An Australian chasing trout in New Zealand.

Stalk Site Present - 4 days in the Southland NZ

By Clay Wells @clayflies

Living in Melbourne Australia, I frequent my local shop ' Hurleys Flyfishing' and have become friendly with the owner Gavin Hurley. Gavin has recently opened up a shop in Lumsden NZ where he has a holiday home which doubles as accomodation for us fisherman looking for some trophy browns. Trawling through his Facebook posts on NZ, I had to work out a window of when I could get down there and try my luck. Thankfully a 6am direct 3 hour flight into Queenstown, an airport pick up from Gav's wife Deb and an hour later driving along lakes, rivers and through valleys I am in the midst of trout Mecca.

I settled into my room, unpacked my fishing gear and set up my rig. Being so keen I had a little time to kill before Gavin was back from a morning fish to pick me up. I did a quick walkabout tour of Lumsden. A quiet little town with a small skate park, an old train line, the Lumsden Pub, a couple of cafes, supermarket, chemist and of course Hurleys Flyfishing store where you can meet and get local tips and flies from Trevor the store manager.

By 2pm Gav had us site casting to some big browns in some backwaters of the lower Oreti River. There had been a little rain the night before and the Barometer had dropped so the fishing was a little tough. The fish were spooky and sitting in close amongst the trees and shadows. It took some Tippett and fly changes before anything took but once they did we sure knew it. I have fished and landed some big fish but these browns have some fierce power that I don't think I was ready for. Watching a brown circling around to find your fly, sipping it off the surface setting the strike only to feel the rod bend, the reel scream and be busted off in a matter of seconds definitely got my adrenaline pumping. Unfortunately this was the theme for the afternoon and I was unable to bring anything to the net, but my trip was not over and I was determined to fix that outcome.

The timing for my trip was impeccable to say the least. I had managed to be over there while Gavin's wife was also there and we arrived home from fishing that night to an amazing NZ Lamb Roast. I am sure you are all aware of NZ and it's affinity with sheep, well I definitely now know why. A score of 10 lambs out of 10 and it was off to bed in preparation for the next days fishing.

We were headed to the might Mataura River around a 15 minute drive. The weather was perfect and the decision to wet wade was made. We walked a few Km's through local farm land and settled on a backwater to get the day started. The water was crystal clear. The first pool we fished had dozens of 4pound + browns patrolling it. Once again however they were mighty spooky and a couple of perfectly presented lies were all but refused at the the very last second. We changed from Gav's favourite Blue Blowfly to spent spinners, unweighted nymphs and a willow group but all were denied. My anxiety was running hard 'was I ever going to land a fish?'.

We moved up into a slightly less clear water under the cover of some willow trees. We heard the slurp of a brown, sighted the fish and Dave, the other fisherman with us cast into its patrolling zone... Waiting waiting and then BAM, the brown was off! To say there was some pressure on Dave landing this fish was an understatement. Sweat from his brow, the premature call for the net were all signs that this fish was the monkey off our backs. Thankfully the wrestle was won and the fish landed. A beautiful brown to start the account for the day

From then on the fishing lifted and we had many fights on our hands to land these brilliant browns. We moved back onto the free flowing river and transitioned from fishing nymphs to dishing up spent spinners, willow grubs and Gav's favourite blue blowfly.

To say these fish were cunning and evasive would not be a lie. One fish I hooked launched no less than 6 feet into the air, through a willow tree to freedom, busting me off and leaving me red faced..... arghhhhh.

I finally landed (after hooking and busting off around 6) my first fish of the trip by 10am on the second morning. From then on my 'performance lifted and the pressure and winding up from Gav slightly subsided.... It was on!

Walking up the river, with Gav on the stalk we would be presented an opportunity every 50m or so. Fishing slurping a grub under a willow, rising mid stream and or spotting them sitting on the bottom of a nice gravel bar. The clarity of the water was something to remember and the scenery fantastic. Not to mention the fishing! After a long day and 9km of walking at around 8:30pm we decided to head home for a local BBQ cooked by GAv. Once again, a delicious meal was served up. The beauty of NZ is at this time of year it is light at 6am and gets dark at around 10pm. If you wanted to break up your day you could easily have multiple sessions throughout and get that evening rise on dusk!

On the 3rd morning we woke to a slightly overcast day and the decision was made to go and fish the Waikai river. The river wound back and forth on itself from the access point with many opportuniotes to fish the best light possible for spotting fish. We arrived at the access point we had been beaten to the punch by a couple of guys. Luckily for us they had stopped in at Hurleys and picked up the 'Upstream' Downstream flyer on the inside of their windscreen so we knew which way to head to avoid them.

The Waikai was beautiful and we fished up until a place called Piano flat. We landed a lot of sizeable fish which were mainly on the willow grubs. There were still some bust offs but overall the odds seemed to be in our favour and another great day was had. I was surprised at how close we could get to some of these willow grub eaters and if you did startle them, how quickly they would return to post. From the fish's perspective I put it down to those willow grubs being so tasty that risk outweighs the reward :)

Below weighed in at just over 4 pound and was caught in between two willows.

On my final day we went back to the lower Mataura. It was rare to see any other fisherman however on this day the first 2 access points we went to had cars parked at them. Not to fear as Gav was there to take us to another honey hole and a brilliant day of fishing. We were working to a schedule this day as I had an 8:40pm flight back to Melbourne. We had fished up until that time every day so I felt like I was getting short changed hours when I was told we would have to leave the river by 5pm. The river was firing, fish rising everywhere and each good presentation of a willow grub was getting murdered. There was on section we rounded into a shallow gravel bar where 4 pound browns were tailing and smashing grubs off the surface. The right had edge was lined with willow trees and patrolling browns. The left was bare grass and a bubble line of spent spinners. In the 300m long section there would have been around 8 decent fish landed. I was trying to pack in as many fish as I could in those last minutes, I just had to get one more........ Thankfully right on 4:59pm Gav spotted a slurping brown. I had one opportunity and with a 'Don't F#$k it up' from Gav I laid up my group and Boom it was guzzled off the top. That fish felt like a 3 pointer in the final moment of a playoff! I was satisfied.

I loved NZ and I will be back there as soon as I can. Top things about NZ

The fishing The scenery Sleights Beer And NOOOOOOOOO Snakes!! I mean ZERO snakes. From a guy that comes from Australia and is always checking his step, this allows a lot more time to focus on my fishing!!

Www.hurleysflyfishing.co.nz

Provo River Clean Up Wrap Up

We want to send out a huge thanks to everyone who got involved in our Fish For Garbage Provo River Clean Up. It was a great success. We couldn't have done it with out you... A lot of trash was taken away from the river. We filled two dumpsters and a trailer full of garbage. Amongst all the flip flops, cans and plastic bottles we found some interesting junk as well, a sunken canoe, torn raft, blown out tires, money safe, mattress and inner tubes. Thanks again for taking time out of your busy week and giving up a Saturday to help clean up after other people. We had a great time and hope you did as well. Next years clean up will be held on Earth Day May 22. Mark your calendars. :) A big shout out to our partners. Waldorf Astoria Park City, Rocky Mountain Outfitters, Flut FlyRods, Hardy Flyfishing, Cabelas, Coalatree, Wasatch Guide Service, Rising, Fish On Energy, Tenkara Rod Co., Skullcandy, GoalZero, Fish In Peace, Souplefly, Tacky, Blue Halo, Drop Jaw Flies, Flycraft, Fishwest, Utah DNR, Trout Unlimited, Pepsi, Redbull and Cameron Kirby for making a sweet little edit of the day...

Provo River Clean Up 2016 from Brighton Anglers on Vimeo.

Provo River CleanUp and BBQ

This years Fish For Garbage river cleanup event will be held on May 7th, 2015 from 7AM to 3PM. Lunch at 12:00PM. Awards & Raffle at 2:30PM. Vivian Park Pavilion 1 in Provo Canyon.

Attendees are requested to safely collect trash along the Provo River and deliver it to Vivian Park Pavilion 1. In exchange for their garbage, they will be given 1 voucher for a free lunch (redeemed between 12:00 and 2PM) and a prize drawing ticket. The prize drawing will be held at 2:30PM. Must be present to win. No family members, sponsors, or organizers are eligible.

We have secured more than a dozen sponsors that include fly shops, fly fishing equipment and apparel manufacturers, and local businesses. These sponsors will provide prizes, food, and other event support personnel and services.

Fish For Garbage promotes a simple concept: Fill your fishing net full of garbage every time you leave the river after fishing. They have created an Instagram page found at @fishforgarbage.

Limited information is also available at www.fishforgarbage.org.

Brighton Resort Goal Zero BlackStrap Brighton Anglers Rising Fish Utah Stream Access Coalition Coalatree Blue Halo Tacky Fly Fishing Fishwest Hardy Fly Fishing FishOn Energy Co. Tenkara Rod Co. Sundance Mountain Resort Drop Jaw Flies Flycraft Causwell Cabela's Orvis

CANADA EH! Brighton Anglers / RL Trout Camp Road Trip

Join the Brighton Anglers on a Canadian bound road trip to RL Trout Camp. www.troutcamp.com If huge trout, monster pike and a little adventure is your thing then you don't want to miss this opportunity. This July we're loading up the van and heading North. We have arranged a killer group rate and are now working to fill guest spots. If you would like to join us on a trip of a lifetime and fish with the crew email the Captain. Jared@brightonanglers.com

First come first serve! Limited spots available. 

Details:

July 10th - 16th (Arrive on the 10th/leave on 16th)

5 days / 6 nights  ........... $1500 per person*

*Not including tips and transportation.

AMENITIES:

- Natural log cabins equipped with modern amenities

- Daily maid service

- Meals and shore lunches

- Native guide

- Motorized boat with gas / 2 guests per boat

- Fish processing

Note: Rate quoted above are in U.S. funds.

A deposit of $500 per person is required to hold your fishing reservation. Fishing licenses are not included in the package price and may be purchased at the store in the main lodge.

Beanies On Sale!

Looks like it might be a long winter. Keep your dome warm in the morning with a Brighton Anglers watch cap. Get one while they last. Only $6 with flat rate priority shipping costing $4. Click Here To Shop  

Captains Hat

New Era a 100 year old, family owned hat company that sure knows how to do things right. Check out the new CaptainWinkler designed #luckyhat

Winters almost over!

Well as you probably know we're a bunch of snowboard bums who don't do much winter fishing. Now that the temps are getting warmer and the powder days are gone you might find us grabbing a different pair of boots... A couple nice browns that didn't like the looks of the Drop Jaw Flies streamer Captain was throwing at them.

The Fly Shop Alternative

In this day and age many local shops are out of business or have limited hours closing at 6pm on weekdays making it hard for the traditional 9 am to 5 pm working anglers to reach. Not to mention high priced fly shop materials are hard for the die hard angler with the part time job to purchase while maximizing their water time.  

Hobby enthusiasts and mothers have been using the solution to these issues for decades. Fabric, hobby and crafting stores are an angler’s best friend when you are have a tight budget or cant get to a shop before it closes. From purchasing ceramic beads, to foam for hoppers they have some of the basics a fly tier needs to create some great looking flies while not breaking the bank. So next time you are looking for that variety bag of beads or pack of foam it will cost you both time and money for limited material when trying to make it to the fly shop or you can visit your local Michael’s and both of those issues will be solved.

Words by thedyeronsnow