September 2016 magazine

Caught by Bow & Arrow cast, Black & Peacock Fly, in the backwater (see story page 6)

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 FlylineAs we move on in to the hotter months, I look back and reflect on the hot monthswe have just had just like when I was a child out picking Raspberries in thestifling heat. And just couldn’t wait till the end of the day so we could go for aswim.The rivers were always cool and clear and very welcoming after a long daypicking those horrid little red berries and if we were lucky we could sneak alunch time swim if the garden was close to the river.The good old days when we had no real worries, just when the next socialoccasion was going to be and where.It’s a shame now that you have to really study the river before you go for a swim,checking for toxins that might be hiding in the water.So much for the clean green image we try to promote, yes a lot of our rivers areclean but more and more they get polluted.On a brighter note - the trout fishing club has had its first meet and greet at theSpeights Ale house on the 20th January this was a great night for all thatattended, a good time for a catch up for a chat and a quiet drink.We are all looking forward to the Feb meeting on the 17th. Our guest speaker willbe John Ellis, this will be a very interesting talk on his work on the catchmentboard I am sure it will raise more questions than answers. So see you all there.We have our casting competition coming up so make some time to practice yourcasts it will be a fun day at Isel Park.The CFR retreat is coming up again this year at the Owen River Lodge on the 23rdand 24th April (yes Anzac Weekend) and the team of helpers will be looking forGuides for the Sunday to take a lady out fishing, last year we paired up theguides so it was easier on the transport costs for the guides. So we will do thesame again this year, so if you are keen keep these dates free, Sandra will besending out the “Can you help letter” again soon.We are also looking for some flies to give to the ladies on the retreat we wouldlike to give each lady 6 flies in with their goodie bags we have some boxes butnot flies. If any of you have some spare or would like to make us some that wouldbe greatly appreciated by us all.Tight lines everyoneYour most gorgeous presidentMaree PeterCover Photo: Kahurangi Brown by James Macdonald – see storyPage 12) 4



My Nostalgic Visit to the Lakes & Rivers down SouthPart 2By Brian RichardsWhen I got to Queenstown I could not believe how busy the traffic was and howmuch development had taken place - we have only been away from there for twoyears. When I caught up with Joy we were able to work out what we would bedoing for the next couple of weeks.That time was spent around Queenstown, Invercargill, Kingston and Kinloch withfamily and friends… what a great time. With family commitments at home Joyheaded back to some sun in Nelson for the last week, while I continued on to fishsome of my favourite places. Fishing Paradise – Reed LakeMy first day was spent fishing Reed Lake and a No Name spring creek. The fishwere quite fly-shy and do get a lot of pressure, but I landed and released my fairshare on #16 snail patterns. The fish size has dropped over the last 30 years from8lbs being a good fish, to an average size now of about 4lbs, but it is still a lovelyplace to cast a line. 6

Nice fish in No Name CreekI set out a short distance from the lake to a spring creek that has no name …. andhopefully it will remain that way. The fishing on this creek can be fun but thecatching can be difficult.The day I was there everything was in my favour… the sun, with no wind, so I wasable to fish with a 16 – 17 foot leader and a fine tippet.The fish were feeding between the weed beds, so I alternately tied on size #16Para Shoot Adams, and #16 Para Shoot Love Lure, changing over when refused, …both flies landed 3 fish each, biggest being 5 1/2 lbs… what a fantastic couple ofhours was had.Next was the Caples River…Fraser, a good fishing mate, and his wife Evette had also planned to be up at theMid Caples Hut the day before opening on 1st November. With packs on our backsand a three hour walk in, we were optimistic of a good few days fishing. Theweather forecast was good overhead, but windy. 7

Once at the hut we found out that the river was fished a couple of days beforeopening, which was very disappointing to hear, with both of us being HonoraryRangers, we would have liked to have caught the guy. Caples is fly-only water. Sign1st November opening day was clear and sunny, but by mid morning the wind gotup to gale force, which made casting very difficult.We both caught a rainbow each on Nymphs, but had to revert to casting acrossand down with a streamer which is not our most favoured way to fish. But we hadno other option. We both caught fish this way.With the distance of the walk in, and fighting the wind, the hut was a great placeto be for the evening. After a glass of wine and a good feed we were veryrelaxed as the sun went down.The next day was the same as the day before… very windy. After a leisurelybreakfast we packed our gear and headed back down the valley with the odd castor two back to the car park.Before we left to go up the valley to the Mid Caples hut, Fraser put a coupled ofbottles of beer in the river to keep cool awaiting our return.They went down a treat when we got back to the car. A great trip, spent withgreat company. 8

Fly OnlyCaples hookup 9

Frasershookup onthe CaplesRiver

Wakatipu Anglers Club trip to Omarama …My old club had a trip planned to Omarama to fish Benmore and surroundingLakes and Rivers. I joined the guys there for a couple of days before I headed forhome. It was a good weekend, with all of us catching fish, just average size, andno great numbers. Yet again the wind made the fishing difficult. The backwaterwas nice and calm, and as the lake was rough it was a good opportunity forbackwater exploring. Lake Benmore BackwaterIt was a great time away, fishing old and new waters, and with old and newfriends. But after 4 weeks away it was good to get home.If any NTFC members are going down that way for a fish, and would likeinformation to help with their trip planning, just give me a call.Prick a Lip, Brian 11

A Christmas Trip, December 2015By James Macdonald“I am planning to hike the Old Ghost Road”, my wife announced just beforeChristmas.The trail is about 85 km in length, with trailheads at Lyell (35km west ofMurchison) and Mokihinui Gorge, near Seddonville, 50 km NE of Westport.“Hmmmm”, I thought, “this gives me a chance to check out some streams I havenever fished before.”I dropped my wife off at the Lyell car park, with plans to meet her at thewestern end of the trail four days later. I drove on southwards towards Reefton,with the idea of checking out Larry’s Creek, a tributary of the Inangahua. When Iarrived at the end of the forest track beside the creek at around midday, I wasdisappointed to find a hire car, tent and other camping equipment. The carcontained some fishing gear, so I was pretty certain that one or two fishers wereon the creek in front of me. I guessed that they had probably started a fewhours earlier and I hoped that the fish might have had time to get over theintrusion.Unfortunately I was wrong and saw very few fish over the next several hours,catching only one while blind-fishing a rapid. Around 6:00pm, I met two Swissanglers walking back down-stream to their tent. They had cast to quite a few fishbut had no success.The next day I drove north to Westport and on to the area south of Karamea totry out a few places mentioned in a Fish & Game brochure on West Coast SportsFisheries. Initial inspections of creeks were not positive; very low water levelsand warm water. I retreated to a lodge called “Rough and Tumble” on theMokihinui River, just east of Seddonville, where I was due to meet my wife afterher four-day hike. The Lodge is excellent, with great food prepared by the ownerand lodge builder, who rejoices in the name of “Weasel” – seehttp://www.roughandtumble.co.nz.Weasel (real name Marion Boatwright and originally from North Carolina) alsomixes dynamite cocktails. He was one of the driving forces behind thedevelopment of the Old Ghost Road, a project that morphed from an idea in 2007to the official opening of the hiking and mountain biking trail on December 12,2015. The history is well documented in Weasel’s book “Muscle and Dreams”which is sold to benefit the Mokihinui-Lyell Backcountry Trust from whom copiesmay be purchased ($30) at [email protected]. 12

Kahurangi JackThe next morning, I was joined by Chris Sherwood who had driven over fromRiwaka. We decided to spend a day on the Little Wanganui and hiked along theriver, using the Wangapeka track when we were not in the river itself. To cut aday-long story short, we saw very few fish, let alone hooking any. We returned tothe lodge in the evening for one of Weasel’s G and Ts.Much to our pleasant surprise, we found my wife, Sandra, sitting in the lodge andchatting with Weasel – one day earlier than planned. Reaching the last trail hutat 2:30 in the afternoon, she decided to push on and finish the remaining 17 kmthrough the Mohikinui Gorge; she hiked a total of 42km that day.The next morning Chris and I had arranged for a pick-up by Helicharter Karameato take us into Kahurangi Park - see http://www.helicharterkaramea.com. PilotWayne Pratt has been intimately involved in the Old Ghost Road project,providing much of the aerial support for the track construction.Wayne picked us up mid-morning and informed us that there were anglers onmany of the larger rivers, but he would take us to a few spots on smaller riversthat had not been fished recently – in some cases, not for a few years. 13

Chris and his Kahurangi TroutSo – hopefully – the fish would not be too “spooky”. “Which river are you takingus to, Wayne?” I asked as we headed over a ridge south of the Mohikinui Gorge.“Can’t tell you that, I’m afraid.” Wayne responded. He put us down beside asmall river and told us to start fishing a pool about 100 metres downstream fromwhere we were and then work our way upstream to where he would land laterafter relocating a couple of mountain bikers.He left us to assemble our rods and took off to the east. About five minuteslater, as we were about to start fishing, we heard a loud, guttural scream fromdownstream of Chris and I. “Oh, bloody hell”, I thought, “There is someone elseon the river; but why are they screaming?”It didn’t actually sound convincingly human and Chris wondered aloud whether itwas a deer roaring; but that happens a couple of months later in the year. Aminute later, a family of dark-coloured goats wandered out of the trees. 14

We worked our way through the bush and surveyed the first pool carefully.Seeing no fish and needing to cross, we began wading and immediately spooked atrout that headed off downstream. We proceeded up the true left bank to thenext pool and spotted a nice fish feeding off the surface. The fish was hookedfirst cast, on a #16 Parachute Adams. Chris hooks up to a Mangles BrownIt sped off to the far bank and tried to hide under a boulder. I wrestled it out andback across the river over towards Chris’ net. It weighed 5 pounds and after acouple of snaps was returned.We only saw one other fish before Wayne returned, but didn’t catch it as weprospected the pocket water. In retrospect, we probably spent too much time inthe pocket water instead of moving along rapidly to successive pools.We flew to another of Wayne’s secret spots, a pool where cruising browns can beseen from the air. We landed ~100 metres upstream and crawled through thetoetoe to the edge of the pool.Immediately we could see several cruising fish. They ignored dry flies andshowed a bit of interest in streamers but really went after large weighted

nymphs, such as a Prince. After about half an hour of furious action where wewere both successful, the fish cottoned on and shut down.Wayne took us to another seldom-fished spot, where we saw only one fish as wewalked through a couple of hundred metres of water. So Wayne decided weshould head down to the north branch of the Mokihinui River where he would setus down below a couple of large pools and fly ~500 metres upstream, land andwait for us to make our way towards him.As we put our rods together, Chris realized he didn’t have his sunglasses hangingon a cord around his neck. A quick search of the spot where we got out of themachine proved fruitless. He wondered if they had become tangled in theheadphones when he took them off before we got out.We worked our way upstream to where Wayne had landed. We realized that – asthere was a cliff along the south bank of the river - it would be necessary for usto cross the river twice to get to the machine. As it was quite deep, this wouldhave required swimming which, due to the swift flow of the water, probablywasn’t a good idea. We spoke to Wayne by radio and he decided to come and getus from the boulder field where we were located.This involved putting one helicopter skid down on top of a boulder while Chrisand I clambered aboard after stepping onto the other skid that hovered in theair, with Wayne concentrating hard on maintaining the machine’s position.“Don’t touch any controls!” Wayne ordered Chris as he climbed into the frontseat. As soon as I was aboard (in the back seat) Wayne lifted us safely off theboulder – a very impressive piece of flying.Chris mentioned his missing sunglasses and Wayne asked “Are they Oakleys?” ashe handed them over. He took us back to the Rough and Tumble Lodge via theMokihinui Gorge, where we had a close-up view of some of the spectacularsuspension bridges that were required to complete the trail.On our final day, we fished a stretch of the Mangles, east of Murchison, on ourway back to Ruby Bay/Riwaka. I was rigged up with a dry fly and Chris opted fornymphs. We saw a number of fish but had no luck except for one riffle fromwhich Chris pulled at least half a dozen one pound (or less) brown trout.Elsewhere, the water was worryingly warm (23oC) and low.In summary, a very enjoyable time spent on the West Coast, visiting spots that Ihad never been to before. If you are planning to be in the Mokihinui/Karameaarea, I can thoroughly recommend both Rough and Tumble lodge if you areseeking accommodation ([email protected]; Tel: 03 783 1337) andHelicharter Karamea ([email protected]; Tel: 03 782 6111) fortransportation into Kahurangi and elsewhere. 16

One of Chris's Mangles Browns A women’s guide to going fishing Find a bloke with a boat? Invite him to take you fishing Prepare a lunch wrapped in gladwrap (Anything doesn’t work as blokes eat while fishing) Don’t winge, nag, complain Get the bloke to cut up some bait, Get him to place some bait on the hook he has tied to your line. Lower the bait into the water. Try not to take the best position on the boatWhen a fish strikes the bait, don’t yell, scream and dance around Just quietly lift the rod and set the hook Wind the line in Quietly ask the bloke to get the net Get him to net the fish Allow him the opportunity to remove the hook and icky the fish. Then start again after having the bloke take your photo.

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