TROUTLANDS
UPDATE September 2006
Hello and Greetings from South Island New Zealand
Mega Chunky! Oct 2005 John Berg with large Nov Brown Happy Japanese lady angler
It is with great pleasure that I write
this update, as last season was a dream year for clients and me! The very best
we have ever had!
What made it so good? A
record number of guide days with many rewarding and diverse fishing experiences
for both guide and clients. A high proportion of repeat clients, who over the
years have become such good friends, watching you improve to be such skilful trout fishers is so very rewarding. Add to
this some great catches, checking out new exciting waters, and meeting and
helping new anglers for their first NZ experience.
A huge thanks to all
clients-friends for your support –kind comments, gifts and adventure filled
days.
Early Season October November December 2005.
Typically fantastic
brown trout opportunities in October and it was nice to have clients experience
this! The first day on the river was with Mr Ohashi from Japan, his first time
in NZ a warm spring day and after catching a few small guys he landed a
wonderful 45 cm Brown a record for Mr Ohasi and we went on to catch more but
most importantly learn about the sight fishing style (which I our speciality).
Next up was the third return of George Bisharat from USA, we hit conditions
perfect and had a week of Big Browns and a few backcountry rainbows. On the
best day George landed 7 browns between 5-7 pounds and the best a chunky
9-pound Brown. George published a very informative article in FLY FISHERMAN
magazine December 2005 about his NZ learning’s (with Troutlands Guiding). Well
worth reading.
Under water shot by Chris
Blyth martin with chunky
west coaster George
Bisharat Oct 2005
In November the fishing
started to surpass even my expectations with rivers and weather being in perfect tune . November 8 was a day Gordon Cox and John Burg
USA will never forget landing nine Browns all 5 pound plus. It was one of those
days, if you saw nice water put good drifts though invariably they hooked up!
In what was normally a more technical sight fishery we on this day had poor
visibility. The rainbow trout waters
also started to fire up and Gordon introduced me to a highly effective new dry
fly, that was irritably sought after by the fast water “bows”! Thanks Gordon it
is always fun to add a new pattern to the box. Another welcome return was
Yukari Watanabe form Japan, Yukari is a lady angler that fishes as well as any
of the guys and during her week she landed numerous rainbows and browns, in
mixed weather, as some cold fronts arrived.
Gordon Cox with
November trophy Yukari
Watanabe skilled lady angler
December was it’s
normal golden time, Matt Campbell from the USA experienced eight full on days
landing many browns up to 9 pounds, but perhaps the best memory was Matt
hooking a huge sighted brown on his very first cast of the trip! The fish went
crazy and so did we! That is before the fish slipped the hook. Heart stopping
moments when circumstances change in the blink of an eye. But surely that is
what makes fly-fishing so exciting. It was also a great pleasure guiding pro
base baller Adam Bernero. We had immense fun chasing wild backcountry Rainbows.
Another highlight of mid December was experienced between John Roberts,
Australia, and myself, this time an entomological experience. We were fishing
way up a meandering mountain springer and noticed trout avidly rising with
glee. We thought here we go, however they would not take any dry fly we
presented, nor nymph! Totally bewildered both John and I hopped waist deep into
the creek {summer!} to see what insect the trout were seeking and there it was!
Turned out to be a mayfly nymph drifting just under the surface, then we
watched them hatching into adult mayflies, as we held them in our hands a truly
magical transformation, and hey we forgot about fishing for a while just happy
to watch the transformation. Oh almost forgot to mention Peter catches his
largest trout for the season, 15 pounder in water we have under valued for
years, during mid December this season.
January February
2006.
During these traditionally busy
months we had some great summer weather and also a fair number of rain storms
passed over, during mid January Peter and I took to the road for 10 days
guiding Mark Irvin Mike Albers and John Volpe USA and what a fun road trip it
was helping these anglers, of particular interest was re-visiting the many West
Coast (South Island) waters that I used to guide way back in the 90’s. We
fished delightful meadow spring creeks with their gin clear water and lush moss
beds. Then we would fish big wild
freestone rivers surrounded by vibrant green native forests. The fishing was superb
with the boys hooking and catching
great Brown Trout. We were so impressed, and excited, that I will put
the West Coast back on the menu as a guide option in the coming new season!
With many accommodation options and a huge range of waters, which are very
scenic, we can put you in a location that will remember for a lifetime. So if
you are interested please contact us for more information.
Mike Albers- bow
hawg Mike Albers- spring
creek Mark Irvin -west coast sea run
Mean while back over in
Canterbury, many rivers had low flows, but some great dry fly angling was to be
had. As well as the willow grubs, which were falling on the lowland creeks
making for mesmerizing, sight fishing.
In February a five-day visit
from Robyn and Allan Jarvis NSW
(Australia) was notable as towards the end of the trip it rained and
poured, and river after river was very high and discolored. However we managed
to find one clear river. After putting every layer we had on we ventured out
into the cold. Against the odds we found clear water, now could we catch a
trout? Interesting how one fish landed is so much more none!!!. It is that
euphoric feeling of triumph over adversity, yes we have these days to, and the
ultimate rewards of fly-fishing are through facing the challenges!
Bleak day- beautiful river
Alan Jarvis with rainy day rainbow thanks Robyn Jarvis for photos
It was nice to meet up with our first client
from www.yellowdog.com an
excellent USA outfit specialising in all manner of global fly-fishing.
Craig Mordi who stopped in for a days
fishing casing and a few landing big
browns before his NZ wedding . Well the low flows are now certainty over as we
head into the last 2 months of the season. Another feature of this time a
little different from our normal sight fishing was fishing streamers in high
country lakes, this was enjoyed by several clients and very exciting as some
very large Rainbows came to the net.
Troutlands Dream Domain Rainbow on streamer!
March and April 2006
Weather patterns stabilised for
the most part and after rains in February the rivers had better flows. However
it must be said some high country rivers suffered some record low flows. Doug
Perry and Debrough Codham, many time repeaters, enjoyed early March especially
on last day when we discovered a run with numerous keen browns! Debrough is one
of many female anglers that fished very very well this year and by far she was
the most improved !. First time visitor from Japan was Mr. Sadaki Sato, and I
feel his four days to be a peak experience! Let me describe. On the first day
he turns up with 2 bamboo rods only. I
thought this would be a limiting factor but I was wrong, as went onto land nine
Browns up to 54 cm. The next day rainbows featured, and again these wild
fighters in Fast River, all on Bamboo landing 8 big fish. An impressive tally
for the day. Interestingly Mr. Sato had hand crafted these rods himself. This
certainly made the result more satisfying. I tried casting them and was very
surprised at how well they handed so I guess bamboo rods are as good as any!
Towards the of March Rodger and
John Roberts returned {you may well remember a shot of John with a huge King
Salmon. Well wouldn’t you know it he did it again, another wonderful salmon
totally legitimately caught on fly! Not to mention catching Brown Trout and
Rainbow trout on the same day ! A notable “triple splash”. As always April
provided supreme angling all over Canterbury, both for a large number of trout,
and some very good sized backcountry fish. April is an overlooked month by many,
so if you can make it over here then, all the better.
Scenic
wonderland
Craig Mordi pre wedding fishing
A word from Peter
Last season allowed a lot of
exploration of new waters. Canterbury’s fisheries are ever changing so scouting
out new water is a good insurance policy. Taking clients to a diverse range of
waters also means that this guiding service is New and Inspired!
Innovation has not only taken place on
the river but also on the fly tying bench and a wide range of new patterns have
been designed . Many of these flies are designed to capture those cautious
fish. Often “Transitional Patterns” will work when others flies don’t, and it
is often the larger fish that present the challenges. So as guides we have the
added confidence of fishing with flies which we keep from the competition.
Much of winter has been spent
on outdoor writing and outlining new locations and techniques. Profiling of regional
water conservation issues is also an important aspect of my writing, and my way
of putting something back for the fishery. This upcoming season will see the
“rising of the phoenix from the ashes” as high winter flows have recharged many
lowland waters, which have in previous seasons provided outstanding brown trout
angling. A mouse plaque, which often translates to good numbers of trophy
trout, is forecasted in the backcountry. Watch this
space. It will be an exciting season!
Barry
Cawthorne freestone heaven!
know how it feels? Images by Peter
We are excited about the next season and just this week
{Sept 6th}Peter landed 2 Browns
7 and 9 pound !!!
-Added to our already vast array of waters and base
locations we are visiting the Wild waters of the West Coast this
season please talk to us for details Martin @troutlands.com
-We
have been talking to DOC scientists and all indications are that it may well be
a mouse year ahead , last time was 2000
and this event often occurs every 7 years . It means some exceptional sized
fish at are very well conditioned , usual methods of capture sight fishing
during day time { I have an amazing Mouse nymph!}
-we welcome your personal contact to
discuss any matters relating to fly fishing guiding- trout flies-troutfly art
{shadow boxes} and hope to see many of you this year , also looking forward to
new comers between Peter and I we have now compiled a total of 2000
professional guide days helping
beginners through to experts
making us by far the most experienced fly fishing guides in this area.
If you would like to see a video of Martin in action please visit www.rioproducts.com to see a great clip.
go to Media button then Fishing Rio lines then Rio Nymph fly line Filmed by Company owner Jim Vincent!
Professional.. Friendly..
Informative.. inspired.. well
organised .. Adaptable..
Many thanks Martin and Peter Langlands
martin@troutlands.com ph-fax 0064 3 318 7112
