I Hope Santa Brings You a Radian

It's that time of the year again. Soon the sweet sound of cicadas will be filling the air and the trout will head to the surface to feast on any that are clumsy enough to fall into the water. We have been flat out at Fish City making sure that the Christmas wishlists of fishermen are checked off. We haven't really had the chance to head out fishing due to the nature of the retail beast, however there are plenty of trips in the pipes for the New Year (Josh just bought a boat, salt fly adventures to follow). Stay tuned for some results...

We just thought we would take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Also, make sure to stay safe on the roads this time of year as there as there are some absolute muppets floating about. Most importantly, get out and catch some fish and make the most of this amazing country that we call home.

Thanks for continuing to support the blog and sharing in our passion.

Cameron and Josh



In case you missed it, below is the video that was featured in Fly Fishers Inc.

Enjoy The Simple Things

With the season fully under way now and summer trying it's best not to show its hand too early, it is very easy to head straight for the big water as soon as there is a break in the weather. This is so tempting as there are likely to be (bigger) fish that haven't seen too many anglers in recent times and the thought of them hitting flies with a totally reckless attitude makes it the seemingly obvious decision. Just like everyone else too...

Don't get me wrong, fishing these great big waters with potentially larger fish is possibly the pinnacle of fishing here in New Zealand, especially when the fish are looking up and feeding off the surface. It can also be very challenging! Gotta love it! This is going off on a bit of a tangent but what I'm trying to get at is that you shouldn't forget the small streams! Going out with a 3 or 4wt rod and throwing dries at maniacal little rainbows that are full of spirit and act as if they have just snorted something potent is easily as good as catching big mooching fish. Definitely not being selective in my fishing but if the option is there then take it! There just seems to be something special about being in really personal waters that not many people seem to give much thought or credit to. Just enjoy keeping it all simple and let everything else going on in the world fade.

This was all proven on the weekend with a visit to a local small stream where I managed to land a few really fat and feisty rainbows along with a really nice brown in the 4lb size range. A very successful day I thought!

One of the crazy little rainbows that smashed the dry!

Anyway, a side note to all this and definitely something to be excited about is the release of FlyFishers Inc. The boys up at Manic have worked really hard (we think) to bring this wicked magazine out. Full of good stuff from tips to cool fishing shit and a bit of info on a few of the people in the industry. A bit of an insight into the happenings in the Fly Fishing scene in NZ. Anyway, here is a link to the newest volume of FlyFishers Inc.

Have a good read and let us know what you reckon! There is even a guest apperance from the FlyGuys on there!
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Making Hay

I was fortunate enough to have a day off coincide with some reasonable weather and managed to sneak out for a fish down National Park way on the weekend. I was down there to guide on the Saturday so went down Friday to ... uh ... ensure that the rivers were fishing well for my clients. I had an epic afternoon with plenty of FAT fish eager to eat a multitude of flies.

Typical National Park fatty

 
The guiding day was equally as good with clients who were brand spanking new to fly fishing getting a few fish (and getting dusted by a few more!). The guys were really surprised at the ability of the trout to fight by using the current to their advantage and had a really enjoyable days fishing.

Alvaro with his first ever trout

I also managed to get down to Rotorua last night to see how the stream mouths are going as the water is starting to warm up. We encountered a few really good conditioned fish however the cold current was a bit all over the place so we had to work for them. Really encouraging signs though.

These guys formed a bit of a gallery for me

It looks like some more average weather is on the way but there will be the odd good one in between so take advantage of the good days when they come along.