'That' Pool

I'm sure that I'm not the only person who visits a certain pool, which consistently holds good fish, but for some reason or another manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and never seem to be able to catch anything in 'that' pool.

For me, 'that pool' is one on the Fraser River that I cross when heading to fish a well regarded stretch of the Twizel River, and despite my best efforts, have only managed to spook umpteen trout and mistime the strike on all the rest.

Small streams are so rewarding to fish because most of the time they are so much more challenging (read here '%&!^@ frustrating'). The trout can be just as big, but they tend to spook a lot easier as everything in a small stream moves slower, quieter, and the fisherman tends to be so much closer to his quarry.

Well, after 6 weeks of fishing 'that pool' I finally managed some success. After tying on a new leader, and popping on a size 16 Dad's Favourite, I inched down to the pool, wondering where the spooked trout was going to take off from.

As I got my first foot to the stream edge, a bold swirl about four meters upstream caught my eye. A good sized trout was feeding voraciously on the very edge of a relatively deep drop off, right against the edge of the stream. He seemed to be mostly working on nymphs, but following my lack of success with this pool in the nymph department, I thought I'd stick with the ol' Dads Favourite.

First cast. Trev the Trout swings out and takes a half hearted slap at the fly.

Second cast. Trev swings out, follows it down stream for a meter (now only about 3m away from me), then flags it and moves back up to his favourite spot.

Third cast. Trev doesn't even bother.

Fourth Cast. more of the same. Still feeding on underwater stuff.

Time to change flies. on goes a size 16 beaded H&C nymph.

First cast ...dammit, I can't see the fly in the water.

Second cast. Trev swings out and looks like he grabs something.....

Strike!

H & C nymph whistles past my face - Trev continues feeding.

Third cast...Trev ignores and sucks something off the surface.

On goes another Dads Favourite. For some reason I decided to go bigger.

As I put through a couple of false casts, I noticed a shadow on the bottom about three meters upstream, and 1 1/2 meters out to my right. It wasn't moving, and although it looked kind of fishy, no self respecting trout would stay that close when a rod is flicking back and forward in the morning sun. I planted the fly down just to the left of my feeding fish who whirled around to have a closer inspection. Just as I thought he was about to suck it down, the shadow erupted and aggressively took the fly before 'my' fish could get it. Counting to three I tightened the line and we were on. The mystery intruder calm worked his way up stream, slowly but deliberately stripping my reel. I quickly crossed the stream to avoid some low flying tree branches and followed him up the true left bank.

As he swirled back downstream, I saw that this was a better fish than most of the early season salmonoids I've been catching. Coming almost directly parallel, Trev saw me, turned and made a bee line for some submerged tree branches. "Oh no you don't" I muttered under my breath, and before he got up there, applied a whole lot more side strain which seemed to stop the run.
Now he turned and this time slowly worked his way down stream. Once again I followed, and got behind him with the net. Just as I thought I had him he took off straight past me and ripped into the rapids below the pool. It was almost multi tasking, as I stripped off line and dragged myself across the stream once more to avoid the willows. At last he seemed to be losing strength, so after a few more negotiations, he elected to come into the net.

My brother was over from Japan, so this one went into the bag.
Finally, the curse of 'that pool' was broken

Fishing with the Kids

In my seldom humble opinion, there is no better way of getting kids keen on fishing than to bundle them into a boat and put-put around a lake trolling for trout. Kids don't have the same attention span as us big people, and I seem to manage an hour and a half of trolling, compared to 20-30 minutes spinning from shore when I've got a few wee jiggers in tow.

We are lucky enough to have a small aluminum dinghy, with a modest but much loved 4.5 hp 1971 British Seagull 'Silver Century' attached to the stern.

Tonight I ducked out with Gideon (9) with his firends Timo and Sean. Timo landed this 3lb brown on a Pink 'Tasmanian Devil' lure on Lake Ohau.

I think as much fun was had by the kids helming the dinghy as was had catching the fish.

Oh, and in case any is wondering, yeah, they are wearing Life Jackets, but the warm gear went on over top once they got out onto the lake, so it just doesn't look too safe!

Back Country Wanderings

Over the weekend, I took the two oldest boys for an explore up the Hopkins river (behind Lake Ohau). The road has been getting progressively rougher over the last few years, as the river keeps changing course and washing out the 4WD track. Half the adventure was in getting there. The river had flooded earlier in the week, and consequently we had to invent a couple of new routes to 'join the dots' between where the track disappeared and then reappeared further upstream. Finally a large rock field got the better of my nerves and we covered the final 2km to Monument hut with the boys on their bikes with me tagging along on foot with all of our gear in a 95 Litre Pack.

We shared the hut with a couple of hunters, who had spotted a few Thar and a couple of Chamois, but hadn't managed to convert their sightings in to meat. As the sun fell behing Mt Strachan, we wandered down to the stream with bellies full of half cooked sizzlers and charcoaled Marshmallow, to see if any fish were moving. The River was still high, and rather silty. I ran a Royal Wulf some smooth water, but to no avail. Gideon managed to snap his rod, while doing a text-book cast(we had another one which did exactly the same), so we'll have to replace that at Christmas. The night was spent talking Thar and Deer with the two guys in the hut. - Good blokes.

The following Morning Gideon, Jonathan and I set out for the Huxley River(the main tributary of the Hopkins) which purportedly holds one or two large Rainbows. After an hours walk with the kids, none were sighted, mainly because the fish numbers are pretty low, and not surprisingly the river was also high and discoloured. The walk was still worth it however, as the Huxley Gorge would rate as one of the most scenic spots in New Zealand.

After eating lunch (Yes, at 10:30 am - the kids were 'starving'), we turned tail and headed back to the Hut. the Weather was looking pretty threatening, so we packed up and ambled back to civilisation, via the same dodgy route that we came up.

More Fun on the Twizel River

I was greeted this morning by a slightly high river and low cloud, but thankfully the air temperature was relatively warm as I headed across to one of my favourite stretches of the Twizel River. With only an hour to fish before work started, I had to choose a 'high percentage' pool and stick with it.

After crossing the stream below my chosen spot- a deep pool with a very short run in a bend, overhung with willows pool, I lamented the fact that there were no fish moving. "Bl*%&^y river has been stripped bare" I thought as I unzipped my fly for an early morning leak.

Just as I hit mid-stream (yet still standing on the bank), I noticed movement up in the head of the pool right on the edge....a light brown shape slipping slowly sideways, and then a snout eagerly broke the surface. Fate is a funny thing, if I hadn't been busting for a spritz, I would have once again walked straight past a decent fish, simply for a lack of patience.

I quickly got sorted out, tied on a size 16 'Dads Favourite' and backed off a little, before entering the river directly down stream. As I got into position, and began to strip out some line, the rainbow swirled and whirled downstream surfacing every couple of seconds. these were not small gentle dimpled rises, but she was fair poking her head right out of the water and slopping back under again.

The hardest thing about this trout was that she was absolutely all over the pool, at one stage a couple of meters to my left and only a metre or so upstream. Luckily she seemed so utterly preoccupied with the beetles that were constantly drifting her way, that she didn't notice the 6'4" tree standing in the middle of the river wearing a fishing vest. After she worked her way back into the middle of the pool, I chucked a couple of horrific casts, before she swung downstream after my fly, and gulped it just as the line started to drag through the water. A solid hook up was achieved as I lifted my rod, and we were on.

The Twizel river is only a few meters wide as it exits this pool, and there are probably 70 metres of rapids downstream, interspersed with overhanging willow and plenty of other snags to lose a fish in, so I was keen to keep the fish in the pool. Keen that is, until two more fish swung out of the depths and started feeding as soon as the hooked fish left it's prime spot. Still aiming to keep her upstream, but out of the pool, I let her come back into the rapids. The plan went horribly wrong, and she shot off downstream. Reel screaming, I lunged for the bank and charged off downstream after her, narrowly avoiding snagging the line in one of the willows on the true right bank.

The lively rainbow stabilised in the rapid in a slightly quieter spot, and I managed to get control of the amount of line she'd stripped in the one furious run. Five minutes of negotiation to get her into the shallow slower water without anymore downstream sorties, saw her finally netted. Time for a couple of quick photos before letting her go, sneaking home for a shower and trudging off to work.

Stormy Weekend

Not much was to be had this weekend, between a hot north-west gale on Saturday, and a wet serving of the same on Sunday. I managed a quick look at the Fraser River on Sunday morning before breakfast, a few km upstream of the Twizel township. 2 two trout were spotted. The first one saw me before I saw him - the old 'sitting in the tail of the pool' trick. The other fish was cast to, and finally got put down after I snatched defeat from the jaws of victory - by way of twice mis-timing the trouts take of my hare & copper nymph.

Sunday afternoon called for a high wind-speed wander down the Twizel River walk with the kids. As always, the weekends biggest fish was spotted when I did not have a rod handy. A large rainbow sitting in a bouldery run. Later on in the evening I was given a leave pass by Sarah to go-get-em, however I was beaten back by more high winds and driving rain. I still derive a lot of pleasure from going for a wander across the Mackenzie basin in all of its moods, so all was not lost!

This weeks forecast (excuse the pun) is for more bad weather, however wind velocity tends to be a lot lower very early in the morning, so hopefully we'll get a few quick looks in before work.

Early Morning Success

This morning’s trip was typical of my regular, 'get out of bed for a fish before work' style trip. The local Fraser River was my first stop, spotting a 2-3 lb brown feeding on nymphs in the back section of the first pool that I got to. The morning was warmer had been the norm over the previous two weeks, and a low covering of cloud was hopefully making for good spotting conditions, with out the usual brightening and frightening of fish at sunrise. This pool in particular has caused me plenty of trouble in the past, without much success as it is relatively shallow, and trout tend to spook very easily in shallow, narrow section of the stream. Wading gingerly into position, approx 5 meters downstream of the fish, I quickly ready my rod for it's first cast. Today was no exception, with my first false cast seeing the trout sinking into deeper water and moving off upstream. So much for the dull warm conditions helping me out!

With the limited time available, I had reached a pre-made decision earlier to inspect a pool that has been consistently holding good sized rainbows on the Twizel River, a few hundred meters away. There is nothing so pleasant as wandering across a grassy field early in the morning, alone with ones thoughts and a few rabbits, with the prospect of some clear water action while the rest of the world is still sleeping.

Upon arriving at this rather long pool, I worked my way from the lower section upstream, carefully inspecting every shadow and long boulder on the river bed. More often than not the trout seem to hold in the narrow head of this pool, close to a lot of overhanging willow for safety, however it would not be the first time if I spooked a fish in the lower section, sending him tearing upstream to it's neighbours and putting them all down for the morning. This time none were disturbed, and a likely candidate was spotted sheltering behind a boulder on the deep-edge of the channel, swaying in and out of the current as food was brought to its very doorstep. A size 14 bead-headed Pheasant Tail nymph had been getting most of my results recently, so I kept with convention, although this one was a much darker colour than my usual. I always get a buzz when the first cast on a trout results in a take, especially when the first cast on the last fish elicited nothing more than a walk to another pool! The heavy beaded nymph plopped into the river 1 1/2 meters upstream of the actively feeding rainbow, and about 1/2 a meter further into the main flow. Almost immediately he swung out from the shelter of his rock, and intercepted the fly that was rapidly exiting his area of engagement. As the fish turned to face up stream I assumed the take had been successful, and tightened the line. A solid hook up was established. The trout was landed following a series of three runs downstream, where I finally managed to keep a fish in the same pool that I hooked it in. On one occasion he came close to the rapids at the bottom of the pool, but thankfully choose to charge upstream again as things got marginal. As trout in our area go he wasn't in great condition, so quickly returned him to the water after removing the fly with one of those fandangled hook remover things. With a smug grin I hightailed home before the kids got up, reflecting on how lucky we are to live in a place where great fishing can be had without having to travel more than a couple of kilometres from town.

Early Season Experiences in the Mackenzie Basin

Family life being what it is (4 little boys aged 3, 6,7 and 9) the beginning of the 2008 season has mostly consisted of short excursions to a few rivers on our front doorstep. Most trips have been very early in the morning, snatching an hours fishing before breakfast, or a cunningly manipulated 'father-son bonding session', where I employ my keen 6 year old as a net-bearer and chief spin-snagger.
The local rivers are predominantly holding rainbow trout, some of which are still spawning, espiecally early in the morning. Condition of most of these trout has not been great, however all of that baby making seems to work up a bit of an appetite, as they tend to be holdiing in fairly open shallow water chomping through as many aquatic insects as they can find.
All of this sounds like the fishing is easy pickings, however due to the relatively low flows and clear water in our smaller local streams, these fish are almost as easily spooked as in mid summer, the difference being that they are holding in more visible locations.

In the Mackenzie Country, the mornings are still producing some light frosts, and with the lions' share of my outings starting and finishing in the wee small hours, I havn't seen much dry fly action yet. Most of the fish caught over the last 2 1/2 weeks have been caught on small weighted pheasant tail or a weighted Hare & Copper nymph pattern.

The local Twizel river has been producing plenty of fish, however due to it's close proximity to town it appears to be getting a bit of a hammering and fish numbers in the middle reaches are dropping rapidly. Another factor which influences this river is the rainbow trouts' tendency to run upstream to spawn, and then drop back down into the lake as spring moves into summer.

One of the joys of fishing these small streams like the Fraser and the Twizel is the close proximity to the trout when casting and also attempting to land the fish. Caleb and I spotted one reasonable brown on our most recentt outing, holding in the lee of a small willow outcrop, making use of the slack flow to move up and down the water column, voraciously taking any sub-surface morsel that happend to drift past. After tying on a size 14 Hare and Copper nymph, we moved to within about 12 feet of the fish, flicked the offering just upstream and watched the trout move into the flow and take the hook. As has been said so many times about New Zealand trout, hooking up is not catching a fish, it just provides the opportunity to open negotiations. This 1-2 kg fish was no exception and after wrestling with the line in one spot for a few seconds, he tore off downstream, narrowly missing my cold legs, and then came charging back up the other side of me. No sooner had I mended all of my line in, and stripped it back out on the way downstream. This was repeated again as he came back up, pass both times within about a meter of the angler. From this point the battle was rather short lived as he wasted no time in ploughing into the overhanging willow outcrop, snared the line on an underwater branch, and pulled free.

Perserverance brings results though, and 10 minutes later a slightly smaller yet similarly fiesty fish made our net.

If all trout were easy to catch, I'm sure that we wouldn't be kept interested for long. We certainly tend to think longer and harder about lifes losses than lifes wins.

Sam Dunn displays one for the dinner table on the upper Ohau River