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Know your estuary

It's common for 'big water syndrome' to overwhelm many new to fishing our larger tidal estuaries, however it's not about blind chuck and chancing it. There are reasons some anglers consistently do better than others in big water and when those guys struggle, you know it’s been a tough day.Estuaries abound with structure, much like our upriver locations, and a wise angler will identify suitable structure and fish it accordingly. Channels, the drop offs submerged debris and the seams, gravel bar...

Hang around

We have all been there. A long while of nothing doing and then as we near the end of our retrieve, 'WHAM!' However we have just lifted our fly away from a lunging fish and blown the chance. With a slow start to our sea run season on our estuaries so far, I'm cautious not to let even one opportunity pass by. Those final moments of the retrieve, where you prepare to pick the line up to recast are commonly where many anglers fall short...Let me introduce “The Hang”.The purpose of the hang is to...

Single handed spey and the Airflo skagit scout

Recently I received a message from Rob asking if he can learn to spey cast and successfully swing flies with his everyday trout gear.Here’s a secret: that trout rod you have in your garage will allow you to spey cast. Spey refers to a style of casting, and this can be performed with any fly rod, single or two hand. Specialist gear is not required, however in some situations ( tight surrounds, heavier tips and flies, sustained anchor casting ) a short skagit head will make life a lot easier.Lon...

Keep a caddis close

So let’s look at caddis. The good old elk hair caddis has long been a favourite of mine as a dry / dropper fly, floating high with a wing angled upwards enough to see. But there’s another reason I fish them so much, trout will usually shun an emerger, dun or spinner that drags even to the slightest degree. However, caddis routinely scatter across the current and so are a good choice for tricky currents and those who struggle with drag free drifts. Whether swinging after dark or presenting a ...

Size matters

One thing I often see in many anglers fly boxes are a plethora of different patterns but sure enough, most are of a similar size range, and usually tungsten beaded.Now we all know that trout will most likely eat your favourite size 14 beadhead but what if they don’t? Will you switch to another 14 of a different flavour? Chances are, changing down a size (or two) will get the result. I fish very few patterns, but those that I do are carried in a range of sizes and in the case of nymphs, weights...

Fishing the Mr Glister streamer

So I’ve received a number of messages this week as to how I fish Mr Glister streamers. Do I just swing it, do I strip it? Well, it all depends on the water etc and how the fish are reacting.In larger, deeper pools I will often fish them slow and deep across and down, letting it swing under control across the current. While the fly sports plenty of movement from the rabbit strip wing, it can also be stripped in long pulls. If pulling fish from cut banks / cover etc I will land the fly a metre o...

Options are good

Having a variety of flies, in a number of patterns and profiles, along with a variety of heads and sink tip options sure makes a difference on those slower, winter days. Add in a bit of imagination and a few different retrieves and you not only increase your options, but renew your enthusiasm with each change.Because lifes too short to do the same old, same old....

Thinking more = catching more

Swinging sexy water. Don’t just fire out random casts thinking they will work. Identify structure in the water ahead of you and think about how your fly will present to fish holding around that structure. How fast / slow will the fly pass through the bingo zone and should it accelerate, remain uniform or slow as it does so? How deep / near the surface should it be. Will it present broadside or not? Should we add movement or just let it swing and once it passes that drop off and could we take a...

Stoneflies

I personally don’t use stoneflies as much as I should in the waters I guide but they allow you to really go to town on profile, accents and importantly for big, come eat me legs, let’s talk more about this...A good stonefly imitation is my go to in deeper, rocky runs, or big pools where you need your fly to be seen. On many of my Southern waters going too big, too soon can kill an opportunity, however for me personally after presentation, bling, then weight, I want a stonefly or two in my ki...

Rules of engagement

1) You will never, never...never never never ever flick a tangle free from the rod tip....

Galloups Antacid

Well the brown beetle are now truly taking to the wing however we don’t always wait until beetle season to tie on a terrestrial. Galloup’s Antacid is a favourite of mine from the grassy, front country streams to the high country wilderness. Its subtle, uber buggy and fish everywhere just love them.Fished throughout October, the Antacid offers a non-mayfly option before terrestrials show, then throughout the summer months it offers a sneaky alternative as fish become weary of blowflies and ci...

Streamer advice

Matthew writes:“Hi Chris. Thank you for all the helpful articles and posts that you write. One in particular that I really liked was your article on the Dore's Mr Glister with the list of materials and the way you fish it etc. Using stuff I had amongst my tying stuff I have tied a couple of similar flies (I didn't have exactly the same stuff as you use so used what I had that was similar) and have been having some success with them in a couple of waterways near where I work. One thing I have n...

Kiwi kit - understanding your fly line

When choosing a fly line for New Zealand conditions, its important to consider the type of fishing you plan to do, and the waters you are likely to be fishing. For instance, the line you may use for bowling over big indicators and bigger flies on long leaders in the backcountry will likely be a far cry from the requirements for delicately presenting a size 18 emerger at close quarters on 6x. These considerations are especially important to NZ locals who may spend the majority of their time on on...

The Floating Fly

I was flattered when in 2019 I received an email from Christopher Rownes asking if I would participate in his new project, The Floating Fly - a collaboration of thoughts from some of the sharpest minds in fly fishing around the globe.https://www.thefloatingfly.com/chris-dore...

Filling the fly box - Production tying tips

Its that time of the year when many of us are sitting down to restock our severely depleted fly boxes. As a guide, its surprising how many flies I can go through in a season and so have a few patterns I like to tie in bulk.Whipping up a couple hundred size 14 nymphs isn’t as easy as it sounds, and when on such a mission, you’re tying for production, not for fun.Here are a few tips that make my bulk ties a little bit easier to manage, and a lot quicker to fill.1. Prep your hooks and lay them ...

Dealing with low light conditions

It’s never too glary to find a few fish, you just have to adapt your strategy. First up, look for a solid backdrop and then look for a height advantage. As hard as it might be to put into practice just forget about that stuff that you can’t see into and put all your focus on the water that you can. Make sure to position yourself the best that you can to see into the absolute best of the water, you may need to sacrifice good water to get the advantage on great water but it’s usually wo...

Windy day tips

Always worth a revisit..After spending many, many guide days on the water I have observed countless styles and attempts to combat the wind. The following are a few tid bits to assist you in windy days on the river.* Minimise, or better still, eliminate false casting. The more time your line is in the air, the more time you have to phuck things up.* Keep a short, manageable line. Wind riffle will hide the fish, but it will also conceal your movements. Shorten up and move in closer.* Keep your rod...

All you need to know about egg patterns

There are many ways we can have our eggs and don’t we enjoy them all. Scrambled with bacon, poached with bacon, fried with bacon, bacon eggs benedict, the list goes on! As much as our preferences change week by week, it’s the same as our approach to winter fishing each year and the variety of ways we fish and select our patterns improves each season with experience and as new materials come to light. So this is far from just another glo bug article but a refresher and an overview o...

Quick nymphing tip

Consider each and every drift when nymphing. Pick two targets: where you think the fish will be, and where you need to land your nymph to get down to that target, without dragging through it. In pocket water this will mean a shorter drift so land your fly closer and use more weight as required to get immediately down. In smoother water you’ll want to cast further upstream and employ a longer drift with a fly which wont snag up or drag your indicator under too soon. Regardless, using level...

Winter midging

As we move into winter proper you might be thinking that’s it’s all about eggs, heavy nymphs, and big streamers to fool fish that have something other than feeding on their minds. Trout still need to eat over winter, and not all switch into spawning mode, so it’s important to still keep observing what type of food is on offer over this period when the insect larder, at first glance, appears to be somewhat empty. The non-biting midge, or Chironomid is found in most waterways in Ne...

Fly casting faults - Tracking

If you haven't spent time on your tracking, chances are its affecting your distance, line speed and accuracy. This is a very common issue I work on with clients. Nearly every client. We all know that tight, efficient loops require the rod tip to track a straight-line path (SLP). This is true not only of the horizontal plane, but also of the vertical (i.e.; from the birds eye view). Enter the 180-degree rule…What is tracking? For tight, efficient straight line casts your rod tip ...

The reach mend.

Having trouble presenting to those subtle rises on those long, glassy pools? Spooking fish as your leader falls to the surface? Now you wont.. Read onReach casts (or more correctly, reach mends) are ITA mends, in that the mend is performed while the line is In The Air rather than after it lands On The Water (OTW), ensuring your cast lands 'ready to fish' without disturbing the water, your drift, or your fish.Watch Chris' Lockdown Lesson on the reach mend hereWhile reach mends are used mostly for...

Dealing with the wind 2 - Making the casts

So last week we discussed the mechanics required to successfully make your cast work, and to achieve that all essential line speed to help deal with the wind. Now to the casts themselves.AdviceAgain, the best advice I can give for casting with the wind is to not try... Wind often comes and goes in gusts, so if you have the opportunity to wait out the present gust and get that fly flinging when it subsides, then that's the way to do it.No? Read on...HeadwindQuite simply you must canter your casti...

Dealing with the wind 1 - The mechanics

So face it: if you want to fish New Zealand then its a good bet you will have to deal with wind. Strong wind. If you cant, you might not catch fish, and after flying all this way and spending all that $ a little practice and preparation beforehand doesn't sound too silly, does it. Check this... To deal with he wind we need a fast, tight loop that straightens low to the water.Need more? Read on... The Mechanics Variable casting arc. The casting arc is the angular change of the...

Dealing with longer leaders

One of the biggest things clients fail to come to terms with is the necessity to fish longer leaders on our clear rivers here in NZ. Now I'm not talking the 18' + rigs we sometimes employ ourselves, but even the standard 12'- 15' leader / tippet combos we fish here daily far surpass what many visitors are used to. In fact, many locals may employ such leader systems, however not handle them too well either.Long leaders on short lines are often difficult to control but have no fear, Chris is here....