Inglorious Bastards

Just got back to Queenstown after a couple weeks down South. No internet access...so no updates. The trip was great, the house was awesome with no barking dogs. The group dynamics were much better than I could've expected, despite one guys attempt to mess it up for everyone else. The fishing was not as good as usual, so it was very tough.

We had lots of variable weather for the entire trip so the fish were either spooky as hell or hunkered down. That said, everyone still caught fish most days with several up to 6.5 pounds. I only fished a few days, mostly played guide and took pictures. As the fish wee far and few between most days where I went, we didn't get a lot of love. But, I have 5 days left on my own and intend to hit it hard.

I'll head up to Twizel tomorrow for a few days and then maybe back down to Queenstown or possibly Dunedin. The weather seems to be improving as today was the nicest day we've had the whole trip.

Queenstown

Finally arrived this morning in Queenstown, actually flights weren't too bad. I had grand plans today but ended up just taking it easy around town, trying to feel human again.  This pic is sundown in LA.

So, after 3 showers, 4 meals, 2 changes of clothes and several hours mucking with my stuff, I'm ready to go to bed. John and I are going to get up and try to catch the sunrise on the backside of Mt. Aspiring and hit the Caples or Routeburn.  This is from the wharf in Queenstown today.

Twitter

My flight from SLC to LAX was delayed by about 3 hours. So, I have 3 less hours to sit around in LA, but still have plenty of time.

Anyway, here's the link to the twitter site that I'm using.  http://twitter.com/flyfishingMT.

Heading Out

Today is a fun-filled travel adventure characterized by lots of sitting on my ass in SLC and LAX. Several of the guys on the trip are coming from the dc/baltimore area and the weather there is atrocious. Cancelled flights and closed airports. Hopefully everyone will get out ok over the next couple of days.
I have a dirty secret. I have been "tweeting" for over a year now. I'm vaguely familiar with twitter now so go to twitter.com , my username is flyfishingMT and you can follow me through my various trials and tribulations, plus get announcements, fishing reports, and other current events in my fishing life. I'll post the twitter link later.

Super Sunday

Watching the Super Bowl tonight withe the family. We celebrated my son, Alex's 11th birthday today though it's not until Wednesday and I will be on my way to NZ.

We had a great turn out to our fly tying seminar yesterday at the shop. Tim Tollet from Frontier Angler's in Dillon was our guest and he had some great insight into fishing around Dillon in addition to some pretty interesting new patterns. He really know a lot about fly design in terms of comng up with specific patterns to be fished particular techniques. We've got Doug Daufel next week tying a lot of his patterns for the West Yellowstone area.
I've pretty much wrapped up my packing for the NZ trip. I have so much photo gear now. Half of my stuff is photo related it seems. These big trips require so much preparation and planning that I usually forget the basics like leaders and gink (I got some today though).

I'm using the same fly plan for my nymphs as I used for my dry. Carry a lot in a small box and then have all the extras in an inventory box that stays at the house. We don't do a lot of nymph fishing there, but I always like to have a ridiculous selection so that I can throw every lifestage of every insect at that one fish that won't eat anything anyway! Always like to be prepared.

Getting Caught Up

I leave for NZ next Tuesday and it seems like the closer it gets, the more behind I am on things that need to get done. We've been updating the store's website for the past couple of months, developing a Facebook page, teaching fly tying classes, booking trips for 2010, and taking care of folks heading out around here. So it has been busy.

I never thought that I would be proficient at any level with Dreamweaver and working in Photoshop layers.  Just was not part of the plan. Never thought I'd mention Dreamweaver on a fishing blog!

Anyway, our Saturday free tying seminars kick off this Saturday with Tim Tollet from Frontier Anglers in Dillon. In addition to be a great guy, he is a helluva tier and has some really good insight into fishing those Dillon waters. We've got a live video feed on a TV screen in the shop this year to make it easier for everyone to see what's going on.

I'll be in the shop today and Monday if anyone needs to get ahold of me before the trip and you can always get me through e-mail if you want to try to get some 2010 dates nailed down. Bookings have been busier than usual for this time of year, so you may want to call and at least get some dates blocked off for you.

My NZ Dry Fly Boxes

I think that everyone that has fly-fished a few years knows the attraction of NZ trout fishing. So, I'm not going to rehash all that has been hashed. But I'm always happy to talk about it if anyone has any questions. The "big deal" about NZ is that there are good-sized trout (3-5 lbs avg) that you can sight fish to in crystal clear waters running through some of the most picturesque spots on the planet. And you can do this in relative solitude (another angler 5 miles away starts to feel crowded).

Fly selections are pretty basic in that the fish, for the most part, aren't too picky in terms of patterns. Hatches are relatively sparse yet diverse so the fish are used to eating a bunch of different types of bugs. Attractor patterns like Wulffs, Parachutes, and Stimulators are the general rule. I carry a few variations of the standards in 3-4 sizes. This will usually cover me for most of the conditions.

When I find a feeding fish, I try to see what they might be eating. It could be anything, so I try to see if there are decent numbers of any one bug in particular and then match that. So I also carry some small cdc emergers and traditional feather wing flies with me as well. January is Willow Grub and February is Cicadas, so I always have a good selection of these as well.

I have no idea how many flies I take with me but suffice it to say that it's probably more than most. Alright...it's borderline obscene. But, they way I look at is that I already have a gadzillion flies and there is nothing more frustrating, that I've experienced, than working a feeding fish for an hour and not being able to get it to eat your fly. So, I believe in having lots of options to throw that fish's way. Plus they're light and I have a great system to carry me through a few weeks.

I use a small C&F sized fly box for my dries that I will be fishing that day. I have a compartment box that is jammed with dozens and dozens of the same flies as that are in my pocket box. I keep this box either at the house or in my backpack and go to it to replenish my flies at the end of the day. This way, I have my full selection with me at all times without carrying 18 boxes. Also, if I happen to lose the small box, I'm not losing my life savings and have a backup.