January 2014 newsletter

James Mac Donald sees a nice brown Trout - Baton River By Richard Boyden

President’s Flyline LinkBest wishes for a productive and enjoyable New Year. I trust everyone had abrilliant Christmas and that most of you are back out on the water withenthusiasm, working off the effects of good cheer and Christmas pudding!Our December Club BBQ was excellent, enjoyed by a big crowd and a fun eveningfor everyone who attended. Special thanks to James Jemson for his work andorganization, to Ian Sowman for his cooking skills and maintenance of a good flowof food off the BBQ and to Lester Higgins for helping with his quad-bike andentertainment for the young ones (my wife included). Lois Rutherfurd organizeda great casting competition and thanks to her helpers for undertaking themeasurements and recordings. There was a pretty fair mix of good and ‘suspect’casting, but it was encouraging to see so many members ‘giving it a go’.We are almost half way through my first year as Club President and it isimportant to acknowledge the great team of people who comprise yourCommittee. They have all made significant contributions to ensuring my job iseasy and the membership is privileged to have their services. I’d especially liketo thank Bruce McLean who is an unbelievably wonderful Secretary and great guy… his good humour and commitment to our Club is unparalleled. Past-PresidentRay Day also deserves special mention and is doing an excellent job of Treasurer.Between Bruce and Ray, they keep our Club, our finances (and me when Isomehow ‘forget things’), on the straight and narrow.As the next month evolves, members should be looking to get out of bed earlyand onto the rivers before water temperatures rise too high. Even as I write thisin late December, I have already recorded mid-afternoon water temperatures upto 21.5’C on the Motueka River and 20’C on the Upper Buller. Generally speaking,most fishing action on brown trout is over by the time water temperatures reach20’C – 21’C as the fish cannot afford to expend the energy required to capturefood. On rivers like the Motueka and Wairau, it is highly likely therefore that onfine, hot days the best fishing may be all over by 1200 – 1300.Even so, as river levels drop and temperatures warm, there can be some greatfishing action. Anglers who rise early to fish the Motueka River may be treated tosome good early morning dry fly action on a caddis hatch. Likewise, anglersmaking the early morning journey over to the lower Wairau River should betreated to some excellent spent mayfly spinner action. Later in the monthhopefully we will see the start of big trout coming up to smack cicadas on manyrivers … it’s exciting action on big dry flies, so look out for the opportunity.I would encourage you whenever you go fishing, to also keep an eye out for anyactivity that pollutes our waterways or harms our valuable fisheries in anyway.The discharge of raw dairy effluent into the Wangapeka River from a newly

established dairy farm has already been recorded and this has quite likelyresulted in the significant algal growth which is now evident in the lowerWangapeka River and Motueka River, downstream of the farm virtually all theway down to the sea. Pollution like this directly impacts on the health of insectand trout habitat and ultimately your sport as anglers. It also potentially createsan unsafe environment for many others who want to swim or recreate in the riverwaters downstream. The situation for the lower Wangapeka and Motuekadownstream may also be exacerbated by significant recent forestry clearance inthe area, which doesn’t appear to have been undertaken with much regard to itsimpact on the river environment along its border. There are tonnes of granitesand currently exposed by the logging, which could have a potentially seriousimpact on the river in the advent of another significant rain event.Suspect activities should be reported to either the Nelson/Marlborough Fish andGame at [email protected] or to the Tasman DistrictCouncil at [email protected]. If you need help in contacting the right peoplelet me know and I’ll be happy to assist getting the info to the right people.At our next full Club night on February 19th, members will be treated to a talkon salmon fishing in Scotland by our visiting guest speaker. There will also be acasting clinic for ladies starting at 6 pm prior to the meeting, under the tutelageof member Terry Kelso with assistance from other members. Ladies who wish tobe involved should contact Maree Peter at 03 522 4166 or [email protected] look forward to seeing you all again soon … if not earlier somewhere on thewater. In the meantime, rise early and hopefully you’ll be treated to some greatsummer fishing action.TightlinesTony EntwistlePresidentCover Photo: Facing a new day - Peter BakerMy neighbour knocked on my door at 2:30am this morning , can you believe that ,2:30am?! Luckily for him I was still up playing my Bagpipes.Paddy says \"Mick , I'm thinking of buying a Labrador .\"Bugger that\" says Mick \"haveyou seen how many of their owners go blind?\"A mate of mine recently admitted to being addicted to brake fluid. When Iquizzed him on it he reckoned he could stop any time.... 4

Club ContactsExecutive:President: Tony Entwistle 5444565 [email protected] President: Ray Day 5441245 [email protected]: Bruce McLean 5480066 [email protected]: Ray Day 5441245 [email protected] Editor and Webmaster: Graham Carter 07 8551833 [email protected] 021 02600437Committee Scott Ingram 5441605 [email protected] Peter Lawler 5489753 [email protected] Maree Peter 522 4166 [email protected] Mathew Williams 5445996 [email protected] James Jemson 7443123 [email protected] Don Clementson 5448867 [email protected] and Greet New Members Ray Day and Pete LawlerFishing trips James Macdonald [email protected] 03 5403520Fly Tying Convenor Tony EntwistleClub Librarian Lois Rutherfurd 022 6010642Trophy Master Lois Rutherfurd [email protected] Sponsorship & Newsletter Advertising Ray DayClub Speakers: Tony EntwistleClub Night Tea/Coffee: Lester HigginsNewsletter Distribution: Dennis EalamLife Members: 2007 John Willis 2012 Graham CarterPast Presidents: 06-08 Lester Higgins 08-09 Ross Walker04-06 Richard Boyden 11-13 Ray Day 13- Tony Entwistle09-11 Dennis Ealam THE NELSON TROUT FISHING CLUBMeets once a month at: Fish and Game Offices, 66 Champion Road, Richmond. Normally the 3rd Wednesday of the month 7.00pm. Please phone 5440066 if unsure. Any views or opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the committee, club or editor. Website: www.thenelsontroutfishingclub.com

CLUB MEMBERSHIPTo join the club: collect a form at a club meeting; download a copy fromthe club website; or phone a committee member to have a form mailed toyou.Mail the completed form to Fish and Game Offices, 66 Champion Road,Richmond, or hand it in at the next meeting with your subscription and joining fee. Ladies Refine Your Casting Night A ‘ladies refine your casting night’ prior to our Feb meeting at the Fish and Game office starting at 5 p.m. for an hour. We will have a couple of the men to show us there tips on casting. All ladies welcome you don't have to be a club member. Any questions please contact Maree 03 5224 166

CLUB INFORMATIONFly Tying Nights: Club Subscriptions:Every first Tuesday of the monthMembers who are interested in fly Family $40.00tying or learning to tie flies arewelcome to come along to the Fish and Adult $40.00Game Clubrooms and get in somepractice. Junior (13-17) freeChange of Address Out of region: $20.00Please let the secretary know anychanges to your postal or email NB: Club year runs from 1 July toaddresses phone number, so you willcontinue to receive the newsletter. 30 June at 7.30 pmClub Library Magazine Articles and PhotosThere is a Club Library which is All articles and photos will beon Club Meeting nights. It holds a good published and need to be to therange of good books and Videos covering editor by the second Sunday offly tying to flyfishing techniques. To borrow every month. Items can befrom the library is free to all members. emailed to [email protected] Advertising All advertising enquiries or available suggestions should be forwarded to the Treasurer.CLUB WEBSITE and FACEBOOK PAGE Trophy Application FormsThe club website and facebook page Application Forms are available fromprovide online information about the the Trophy Convener or on the Clubclub, contact details and activities, as Website.well as links to river level data, weatherand fishing information. Monthly Club Photo Competitionhttp://www.thenelsontroutfishingclub.com Entries can be any photo takenhttp://www.facebook/thenelsontroutfishingclub since the last Club meeting. Send your entries into Tony or BruceIdeas for Club Nights or TripsIf you have any suggestions for speakers Club Merchandise For Saleor other activities for Club Nights Car Transfers $3.00contact a committee member. Club Badges $10.00 See the Treasurer at MeetingsUseful links about the river flows in the Upper South Island. http://www.tdc.govt.nz/index.php?RiverflowMapsandPlots http://www.marlborough.govt.nz/enviromonitoring/riversmap.cfm http://www.wcrc.govt.nz/river_level_rainfall/24_hour/ 7

MONTHLY PHOTO COMPETITION Carl is playing a good fish on a River in the Nelson Lakes National ParkSpinning in Winterby Blake AbernethyWhat’s the best time of year to catch trout on local rivers?If you asked that question of a fly-fishing devotee, they would invariably answer“summer”, and the dry-fly aficionados would be thinking about late summer;with balmy warm evenings, prolific hatches of Mayfly and a river dimpled byrising trout.But although summer is undoubtedly a great time to fish Wellington’s rivers theopportunity to catch trout does not end with the onset of the cold weather.Winter fishing is well worth a crack, particularly if you are using spinning gear,the first decision to make is what to tie on the end of your line.Take a look at what’s on offer at your local tackle retailer and the choice can beperplexing. There are a myriad of lures on the market and new designs keepturning up all the time. Fortunately, the accumulated experience of local anglershas narrowed down the choice, with some designs proving much more effectivethan others. So what are your best bets for local rivers?The KZ series of spoons manufactured by Kilwell are indispensable; particularlyon rivers like the Hutt where brown trout predominate.

All of these spoons are copper with black stripes painted on one side and areparticularly attractive to brown trout.Good choices are the 7 gram versions of the KZ Dandy, KZ Gypsy and KZ Bingo.Blade spinners like the Jensen Insect, Mepps, Veltic and Vibrax should also be akey part of your of arsenal as they are effective for both rainbow and browntrout as well as perch.These lures comprise a central shaft around which the ‘blade’ rotates. Fish larger(7-8 gram) lures with dark blades when rivers are murky or under low lightconditions such as evening or early morning.These large lures will create more disturbance as they are pulled through thewater and are more likely to be noticed by the trout under these conditions.The best time to catch trout on spinning gear is when the river is dropping aftera flood.Timing is the key to success; watch for the colour of the river to change from amuddy brown to a pale cloudy white before it finally clears.This last stage, when the cloudy look of the water starts to dissipate, is yourqueue to get out fishing.Trout rely on their vision to find prey and with the river having been high anddiscoloured they won’t have fed for several days.When it clears they will be hungry and foraging actively.Get out there and have fun! Manuka Tea

I want that fly backA farmer named Paddy had a car accident.He was hit by a truck owned by the Eversweet Company.In court, the Eversweet Company's hot-shot solicitor was questioning Paddy.'Didn't you say to the police at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine?' asked thesolicitor.Paddy responded: 'Well, I'll tell you what happened. I'd just loaded my fav'ritcow, Bessie, into da.... ' 'I didn't ask for any details', the solicitor interrupted. 'Just answer the question.Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine!'?'Paddy said, 'Well, I'd just got Bessie into da trailer and I was drivin' down daroad...... 'The solicitor interrupted again and said, ‘Your Honour, I am trying to establishthe fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the police on the scenethat he was fine. Now several weeks after the accident, he is trying to sue myclient. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question.‘By this time, the Judge was fairly interested in Paddy's answer and said to thesolicitor: 'I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favourite cow, Bessie'.Paddy thanked the Judge and proceeded. ‘Well as I was saying, I had just loadedBessie, my fav'rit cow, into de trailer and was drivin' her down de road when thishuge Eversweet truck and trailer came tundering tru a stop sign and hit metrailer right in da side. I was trown into one ditch and Bessie was trown into daudder. By Jaysus I was hurt, very bad like, and didn't want to move. However, I

could hear old Bessie moanin' and groanin'. I knew she was in terrible pain just byher groans.Shortly after da accident, a policeman on a motorbike turned up. He could hearBessie moanin' and groanin' too, so he went over to her.After he looked at her, and saw her condition, he took out his gun and shot herbetween the eyes. Den da policeman came across de road, gun still in hand,looked at me, and said, 'How are you feelin'?''Now wot da hell would you say?'An Irishman and a Kiwi were fishing together when the Kiwi asked the Irishman ifhe tied his own flies and if he did what did he find the most difficult part whendressing flies?The Irishman answered “The most difficult time I have when dressing flies ispulling their wee hairy arms through the sleeves.” Hungry fish takes fly, net and all. Peter Baker 11

Above: Hard to mix Baileys with Gin and below: Hans posing again. Peter Baker

Leo Thomas with a beautiful wilderness 6.75lb BrownAn Irishman and a Kiwi were fishing together when the Kiwi asked the Irishman ifhe tied his own flies and if he did what did he find the most difficult part whendressing flies?The Irishman answered “The most difficult time I have when dressing flies ispulling their wee hairy arms through the sleeves.”Prescription Drugs & Side EffectsA woman asks her husband at breakfast time, \"Would you like some bacon andeggs, a slice of toast, and maybe some grapefruit juice and coffee?\"He declines. \"Thanks for asking, but, I'm not hungry right now.\"It's this Viagra,\" he says. \"It's really taken the edge off my appetite.\"At lunchtime, she asks him if he'd like something. \"How about a bowl of soup,homemade muffins, or a cheese sandwich?\"He declines. \"The Viagra,\" he says, \"really trashes my desire for food.\"Come dinner time, she asks if he wants anything to eat. \"Would you like a juicyrib eye steak and some scrumptious apple pie? Or maybe a rotisserie chicken ortasty stir fry?\"He declines again. \"No,\" he says, \"it's got to be the Viagra. I'm still not hungry.\"\"Well,\" she says, \"Would you mind letting me up? I'm starving. 13

Molesworth/St James Club tripBy James MacdonaldThe first Club fishing trip of the 2013/2014 season was to the Molesworth Stationin South Marlborough and the St James Conservation Area in North Canterbury.I drove down on the Monday morning in the first week of December and spent acouple of hours on the Acheron and Clarence rivers. I had no joy on the lowerAcheron and did only a little better on the Clarence, hooking one small trout on anymph and losing it immediately.Mike Standish-White and Graeme Ferrier joined me around midday on theTuesday. We based ourselves at the - as ever - reliable Alpine Adventure HolidayPark in Hanmer Springs.We spent Day 2 (Tuesday) prospecting ~20 km of the Acheron above theconfluence with the Clarence; we saw a small number (3-4) fish up to lunchtime,but none thereafter. A couple were actively feeding but couldn’t be convinced totake our offerings. Perhaps the fact that the water was at 19.5oC had somethingto do with the complete lack of visible fish in the afternoon. I was also surprisedto being bombarded by a cacophony of cicadas from 09:00AM onwards at analtitude of nearly 900m. I have only been in NZ for 4 years, but in my experience,I wouldn’t have expected them until some time in January. Perhaps someone canlet me know if this is within the boundaries of “normal”? Day 3 saw Mike, Graeme and I assemble on the shore of Lake Tennyson, with a glass-like surface, fish feeding off the surface and snow-capped mountains in the background. I was keen to see Mike put his new “Porta-Bote” though it’s paces;Unpacking the Porta-Bote from Mike’s MitsubishiBasically, the Porta-Bote folds into a compact, lightweight & easy-to-transportpackage (looks like a chubby paddle board) and unfolds to become a tough,stable, virtually unsinkable boat. 14

Foam flotation along the inside of the hull just under the gunwales makes theboat virtually unsinkable. All you need to do is unfold and install the seats,attach the outboard and off you go. In theory ………… With the motor not working, Graeme & Mike resort to rowingThe plan was for Mike & Graeme to fish L. Tennyson on Day 3, while I would fishBowscale tarn (Sedgemere Lakes area). On Day 4, I would fish the Lake withMike; Graeme would check out Bowscale. Our plans were scuttled when theoutboard refused to start, after significant effort out on the lake by both Graeme& Mike. Mike was apoplectic having spent several hundred bucks getting itserviced recently. So they rowed back in and dumped the motor in disgust.They decided that they would cover the lake by rowing and told me to head forBowscale, which I reached - after a short drive and a ~40 minute hike - at aroundnoon. Meanwhile, the wind had picked up somewhat. I rigged up with a BlackGnat dry and headed for the steep bank on the north side of the tarn where it issometimes possible to ambush cruising browns. The first time I went to Bowscale(with my wife, Sandra, who doesn’t fish), I caught three good fish in ~20minutes. Now Sandra thinks that all fly fishing is like this; I wish it were so…

This time, the elements were against me; with all the ripples/waves on thesurface, I couldn’t see the all-black fly. So I switched to a fly Tony Entwistle hadgiven to me a couple of weeks ago (see “Trout Tactics” article in last month’snewsletter); it is like a regular Black Gnat but has a fluorescent pink parachute.The fly was designed by Peter Carty and is called Pink Thing.Ah ha, I can see this, I thought. By the time I had fished the whole of the northshore, I had landed two fish in the 1.5 to 2.5lb range, I had spooked a couple ofothers in the process. Bowscale brown caught on a Peter Carty-designed Pink ThingBy this time, the wind was really up and bonafide whitecaps were crossing thelake from west to east - which also doesn’t assist the angler trying to ambush fishthat are cruising the lake in an anticlockwise fashion; this means they swim fromeast to west along the north shore. I noticed that any fish I spooked while tryingto get a fly in front of them would dart over a ledge 5-10 metres from the shore.I figured I could go after fish on the deep water side of this ledge using a lure,stripped back in to shore. 16

I started with a Hamill’s Killer and on the second cast a really large fish crashedthe fly, jumped three or four times and broke my 5lb tippet. That was my lastHamill’s Killer, so I tied on a Mrs Simpson that I hadn’t used since a great dayfishing dams in the Drakensburg fifteen years ago. This also worked well with athree pounder clobbering the fly as it was retrieved over the lip of the drop-offAll fish were returned not too much the worse for wear. Bowscale brown that fell to a Mrs SimpsonI trudged back to the truck, parked by Lake Sedgemere, reasonably happy that Ihadn’t been “skunked” but convinced that Bowscale is not optimally a place tofish on your own; it is a classic location where you and a buddy can alternatebetween “spotter” and “caster”. Meanwhile, back at L. Tennyson, there was nosign of Mike & Graeme. So I carried on down the road to Hanmer and found themfishing on the Acheron. “Why did you leave the Lake?” I asked. Well, it turnedout that the wind had – not surprisingly – also picked up at L. Tennyson, withMike & Graeme having to row really hard to get back to the truck. In the processthey found that the steel pegs that slotted into the rowlocks had a design flaw,in that they began to bend under the effort required to move the boat againstthe windAfter folding and packing up the boat, Graeme and Mike fished the edge of thedeeper water along the eastern shore. They used their spinning lures that were

much easier to handle in the gusty wind. After a couple of strikes Graememanaged to get one small fish to shore, but he wasn’t prepared to call it his ‘firsttrout’, so it was quickly returned to the water!So there was to be no Lake Tennyson for me on Day 4. We decided to head forthe confluence of the Severn and Acheron rivers (~55 km NNE of theClarence/Acheron confluence) and see if the water was any cooler and, hence, ifthe fish were any keener to think about sustenance. The Severn was definitelycooler, but the Acheron remained abnormally warm; it was around 20.5oC(outside temp was 29oC). We fished hard for several hours and about the onlything we saw in the water was a dead cow. I heard later from the MarlboroughDoC that it had died giving birth. I can honestly say that I walked about 6-7 km inthe morning and up to mid afternoon, along very “fishy” water and saw not asingle fish in “typical” lies along the banks; the same for Mike and Graeme. Porta-Bote on Lake TennysonWe spent the afternoon leap-frogging one another heading downstream backtowards Hanmer. Late in the afternoon, after seeing no fish all day, I was readyto call it a day and put the lack of fish down to the high water temperature; theywere probably all hiding at the base of deep, cool pools, letting the abnormallyhot water flow over the top of the pool. One last stretch to prospect, I thought.This pool had a really nice “eye”, just to the left of where the rapid disgorgedinto the top of the pool. 18

So I slowly made my way up the eye, putting the odd cast into likely areas; I sawabsolutely nothing.By the time I got to the rapid, I thought “Well, that’s it; beer o’clock” andwound in my line and stretched up to hook my #16 black nymph into the guidenear the top of my rod. Out of the corner of my right eye, I saw a fish rise upfrom out of a group of boulders and take something subsurface. I tried not tomove as I was ~5m upstream of the fish and it could surely see me. It driftedback down into the boulders.I tapped the rod, releasing the nymph (tied on under a bluebottle dry) andflicked it out at 90 degrees to the stream flow; i.e. the flies landed ~5m in frontof the fish and would drift right over the boulder hiding place. No need forwaiting for any drift, the trout shot out of the boulders and smacked the nymph.A quick lift and he was on, taking off downstream like an exocet. I didn’t fancyrunning after him, so I put into practice the Enty Rod Erection (ERE; seeNovember’s NTFC newsletter) Technique and – lo & behold – the fish semi-circledinto my bank and it was relatively easy to beach him; a fit and healthy 3pounder.On the last night of any NTFC trip, it is becoming a tradition to repair to a localdining establishment (as opposed to cooking a meal in the cabins) and have agood dinner with excellent kiwi beer &/or wine. On this evening, we headed toRobbies Bar & Bistro in Hanmer and had a first-rate nosh served by a spiritedyoung lady from Brno (Czech Republic) with more piercings than you could namebody parts. One other last-night-tradition is for me (as trip organiser) to award aprize to the angler who caught the largest fish of the trip (recent winners of thisaward have included past-presidents Ray Day and Richard Boyden – see previousnewsletters from last year’s season). This time, the prize was awarded to…………….. (drum roll) …………. me! I picked up a nice tube of Airflo’s “WhizzLube” which is not for the use that some of you perverts might think! It doeshowever claim to “bring tired flylines back to life”.Day 5 saw us returning to Nelson. We stopped off en route to check out a coupleof spots on the Maruia. The water temperature was looking better (16oC) but,notwithstanding this, we saw no fish at the two locations we checked out.All in all, a difficult few days with few fish sighted, even fewer landed. A coupleof factors hampered us: (a) high river temperatures in the Acheron, and (b)issues regarding the Porta-Bote. On the positive side, Bowscale Tarn is still aremarkably productive fishery; the farmer is to be congratulated that a series offences keep stock from accessing the water. The most interesting observationwas the strong cicada activity along the Acheron at the beginning of December.We may need to re-schedule our Lake Brunner trip in early 2014 ……………. 19

DVD REVIEW‘The Distant Browns of Emerald’By Latitude Guiding and I’m On! Productions The Nelson region offers some majestic brown trout fly fishing in the backcountry areas, along with the supreme scenery and crystal clear waters of the many rivers that are within an hour and a half’s drive or so. Mike Kirkpatrick of Latitude Guiding shares some of his experiences with Andrew Hearne as they take us sight fishing for large brown trout in gin clear water, in the many Nelson rivers, where they show us the excellent fish that habitat these waters. These wily old Nelson brown trout are highly regarded as some of the most elusive trout world wide and display there determination to avoid being netted, quality fish that deserve loud and enthusiastic acclamation.This DVD focuses on the 'Quality of Experience'... There are three chapters plusan introduction, where the stars align and the fishing, company, weather andscenery are at their very best.This is the sort of video you can put on at any time, to really get the juicesrunning and inspire you to get off the couch and organize a trip.The DVD shows some really incredible footage, big fish and crazy happenings instunning surrounds, as we watch fish after fish take the fly, get played andreleased.These boys know there stuff, an unbelievable experience.At 95mins long on dual layer disk and shot in HD, it offers real value for money,both in terms of content and quality.The settings are majestic, the emerald water to die for and the fishing (and fish)amazing.Check out the DVD on http://youtu.be/ENdX8CVzvIU or contact Mike [email protected] 03 545 9115; 021 043 7307 www.latitudeguiding.co.nz 20

Above: High tide Rotoiti and below: Mike Kirkpatrick with a big backcountry Brown on a typical Canterbury Nor’west day.

Mike Kirkpatrick with brown of close to 4kg on a day where despite the Nor’wester gusting 50kms, the fish were willing…’Mathematics:This comes from 2 math teachers with a combined total of 70 yrs. experience.It has an indisputable mathematical logic. It also made me Laugh Out Loud.This is a strictly mathematical viewpoint. It goes like this:What Makes 100%?What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? Wehave all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%.How about achieving 103%?What makes up 100% in life?Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer thesequestions:If: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZIs represented as: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 2425 26.Then: H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K 8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 =98% 22

And K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 =96%But, A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 =100%And, B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T 2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 =103%AND, look how far ass kissing will take you.A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G 1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 =118%So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty, that while Hardwork and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, itsthe Bullshit and Ass Kissing that will put you over the top.Now you know why some people are where they are! No pressure it’s a sitter – Peter Baker 23

Above: Personal best for Mike’s brother James on the fly, and below: Late afternoon saw this big jack sipping down a dry’

Motueka A&P Show Hunting and Fishing ExpoThe club was given the opportunity to have a stand at the Hunting and Fishingexpo held at the Motueka A&P show on 6th Dec.Five members made themselves available to man the stand from 8am until 4pm.We were allocated a site in a good spot with room at the front to hold a castingcompetition.This was just a bucket placed in a suitable position and the task being to cast thelure (without hooks) into the bucket.If the competitor was lucky enough to land in the bucket they were given achocolate fish.Or that was the idea but being very generous fisherman we gave fish to any onewho got in the bucket or somewhere near the bucket, or as one enthusiastic ladymanaged to land the lure about two tents away, even people who weresupporting the caster sometimes got a fish just for being there.We had some high profile entrants enter into the spirit of the fun day. 25

The first one was local MP Nick Smith who showed some great form but missedthe bucket each time (there was no limit on the number of casts). 26

A short time later Damien O'Connor MP for Westland arrived, he wasn’t able tohit the bucket either, he was then told him that Nick Smith had been a fewminutes earlier, where upon Damien replied “that if Nick had been standing inthe bucket I would have been able to hit the target.”Next celebrity to arrive was Geoff from Geoff’s fishing show his casting was thebest of the three but the bucket was still elusive.Any way it was all good light hearted fun and they all went away with one or twofish.We had one young boy sign up as a junior member and one man who lives inAustralia and is shifting to the Nelson area in the next few months took amembership form to fill in.Also Bruce was tying files which created some interest and Pete Lawler had a TVscreen set up which was running some of Tony's high quality fishing videos.Over all it was a good fun day and well worth the effort.With five people manning the site we were all able to take time to visit the otherareas of the show, maybe we will do it again. 27

Grand winnerOn the 15th December the final draw for a Kilwell Spinning rod & Reel was madeand the grand winner was Troy Newton from Richmond, Nelson.He was one happy boy and just wanted to go fishing, right now.His mother and father wish to thank the Trust members for the Rod and Reel andthe father asked a lot of questions about the Club and maybe in the future wewill have a new member.Total amount received from this raffle $262.00 and the Trust wish to thank clubmembers who put in $5.00 for the raffle and think you will agree the right personwon it. 28

Reading Rapids: The Secret Riverby Gary BorgerRapids are a place of extremes -- extremes in water depth, extremes in bottomerosion, extremes in even current speeds, as we shall see. Rapid are alwaysbetter places to be searched carefully by the fly fisher -- carefully in terms ofwading, and carefully in terms of making certain that no good water goesunexplored.A surprising number of stout brown trout were taken from the less than knee-deep \"secret river\" (red dots) that lines this stretch of the Gardiner River(photo: Tom Estilow).Rapids are tough places to put a fly down and expect it to float with any sort ofdead drift. But there are some tricks to it. First comes reading waters, thencomes the fishing. In all rapids, there is a \"secret river\". It may be quite narrow,and then again it may be fairly wide. It's the easy water, the place one can toss afly without much need to do more than use a Harvey-style leader to get a goodfloat. During the salmon fly hatch [on Montana's Madison River] (and every otherhatch for that matter), the fishing can be fast and furious in the secret river, andit's the first place I hit. It's the water right against the bank -- you know, thatstuff one wades through to get out there into the \"real\" river. But think about itfor a moment: Where's the best place for an energy-conserving trout to parkitself while getting food in the easiest fashion?That's right: In the slow water next to the shore where the stoneflies are hangingon every bush like overly ripe fruit. 29

When guiding anglers on the Madison, my long-time friend, Mike Lawson, tellsclients to cast into all those places where one wouldn't normally fish -- in otherwords, the secret river.Those that pay attention to his advice find out very quickly that Mike is a shrewdwater-reader, indeed. Most anglers use the secret river as their wading lane,when in fact, it should be their fishing lane.So, lesson number in in reading rapids is very simple -- find the secret river oneither side of the rapids, and fish it hard. Some of it will be deep and some of itwill be shallow, so expect to find a mixture of prime limes and feeding lies. Someof it may have undercut banks and sometimes there are boulders blocking yourwading; too deep on the outside to go around and too tall to clamber over. Onehas to haul out and walk around. But when you do, watch it. The hydrauliccushion right in front of that boulder may be holding a boulder-sized brown.Don't race through the secret river.A not-so-secret secret river (red dots) on the Yellowstone, inside YellowstoneNational Park (photo: Chad Shmukler).Interestingly, the secret river is not a secret at all to one select group ofindividuals. In fact, it is their preferred area to fish. This set of individuals arethe float guides. Their mantra, repeated time and time again to clients whostruggle to comply, is: \"Get the fly closer to the bank.\"Odd, isn't it? The guys floating mid-river are told by their guides to pound thebanks, while the guys that are wading struggle to get their flies to mid-river.Editor's Note: The above is an excerpt from \"Reading Waters\", by Gary Borger.It is the second book in Gary's \"Fly Fishing: The Book Series\". As we've notedbefore, if you're not familiar with the series, you're missing out. Each book is a

fountain of information resulting from years of well-heeled experience. The firstthree books offer a bevy of knowledge. Most importantly, the lessons in the bookare illustrated by warm, entertaining anecdotes from Gary Borger's life as afisherman, making the books not only valuable tools for the fly fisherman, but anabsolute pleasure to read. To learn more about the entire series,visit GaryBorger.com.Above Tekapo river and right;Whirinaki riverPhotos by Peter Williams

Above: Back Country river and Below: Leo with a 7lb Brown– Leo Thomas 32

FISH-A-SPOT:The next month holds the potential for some wonderful dry fly action, includingearly morning caddis hatches on the Motueka River, some extensive mayfly spentspinner falls on the lower Wairau River and the first trout rising to cicadas onmany waters as days warm up.Suggested nymphs: Copper Beadhead Brown Caddis - #16,CB Mercers Micro Mayfly Brown - #14 - #16.Suggested dry flies: Elk Hair Caddis - #14 - #16,Parachute Adams - #14-#16, Rusty Spinner - #14-16,Clark’s Cicada - #8. 33

Above: No better place and below; A beautiful Motueka trout – Leo Thomas



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