Bruce McLean - December 15 newsletter

Tony's lbs By Ray Day

Club ContactsExecutive:President: Maree Peter 5224166 [email protected] President: Tony Entwistle 5444565 [email protected]: Bruce McLean 5480066 [email protected]: Ray Day 5441245 [email protected] Editor and Webmaster: Graham Carter 07 8551833 [email protected] 021 02600437CommitteeRichard Breakspear 5419050 [email protected] Lawler 5489753 [email protected] Williams 5445996 [email protected] Jemson 7443123 [email protected] Richards 0274349165 [email protected] Stevenson 5469632 [email protected] and Greet New Members Ray Day and Pete LawlerFishing trips James Macdonald [email protected] 03 5403520Fly Tying Convenor no appointmentClub Librarian Cameron Reid 547 1197 [email protected] Master Richard Boyden 544 8028 [email protected] Sponsorship & Newsletter Advertising Ray DayClub Speakers: Committee membersClub Night Tea/Coffee: Maree PeterNewsletter Distribution: Brian Richards [email protected] 0274349165Life Members: 2007 John Willis 2012 Graham CarterPast Presidents: 06-08 Lester Higgins 08-09 Ross Walker04-06 Richard Boyden 11-13 Ray Day 13-15 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 5224166 if unsure. Any views or opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the committee, club or editor. www.thenelsontroutfishingclub.com

President’s FlylineWell the year is flying by and it won’t be long until Christmas will be aupon us, and we all will have eaten far too much.But hopefully you have created good memories with friends and family.Christmas and birthdays are always a good time to reflect on the pastyear, it is good to remember but no good to dwell.Remember with fondness the good times, try and forget the bad timesbut always remember there is going to be another day tomorrow as longas you don’t wake up dead , it will all be good especially if the fish arebiting.The water temperatures are coming up a bit now so some good fishingshould be out there, as long as the water levels hold. There has beensome good size fish caught maybe a bit down on condition.Richard is always looking for fish to be entered into the Club’s trophy’scompetition.The November meeting went really well with the different corners andthe old boys that know most of it had a good catch up. Well done to allthat helped out it was very informative, everyone went away with a lotmore knowledge.There was just not enough time to get around all the corners .We look forward to our annual Christmas BBQ and games at Isle park or atclub rooms if weather is a bit unsettled on the 16th Dec .Just a short one from me this time see you allsoonYour most gorgeous presidentMaree PeterCover Photo: The fish view by Ray Day 4

My Nostalgic Visit to the Lakes and Rivers Down SouthPart 1By Brian RichardsAfter Joy left Nelson to see family and friends in Christchurch, then ontoQueenstown for a Lions do, I got the motor home and trailer with the boys’ toysready. I left Nelson the following day to head down the West Coast to stop andprick a few lips on some of the lakes and rivers on the way. We will meet a weekor so later in Queenstown where we will have 2 or 3 weeks catching up withfamily and friends, Joy doing some painting, and myself fishing.My first night heading down the Coast was at Lake Brunner (Iveagh Bay):On arrival late afternoon the weather overhead had a few clouds, but a verystrong westerly made the lake quite rough and not safe for the Porta Boat. Thewind dropped and it rained most of the night, but it was cloudy in the morningwith a few patches of blue, and it looked like it would be a good day.After having breakfast I headed down the road a few kilometres to Lake Poeruaso I could have a full day on the lake. 5

I set up the Porta Boat and with fly tackle assembled, I motored across the farside to where I have had success before. The fishing was a bit quiet but Imanaged to land a couple on an Olive woolly bugger, a 4 lb and 3½ lb both beingin good condition for early season. At mid day I motored back to the motorhomefor some lunch.The afternoon was more successful with four coming to the net with the heaviestbeing 5 lbs. I spent the night parked up on the shore of Lake Brunner, not farfrom Mitchells.This fish was a 6lb Brown, the photo taken by James on a previous trip, in thesame area of the lake.A bit drizzly the following morning but not wet enough to stop me fishing, Iplanned to fish the weed beds around the mouth of the Orangipuku where itenters the lake. With the Porta boat and fishing gear assembled and about to putthe boat in the water, a fisherman came in off the lake to have a chat and a lookat my boat. (The Porta boat does create a lot of interest). He said the lake wasnot fishing very well at the moment. The last couple of times he had been outhe had not caught a single fish. 6

My success proved to be better than his.After 1½ hours I had two hits and one landed using a Brown Woolly Bugger. Achange was needed so I idled up Orangipuku for about ½ km or thereabouts. Itwas magnificent with the bush on both sides and log jams to manoeuvre around,until I could go no further. Making the boat secure, a bite of lunch and a cuppawas needed.The Woolly Bugger was replaced with a 16 Copper John and a small indicator.As I walked upstream I noticed a small backwater. I love fishing backwaters andsure enough sitting quietly in front of a log was a Browny.As a fishing mate of mine would say, ‘he is a sitter’, the cast went out, a dragfree drift, the fish moved slightly to the right, the indicator dipped, I lifted therod, ye-ha the first short run or two I managed to hold the fish in the confines ofhis very small pool, then a final run under some logs… that’s when we parted ourways, fish and fly.I moved up river a short distance and spotted another… the cast went out, arepeat of the last fish… but the first run was under a log, once again wound inslack line, and tied on a new nymph.

The third fish was not a repeat… as I landed and released a 3½ lb Jack in averagecondition. I retraced my steps as I could not wade any further. It was a funcouple of hours, even with the odd shower of rain. A nice cruise down the riveruntil I met the Lake, the wind again made its presence felt, so back to where Ihad launched the boat that morning. Although the weather was not so good, Ihad a great day.The next days plan was to head down to Whataroa to fish the Waitangitaona.Once again the morning was overcast but further down I drove the better it got,turning right at Whataroa, and then left down Purcell Road to the end where Iparked close to the river. Waders on, rod rigged up, I walked 1½ kilometresdown stream and then fished back up to where I parked the motorhome. Therewas a down stream breeze which put a ripple on the water making spottingdifficult. I did cast to a couple of fish, but spooked them both. The river hadbush on one side and thick gorse on the other, so there was a lot of wading.Back at the motorhome, had a coffee, then waded my way upstream. Only oneother small fish was spotted, and cast to, with no results. For my 4 hours offishing on the Waitangitaona, I was left disappointed. The section of the river Idid fish, there seemed so little invertebrate life, I thought maybe indicating thereason for the absence of fish!!! Never mind there are other rivers… new andold… to be fished and explored. 8

Next days stop was at Bruce Bay, then a short walk down the beach to the mouthof the Mahitahi to hopefully hook a sea run Brown or some Kawhia.At approximately 12.45pm I had some lunch then down the beach to where theMahitahi flows into the sea. I said it was a short walk but floods had changedthings quite a bit… now it is a long walk. While setting up my spinning gear I sawKawhia chasing White Bait in the shallows. ‘This looked promising’, I thought.After a dozen or so casts I was hooked into my first fish. As I was playing theKawhia, a big dark shape was following, and when the Kawhia realised it could beeaten it went ballistic, I know for sure it wasn’t a seal or a shark, so maybe aBrown of huge proportion! After the Kawhia was landed and released thingswent quiet with nothing else being caught. Then the long but pleasant walk backalong the beach for a cuppa, followed by a short drive to Lake Paringa where Istayed the night and planned to fish the next day. The TV weather forecast wasfor a heavy rain warning in Westland.The forecast was proven to be true overnight, with very heavy rain, so I headedfor Lake Dunstan where I spent the night before heading into Queenstown.To be continued…How to catch a Club TrophyBy Richard BoydenA Picture may provide a thousand memorable moments, but to receive a trophywill carry a lot more. However not all of us are able to or even interested in sucha club trophy. All we like to do is enjoy our sport, the comradeship and theoutdoors.For every fish caught and entered into a Club competition there is usually abenchmark length or weight that is recognized by the club that designates thatyour entry is deserving of the trophy for that particular fish and the locatiowhere it was caught.But a trophy fish doesn`t have to be the biggest fish, for some regions, rivers,lakes, and streams its not about size. The circumstances and the story behindevery fish is always worthy of an entry into your Club Trophy records. If not foryourself, then at least for the youngsters coming through that want to aspire togreater fish.It is also about participation. You belong to our club for many reasons, and one ofthose should be to participate in club events including the registration of fishcaught. If the fish is caught somewhere that you don`t want to advertise that`sfine, as you don`t need to name the river, lake or place, but at least have thecourtesy of joining in.In some cases, fish caught by certain methods or under certain conditions mayalso earn other special category.So make this year 2015/16 the year that you will at least attempt to enter yourfish into the club competition, at least so others can admire your participation.

St Arnaud Club Trip, November 2015By Michael Stevenson & James Macdonald Left: Five pound Jack, Leatham River Below: Michael hooks up on the Leatham RiverIt was originallyplanned as a tripto fish the NelsonLakes, but afterthe bulk of thepotentialparticipantsbacked out atthe last moment- and mostimportantly,those with theboats – the tripwas reorganisedto focus on riversin the St Arnaudarea, with just two participants, Michael Stevenson and James Macdonald. Wedrove to St Arnaud on the Saturday morning and decided to head straight for theupper Wairau, accessed via the Rainbow Road.We were on the water by 10:30 am on a blustery, cloudy and cold day. We sawvery few fish for the first couple of hours. The weather began to clear up in themid afternoon and we started to see more fish. James spotted a good-sized fishsipping insects vigorously off the surface and hooked it with the first cast (using a#14 Adams). 10

Three and a half pound hen, Leatham RiverThe initial run was into a bank of weeds in which it buried itself. With a bit ofelbow grease, it was hauled out of the weed and began a spirited run up-streamand through two rapids, with James hanging on for dear life & doing his best torun along the bank behind it. The fish then changed tack and dashed back downthrough the two rapids to close by where it was hooked. By now, it was fairlytired and Michael was able to net it.The fish – a jack – weighed just over 7 lbs. The obligatory “grip-‘n-grin” photowas taken on Michael’s new phone and the fish was slipped back into the water.It didn’t swim off but spent 5-10 minutes getting its “breath” back, before gentlymaking its way into deeper water. However, not being familiar with the newphone, the photo was not saved.We spent the night in the comfortable Nelson Lakes Motel and had dinner in thenearby Alpine Lodge.Sunday was a much warmer day. We drove east towards Blenheim and decidedto try the Leatham River. The blissful wilderness silence was shattered everyonce in a while by booming reports, presumably emanating from the militaryExercise Southern Katipo, conducted in northern South Island, involving the NZ

Defence Force and forces from eight other nations. We spooked one or two fishand then spotted a brown feeding sub-surface at the top of a pool, moving fromside to side. Michael cast to the brown, who ignored the nymphs but – secondslater – he was on. A rainbow had grabbed his nymph. After a short fight, thethree and a half pounder (a hen) was in the net.The brown was still feeding, so James had a cast at it. Again, the nymphs wereignored but the dropper (a #16 black midge with a red bead) was grabbed by arainbow which had been obscured by boulders on the riverbed. The jack weighedjust over five pounds. We made sure the photos of the rainbows were availablefor posterity by using James' camera.We will plan a Nelson Lakes trip for the pre-Christmas period.Seeking volunteersVolunteers to help out at the remaining fishout occasions at the fishout ponds aresort. The first few days at the kids fishout ponds have gone well.On the first day the fish were relatively easy and all children caught a fish, at anaverage over 1 kg.Over 70 caught on the first day. The second Sunday was a little harder, fish tooklonger to catch, and only 90% of the kids caught a fish with about 55 being takenhome.A number of salmon were caught as well as trout. Since them there have beentwo sessions for special needs kids and most have caught a fish, another 25 fishbeing caught, with the children on wheel chairs coming later this week.As fish numbers getsreduced, and the remainingfish get more wary, theneed for assistance to helpthese attnding kids to catcha fish gets greater. Thenext events coming up ison: Sunday, 13th ofDecember from 8.00 amuntil 12.00 pmIf anyone is available tohelp on this occasion pleasecontact Richard Boyden on5448028. A young lass with a nice Waimea Fish out ponds troutIt is a real thrill to assist one of these kids to catch a fish, often for the firsttime. 12

Doug Smith a older fisherman, is on his deathbed in one of the Richmond resthomes andknows the end is near.His nurse, his wife, his daughter and 2 sons, are with him.He asks for 2 witnesses to be present and a camcorder to record his last wishes. When allis ready he begins to speak:My son, \"Bernie, I want you to take the Valhalla Drive houses.\"My daughter \"Sybil, you take the apartments on Salisbury Crescent.\"My son, \"Jamie, I want you to take the offices in the town centre around Queen Street.\"\"Sarah, my dear wife, please take all the residential buildings along McGlashan Avenueand Beach Road.\"The nurse and witnesses are blown away, shocked by the extent of his holdings, as Mr.Smith slips away.The nurse says, \"Mrs. Smith, your husband must have been a hard-working man toaccumulate all this property for his family.\"Sarah replies, \"What property? The asshole had a newspaper run!\" _____________________________________________An elderly fisherman was sunbathing naked on the banks of a local river.For the sake of decency and civility, and to keep it from getting sunburned, he had a hatover his private parts.A woman walks past and says, snickering, \"If you were a gentleman you'd lift your hat.\"He raised an eyebrow and replied,\"If you were better looking it would lift itself.\" ____________________________________At the end of the tax year, the Inland Revenue Office sent an inspector to audit the booksof a local hospital.While the agent was checking the books, he turned to the executive of the hospital andsaid “I notice you buy a lot of bandages. What do you do with the end of the roll whenthere's too little left to be of any use?\"\"Good question,\" noted the executive. \"We save them up and send them back to thebandage company and every once in a while, they send us a free roll.\"\"Oh,\" replied the auditor, somewhat disappointed that his unusual question had apractical answer.But on he went, in his obnoxious way.”What about all these plaster purchases? What do you do with what's left over aftersetting a cast on a patient?\"\"Ah, yes,\" replied the executive, realising that the inspector was trying to trap him with anunanswerable question. \"We save it and send it back to the manufacturer and every sooften they send us a free bag of plaster.\"\"I see,\" replied the auditor, thinking hard about how he could fluster the know-it-allexecutive. \"Well, What do you do with all the remains from the circumcision surgeries?\"\"Here, too, we do not waste,\" answered the executive.\"What we do is save all the little fore-skins and send them to the tax office, and aboutonce a year they send us a complete pr*ck.\" _________________________________________BRAG PAGE: Page 14: Top left: Arctic Grayling in a blue ribbon grayling rivernear Fairbanks Alaska by John Hayes; top right: Dolly Varden Char by John Hayes;mid right: I did it all by my self by Dave Scranney; mid left: Lake Trout (morecorrectly Lake Char) by John Hayes; bottom right: Rainbow trout gave him a goodrun for his money by Terry Kelso; bottom left: The lonely fisherman by Ray Day.

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Twizel, Mackenzie Country Club TripNine anglers assembled in Twizel on Saturday October 31: Sharon and TonyEntwistle, Judy Price, Brian O’Sullivan, Ray Day, Bruce McLean, Fred Frahm,Terry Kelso and James Macdonald. We planned to fish the canals for the famousmonster trout and salmon, plus try for rainbows and browns in local streams.Following are contributions and comments from Tony, Bruce and Terry:Tony: Canal Capers: As we snaked our way around the foreshore of Lake Pukakiwith Mt Cook gleaming in the distance in the afternoon sun, Bruce McLean’s blueSubaru flashed by, destination Twizel. There was to be a ‘gathering of the clan’… a club assault on the big fish canals of the Mackenzie country.Over the space of an hour the nine members of our group drifted into ourcomfortable accommodations at ‘Moore Fishinn’ where gear was quickly stowedbefore several of us headed out for a first look at the water. Ray and Bruce were‘old hands’ and chose to fish around the junction of the Ohau and Pukaki canals… Sharon and I joined them.I was keen to fish with a fly and Sharon rigged up a soft-bait. As the light startedto fade we were encouraged by a number of fish showing on the surface … mostlysmall salmon I suspect, but the occasional hollow swirl of a large fish peaked our interest. Jack on Day 1

Sharon Entwistle with trout number one for the tripTen casts later Sharon opened the ‘team account’ with a scrappy 3.5 lb Spentbrownie and the prospects looked good. Ray picked up nice 4.5 lb brown and asmall salmon that was returned to the water, while directly opposite us on theother side of the canal a ‘local’ angler landed a 10kg rainbow hen on a bait.Next morning dawned fine and clear and Sharon and I headed up to where thecanal exits Lake Ohau, reputedly a prime spot for large fish to congregate. Thecanals were like a millpond with no wind and straight away we witnessed a largerainbow jack drifting in peculiar fashion down the canals. Initially we thought itwas feeding but it became apparent that it was having serious trouble stayingupright and we suspected it had been caught-and-released and was havingtrouble reviving. We netted the fish, which immediately ejected milteverywhere. An ugly old jack, it was clearly spent and so we dispatched it. Whengutted it proved to be jam-packed with snails and seemed to have haemorrhagedbadly inside … for what reason I could not determine.After a long period of fishing, both with the double-handed spey rod heaving aheavy nymph with a trailing glow-bug and chucking soft-baits on the spin rods,we were joined by James and Terry who’d had no more luck than we had. Apassing angler caught a skinny rainbow jack off the wall at the outlet using bait, 16

Above: Bloated Giants; below: Dead trout at the Tekapo B weir but that was the sum total of the morning’s efforts … the canals were going to be a tougher nut to crack than we had envisaged. On our second day we had no luck on any live fish but the sight of the bloated carcasses of several large trout trapped against the screen at the Tekapo B dam outlet before it tumbles down to Lake Pukaki, was disconcerting and sadly pathetic. Whether these fish had died after being caught-and- released or had died of ‘natural causes’ was impossible to say. However, what had clearly once been fine fish lying bleached and wasted was a ghoulish foreground to the

magnificent backdrop of Lake Pukaki, Mt Sefton and Mt Cook. It’s fair to say thatover the next three days our group struggled to have much success at all in thecanals, despite ranging widely. Above: A whole lotta trout, below: 20 lb rainbow hen A few small salmon were landed and the club members that chose to fish local rivers as the high-country season opened on November 1st enjoyed success. Only Brian O’Sullivan caught anything of consequence, a nice salmon of 7.5 lbs … an escapee from a local salmon farm. Of interest to me were a number of large fish that I saw ‘porpoise’ as if rising, that would then seem to get disorientated and suddenly start drifting belly-up as if having difficulty righting themselves, almost as if they were cast.

Whether this behaviour was due to their ‘obesity’ I don’t know, but I observed ita number of times on the canals and it was certainly trout behaviour I have neverwitnessed anywhere else.Bad weather kept us indoors for a while on our final day before we braved theelements. By now I was doubting my skills as an angler as nothing had shown anyinterest in my flies, I hadn’t had so much as a ‘nibble’ on a bait and I’d hadnothing more than a tap or two from small salmon chasing soft-baits. Brian relaxing beside the canalsWe returned to the junction of the Ohau and Pukaki canals and as it turned outwe should have been on the water earlier, as the inclement weather and the factthat the canals were flowing hard with water released for electricity generationhad spiked some fish activity. We noticed many more fish moving again, includinga good number patrolling within a metre of the edges of the canal ... which stillignored my flies.As the weather threatened to close in again my mind was elsewhere,daydreaming as a couple of diving scaup entertained me a little way furtheralong the shore. Slowly it dawned on me that a large dorsal fin had justmaterialised between the ducks. I clambered higher on the bank and the finmorphed into the shape of a significant rainbow trout that appeared to bestalking the scaup, before it rose a couple of times in quick succession anddisappeared from view. I raced up to the vehicle and grabbed the fly rod as thelarge fish reappeared about 20 metres further out in the water, although the #14nymph and 4X tippet seemed entirely inadequate. As it rose again I fluked a cast,

landing the fly only centimetres in front of its nose. Whether the fish thendeliberately took the nymph or simply ‘ran into the fly’ is debatable but I wasinstantly attached to a lump. After an initial pulse or two it just seemed toaccept that it was restrained and obligingly swam into towards me, somethingakin to hooking a wet sock. By now Sharon had secured her rod and gathered upthe net. The massive hen eluded her first attempt at netting and as it surgedaway the hook broke … snapped at the bend. My initial reaction was dismay asthe fish exploded on the surface, but then in an instant it ceased its thrashingand bizarrely lay there belly-up so that we could net it again. Did it just suffer aheart attack? Whatever had just happened we had secured a beautifullyproportioned 20 lb rainbow hen … in only a matter of moments I had my canalgiant. Bruce's five pounderThe whole event was totally anticlimactic and sadly wasn’t the dramatic battle Ihad envisaged from such an impressive looking fish. While it was a magnificentanimal it gave little satisfaction and certainly won’t rank as one of my mostsignificant angling achievements, beyond being the largest trout I have landed ona fly rod to-date. Given the strange behaviour of several other large fish I hadseen and the spectre of the bloated giants trapped against the weir at Tekapo B,rather than risk trying to release it we decided to keep the fish and have itsmoked at the fat Albert Smokehouse in Fairlie.And so, our first fishing experience on the Mackenzie canals had proved a strangeone. Clearly we had a lot to learn before we could be consistently successful andclaim some expertise there. We’d witnessed some bizarre, even disconcertingtrout behaviour and had observed some disturbing sights, so totally in contrast to 20

the beauty and mystery of my usual back-country fishing haunts that I was leftfeeling strangely uncomfortable and bemused about the whole fishing experiencethere. However no time on the water is ever wasted and in contrast the pleasantcompany of fellow club members totally compensated for the indifferent fishing.Special thanks are due James Macdonald for organising what was still in everywaya great adventure and I will certainly make another trip down there again forsure, if only to see how different it could be from this one.Bruce: Twizel - a New Experience.At the last minute Ray Day and myself decided to join organiser James Macdonaldand six other club members heading off to Twizel on a club trip.How fortunate arriving on the last day of October put us right there for theCentral Canterbury Opening Day for fishing in that area.Having fished the Twizel River many years ago and knowing what a fun place tofish the canals could wait, it was opening day and to the river we went.At first Ray and I fished together spotting and fishing as the opportunities arose. Celebrating Key Ma'a Nonu tryI was high in a bank spotting when I sighted a couple of trout generally swimmingtogether but all over the place. Directing Ray from above he soon had one of the

fish on his line and landed. But while he was doing that the other trout came intomy casting range and a couple of casts later it too was hooked.Unfortunately I was high on a bank with no way down. “What are you going to donow?” was called to me. “I suppose you want me to net it for you!” And like theperfect gillie out to the deep water waded Ray and landed the second fish of theday.After the mandatory break for the much-needed caffeine boost we split up, Rayleaving me four pools to fish and moved further up stream.Well, I had a ball and learnt much about the weird habits of Rainbow trout. Ididn't care; those fish gave me the day of my life. They were so forgiving, a foulcast which would frighten a cow they would return to their lie to be cast atagain. I hooked 5 in the first pool landing 3; not bad - in fact bloody good. Wellthe day went on, me having fun playing with my newly found friend the RainbowTrout. It was one of those days where the fishing gods were with me, one trout Ihooked but with two leaps performed it's own version of catch and release. Thatwas that, another fish lost, but no, it swam directly back to its lie where withthe next cast was safely hooked and consequently landed. Dinner on the last nightIt took all afternoon to fish those four pools, it was time to head back to the carand maybe have a fish in the pool below the bridge. When we came throughearlier there was an elderly gentleman fishing that pool. Ray stopped and had achat and was told by the elderly gentleman that he could no longer walk theriver but this pool was about his limit. 22

Even though age was limiting his ability to get around, he had already landed hisfirst fish of the day, a respectable 3lber. Well done, Sir. Unfortunately as I washeading back I noticed a guy and his dog having a great time swimming andfrolicking in the very pool I was heading for.Well by the time I had returned to the car dismantled and stored my gear andhad a refreshment, the man and his dog decided to leave the river. Almost atthe same time Ray returned to announce that it was one of his best days fishingever; great, I had been thinking the same for me. Well Ray announces that hehad just landed a trout out of the pool where I had started earlier in the day.That was his ninth landed for the day, with my tally only being eight!Out of curiosity and a need to even the score I walked over the bridge to see ifthere were any trout around after the disturbance from the man and his dog. Yesthere were 4 trout in that little gap on the far side between the willows.With Ray's rod still set up and with the fly he had just landed his last fish with Iasked if I could try it out. With a couple of casts on his Sage rod I had its feel andlanded the fly right between those willows, as they say right on the nose. A cleantake and before long a five pounder - my biggest fish for the day - was high anddry, this one I would keep.The tally score was even nine fish each landed for the day.Footnote: For the trip Ray's tally of landed fish was seventeen. Bruce nine!A great trip with a fun group of fellow anglers enjoying the camaraderie aftereach day’s fishing. Hope I’m able to do it again next year. Tony receives the “Fish of the Trip” award

Terry: I want to thank James for organising the Twizel trip. I also want to thankall the other Club members for NOT coming because it would have upset theaccommodation. There were 9 on the trip and 9 beds. On the morning of theW.C. final I was sitting right in front of a large TV screen in a very comfortablearmchair. We had coverage of the final on Prime. Just perfect.It is many a year since I was last in Twizel and I was towing a small caravan thatweighed a ton. The canal development then was just getting going. I hadforgotten how spectacular the scenery was and the little town was just lovely.Fishing on the canals was amazing. Fish were porpoising on the surface likedolphins. I don't know why they do that, it's not as if they are chasing smelt. Ona number of occasions a big fish would explode from the calm surface and thecomments were \"that one was about 30 lbs\". They are salmon from the salmonfarm cages a few hundred yards upstream. Tony Entwistle landed a magnificent20 lb hen Rainbow whose gut contained half digested salmon farm pellets. Thiswas the top prize winner.I am going to do the trip next year again and I suggest that Tony give the clubmembers a talk about the techniques required to fish for these monsters. It wassad to see huge rainbows, brown trout and salmon pressed against the debrisgrills at the end of the canal.In addition to all this canal activity the local rivers open on the same weekendand they are full of fish - just ask Ray and Bruce who had a great time fly fishingwith both nymph and dry fly.Our combined dinner was held at a restaurant called Poppies and the food wasdelicious. My lasting impression of the canals was the colour. It's moremagnificent than sky blue and very spectacular. I thoroughly recommend thistrip for next year and while it may be expensive it's worth it.---------------------------------------------I said to the wife, \"After all these years of marriage, why have you neverthreatened to divorce me?”She replied, \"I'd hate to see you happy\"---------------------------------------------I was reading in the paper today about this dwarf that got pick pocketed.How could anyone stoop so low.---------------------------------------------Five year old Little Johnny was lost, so he went up to a policeman and said, \"I'velost my dad!\"The policeman said, \"What's he like?\"Little Johnny replied, \"Beer and women!\" 24

The Barometer and FishingHave you ever wondered why the fish were biting one minute and the nextnothing? One minute they’re taking the bait, lure or fly and the next its all off.Changing bait, hooks and methods doesn’t work and you’re busy scratching yourhead thinking whats going on?Well the answers usually quite simple really, especially if you understandbaromeric pressure.Barometers measure the ambient atmospheric pressure. It’s a device that’s usedworldwide in the forecasting of weather and the weather's effect on the feedingbehaviour of both fresh and saltwater fish.So the reason the fish stop biting could be that a low pressure front is building.When the barometer is low and dropping, a storm is present, or on the way.When the barometer is high, the weather is fair and dry.An exception to the rule is that when sitting on the lake or harbour estuary area,under storm clouds, and a rain shower happens - this can cause the barometer torise.That is why it is has been said, that the fishing is good after a rain or heavyshower..The barometer has been a very useful indicator to help unlock some of themysteries of fishing. This is because atmospheric pressure fluctuations affect theair bladder in the fish.When the barometer is low, the bite is off, as the fish will spend most of theirefforts on equalizing their air bladder and pay less attention to taking your baitor lure.However, the best time by far to catch a fish is when the pressure is high as thechances for catching fish is far greater.Fish will always feed at the onset of a storm or between the approachingweather fronts. As the barometer rises and falls through the course of the day,the fishing will accordingly go off and come on again.Wild animals that we hunt also know this. They know when and what to expectfrom the weather and the majority of these critters can sense the approach of astorm.Just watch and listen to the surrounding wildlife, birds, small animals and thelike all act accordingly. When all the critters are frolicking about and active, thebarometric pressure is stable or high.If the animals are all laying down in the fields, the pressure is dropping. It canget pretty quiet on and around the lake when a storm is approaching. 25

A fisherman, who just moved from Victoria to Nelson, walks into a bar and ordersthree pints of beer. He sits in the back of the room,drinking a sip out of each onein turn. When he finishes them, he comes back to the bar and orders three more.The bartender approaches and tells the fisher, \"You know, a glass goes flat after Idraw it. It would taste better if you bought one at a time.\"The fisher replies, in a thick Australian drawl, \"Well, you see, I have twobrothers.One's in 'Tassie', the other one's a 'sandgroper'.When we all left our home in Echuca', we promised each other that we'd drinkthis way, to remember the days when we drank together.So I'm drinking one beer for each of my brothers and one for myself.\"The bartender admits that this is a nice custom, and leaves it there.The fisher becomes a regular in the bar, and always drinks the same way.He orders three pints and drinks them in turn.One day, he comes in and only orders two pints.All the regulars take notice and fall silent.When he comes back to the bar for the second round, the bartender says, \"I don'twant to intrude on your grief,But I wanted to offer my condolences on your loss.\"The fisher looks quite puzzled for a moment, then a light dawns in his eyes andhe laughs.\"Oh, no, everybody's just fine,\" he explains, \"It's just that my wife and I joinedthe Salvation Army and I had to quit drinking.\"\"Hasn't affected my brothers though.\"



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