Andrew Burden @FlytackleNZ and his mate Cheese were in the South Island and heading down south to Te Anau, Fiordland. It was great to catch up have a fly fish and share some yarns. AB shared his thoughts - check it out below
Friday the 6th of November 2020
The last couple of days have seen Swiss Cheese and I head across from Glenorchy into Te Anau to catch up with Nick and Chris Reygaert to explore the beautiful waters of Fiordland.
It's early Friday morning and I am sitting on the edge of the bed at Chris Reygaert's superbly fly fishy house, like my place the dining room table set up for fly tying and there is fly fishing gear all over the place, love it.
My legs are burning, I think begging for a rest but like Nick's motto when guiding, you never give up, keep pushing.
Wednesday as we chugged across to Te Anau in #sagevannz we stopped at several different bridges and lake edges, looking for rings on the lake or feeding fish in the current from the bridge. I didn't fish Wednesday, I had one of those days where the phone didn't want to stop but Cheese had a shot at some stunning Browns on a cracking stretch of water but they just wouldn't play ball rejecting everything before going deep and even more non compliant.
Wednesday evening as we arrived into town, Chris and Nick had just arrived home from a day on the water and we had a beer and devised a plan, I was short of flies so over a few beers and Indian Takeaways I tied up a few and we shot the breeze till it was time to shut it down and get some sleep for the day ahead.
Thursday morning, Nick arrived and we set off, I went with Nick and Cheese with Chris into what for me was what you think of when you think South Island fishing, long open runs before beautiful pools, big landscape and big fish.
The water was high and heavy but I had prepared last night adding a bit of weight to the fly box and it paid off resulting in some stunning fish for the day.
My favourite fish of the day was a fat rainbow Nick landed, not because of the fish but how it came to net, Nick rolled out the dry and dropper and she rose to the dry slowly, mouth open she took the dry a quarter of the way in before deciding, nah might not eat that and spitting it out. Nick turned to me, "pass me the nymphing rod" first cast, nymphs are chomped and fish on. Was super to watch.
Cheers lads that was a cracking day.
The flies I tied were size 12 & 14 nymphs, really easy ties using the Semperfli Nymph Dub in Dark Brown, Grey and Black. Check it out here and add it to your tying kit, so easy and fast to nut out a lot of flies.
https://flytacklenz.com/.../products/semperfli-nymph-dub
The fly was: Black Bead, Rabbit Tail cut from a Zonker, Semperfli Nymph Dub Body, Small Copper Wire for Rib and a CDC collar in Natural Colour,
This accounted for my Browns and Rainbows on the day.
Right, we are Lumsden bound.
Andrew
