a small fry-pan, place on a moderate heat and stir until they are fragrant. Take off heat and grind in a spice grinder, or better still in a mortar and pestle. If you have neither, a wine bottle used like a rolling pin on an unglazed tile will do the trick.

LABNA½ tsp sea salt300g or near enough, natural unsweetened yoghurtLemon juice

Mix the salt and lemon juice into the yoghurt and place into a sieve that is lined with kitchen paper. Cover and chill for 2 hours. Much of the watery liquids will have drained though the paper and you will be left with a much thicker and very silky textured ‘labna’. Tip into a bowl, peel off the kitchen paper and cover with cling film until required. Discard the whey.

MAIN INGREDIENTS4 x 150-180g trout filletsA good measure of olive oil1 punnet of sugar-snap peas1 punnet cherry tomatoes (mixed heirloom style if possible or home grown)

Cook the trout in a pan or on a barbecue. Leave slightly under-cooked rather than over, a couple of minutes each side should do. Remove the trout from the pan and keep warm. Add a little more olive oil to the pan, toss the peas into the oil for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes. Cook only a short time. We are looking for that fresh, underdone crunch here.

Place the trout fillets onto plates or a shared platter. Garnish with the sugar peas and tomatoes, place spoons

of labna around, spread a little with the back of a teaspoon, then drizzle over a little olive oil. Finally sprinkle over the dukkah. Fragrant and fresh, enjoy!

Note: feel free to add a few salad leaves or herb flowers for a splash of colour; borage, thyme, rocket and rosemary all provide flowers at different times of the year.



http://coranz.org.nz/ http://nzffa.net

Marlborough

Of small streams and largerby Tony Orman

Opening day this year with the main Wairau River high and unfishable, I headed up valley to the confluence of a couple of small streams with the main river. I've always been drawn to smaller waters, that attraction stimulated by teenage memories of small waters in the Manawatu.

I chanced upon a fish cruising the back of a pool. It looked about a kilogram. It's "funny peculiar" how today's happenings rekindle old memories. In the Manawatu and other tributaries any trout we killed were packed with horn cased caddis larvae. So I tied on a Pheasant Tail version of the horn caddis.

I hooked the fish and it took off giving doubt to my estimate. I landed it and first fish of the season I killed, as Bridget enjoys a meal of trout. The well conditioned jack fish went 5.25 lbs, far above my initial guess. Why do I consistently under-estimate the size of trout in the water? Over many years, I commit the same misjudgment time and time again.

I saw two other fish but refrained from trying. I had a fish. Sure I could have tried and being early season, stood a very good chance of hooking them. True I could have caught and then released them but I have mixed feelings on "catch and release", particularly when a fish is subjected to a long playing period with the likelihood of increased lactic acid levels in the fish increased. The obvious precaution is not to use too light a tippet material but to play the fish confidently and quickly, thus lessening the "struggle period" and thereby minimising any lactic acid buildup. Or you can do as I did, get the fish you want then just enjoy the hours looking for and watching any other fish.

Small streams have always held a fascination for me. With their intimacy and often enclosed nature, they are endearing. Early in the season they can hold some good trout that have been up in feeder streams to spawn but have remained to put on condition before lowering summer flows drive them downstream, usually into the parent river.

In the early teenage years of the 1950s, myself and a couple of angling buddies would fish minnows on a greenheart or bamboo rod. Spinning gear as today was unknown. Favoured patterns were the little gold devon and willesden minnow. Then we graduated to little traditional British wet flies of which the patterns like Peveril of the Peak, Red Tip Governor and March Brown you rarely see today in shops. Yet they are still very good "across and around".

Mostly we caught scrappy little browns but every now and again a three or four pounder. One evening in a stream in the Horowhenua I caught two splendid three pound fish and on another evening a fine four pounder.

We encountered other challenges than trying to catch trout. One grumpy farmer refused to let us fish the stream but one day we dared to and caught two good trout before being confronted by the approaching farmer astride his horse. We escaped into a large area of gorse and then legs bleeding from scratches, we waited for his departure and then ran "hell for leather" for the road bridge and safety. We only did that once to prove a point I guess. Miserable, unreasonable farmers are a challenge to any schoolboy. Perhaps we were wrong. Private land and property rights should be respected. But then trout by law are a public sporting fish. There are principles both ways.

Small streams are to be respected. The emphasis should be on quality not quantity. That's why I just took one trout this opening day and left the others.

The upper Wairau in "Rainbow Country," was in a sorry state last year, very probably due to excessive angler pressure, especially by guides. As a result, Fish & Game have introduced a voluntary beat system to help reduce angler conflict.

Anglers fishing the Upper Wairau this season should look out for marker signs which indicate the start of a designated fishing beat. It means that if you park at one of the designated car parks, you should have that run to yourself without fear of another angler dropping in front until the beat is completed. There are nine beats in total, starting at Six Mile Creek and finishing at the Molesworth boundary at No-Mans Creek.


The key to the beat system is for anglers to park at the designated car parks, and inform others of their daily intentions on their vehicle dashboard. This will be made easier by 'GONE UPSTREAM' and 'GONE DOWNSTREAM' cards provided by Fish & Game, otherwise a note on the dashboard will do the trick.

It's expected though, that most anglers will fish upstream from the designated car parks. New signage will be installed at the Six Mile detailing the individual beats, as well as at the start of each beat.

"There is no beat system for the Rainbow River (from the confluence up), as well as above and below the designated nine beats, so normal angler courtesy applies here."

Ultimately the success of this system comes down to angler "buy in", and although it's only voluntary, Nelson Marlborough Fish and Game strongly encourage anglers to play by the rules for everyone's benefit.

Will tomorrow's anglers enjoy today's sport?


TEA BAG CADDISAt the Bench with OLIVER EDWARDS

Here in the UK some fly fishing ‘authorities’ – the Angler Entomologists – will inform us that fishing a pattern which copies the winged adult caddisfly – a

dry pattern – is mostly a waste of time. I too have been guilty of peddling this – in the past – I hasten to add. So, is this ‘techy’ advice wrong; or no more than hearsay? Surely all the negative comments about copying the winged adult is based on sound entomological evidence? But should we swallow this ‘sound advice’ without trial!? Looking at several back copies of this magazine, it seems that this message might also have done the rounds in New Zealand. I only mention this because from time to time I’ve certainly seen really nice caddis larva patterns in back issues …yet no one, it seems, has bothered with the winged adult. (Okay, I don’t have that many back issues – so a dry caddis may well have been featured.)

Nevertheless, from a purely entomological perspective, the winged adult of some popular fly fishing caddisflies usually only turn up in very low numbers in stomach sampling of brown trout (taken for the ‘pot’, that is, which today in the UK rarely happens – if at all). Today any stomach sampling is by pump, which is ineffective for larger organisms so, the dry caddis pattern may not be the dud it’s supposed to be. So why this negativity? After all books, magazines and catalogues show us loads of dry caddis patterns. Surely we can’t all be wasting our precious streamside time. Fortunately, I was converted several years ago, now I love the dry caddis – despite all its supposed negatives!

Reading on, what the entomologist tell us makes plenty of sense, and my few lines on the subject may be telling readers something they’ve known for years…so to you I apologise, however it’s fair to assume that not every reader will know the ‘life and times’ of the caddisfly.

Over here it’s fair to say the life-history of the Caddisfly, Order Trichoptera, is little understood, and only trumped in mystification by Stoneflies, the Plecoptera. The following is a typical example of basic caddisfly ignorance, which, over the years has now become converted into fishing lore…. At least 80% of our fly-fishers will tell you loud and clear that caddisflies are nocturnal insects…yet in fly-fishing terms the nocturnal species are very likely to be the LEAST IMPORTANT, and mostly they can be ignored by us fly fishers. Caddisflies fall into three distinct groups – Diurnal (daylight) emergers/flyers…Crepuscular (dusk) emergers/flyers…and Nocturnal (darkness) emergers/flyers. This emergence/flight behaviour appears to hold true Worldwide and so, obviously for us fly fishers it is the first two groups which are our focus – day emerging/flying, and dusk emerging/flying.

Caddisflies have a complete metamorphosis, in schoolboy terms meaning the adult – the winged insect – changes its looks entirely, being little more than a grub when it starts active life, and finally, at full development, becoming a winged insect. Being a tad more technical, they also have one extra life stage, the pupa. Think caterpillar to chrysalis to Butterfly. So, as the butterfly, caddis also have this same

quiescent life stage – the PUPA (Chrysalis) – where during this ‘still’ entombed stage its internal and external structures are being broken down and re-arranged into the winged adult form – ‘Animal Magic’. Now – if you are of the “Anorak” type – you’ll quickly point out that it is a pupa ONLY when it is in this quiescent state, entombed within its pupal cocoon/case. Once out of this pupal case, free and VERY active and heading to the surface, rowing like mad, or crawling towards the bank/shore, it is no longer a pupa! In fact we should now call it a ‘Pharate’ or ‘Pharate Adult’….that’s if you are an entomologist! But I guess we fly-fishers, wherever we are, will still call it a pupa.

We should be clear now about this active pre-emergent stage – the ‘Pharate’ (pupa if you wish). This is a transitional stage ONLY, it’s an ‘escape’ state, and its single purpose while in this state is to get to the water’s surface/projecting structure/shore-line quickly…. break out of the water….. then for the first time breathe atmospheric oxygen….then transpose into the winged state….then fly off…. then find a mate - and copulate. In short, pass on/receive same species genes. So this state – or life stage – is often/usually fleeting. It could be less than a minute from cutting out of its pupal cocoon somewhere on the stream bed to flying off. The surface emerging species are mostly true speed merchants which escape their ‘Pharate’ skin at the surface – the pupal ‘Shuck’ - in seconds…one thousand…two thousand….three thous…..off, flying…gone. Many of the very popular net-builders are in this category….your NZ ones are most likely the same.

Those species which leave the water – as a pharate – and climb onto a solid fixed surface are usually the ones which take quite a while to clear free of their shuck...these types it seems, need to be well anchored onto something solid with all six feet gripping tightly. Now instead of seconds, these types can take many minutes before they completely clear their shuck and fly off. Our popular free living Rhyacophilidae family (4 species – Green Caddis – also common in NZ) are in this category. The various species in this ‘long-birth’ group usually ‘transpose’ during the hours of true darkness too – a survival strategy?!

This act of transposition into the winged adult, appears to be only vaguely understood by some anglers, and I’ve actually met several who think the active pharate lives – in this state – for several days, even a week…they really do think it is another lengthy life stage, where it can – and does feed! However, one thing is for certain, the active Pharate is trout fodder – BIG TIME….more of these go down trout gullets than larvae, by a wide margin….and winged adults by a VERY wide margin. But I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you this, and I’m sure you’ll all have your favourite Pharate/pupa pattern….or do New Zealand fly fishers find it unnecessary to imitate this important life stage?!! I only mention that because so far I don’t recall seeing a caddis pupa (pharate) pattern in my back issues too.


So what about the subject of this piece, the fully winged flying adult Caddis. Where does that fit in? When does

that get scoffed by the five pounder? We anglers may see what we think are several opportunities for fish to take it, but do fish see these opportunities as we do?

But first, purely out of interest, I decided I should have a look at the Check list of New Zealand Caddisfly species! I was not surprised at seeing caddis families you have, which we don’t - and vice versa. After all we are in different hemispheres and just about at opposite sides of the planet. Altogether NZ appear to have 207 named species, with quite a few still awaiting scientific names. Currently the UK list is just under 200 species. Amongst the NZ list were several families totally new to me, and some we share! The shared include one of my old friends the Genus Hydropsyche. Looking further on, the NZ list has the following families we share, these are: Hydropsychidae*; Hydroptilidae; Leptoceridae; Philoptamidae*; Polycentropodidae*; Psychomyiidae*; and Ecnomidae*. Interestingly, those families asterisked are all ‘Free-livers’ – have naked larvae - no tubular case. However, some of these do construct a very rough loose shelter in which to hide, and of course build and set their catch nets. Specialist here are the Hydropsychidae – the very popular Net–builders. Here in the UK this family is ever present, they are also a nice big mouthful of juiciness – in all life stages. Ours in the Genus Hydropsyche go under one or two common fishing names – Grey Flag (H. pellucidula. H. instabilis, H. siltalai) or Speckled Sedge used sometimes for H.instabilis. These three species are very common and widespread on most typical trout streams, particularly the ’Freestone’ types, but chalkstreams do have

varied populations where suitable habitat is found – ‘Hatch’ pools for instance, where cobbles, stones and other hard structures are found. Our Hydro’s are classic dusk emergers, even almost point of full darkness, also the winged adult leaves the water in a great hurry – often in the nick of time, leaving a great ’boil’ on the surface, as a trout narrowly misses another meal. It’s true the dry copy does work at this time…but it’s also true that you’ll mostly be striking at rises, rather than actually having a ‘visual’ on the fly since 10-50 pm, in mid-June in the UK is not all that far off dark…not only that but ‘last orders’ bell is rung at five to…! So it’s not been unknown to smell burning rubber from my 1967 Morris minor ‘woody’ (if only!)

Of our ‘day flyers’ we have a famous species – historically well fished – but historically for some reason disliked – this is The ‘Grannom’ (Brachycentrus subnubilus) a Genus which I see NZ does not have, but the US does have, and with several species – their most popular being the ‘Mother’s Day’ Caddis. The ‘Grannom’ (running water ONLY) is one of our big festivals, and on several rivers knocks the pants off ‘Spring Olives’ by a long way. Their pupa are positively phototropic so on a day dawning a full ‘blue-out’ with a brassy sun already on full blast by 9-00am, then expect a blizzard of caddisflies by 10-30 am. This insect is a spring emerger – usually around April 10th. The big trick for fly-fishers is to be on the river bank – tooled-up, all ready BEFORE the emergence starts. Get in QUICK as the ‘bun fight’ starts, since satiation happens.

Also we have several of the popular ‘Longhorn’ species, emerging and flying during late afternoon, and aggregating in swarm, well before dusk, giving the appearance of distant

Aoteapsyche colonica adult


smoke. They are members of the Leptoceridae family – a caddis family you have in NZ too (mostly sand cased larvae). Of the many Genera in this family we both only have Oecetis, where here in the UK this genera is mostly found in still or very slow moving water. However our river species can be very effective during the summer ‘dog days’ of July and August, traditionally a long period of ‘lean’ fishing, where terrestrials often provide rises to cast to. Happily this caddis saves many a day. Both these species can be targeted with a copy of the winged adult – the drifting dry fly…and for the Grannom even with the occasional twitch added.

However the winged adult caddisfly – the subject of the piece – very often appeals to trout when no caddis are seen, and I imagine this may be the case in New Zealand too, where big trout, even very big trout, couldn’t care less about different food types…a caddis…cicada….inchworm….mouse even – whatever - jt’s food, scoff it. I experience this catholic feeding every time I fish the Laxa in Iceland, where the season from ice in to ice out is short...where, if something floating on the surface looks like food – it gets eaten. The point really is, compared to a trout, we are on the stream only a fraction of time, and that never-ending conveyor presents all manner of ‘goodies’ with many pair of eyes scanning its surface. So let’s say we’re in-between a hatch and along comes a nice juicy bodied real caddisfly, d’you suppose it will live, in a river where big trout reside. Well from what I’ve seen in Iceland and from what the guides tell me, they get eaten…maybe this is the case on your rivers too. Simply it looks like something they’ve eaten in the past, so worth investigating. I often think that trout can ‘be on memory’ for quite some time.

Being ‘on memory’ aside, there are distinct times when trout will definitely get a good look, and a good chance to grab one of the winged adult caddisflies. The most obvious is at emergence, here several species are well known to linger on the surface and drift along, some several yards. The oft quoted reason is ‘pumping their wings up to full’...even ‘drying their wings’ – Eh! Whatever the true reason is, this type present what is arguably the best caddis dry fly fishing…our Grannom fits here – sometimes! Many species return to water to egg lay. Some present only a very fleeting target, since the ‘ripe’ female will zoom down, dip in the tip of her abdomen and eject a single egg – or a batch of eggs. All over in a blink…so a trout needs to be literally ‘on the spot’…and act instantaneously…little chance here. However some species will land on the surface…and trot about, advertising themselves. These too are egg layers, where batches of eggs are deposited at the whim of the female. So a very good caddis grabbing opportunity here.

Then of course there is the much written about ‘Diving Caddis’ and here I’m at odds with several ‘authorities’. Some have stated that the ripe females of this group dive in – head first – from several feet above the water like a Kingfisher or Gannet. Well, in 65 years of constant river trout fishing, all I can say is I’ve yet to see this spectacle. Furthermore my long time fishing mate and Caddis-man to boot – Stuart Crofts, assures me this is a myth. It is very true that we regularly see a caddis ‘splat’ on to the surface very untidily from say two feet above. I’ve watched these closely, they fly off very quickly, then repeat the ‘splat’ a few yards away – usually as they progress upstream. The consensus here is that this is a ripe female trying to break the surface tension, then pull

under and swim down – okay dive if you prefer.This I reckon, is what is meant by ‘the diving caddis’…not

a clean, headfirst diver as MANY think (but does it happen in New Zealand?). These, pulling themselves under, then diving down to egg lay species, include the popular ‘net-builders’, the Hydropsyche group (those pictured here are our Grey or Woolly Caddis). Female winged adult Hydropsyche caddisflies are very good swimmers and have been recorded several feet under the surface.

As far as I can see trout know all about the winged caddisfly, and if/when I find the day has run out of the

usual insects, then I’ll not hesitate to tie on this ‘Tea Bag Caddis’. This pattern has several things going for it:-

1/ It copies all caddisflies2/ It lands correctly, and sits as does the natural3/ Its underside perspective – trout’s eye view – looks

very convincing.So do try this caddis pattern – you never know, it might

even become a regular in your fly box – I think your large Kiwi trout will like the ‘Tea Bag’ – yea, I’m confident of that, since its trout’s eye view is like the real ‘un, and like me I reckon you’ll enjoy knocking out a few at the vice. It's a straightforward pattern, in tying manoeuvres, being no more than a body, wing and front collar hackle. I have two preferences...CdC body and collar for medium small to small....and chopped deer hair dubbing (Moser dubbing) for the larger sizes. I'll detail both.

SMALL TO MEDIUM CADDIS – TYPICALLY A NET BUILDER LIKE YOUR GREY OR WOOLLY CADDIS, AOTEAPSYCHE COLONICA

Hook - #18, 16, 14. std dry fly (look for longer shanked ones – or Nymph hooks)Thread – 14/0 to 17/0 grey (or white, grey tinted, w/proof felt pen)Body – Grey CdC hackleWing – Non-woven, spun bonded 100% polypropylene fabric – tinted to match wing of naturalCollar – Same as body

First off - I make a supply of wings, these are one piece jobs, and goes on the fly a bit like saddling a horse..?! This material is the answer to putting a one piece 'true tent' wing on a winged caddis pattern, and seeing it land the correct way - better than 90% of deliveries. I make several colour-ways to cover our most fished caddis emergences.

The material is a fabric - 100% Polypropylene, which in the trade goes under the name of 'None-Woven Polypropylene, or sometimes - and more accurately - None-Woven, Spun Bonded Polypropylene. It maybe sounds all very techy...However, it's everywhere, dress facings, and linings,(here's where wives come in handy!) pillow filling covers (often)...even polishing cloths and dusters. It really is a VERY ubiquitous fabric...Worldwide. However you won't - as yet - see it in tying material catalogues, so its a question of visiting various shops...you may already have some.

It comes in various weights (g) and I like the medium-fine (40g)..60g maybe for the very largest caddis. (I only know about these weights because I was sent samples...however they only sell by the half ton rolls!) You'll see why I call it 'The Tea-Bag Caddis'


Cut off a strip approx 1.5 inches wide... soak it in water, squeeze out most of the excess. Fold it equally, lengthwise, and iron it with the iron set on 'silk' or a similar low setting. What you do, is apply more weight on the fold, and above all KEEP THE IRON MOVING.

You will now have a very tight crease, which is permanent, because you have heat deformed the millions of micro thin filaments.

Colour BOTH sides, (remember to use waterproof marker)...your colour of choice.

Cut out the wing ensuring that the crease is the top edge, start the longest (lower) cut at approx 2mm in from the crease and at an angle of 15 to 25 degrees.

Cut the rear profile of the wing - the longest cut here is ALWAYS the top one (next to the crease).

I often just take off the sharp corners. Here's the finished wing, ready to mount.

Attach thread, run it down to the end of the shank. Select a good 'fat' CdC hackle, stroke all the barbs forwards, offer up, trap it down with only moderate tension, then maintaining same tension, pull the CdC hackle back through the thread wraps...thus bundling them all together....stop pulling when you get near the tips. Now tighten to full tension and apply a few more thread wraps.

Now slightly twist the bundled CdC and wrap along the shank. Stop short of the hook eye and tie off securely. Trim off the upper CdC barbs at a shallow angle, and the waste.

Next mount the 'tent-wing', straddling it over the body. Note that the wing should overhang the bend by at least 1/2 shank length.


When positioned correctly, change grips to reveal the front of the fly - and tie down securely - trim off any forward protruding waste wing - neaten all around.

Select another 'fat' CdC hackle - same colour as body hackle. Stroke backwards to raise all the barbs - go well up to the tips - then trim both sides 6 to 8 mm long.

Tie in by the tip very securely and trim off waste.

Take tying thread to shoulders of hook eye -then wrap on the hackle, beware of strength of the fine stem, but keep taut...with barbs perpendicular at each wrap.

Just short of the shoulders of the hook eye, tie off very securely and trim off the remaining CdC hackle. Whip finish a neat head, then avoiding the CdC barbs very carefully touch the whip finish with head cement. That's the actual tying done....just a bit of final primping.

Now angle the vice, and with your scissors trim ALL the lower CdC barbs inline with the hook point - straight across.

Invert the fly then snip out a shallow 'Vee' into the front CdC hackle.

20/ Put the fly the right way up....flip back the wing, then with a very tiny drop of waterproof fabric glue, anoint the top of the caddis.


21/ Flip back over the wing, and touch it down to make contact with the glue'.......

Then tomorrow take it for a swim! But remember, do NOT be tempted to spray or brush coat this wing with anything, this unique material is totally 'Air-thro' and should be kept DRY. It is this property which allows it to alight correctly, So when fishing remember NO OIL or GREASE...use ONLY Fumed Silica Gel powder, a soaked fly should be blotted with kitchen towel first – forget Amadou, another great fly-fishing load of boloney.

The finished fly with its 'tent wing' profile, as the trout might see it . . .

...and here it is sat on the water - as you'd see it.


MEDIUM TO LARGE CADDIS – TYPICALLY – ‘CINNAMON SEDGE’, ‘GREAT RED SEDGE’, ETC.

Hook - #12 and larger? (as above)Thread – 8/0 to 10/0 (Gel-spun strong types - spinning tightly remember)Body – ‘Moser Dubbing’ – a mix of chopped deer hair and any very fine synthetic dubbing, both same colour, and to match body of naturalWing – Non-woven, spun bonded 100% polypropylene fabric, tinted to match wing of naturalCollar – Same as body

I have three or four colour ways - mid brown, reddish tan, olive and black.

The close-up shows the well distributed chopped deer hair (some dyed, some natural) chop to 1/2/3/4 inch. (A redundant coffee grinder does the mixing – small amounts at a time and don't 'blitz' it!)


Now onto making the body . . .

Attach thread, run it down to the end of the shank, and then make a 4 to 5 inch loop over your finger, then back to the hook shank, and make another two wraps on the shank. You now should have a good loop of thread. (I tinted mine magenta to make it clearer.)

Next close the loop where it joins the hook shank - observe the gap - this must be closed. So now wrap the thread AROUND the base of the loop a couple of times, thus bringing the two strands together...then back onto the hook shank....Run the tread now up to 1/4 shank from the eye and park it.

Hook your dubbing Whirl/twister on to the end of the loop.

Open the loop (insert two fingers!!) then enter an 'open' spindle of your preferred chopped hair dubbing mix...spread it along the loop, keep it as 'open' as possible.

Now drape the un-dubbed whirl end over your finger - whirl hanging free - and give the whirl a good finger and thumb 'snap' - it should spin well...the twisted threads will run up and quickly set the dubbing spindle twisting. Allow it/help it - to give a good tightly twisted dubbing spindle.

Now wrap this dubbing spindle towards the hanging tying thread - in close touching turns. There, tie off VERY SECURELY, and trim off the waste spindle. Now give the body a light going-over with you 'Velcro lolly stick'...this shoud 'raise' yet more legs.


Trim both sides of the body to copy the tent profile of the wing.

Next mount the wing, and tie in securely - trim off any/all protruding waste wing.Make another dubbing loop...add in another small amount of the same chopped deer hair dubbing...and spin up. Now tightly wrap-on to produce the front 'collar'...lightly 'Velcro' it, to lift a few more 'legs'...securely tie off and trim off thread. - all as you did when making the body...

Finally the primping! Invert the fly, trim all leg fibres level with hook point, then trim a hollow all along the full

length of the underside, so as to leave legs at the edges only – for good balance and sitting.

Also remember to flip the wing back over and dab on the fabric glue to the tips of the trimmed upper hair fibres...flip back and touch to make good contact. Tomorrow give it a good swim just in front of a sighted five pounder!!!........Oliver.

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Appreciating THE LITTLE THINGSBy Andrew Hearne

As I am writing we are just over two weeks into yet another trout season. The weather so far has been typical for this time of year, resulting in high river flows in a lot of areas with some being difficult to access or rendered unfishable at times. The positive side to this is the fish I have been able to find have been relatively easy to catch so far, so there are

no complaints from me.I have been fortunate enough to wet a line a few times already, and although I haven’t been setting the world on fire I’ve

had a good run of things, managing to catch a fish or two each time I’ve been out. The past couple of years have seen me at home more often than not due to the addition of my son Thomas. I have to say that thanks to him things have really been put into perspective and I think I probably appreciate the small stuff a lot more than I used to. Not being able to disappear for days and weeks on end like I used to has been a real change of pace. I’ve come to realise that time on the water is valuable and not to be wasted!

It wasn’t so long ago that I was out and about hunting big fish almost weekly during the season. It was nothing to decide to do a three or four day trip at the drop of a hat. These days I am more likely to be looking for somewhere I can disappear to and come back from in the shortest space of time possible. The fishing is almost secondary for now, I am just happy to be out and about for a while. Any fish I get are just a bonus! I’m far from being done with my time in the back country though; I hope that one day when the little man is big enough I can get back into those faraway places with reasonably frequently, with him tagging along beside me.

For now I plan on making the most of my chances. I’ll take what I can get when the opportunities present and enjoy them for what they are worth. Often that involves a small stream and a glass rod, with smaller fish than what I used to catch. I’m more than happy with that these days. In fact just last week Thomas and I visited a local stream for the morning and he was witness to three good fish that came to the net from the comfort of his backpack carrier. He liked seeing the fish but wouldn’t touch them, because they were far too scary for that. He was more than happy to wave and say goodbye to them as they swam away though. However, I think the most promising sign was when it was time to go and he said “Please daddy, catch one more fishy”. I’d like to believe that can only mean good things for the future!

In terms of local opportunities there are many at the moment. Pretty much everything has water in it in good volumes. Hopefully this continues for as long as possible. However there is a suggestion the rain we have been experiencing may

come to an abrupt halt and we could be experiencing another dry summer. I cringe when I hear this and I know that if this is the case then some of our smaller rivers will be in for a hard time of it. It would be great if this didn’t eventuate and rivers like the Ashley and Selwyn could maintain a constant flow throughout the summer, and avoid fish rescue operations like what have regularly taken place in past years.

From what I’ve heard it sounds like parts of the Lewis Pass have been hit pretty hard by floods and the rivers have changed significantly in some parts. This is nothing new, but it might mean that when you arrive to last season’s favourite pool or run, it might look a bit different from how you remember it, or it mightn’t even be there at all!

Once summer arrives then the larger rivers are usually a good bet. They handle the dry weather much better than the smaller catchments and because of their size it doesn’t matter so much if there are a few people there with the same intention as you. Another bonus is that often the resident fish have been protected by high flows for the early part of the season, and when the river drops low enough that they can be fished to more easily, they are ripe for the picking because they have been largely uninterrupted for a long time!

Going back to my message from earlier, I think the important thing is to make the most of any opportunity you have to get out and about. Take the kids, take the dog, take a friend, or just go on your own. Get yourself out there and enjoy what our great country has to offer. Don’t waste a chance.

While on the subject of what our country has to offer, it is probably appropriate that I mention that with summer comes the usual influx of tourist anglers, with the majority arriving soon after Christmas and disappearing around March.

Tourist anglers are always going to spark debate. Some Kiwi anglers welcome them with open arms, while others don’t. In my opinion the tourist angler is actually an important part of our fishery because without international interest then I am certain the value of the resource would be diminished. However, if those who are visiting are not contributing to the economy, then I think there is a valid argument that those people are not adding value to the resource. To put it rather simply, there seem to be those who live in what could be described as a relatively normal manner while they are here, and then there are and those whose objective while in the country is to spend as much time as humanly possible on the best water they can find, fishing to as many of the biggest fish we have as often as possible with little regard for anybody else along the way, all the while surviving on little more than 2 minute noodles. The latter of the two are the more controversial,



and don’t contribute to our economy a great deal. I’ll leave this subject for now, but intend on covering a few more aspects at a later date.

For something a bit different, I recently attended the opening of the new Fish and Game Offices here in Christchurch. I was primarily there to see the documentary produced by my good friend Jack Kos and Ben Pierce, a short film about the

introduction of Brown Trout to New Zealand. It is a fantastic piece and tells a great story. It reinforced to me how special our fishery is, and how important it is to New Zealand. I already appreciated what we have, but this screening made me realise it on another level. I guess that most people who fish here realise on some level that our fishery is great, but the information that was conveyed through the documentary was just something else. I would absolutely recommend that if you get the chance to watch then don’t miss it. I hope their message is able to be spread far and wide, and perhaps it might plant the seed into a few more minds that we really need to protect what we have to maintain the quality of the New Zealand fishing experience, and our waterways as a whole.

And last but not least… The local take a kid fishing day has just been held at The Groynes fishing lakes. This is nothing short of brilliant for children. The day always sees plenty of little ones along with their parents getting stuck in. Many continue to go back in the days and weeks afterwards and they all seem to have the time of their lives. One such child is two year old Ben Lillie, who gets out there with his Dad, Andrew, who I know through my work. Andrew sent me this picture of Ben and his two Salmon that he caught at the Groynes the other day, and I have to say I was very impressed. I think it is fair to say Ben has the bug. There are far worse bugs to get than that one, long may it last!

The Fish and Game guys were talking of a plan for there to be a fishing lake somewhere in the vicinity of the red zone area at some point. Hopefully this comes to fruition. It would be great to have another facility that is nice and close where parents can get their children out and about chasing fish.

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Opening & Club TripCanterbury with Tim Wood

Well opening has been a mixed bag. It was extremely exciting to see some large winter flows in the rivers following a very wet Canterbury Winter. The challenge is that the rivers, already high, have had some additional rain and are not receding as fast as expected. The snowmelt is in full swing and with plenty of snow this winter many rivers are

still high and very cold, resulting in fish not being very active. As a result I recently took the opportunity to visit the Ellesmere river tributaries with John Kent. Author of the South and

North Island Fishing Guides, John knows these rivers well and we were pleased to see excellent river flows with the tributaries being in great condition. The fish, however, were not around. On the drive back we discussed the possibilities, as to why this may be. Possible reasons may include that last summer, some of the tributaries dried up for the first time in 86 years (according to one of the landowners that we called in and had lunch with) and this may have impeded spawning brown trout moving into the tributaries in April. Alternatively with the cooler spring, the fish may be staying in Lake Ellesmere rather than venturing into the cooler tributaries, or maybe the lake opening to the sea didn’t happen at the right time and the fish numbers are down. Generally there’s no conclusive evidence. However it will be interesting to revisit these tributaries later in the season, to see if the fish numbers change with warmer weather and also to see how the water flows hold.

To take advantage of the high flows, I did manage to get out onto a couple of main river system tributaries and it became obvious that some good browns had taken advantage of the high winter flows. Between Nigel and I, we managed to hook 5 fish and all were over 6lbs which was exciting. The fish were few and far between, however, with many barren patches. What was noticeable, due to cooler water created by the higher flows and although the weather was warm, no fish were on the surface and could not be enticed to the dry fly either. Another day we fished another productive stretch of a river that had yielded some spectacular fish the previous season and blanked. We ended up moving to a different river by 1pm, to find out what had changed. What was interesting here was that winter floods had changed the holding water in the river, with many of the good holes being filled in. This was certainly an unexpected result that only visiting rivers reveals. The big bonus of this season has been the settled fine weather that I personally think makes a fishing day. There’s something special about walking the high country rivers with the sun on your back, stunning clear blue skies and great spotting conditions, regardless of the fishing results.


CANTERBURY FLY FISHING CLUB TRIP TWIZELI thought I’d mention the importance of clubs. We have an annual trip to Twizel in November show weekend which allows about 30 Canterbury fishers to get in amongst some great rainbow fishing, something that is generally limited in comparison to the North Island and some parts of the South Island. These trips allow new fly fishers “Newbies” (who have completed a casting course) to be paired with a more experienced fly fisher “Mentor”. For new fly fishers this trip really advances their fly fishing rapidly and generally they hook into their first fish. The other major benefit is that it allows for some very important camaraderie with a related activity attached. I thoroughly enjoy the chance to catch up with many superb fishers, find out which areas are fishing well and more importantly, have a few drinks and banter with other mad keen fishers. It is always an apprehensive move joining and attending a club, however with perseverance some superb friends can be made who also have your fishing passion.

Last year’s trip was a blast. We arrived Thursday night and met at the local RSA. We all said hullo, planned who was fishing with who, had a couple of drinks and a good catch up. On Friday, Dave and I headed to the Tekapo River. Due to warmer, low water season start, last year the lupins and sun flowers were out and the scenery was spectacular. However without the big flushes, the Didymo was also in full force and often when walking through it within the slower braids, you disappeared up to your thigh. This doesn’t seem


to stop the fish population, it just makes it very challenging to run nymphs through the water without getting weed on your hooks, requiring repeated cleaning every few casts. The Tekapo river flows are controlled by Power Company and unless it’s a very wet winter, due to household power consumption increasing they often do not have enough water to release and hence flush some of the Didymo away.

Now as often happens, the weather turned to custard in the morning, after only a couple of hours on the river, so Dave and I headed back to the house. Once back at the house, a few others obviously had the same idea and started to arrive home. Not to miss an opportunity, we decided it was time for a few bourbons. I lined up a couple bottles of Sam Cougar bourbon and the, all important, throw away plastic 400ml glasses (bigger for lots of ice). Suddenly there was panic, we had finished the bourbon. I suggested a full court press to find Mike’s extra bottle that he always brought. We hunted high and low, with no success. Knowing Mike, I knew he would have another bottle somewhere, so I phoned him. Sure enough he had another bottle; however it was in his car. On his arrival, I asked why he had it in the car. He replied “I know you Tim Wood, and you set the precedent, when you hid the magnificent fruitcake that your wife made you, in the back of your car!” So sure enough, out came the backup bottle of bourbon and also the fruit cake. After some strong suggestions by me, that the only way to eat the fruit cake was with a big slice of cheese, all those present were pleasantly surprised and it was not long before that bottle evaporated away, as did the fruitcake. Now in this process there was a new club member who had just started fly fishing. With a slightly hazy approach the next morning Scott had nominated me to take him fishing the next day. The weather was OK, although overcast and we proceeded to have a marvellous day landing 14 fish. Scott was ecstatic to catch his first sighted fish on a nymph and also to have that magic moment of catching his first sighted fish coming up to a dry fly.

On the Saturday night we have an evening meal, awards and games evening. Some of the highlights included Tony losing the opportunity to land a large, sighted brown when a stoat ran across the river just as he was about to cast, spooking the trout instantly. John “Latte” Roche (CFFC Club President) won the Pink Flamingo off Steve for teaching someone to fish in a café, hence the name “latte”. Large Streamers dragged across, rather than swung downstream, produced some great results in the murky Lake Tributaries’ and an 18LB trout was landed from the canals.


ABOUT THE AUTHORTim Wood is a passionate fly fisherman who loves exploring new water. He is a member of the Canterbury Fly Fishing Club and past committee member. Tim is the CEO and owner of Online Asset Partners, a Digital Marketing & Advisory Company based in Auckland, but lives in Christchurch due to his love for fly fishing. He enjoys getting the weather right, spotting fish and mid-week fishing to avoid the crowds. Tim’s always happy to make new fishing contacts and can be contacted at [email protected] or www.onlineassetpartners.co.nz

Sunday Involves packing up, putting in $10 for the house cleaning (a fantastic idea), and heading away for a fish on the way home. One final must is a stop at the Fairlie Pie Shop for a Pork and Crackle Pie. Simply magnificent.

GREAT FISHING GEARA highlight over winter has been a $25 pair of fleece pants, from the warehouse, for the clothes change, after fishing, especially over the winter months as they are very warm and extremely comfortable.

However recently I have brought an Aarn “Effortless Rhythm” pack www.aarnpacks.com that I will discuss along

with some overnight trips next issue. What I’m excited about with these packs is that they were designed in NZ, are waterproof, rugged and more importantly, do not have the traditional fixed harness system (ie pack fixed to shoulder straps). The Flow-Mo harness system this pack uses, means that the shoulder straps stay stationery on your shoulders and move separately to the pack. This allows your shoulders to move around without your pack moving, which is fantastic feature for when you fishing with a pack. When casting, the shoulder straps move with you, rather than the whole pack. This also means, that when you move slightly left or right horizontally, the weight of the pack, stays in the same place and provides much better stability.

Another feature is the add on, front Balance pockets. These allow for easy access to fishing gear and balance the weight of the pack on your hips (rather than your shoulders), meaning you don’t have to lean forward to handle the pack weight, as its dispersed across your hips making bouldery river beds a much safer place.

Photos, in sequence:

High water in a spectacular High Country tributary

Scott's first on the dry – the smile says it all

John Kent and I exploring the creeks

Tekapo River – spectacular scenery but a storm brewing – Bourbon time! (November 2016);

Awards Night – John 'Latte' Roche with the Pink Flamingo

Homeward bound – Pork & Crackle Pie from the Fairlie Pie Shop – a MUST


Fishing with Mr Otis and life in general!By Mel Hollis

I really wasn’t intending to do anymore fishing stories, but things can change and a chain of events has put me back at the keyboard. Firstly the loss of mum at nearly 95yrs hurt some in March, then in April I took a dive down a steep path on my way to the Arrow River. My world hit rock bottom in May, as I had to say goodbye to my dear fishing mate of over 13yrs,

Misty, my standard Schnauzer. A 3 month trip to Canada to spend time with our daughter’s family should have put things right. I had not counted on being effected by the smoke from some of the 200 or more wild fires burning across BC & Alberta, however. After 9 weeks of continuous coughing and respiratory issues, the doctor in ED at the Calgary Foot Hills Hospital suggested that I should remain indoors where possible for the final 5 weeks of my trip – yeah right!

So, 48hrs later I arrived back home and buried myself under a blanket on our couch. It took over 16 weeks to lose the cough and during that time my doctor along with a second opinion from a colleague, indicated my shoulder has been damaged more than was first imagined. “Bugger” was my immediate reaction, as it is my main casting arm. “Don’t hold your breath”, said the second opinion, but you need to get the opinion of a surgeon and that will not happen within the next few months. So, after downing two fingers of Scotch at home, I pondered on my future prospects for a while. Does one give up fly fishing, change to the left hand or shock horror after a lifetime of fly rods, change to spinning? Then there is all my accumulated camping gear and my boat to consider, I couldn’t sell that, I would have to be out of my mind!

It was probably partly due to my having bought a new puppy (Mr Otis) in September, and also that I had not fished for nearly 6 months, that moved me towards packing the wagon and boat to find out just what my limitations were. As Clint Eastwood states in Dirty Harry, “A man must know his limitations!” So, there I was at the start of the third week of the new season, driving down the road on the final approach to Parson’s Rock camping ground. With all the negative thoughts of so many nasty things now behind me or waiting on file at the back of my mind to be deleted, the Waitaki Valley was the place for me to be. When I crossed the bridge over Parson’s Stream, my foot automatically lifted off the throttle and I smiled happily at the thought of being back. I glanced to my right, as I always do and almost put my foot down again, “OMG! – What the hell has happened here!” Initially I thought it was the wrong place and I pulled to a stop off the road for a better look. My eyes were wide open along with my mouth, I was in mild shock, shaking my head in disbelief. It took a long while to come to terms with what had happened to an area I had frequently visited for over 40 years, an area which to me was now a memorial to my old fishing mates Larry Pemberton and Bob Wright, and most recently Misty. From my usual camping spot along nearly 2kms of shoreline towards the Otematata River, most of the established, willows, pines and macrocarpa trees had been ripped out and the area now resembled a war zone!

I felt gutted and thought of turning around to drive back home or move on to another spot. I couldn’t do that though, as I had driven here to have some time with Larry, Bob and Misty at this very special spot. Camp was set up under the supervision of Mr Otis, while he gnawed away on a rawhide bone. Then I had a meal and reflected over a beer about the many hours, spread across so many years of stalking trout with my good friends under the branches of all of those willow trees, now gone. With the removal of all of those trees, the noise level from traffic on the main road nearby had noticeably increased. The night provided very little sleep and during the early hours, Mr Otis decided that he preferred sleeping on my feet, rather than in his own bed. He also became very protective of his territory at 5am the next morning; I had to stop him barking furiously at a pair of Para ducks that had come too close to our tent for his level of tolerance.

Murphy’s Law kicked in as I finished breakfast and the sometimes extreme winds of the Waitaki Valley blew as hard as they could, so a good book and an endless coffee pot was the call, sitting in a sheltered spot. It wasn’t all negative that day though, as I met up with a reader of this magazine, Graham Holloway. He joined me in pleasant conversation for the best part of an hour, a good part of which covered our mutual opinion of the parentage of and what we thought should happen to the landscape planner responsible for destroying the area! As always in any debate there are conflicting views naturally enough, as I discovered later that day at the local store and hotels. The consensus here was that these landscape improvements would enhance the area for the whole community; and never mind the scarcity of trout. I simply smiled as I left each place and bit my tongue, shaking my head as I walked out the door with my purchases. They obviously didn’t fish!

The next day started out calm and cool, so I took off for a walk along the line of desolation with Mr Otis and was not at all surprised by the time I returned over an hour later for breakfast, that not one single trout was seen. My new friend Graham called by on his way home with a sketch of an outboard motor support to save me lifting the auxiliary on and off and was not surprised to see me prepping the boat for an outing. After a quick chat with him and his lovely wife, I wished them safe travels home and they drove away with the customary piscatorial farewell, “Tight lines!” I took a pot of coffee and sandwiches with me on this outing, as I knew I would be away for some time. I covered all of the shore line down to the river mouth, counting a number of good looking trout where the trees remained and not a one when passing by the pillaged


Same pylon, 2012 and now . . .


sections. One more surprise was yet in store. The river mouth had changed totally, for many years it had been a four or five braided entry to the lake. Now you can look straight through from the lake up to the main road bridge, the July floods have washed away a large amount of trees and bushes to leave a single main channel.

Heading back east again produced similar observations, fish under the trees, hugging the shore and not a sign of a fish at the disaster zones. This may change with time, although I expect the radar of any trout that cruise these exposed areas, will be set on high alert! The south eastern shore of Lake Aviemore down from my camp has thankfully remained much the same as it has always been for decades. High winds break a few branches from the shoreline trees, the odd tree succumbing to rot and old age, along with a little shore margin erosion. So, it was here that I spent the rest of my day; there are so many small bays, shallow areas and even a couple of back waters. Each of these must be approached with caution and the maximum of stealth, because the trout nearly always spot you, before you spot them. The water is usually crystal clear and shallow, providing some exciting opportunities to sneak up on browsing trout. With heads down and noses burrowing in the mud, the trout are to some degree oblivious of your presence, but only if you use an electric thruster or paddle a fishing kayak or float tube. Any motor sounds will sends these slippery creatures away at warp speed.

For most of that afternoon I had been happy to toy with predominantly small trout of around 2lbs, both rainbows and browns. During a tea break, Mr Otis and I shared a few ginger nuts; I let the breeze drift us along for a while and enjoyed the sunshine. As we edged into another small bay, hard up against the bank and shadowed under the branches of a clump of trees, was a dark shape. Mr Otis got the remains of my biscuit, while I knelt down in the boat to check my fly. The best choice that afternoon had been a small tri-colour Woolly Bugger, tied with a black bead and a red spot painted on it. My fishing mate Mel Tudor ties these for me and I later texted him and offered my grateful thanks for such a superb job, they possibly resemble a large damsel nymph or small dragonfly nymph. All I did, was roll a cast over the boat from my lowered position after letting out a few metres of line behind me, the fly plopped rather hard just to the side of this dark shape. A quick swirl from the tail brought this trout half a metre into the sun light and I saw it chomp down on the fly as I gave it a twitch. Ten minutes or so later I was able to bring a very nice trout to the net and smile as the weigh gauge dropped down to just over 5lbs. Puppy curiosity had to be kept at bay while I attempted to photograph my prize, as he first growled at it, then licked it and then looked as if he intended to take a bite out of it. He was still growling at it as we watched it swim away, but soon stopped when he got the remains of the biscuit he dropped when the trout was landed in the boat.

The next day was spent on Lake Benmore and although a number of 2lb trout showed enthusiastically that they liked Mel T’s fly, nothing came close to the beauty of the previous afternoon. That is the draw of what we do though and why and I suppose that even though I am now having to slow down from my youthful years of energy to spare and ignorant enthusiasm, I still enjoy it immensely. Two days after arriving home from this trip it was decided that I

was getting too old for camping. I have now purchased an old Oxford caravan to be my substitute tent. I have strong intentions to hang on to my fishing gear and boat, although due to the aches and pains of packing and unpacking on this October trip, I have concluded that I had to make a stand and guard against further exhaustion of my weary body to some extent. So, should any of you be in the Lake Aviemore area over the next 10 years or so, instead of coming across my skeletal remains, sitting in a rocking chair outside a tent, it will from now on be outside a trusty old Oxford van!

This article is dedicated to Graham Holloway & (Prof) Garrett Evans; despite my thinking that at 68 years I was

far too old to write another article on fishing, they have both convinced me that one is never too old to tell a story, especially a fishy one. My sincere thanks go to you both for your praise and support, tight lines.

Otematata River mouth: as it was in 2014 and now clear to the SH83 bridge

Mr Otis gets monstered by a 5 pounder



THREE LAZY FELLASBy Garrett Evans

At my Bach, the grass needs cutting – it hasn't been properly edged in a long while and a number of trees and bushes need to be trimmed as well – but looking at the place in sun and shadow today it has a certain charm. There's a remarkably attractive lady of a certain age working there too. She has good legs and a little pixie sort of face and hair –

every man in NZ is after her, including me.Sparrows etc line up still, along the wall just outside the big kitchen window, agitating for their rations. This reminds me of

the hungry hens that used to line up along Farmer Bye's hedge back in Devon. It's a happy reminder of another happy time. Farmer Bye had an orchard stream with tasty troutlets.

Bill, a fella who comes in to do odd jobs, has rebuilt the bird feeding station (platform). He's done a beautiful job – a total restoration – it looks just as it did years ago when I first saw it moving in at the Vicarage, against my wishes. A mixture of rolled oats, bird seed, a few raisins and some tiny bits of bread seem to really bring them along in droves. The place is generally attractive. One can also lie in the long grass under the plum trees and read, or not read.

It's a fine place to stand, sit, or better lie out and contemplate, reflect, meditate... The trout season's under way and there's the murmuring stream and lots of trout as well. Meantime, there's John Steinbeck's beautiful little book, 'The Pastures Of Heaven'. I reckon, though it's only my opinion, it's the best thing he ever wrote, with the possible exception of 'Cannery Row'. These were early books. He was fairly poor then, life was uncomplicated for him, and very contented. He was, most importantly, still free of the large inconvenience of wealth.

The American Consulate once got me a film on Steinbeck. At one point in the film, if I remember correctly, Steinbeck was getting out of a long black car with his third wife, and with the Nobel Prize in his back pocket. It was at the valley of 'Pastures of Heaven' or at Cannery Row. And he said: 'I don't know these people, I don't know this place anymore.' I don't recall the exact words but it was one of the saddest things I ever saw. Hopefully it was only a temporary lapse, and I'm sure it was.

'Pastures' (Chpt. 6) has in it the supremely lazy fella, Junius Maltby:A huge sycamore put out a horizontal limb over the meadow stream, and on it the three sat, the men hanging their feet into the water and moving pebbles with their toes...There on the limb the three sat. Their clothes were rags and their hair was only hacked off to keep it out of their eyes...

It was an idyllic life. Junius was one of the three, his little young son, and a German hired hand were the other two. They lazed magnificently, having erudite conversations and lots of fun on their beautiful, overgrown, weed-ridden and carefree farm.

The garden of my 'bach' is like that – I love it as it is, and my dogs too – they tear around and lay with me in the long grass under the plum trees – the views are sublime and sheep are calling just across the way. Where's my gardener? She's meant to be trimming and cutting.

Leaving the place in the late after noon I went to the river, the Taieri, it looked good. I got some fine pebbles, mostly white, for the driveway. Casting away I didn't have a single strike on the Hare's Ear. Further down the river where I had decoyed and shot a few duck over the seasons, I began casting across and down.

A fine trout of about a pound took the wet fly and fought like mad. It was drawn up on the sandy, pebbly bank, right up for he might come off. It did come off but it was right up. The first trout of the new season! I picked it up, the priest descended on its head. A fine silvery cock fish. Had it been bigger I might have released it; the big ones are good breeders. This was perfect and would have been even more perfect if it were half or three quarters of a pond.

Heading home I dragged along a fairly light manuka branch to cut with my pretty little Stihl 170 chainsaw into logs for the wood shelter and then the fireplace. Today, the gods have been kindness itself.

Another lazy fella is Rip Van Winkle. He was created by Washington Irving(1783-1859) one of the classic writers of American Literature – a writer and a diplomat. He was for some while the Minister to Spain, and lived abroad a good part

of his life. Irving's Rip Van Winkle is a delight, a work of what might well be called genius:...he was a simple good-natured man; he was moreover, a kind neighbor, and an obedient hen-pecked husband...[types] who under the discipline of shrews at home...in the fiery furnace of domestic tribulation...A termagant wife may...in some respects, be considered a tolerable blessing; and if so, Rip Van Winkle was thrice blessed....Rip's sole domestic adherent was his dog Wolf, who was as much hen-pecked as his master; for Dame Van Winkle regarded them as companions in idleness...'Poor Wolf' [Rip] would say, 'never mind, my lad , whilst I live thou shalt never want a friend to stand by thee!' Wolf would wag his tail...

There Rip wanders on long rambles in the Kaatskill (the old traditional spelling) mountains which still have some of the best trout streams in the United States. He was lazy but had perseverance and would sit on a wet rock and fish all day without a nibble. Rip often was after squirrel, partridge and probably rabbit. It's almost always a shock to friends here in New Zealand, or in South Africa or Britain, to learn that squirrel – gray or fox squirrel – are excellent eating. Having a diet of nuts and buds, they help make up fine Brunswick stews...


And so one day Rip falls in with a strange looking little man in antique Dutch clothing who takes him to a game of nine pins high in the mountains with other little men – he has a drink or two there with them, and falls asleep for twenty years. He finds when he returns to his town that much had changed. Rip's story was soon told, for the whole twenty years had been to him but one night.

George The Third had been exchanged for George Washington. One George for another. I have heard on good authority that the majority of the people would have preferred to stay with the King. Pity, they didn't.

Rip learns that his wife had died and that he could now do whatever he pleased without dreading the tyranny of Dame Van Winkle. He lives with his now married daughter and is greatly loved by all.

And even to this day, people of the area never hear a thunderstorm on a summer afternoon in the Kaatskill but they say the little men (probably Hendrick Hudson and his crew) are at their game of nine-pins.

Which brings us to Huckleberry Finn with his corncob pipe, that symbol of laziness, and the good-natured and kindly Huck lazing around on rafts fishing.

There is that pronouncement so often delivered by American professors. It's by Ernest Hemingway in his book 'Green Hills of Africa', which is a diary of a big hunting trip:All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called 'Huckleberry Finn'...it's the best book we've had. All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since.

But Twain's book itself is really something:Well, the day went along, and the river went down between its banks again; and about the first thing we done was to bait one of the big hooks with a skinned rabbit and set it and catch a catfish that was as big as a man, being six foot two inches long, and weighed over two hundred pounds.We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness. It was kind of solemn, drifting down the big still river, laying on our backs looking up at the stars, and we didn't ever feel like talking aloud, and it warn't often we laughed – only a little kind of a low chuckle.

It's sheer poetry. This is without question the great American novel. One can think of such things while fishing along a stream. There I would have thought one is closer to reality. Huck and the runaway slave, Jim, travel down the middle of the country on the Mississippi River. It's a giant picnic in the pre Civil War days. That war was yet to come; a war where the country lost more men than all the other wars in American history combined. It was not fought over slavery, it was fought over economics. Huck and Jim drift on, and have regular encounters along the banks that reveal a good deal about the country, and humanity in general. It can be read on two levels, or possibly more:

As a boys' story or as a great satire, Hemingway was right about the book.

He really was a lion, one surrounded by yapping jackals. They thought they had him but then he came out with 'The Old Man And The Sea'. He didn't much care for academics, he may well have been right about that too.

The old man, Santiago, the Hemingway figure in the book, though not religious prayed that he would land the huge marlin – he also promised to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of the Virgin de Cobra. He was using a hand line. And do you know what Hemingway did with the gold medallion of the Nobel Prize (the big fish)? He left it at the shrine of the Virgin de Cobra outside Havana. I am 'not religious', but find that rather marvellous.

A good trout is feeding just upstream. I can probably cover him using my little Hardy's 6' 3”. He immediately takes the Adams, and I have a tasty dinner for tonight. Far less trouble than a marlin.


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SUBSCRIBESubscribing reduces the cost of reading considerably; it is also the most environmentally-friendly way to buy any printed publication. Prices are for 1 year / 4 issues. NZ print delivery is by permit mail and overseas, by airmail. Digital subscriptions are emailed. Unless requested the publisher will begin delivery with the next issue.Print: NZ $32 Oz $45 Elsewhere $48

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email. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

To help focus the magazine . . .

How long have you fished? Yrs

Which methods do you use most?

Dry Fly Nymph Wet Fly Lake Shoreline Fly Boat Fly Switch Spey

Given the choice, would you stalk trout or fish blind?

Where do you fish?

Locally Islandwide Nationawide Taupo Rotorua Lakes Southern Lakes

What are your information needs?Reports Predictions Methods Fly Tying Tackle New Locations New Ideas

Where did you buy this copy?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

NZ BANK DIRECT CREDITS TOThe New Zealand Troutfisher, ANZ Bank, Ponsonby, Auckland, NZ, Account #010295 0081097 00 (Swiftcode is ANZBNZ22).

CREDIT CARD PAYMENTSPlease debit my VISA MASTERCARD AMEX

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ACCOMMODATIONRAINBOW TROUT LODGEAbsolute lake front luxury eco-lodge at Lake Rotoehu. Sleeps 8. Guided boat fishing & catered meals available. Your hosts, Tony & Jude, are not on-site but live nearby. Contact (07) 362 0808. www.rainbowtroutlodge.co.nz

WILDERNESS FISHING CABINThe only river-side cabin on the remote head-waters of the Whanganui River, Central North Island. Rustic built accom-modation with all amenities. Main cabin plus double sleep-out with ensuite. 4 x 4 access only (provided self drive Suzuki jeeps) Self guided or guide available on request.Contact: Danny Hemopo Ph: (07) 896 6884, email: [email protected] Web: www.gobush.co.nz

RUAKITURI RIVER, WAIROA, 'THE HUT”Anglers accommodation on the river bank. Hard fighting Rain-bow and Brown Trout. Sleeps 4 comfortably. Easy car access. Guide available. Contact: Davis Canning 4 Kentia Place Havelock North 4135 Ph/Fax 06 877 1696; Email: [email protected]

RANGITIKEI TARATA FISHAWAY ACCOMMODATION & GUIDED OR UNGUIDED FISHINGSituated in the remote Mokai Valley where the picturesque Rangitikei River meets the rugged Ruahines. Unique trout fishing right at our doorstep. River Retreat, Spa Bath, Rafting, Spotlight Safaris, Clay Bird Shooting.Your hosts: Trudi & Stephen Mattock. Ph: (06) 388 0354; Fax: (06) 3880954. Email: [email protected]; Web Site: www.tarata.co.nz

WAIRAU RIVER ENCHANTMENT BLENHEIMRiver boundary farm homestay for flyfishers. Located Hillerston in the Wairau Valley. Contact: Duannette Stigter Enchantment 3782 SH63 Blenheim 7271 Ph/Fax 03 572 2885

TACKLETROUT FISHING RODS FOR SALEKILWELL COMPANION AFTMA 6/7 Four piece in rod bag. 9' 0". Never Used! $200.00SCOTT POWR-PLY (USA) AFTMA 5 Five piece 7'5", fibreglass #575 -1969. Compact aluminium rod case (50cm), rod bag. Collector item. Offers?KILWELL SAFARI AFTMA 6/7 Four piece, fibreglass, 7' 3", rod bag - 55cms folded. $50.00Contact: Tony Orman e-mail: [email protected] or P O Box 939, Blenheim, 7240

Trout Fisher

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The New Zealand Troutfisher · It is place of hushed haunts, spooling thrum, scrums of tackled trees, swirls and eddies softly knotting, stones which mark the crossing spot, braids