UppaCreek Ltd.

Fly fishing in New Zealand presents new challenges to visiting anglers. The general fishing style of sight fishing, while great fun and extremely productive, it takes a little time to master for those who are unfamiliar with it. Once mastered it opens up a whole new and exciting world of fishing as you go hunting for your fish.

The first skill is the spotting of the fish, easy enough at times when the fish are sitting out in shallow water with a light coloured background but most of the time they blend in with their surroundings and it takes a while to develop that hunters eye for spotting the quarry. The best spotting conditions are therefore when the sun is high with the best time to be on the river being through the middle part of the day. Polaroid sunglasses are essential. And yes these big fish do sit out all day in bright sunshine!

Once spotted we approach the fish from directly behind as the fish have a blind spot there. A careful approach is needed and it’s usually possible to get quite close to the fish.

Being able to make an accurate short to medium distance cast will enable you to catch a good number of fish with relative ease. By this I mean you need to be able to present your fly ahead of a fish in such away that the fly will drift down to that fish in a natural dead drift. And if you can present the fly on your first cast with a minimum of false casts then so much the better. Then if you can do the same in windy conditions so much the better as enviably the wind will blow at some stage and having the ability to push a cast into it will produce rewards for you.

Because of the clarity of the water the fish will pick up on strange coloured fly lines zipping over there heads, so for this reason dull natural coloured fly lines are essential. For the same reason, attached to the end of your fly line you will need a relatively long leader of say 14 to 18 feet. You will need to be adept at casting this length leader to be more succesful in NZ.

The fly needs to land far enough ahead of the fish so as not to spook it, if you’re using a nymph it also needs to be far enough ahead to allow the nymph time to sink down to the level of the fish. Your leader needs to be sufficiently long so that the floating section of line lands behind the fish, again sufficiently behind as to not spook it.

The first cast is always the most important one, present the fly well the first time up and you’ll more than likely to hook your fish. The chances of catching a fish probably diminish by 50% for every subsequent cast

Didymo Alga & Gear Cleaning requirements:
This invasive alga looks like it’s here to stay. It very important that all visitors take this very seriously and do there bit to ensure they don’t spread this scourge and infect new waters. Presently it’s confined to the South Island and about 26 rivers

We will have all the gear and will no doubt clean your gear for you, however if you are planning to fish on your own make sure you get yourself set up to deal with it. I’ve heard quite a few stories of anglers still not doing their thing and cleaning their gear. This is simply unacceptable. All gear that has been in contact with the water must be cleaned before entering a new waterway or indeed relocating upstream.

If you are moving items between waterways you must -

1.  Inspect: Before leaving the river, remove all obvious clumps of algae and look for hidden clumps. Leave them at the affected site. If you find any later, do not wash them down drains. Treat them with the approved cleaning methods below, dry them and put them in a rubbish bin.

2.  Clean: Soak and scrub all items for at least one minute in either, hot (60°C) water, a two percent solution of household bleach or a five percent solution of salt, nappy cleaner, antiseptic hand cleaner or dishwashing detergent. A two percent solution is 200 ml, a five percent solution is 500 ml (two large cups), with water added to make 10 litres.

3. Dry: If the above cleaning is not practical (i.e. livestock), after the item is completely dry to touch, wait an additional 48 hours before contact or use in any other waterway.

To decontaminate felt soles:

Use rubber soles if you can otherwise careful treat your felts as follows;

4. Combining the power of heat with the power of detergent is highly recommended due to the inability of decontamination solutions at ambient temperatures to easily penetrate felt soles. The entire felt sole needs to be completely immersed for 30 minutes in hot tap water (45 to 50°C – uncomfortably hot to touch) containing at least 2% dishwashing liquid or nappy cleaner.

5.  If hot water alone is used, careful attention needs to be made to ensure the temperature of the water is maintained above 45°C for 40 minutes to ensure the interior of the felt reaches a sufficient temperature.

6. Alternatively, freezing the item until solid is effective.

7. Relying on drying is not recommended because of the difficulty in determining when the entire thickness of the felt is thoroughly dry.

8. These methods for decontaminating felt soles can also be applied to other dense, absorbent materials.

To ensure you do not spread Didymo, wherever possible use equipment, boats, clothing and other items for exclusive use in a single waterway.

NETTING
1. Use strongest tippet possible to ensure your success but also to shorten the battle with the fish.

2. Use barbless or crushed barb hooks.

3. Use a net to avoid dragging the trout over shallow water and onto rocks etc. Keep your capture under the water all the time until ready for a photo and release.

HOLDING
4. Once netted, squeeze the fish just in front of the tail. The pressure must be firm and applied directly on top of (the back) and underneath. Do not squeeze the sides.

5. The trout should, with this pressure applied correctly, be “knocked out” and consequently will not damage itself by struggling. Try not to walk in front of your netted fish, especially over a sandy bottom, so that it is not getting silt and sand in its gills.

6. The fly can now be removed with the free hand and, if a photo is desired, get your companion to have the camera ready prior to holding up the fish so that it is kept out of the water for the least time possible. I aim for no longer than 10 seconds and if there is a problem with the camera or pose it is better to replace the trout in the net (under water) until ready again. After all, we wouldn’t like being shoved under water for any length of time so look at it from the fish’s point of view!

RELEASING

7. Place the trout back in the water facing the current. If possible, try to choose a spot where the current is not too strong and where the fish has access to cover eg. undercut bank, deep drop-off. Release the pressure while supporting the trout and it should regain its senses and depart quickly.

TIP

I use wet gloves when handling trout to reduce knocking off scales & slime and for better grip, although wet hands will do.

Happy catch and release fishing!

The fishing this month has been above average for this time of the year, with some large 7-10lb fish being caught regularly along with the average 4-5lber’s. This has been due to the very high amount of rainfall this month, especially later on in the month. (as I am writing this we have just finished another two days of heavy rain).

There has been a consistent rainfall every couple of weeks which has kept the rivers in tip top shape. The larger fish have been caught on both dries and nymphs, when the rivers have still been coloured and quite high.

February was good for the terrestrial once again with cicada’s, beetles, and willow grubs just to name a few. Carty’s General Terrestrial is a good alround pattern but will not work as well on some rivers like the Motueka.

There has been quite a bit of wind around this month as well so a weighted nymph due to its great momentum can be hurled into the teeth of a gale abit easier than a dry fly. Good patterns are Green Stonefly size # 8 and 10 or Tungsten Pheasant tail size 16 – 14.

A gold bead on the top of a double nymph rig with a smaller black bead or natural nymph on the bottom has been working well. Indicators should be kept as small as possible yet still visible, this sometimes means changing up and down depending on the type of water being fished. i.e riffles and rapids as opposed to calmer slower stretches.

The autumn hatch has started on the Motueka so the duns should start going off in the evenings especially once the rivers drop. I personally can’t wait for this as it gives me some fishing time to myself in the evenings.

Good luck to everybody out there in the month of March, and may the hatches keep on coming.

We would like to introduce our newest addition to our family, Miss Jade, born 29th February 2008. Jade is feeding well & sleeping well, we are so blessed to have her in our lives.

We would like to thank our Mid-Wife Janice Hayes for her wonderful support & guidance, along with the Motueka & Nelson Maternity Units and Doctor Kevin Hill for an amazing labour. A great story I can tell you one day over a cuppa. A special thanks to my sister Cassie, Aunty Cassie, for her amazing love & support any sister, let alone a pregnant woman, could ask for & so much more. And to a proud father again, Aaron, thanks for your love & support, could not have done this without you too.

Mum & Jade are doing fantastic.

Thanks all for your wonderful support from a very proud new mum

Nat xx