Fly Odyssey - Newsletters

Fly fishing New Zealand: Owen river Lodge report

2012-01-18T03:26:00.000-08:00

We have had a US client fishing out of Owen River Lodge earlier this week. With the South island having had a relatively dry summer some much needed rain arrived. This coincided with some high river levels in the Buller region but the team at Owen river lodge managed to put Glesson onto some great fish.

Our annual South Island hosted trip is coming up in the next two weeks. Really looking forward to being back on some of my favorite streams and sharing some fishing with clients that had been to New Zealand with us many times and showing New Zealand to some clients on their first ever visit. WIll also be great to catch up with New Zealand south island guides Steve Carey and Ian Cole who always show our clients a great time.

For more information on fly fishing in New Zealand please call us on +44 (0) 1621 743 711 or email us.

Fly fishing Chile report

2012-01-15T01:39:00.000-08:00

We have had a number of anglers fishing out of Cincos Rios Lodge and Estancia Del Zorro over the past month with some pretty memorable captures recorded. The Coyhaique region of Chile, where these lodges are located offers a remote wilderness region with a huge number of trout rivers available to fish. The scenery along with a huge variety of activities (horse riding/ condor watching/rafting) make this a great place to visit. Here are some images from our clients trips.

FOR INFORMATION ON FLY FISHING IN CHILE PLEASE CALL US ON +44 (0) 1621 743711, VISIT OUR WEBSITE or email us.

Maldives Information Day Farlows, Pall Mall 20th December, 2011

2011-12-09T06:32:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday the 20th of December we are pleased to be hosting a Maldives fly fishing day at Farlows, Pall Mall, London. This day is being supported by Island Hideaway Resort, Dhonakulhi Island and Fly Odyssey and will be showcasing the only resort offering fly fishing opportunities in the Maldives.

Fly Odyssey has helped to establish the only land-based fly fishing opportunities in the Northern Maldives at the barefoot chic resort on Dhonakulhi Island. The Dhonakulhi Spa, resort and Marina offers a range of luxurious accommodations to suit all budgets. This Maldives location is ideally suited to both the dedicated fly fishermen and also for those who wish to combine a few hours tropical fly fishing on a holiday with spouse or family. Our recent visit to the island resulted in good numbers of Bonefish to 6lb and Giant Trevally up to 45lb along with some of the best Bluefin Trevally fishing we have found anywhere in the world.

In store will be Gerrit Chng-Luchau representing Dhonakulhi Island resort and Spa. He will have brochures detail each of the luxurious rooms available on the island and will be able to discuss bookings for 2012. Mathew McHugh from Fly Odyssey will be in store to discuss tackle requirements and logistics for a trip to the Maldives.

To find out more about this new and exciting destination please come by the store from 10AM.

For more information please contact Farlows on 0207 4841000 or Fly Odyssey on 01621 743 711

Jonathan Tomlinson's Ascension Bay fly fishing report

2011-11-30T01:39:00.000-08:00

Jonathan Tomlinson from Sportfish Reading has just sent through his fly fishing report from Ascension Bay, Mexico. Jonathan has now done over 10 weeks down in Ascension Bay so for expert advice on saltwater fly fishing tackle and the 'must' flies to have drop into Sportfish Reading....

Well it was that time of year again for our regular trip back to casa viejo Chac and ascension bay and what a trip we had. It has become the norm for us to take at least a 2 week trip as the lodge offers such good value for money and great service. The food is excellent and the portions are big, a great bar on hand and one of the best opportunities in the world to not only grand slam but super slam. In my opinion previous trips have highlighted that this part of Mexico offers the best Permit fishing in the world and this latest visit didn't fail to produce. The first of our 2 weeks saw 10 anglers hit the flats, the first 2 days gave us excellent conditions with cloud rolling in and out throughout the rest of the week making things tough at times. With such a variety of species to chase it was at times difficult to decide which rod to reach for but many opted for the 10 weights and permit flies. Tarpon, snook, bonefish and jacks to name a few all made big appearances.

Final figures on permit for the first weeks saw 7 permit landed with bones to 61/2lb with a sprinkling of tarpon and snook along with the obligatory barracuda!

The second weeks saw 4 go and 4 join the group keeping us at 10 and what a week we were set for. Excellent conditions with bright sunshine and little wind meant that even more time being spent chasing permit which turned out to be the the best decision. Permit we're seen all over the bay and shots were had almost at will at times. Several days anglers returned with more than one fish to the boat including a 3, 4 on 2 occasions and a gob smacking 7! The last day of the trip and a staggering 13 permit were landed with a grand slam for Geoff and a double grand slam for Mark.

Shark, triggerfish, ladyfish and Spanish makeral with a whole variety of jacks and snapper added to the list.

A massive total of 30 permit (to 28lb with 2 over 20lb), 12 tarpon, 15 snook (to 18lb) and some great bones of much bigger than average size than we would normally expect topping out at close to 8lbs.

If all the permit hooked or that ate had been landed god only knows how many we would have had, perhaps even as many as 50!

This trip once again has shown that if you want to catch a permit on the fly and are prepared to put the time in then there is NO place better in the world to go than Mexico's ascension bay. Grab your 10 weights and a box of creole crabs, Bubba Gump shimp's and Homer Shrimpson's and get your self on a plane!

Already Looking forward to our annually trip next year - get it booked Mat!!

All the best
Tomo

FOR INFORMATION ON OUR UPCOMING TRIPS TO MEXICO PLEASE CALL US ON +44 (0) 1621 743711, VISIT OUR WEBSITE or email us.

Espiruto Santo Bay Fly Fishing Report

2011-11-29T06:28:00.000-08:00

Espiruto Santo Bay is one of the Yucatan peninsula's most remote fly fiashing destinations. Last week we had a group fishing out of Playa Blanca lodge which allows 6 skiffs to access this wonderful wilderness. The group had some extrodinary bonefishing and saw huge numbers of permit. 5 fish came to the boat using both conventional and un-conventional (funny story to that one) means. Fish of the week went to Kevin Pallet who landed a guide estimated 33lb permit. This resulted in the Permit first timers tequila and scorpion shot. Two other anglers also landed there first permit.

This now brings the NOVEMBER PERMIT TALLY for our clients to 39 PALOMETA!!!!

FOR INFORMATION ON OUR UPCOMING TRIPS TO MEXICO PLEASE CALL US ON +44 (0) 1621 743711, VISIT OUR WEBSITE or email us.

Permit Bonanza: 23 permit in a week!!

2011-11-29T05:42:00.000-08:00

Fly Fishing Ascension Bay Report

Our clients have produced some unbelievable numbers of permit on fly this month down in Ascension Bay Mexico.

Jonathan Tomlinson returned from Mexico on Sunday after two weeks fly fishing in Ascension Bay leading two groups of fly fishermen with tales of some unbelievable permit fishing. A total of 30 permit were landed over 2 weeks, 23 permit landed last week including 13 in one day. Fish ranged from 6 lb to a fish of 28 lb with many in the teens. Jonathan will report in full in the near future but here are some images of some great fish.

PERMIT MONTHLY TOTAL = 34

Ascension Bay fly fishing update

2011-11-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

Week 2 our our clients visit to Ascension Bay finishes with 7 permit and some memorable captures including a 60lb lemon shark on fly.

NOVEMBER PERMIT TALLY =11

UK photographer George Kavanagh was kind enough to share some of his images from their trip earlier in the month. Please visit his website as it is filled with stunning images.

Images copyright of George Kavanagh.

For more information about fly fishing in Ascension Bay Mexico please email us or call on +44 (0)1621 743711.

Ascension Bay Permit fishing Update

2011-11-16T04:34:00.000-08:00

A mid week update from our second group of 10 anglers in Punta Allen has reported 5 permit for the first few days with several clients landing their first ever permit.

NOVEMBER PERMIT TALLY = 9

Photos to come................

Fly Fishing report Ascension Bay, Mexico

2011-11-16T04:20:00.000-08:00

MEXICO MONTH

We have a large number of fly fishermen (46 in total) traveling to Mexico throughout November to both Ascension Bay and Espiruto Santo Bay. We will keep a permit tally for the month so keep checking in on how each group fairs. The first group of 8 anglers arrived just after Hurricane Rina. The group was lead by Tom Festing of SPORTFISH who experienced Ascension Bay for the first time last year. The weather was still a bit patchy but did not hamper the fishing too much. The bonefish were willing and with the guides locating some new tarpon lagoons there was a great mix of species caught by all anglers.

And the permit tally for the end of week 1 was 4.

NOVEMBER PERMIT TALLY = 4

Photo courtesy of Mr Chris Bowling

Maldives website pages now online

2011-10-31T03:28:00.000-07:00

You can read more about our Maldives fly fishing options and view a selection on images of the resort and fishing on our Maldives fly fishing webpage which can be found at the following links:

Fly Fishing Maldives

Fly Fishing Dhonakulhi island

For more information please email us or call on +44 (0)1621 743711.

Fly fishing in the Maldives

2011-10-17T04:04:00.001-07:00

Over the years we have had many requests about fly fishing opportunities in the Maldives. We also get many requests for tropical holiday locations that are suitable for the family and non fishing partners as well as for the angler. Well, we have just returned from Dhonakulhi island in the Maldives and think we have found a location that offers much for everyone.

From the moment you arrive until the day you depart nothing is too much trouble. The island is one of the most relaxing locations I have had the pleasure of visiting. From the bar that sits over the water where each evening you can view the fish feeding, the two restaurant's with glass bottom viewing of the pristine underwater world, the unique butler service who will take care of any needs during your stay, and the huge variety of water sports (diving and snorkelling) and Spa facilities make this a special place to visit.

From a fly fishing perspective we spent 7 days exploring the areas around Dhonakulhi island in search of giant trevally, bonefish and any other species that would be on the radar of most fly fishermen. What we found was a first class trevally fishery with good numbers of Giant, bluefin and goldspot/striped trevally. On both sandflats and on the edge of reef trevally were a constant. Fishing the edge of the reef proved the most challenging. Daily we targeted giant trevally in the 40-100+lb range. Mornings produced excellent numbers of fish cruising the reef edge, herding the schoals of mullet and snapper hard against the reef. The fish proved more fussy than you would expect for giant trevally. Consistently they would charge the big 6/0 flashy profile fly's. A number of fish ate and one bust off on the coral but generally there would be a refusal at the last minute. Maybe we were fishing too heavy (130lb leader), or maybe just didn't have the right fly for the job but the fishing was as exciting as it gets and I look forward to getting back out there to try and unlock the secret to these fish because they were huge!!

The bluefin and striped trevally were found cruising the flats/beaches and sand islands in good numbers. These are great fish to target with a 7 or 8 wt rod and baitfish pattern. I had recently got hold of the new SAGE ONE saltwater 7 wt and it was a great stick to target these fish with.

Bonefish were high on our priority list and while there is a few reports of bonefish in the Maldives the information is quite patchy. While the habitat on the satellite images looked great you just never know until exploring new water what you will find. What we did find were good numbers of bonefish with a good average size of 4lb with the biggest pushing 6lb. The fish were generally found coming off the edges of the deeper channels up onto the sandflats.

On the same flats giant trevally would be found on the back of reef sharks or travelling as singles or pairs of fish. Early morning they would also be found cruising the beaches and angling writer and photographer Toby Coe managed this good fish of around 45lb.

One of the best parts of a stay at Dhonakulhi island is the fact that your family and children get to experience why we all love saltwater fly fishing so much.

For the week around 20 species of fish were landed on fly including those mentiones above as well as bonito, picaso triggerfish, coronation trout, various cod species and a solitary goatfish. According to the local diveteam based on the island Indo-pacific permit are also commonlu encountered in the lagoon and good numbers fo sailfish and dogtooth tuna are also found close to the resort. We will continue to explore the fly fishing opportunities at this location over the coming year and believe that we have only just scratched the surface.

In summary Dhonakulhi island (Island Hideaway) makes the perfect destination for both family and angler. For more information on fly fishing in the Maldives or if you are planning a family holiday to this part of the world please get in touch and we can help to tailor a package to suit your needs.

For more information please email us or call on +44 (0)1621 743711.

Iceland sea trout fishing- Huseyjarkvisl River report

2011-09-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

We have just had Tom Festing of SPORTFISH and writer Toby Coe in Iceland ly fishing the sea trout river Huseyjarkvisl located in Northern Iceland. The guys landed just over 60 sea trout along with a couple of salmon, brown trout and arctic char for their 3 days fishing. We will put up a longer report shortly but below are some images of the fish they landed.

The sea trout season is best early and late in the season. We have rods available in April 2012 and also again in September/October 2012 which are the two prime periods for ocean fresh sea-run brown trout. Biggest fish landed in 2011 was a 93cm monster pushing the 20 lb mark.

If you are interested in fishing in Iceland in 2011 or 2012 well have a comprehensive range of options for salmon, sea trout, brown trout and char to suit all budgets. For more information please email us or call on +44 (0)1621 743711.

SPORTFISH AND FARLOWS: SAGE ONE LAUNCH UK

2011-08-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

We are please to be attending the Launch of the SAGE ONE rods in the UK. We have been invited by SPORTFISH and FARLOWS to be present for the launch of these rods. Events will be held at the respective stores on the following dates:

16th Septmeber, 2011 - FARLOWS, PALL MALL, LONDON from 9AM.
17th September, 2011 - SPORTFISH, READING from 9AM
18th September, 2011 - SPORTFISH, READING from 9AM

More information on the Sage ONE can be found here: SAGE ONE

At each store we will be on hand to discuss where and when throughout the world this new range of single handed rods from Sage will be best used. We will have information at hand on destinations such as New Zealand, Iceland, Chile, Argentina and many more.

For more information or to let us know that you will be attending one of these events please email us or call on +44 (0)1621 743711.

Iceland Fly Fishing Report: Huseyjarkvisl River

2011-08-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

US clients Glen and Tom recently returned from a multi-river trip to Iceland. The 'hitch' fishing on the Huseyjarkvisl proved a hit......

Thanks for putting together a great trip to Iceland! Here is the biggest fish caught in the first 30 minutes of the trip on the Brieddalsal. Perfect fish: soft take, three big runs and jumps and to the net on the second try. The Huesyjarkvist was really special with just two of us and Christian. Second picture is from there where fish took hitch and big jumps and runs on my 7 wt rod. I definitely would consider going back to Iceland and fishing with Chris. I have many fine memories and it will go down as a really good trip – especially the Huesjarkvist and Chris. I hope we can meet again on a future trip.

If you are interested in fishing in Iceland in 2011 or 2012 well have a comprehensive range of options for salmon, sea trout, brown trout and char to suit all budgets. For more information please email us or call on +44 (0)1621 743711.

Iceland Fly Fishing Report: Breiddalsa River

2011-08-12T07:25:00.000-07:00

The Breiddalsa is still fishing well. A total of 583 fish have now been landed with an average weight of 3.9kg. Largest fish this season has been a 22lb fish. Jokla has passed the 200 fish mark. Client Paul Beasley had this to say about his trip....

I would like to thank you for my week's fishing at the Jokla and Breiddalsa lodges. I had an excellent time, with very good fishing, particularly on the Breiddalsa river. The organisation of the trip was first class, and my guides Hutti and Siggi were amoung the best I have had anywhere. I attach a few of the many photographs I took - there is a good one of Siggi with a 92 cm fish, which perhaps you could pass on to him.

If you are interested in fishing in Iceland in 2011 or 2012 well have a comprehensive range of options for salmon, sea trout, brown trout and char to suit all budgets. For more information please email us or call on +44 (0)1621 743711.

Client Report: Varzina Trout Camp

2011-08-02T03:02:00.000-07:00

Just had some clients return from Varzina Trout Camp. I think the images and words sum up their trip perfectly...

salut Matt

it was FANTASTIK !!!

Pascal and me was very very very happy :

the trout camp
the guids and staff
trout
ambiance with russian clients

top of the top

Images copyright of Jean-Chrstophe Rouxel

If you are interested in fishing in Russia in 2012 well have a comprehensive range of options for salmon, brown trout and char to suit all budgets. For more information please email us or call on +44 (0)1621 743711.

Iceland salmon fishing: Breiddalsa/Jokla report

2011-07-28T04:15:00.000-07:00

A record July in the North east of Iceland with our rivers surpassing previous July records. Have had the latest update from these rivers. Numbers of salmon for Breiddalsa has gone past 300 fish (80 fish better than any previous July) and for Jokla river past 100 fish even though this 6 rod river has been lightly booked. Both excellent starts to the season. A client of ours from the US managed an 18lb fish on the first evening of his first Atlantic salmon trip. Hopefully the strong run continues.

Some pictures below:

If you are interested in fishing in Iceland in 2011 or 2012 well have a comprehensive range of options for salmon, sea trout, brown trout and char to suit all budgets. For more information please email us or call on +44 (0)1621 743711.

Kalum River Lodge, British Columbia - 2011 Fishing report

2011-07-19T02:08:00.000-07:00

Had a note from Kalum River lodge. Sounds like the fishing is starting to fire...

Hi Mat

We are having some great fishing on the Skeena and Kalum rivers. In the last week we have caught some superb Chinook and Sockeye Salmon. Our long time client Gerald Gumpert from Germany also landed a 20lb Steelhead shortly after arriving at the lodge. Gerald has been fishing the Skeena since 1987. First time guest, Dave Armstrong from Cambridge UK, landed 4 Chinook
salmon on his first day. The largest fish being 27lb. Dave continued to catch some respectable Chinook and Sockeye through
out the week. All of Dave's family and friends are anxiously awaiting his return this weekend for a wild salmon barbeque.

Everyday more fish are entering the rivers as well as the tackle breaking massive Chinooks. It is not unusual to hook salmon over 50lb at this time of year. Our lodge record is 73lb on gear and 65lb on the fly for Chinook Salmon and 30lb for Steelhead.
Kalum River Lodge anglers arriving next week will be targeting the big Chinook as this is prime time for these monster fish.

If you are interested in fishing in British Columbia in 2011 or 2012 well have a comprehensive range of options for Pacific salmon, steelhead and trout to suit all budgets. For more information please email us or call on +44 (0)1621 743711.

CLA GAMEFAIR 2011 Blenheim Palace

2011-07-15T02:37:00.001-07:00

We will once again be attending the 2011 CLA GAMEFAIR which attracts over 140,000 people. The CLA Game Fair 2011 will be held at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, on Friday 22 July - Sunday 24 July.

For more information on the CLA gamefair please visit their WEBSITE.

We will be on stand K0914 which will include SPORTFISH/SNOWBEE/COSTA/FULLING MILL and FLY ODYSSEY all under the one roof in the main area of the world of fishing.

Please feel free to drop by and discuss any of your travel plans for 2011/2012. We will have information on fishing throughout the world including countries such as ICELAND, RUSSIA, NEW ZEALAND, ARGENTINA, CHILE, AUSTRALIA, SEYCHELLES, MEXICO, CUBA, BELIZE, CHRISTMAS ISLAND, AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC. We look forward to seeing you there.

Iceland salmon report: Fly Fishing Huseyjarkvisl River

2011-07-15T02:20:00.000-07:00

The Huseyjarkvisl river is a two rod river located in the Skagafjordur disctrict approximately 3 hours drive from Reykjavik. This is an ideal river for those who enjoy fishing the hitch. Reports from Stjani Ben our local guide in Iceland have the river fishing very well. Lots of big salmon in the river and the grilse have already started to move into the river in numbers. The fish below was one of a number of fish landed yesterday for a group learning the art of fishing the 'hitch'.

If you are interested in fishing in Iceland in 2011 or 2012 well have a comprehensive range of options for salmon, sea trout, brown trout and char to suit all budgets. For more information please email us or call on +44 (0)1621 743711.

Iceland salmon report: Fly Fishing Breiddalsa River

2011-07-13T03:52:00.000-07:00

After 12 days salmon fishing on the Breiddalsa river in Iceland total catch is nearly at 150 salmon. This is a great start on this river that does not usually start to get strong runs until mid July. Most fish landed are multi-sea winter fish in excess of 8lb.

If you are interested in fishing in Iceland in 2011 or 2012 well have a comprehensive range of options for salmon, sea trout, brown trout and char to suit all budgets. For more information please email us or call on +44 (0)1621 743711.

Iceland salmon report: Breiddalsa River

2011-07-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

The Breiddalsa river in Iceland opened on the 1st of July and was off to their best start ever with 10 salmon landed. All were multi-sea winter fish in the 10-14lb range. The Breiddalsa is one of the finest rivers in Iceland for big multi-sea winter fish with the biggest caught in 2010 weighing 26lb. These early results bode well for the upcoming weeks and we will keep you updated on how the river performs.

If you are interested infishing in Iceland in 2011 or 2012 well have a comprehensive range of options for salmon, sea trout, brown trout and char to suit all budgets. For more information please email us or call on +44 (0)1621 743711.

ICELAND SALMON SEASON BEGINS

2011-06-26T06:02:00.000-07:00

Good reports are coming out of Iceland with several of the early starting rivers opening with good catches. The Nordura was one of the first rivers to open and a group fishing the river had 5 fish over the first few days. The West Ranga and Blanda rivers opened strongly ane reports from the guides at Breiddalsa is that there are big mutli-winter fish already upto the Beljandi fall. The Beiddalsa will open on the first of July and we will have weekly updates on the fishing.

If you are interested in joining our trips to Iceland we have a number of rods available in JULY and AUGUST, 2011 on Brieddalsa, Jokla and Laxa in Leirarsveit. For more information please email us or call on +44 (0)1621743711.

REPORT: Varzina River, Russia Week 2 update

2011-06-22T05:29:00.000-07:00

Varzina continues to produce big fish. This 17.7kg (117cm length) was landed on the first afternoon of the weeks fishing. A number of other fish over 9 kg also landed on the same day.

Copyright @ Varzina river lodge.

We will update further as the week progresses.

If you are interested in joining our trips to Varzina River, Russia we have a number of options in JUNE/JULY 2012. For more information please email us or call on +44 (0)1621743711.

TESTIMONIAL: SALTWATER FLY FISHING CASA VEIJO CHAC

2011-06-21T06:35:00.000-07:00

Dear Mat,

..My first experience of saltwater fly fishing bonefish and permit and all the environment and challenges was everything I hoped for. Casting to visible fish ,chasing elusive permit and tarpon in the mangroves. The guides worked well in a difficult week and I was stalking & sight casting to both permit and bonefish on the first day in the shallows….The accommodation and set up are to be recommended. The flats were easy to fish and it was exciting to stalk both bones and permit.

Regards
Simon Artley, UK

REPORT: Varzina River, Kola Peninsula week 1

2011-06-17T02:08:00.000-07:00

A good start to the season on the Varzina this year with big fish moving in the river. During the first week of the season a 15.2kg fish was landed and several others in excess of 20lb. It bodes well for the upcoming weeks as the run of fish increases. We will update with a full report upon the return of this weeks group of UK and Icelandic anglers.

2011 week 1 Images

Copyright of Varzina river lodge

Casa Veijo Chac Permit

2011-06-10T04:40:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Geoff Little who took a big group to Ascension Bay, Mexico in May. He landed this fantastic 18lb permit.

Some thought from Geoff.....

"Mat

Here are a couple of photos from this year's visit, I got the tarpon with Filip and the permit with Jesus; it weighed 18 lbs on his boga grip.

Also the other guys will be put off unless something is done about the road; I think it's election year so they may try and "repair" it but I have my doubts.

Anyway everyone claimed they enjoyed the place and I think we have some converts to salt water fishing.

The lodge was fine, cooking very good, care taken by staff excellent and everyone claimed the guides were really good.

talk soon

regards Geoff"

TRIP REPORT: Dorado, Rio Juremento, Argentina

2011-06-10T04:29:00.000-07:00

Recently Toby Coe while on a business trip to Brazil took a few days off to visit the Rio Juramento river in the Salta provence of Argentina. He filed this report below. You can view Toby Coe's photography at his WEBSITE.

I would love to have returned from Argentina with tales (and pictures) of monster dorado and broken rods, however the reality was that I have never travelled so far for so few fish! Three days on the Rio Juramento and one day on the Rio Dorado gave up only one fish from six strikes. The guides, however, were almost as wound up as me however and explained several times that this was very, very unusual. Guys coming over to fish with them normally get 10-20 strikes a day from which they typically land 2-3 dorado.

They weren't sure exactly what had caused the fishing to be quite so bad. Although the weather was quite cold, it hadn't got cold enough to change the water temperature enough (I don't think) to cause the fish to stop feeding. Sometimes trips just don't all go according to plan I guess!

On the plus side, the set-up down there is great. The guides have the fishing down to a tee. Fishing the Juramento from drift boats is similar to casting big streamers for trout on some of the western rivers of the US and Canada, just harder work! The flies they use are big and casting them all day on an 8 wt gets pretty tiring. Plus you lose a LOT of flies to the trees, branches and other structure that you are casting at. I would love to catch this river on a good day though, when 20 strikes from dorado in a day is more than possible. My guides best trip with clients was with a father and son team, who had 96 strikes in two days!

By the way, I say 'strikes' as actually hooking a dorado is somewhat tricky. That first hit is so fast and their mouths so hard that often the hook doesn't take hold. Combine that with the almost inevitable jumps that follow as soon as you try to set the hook and you quickly see why about 1 dorado is landed for every 5-6 strikes.

For those that like their small stream fishing, the Rio Dorado is an absolute gem. A crystal-clear mountain stream about 60-100 ft wide, running through tropical rainforest, it offers something completely different to the Juramento. I think this is where Todd Meon and Brian O'Keefe filmed the short movie in the current edition of Catch Magazine.

I'd definitely recommend the place for someone keen on getting into dorado, just make sure you take a lot of big flies and make sure you're happy casting them without a lot of effort as you'll be doing it all day! I think timing is critical as well. The guides were emphatic that October to mid-November is the time to be there as the dorado are feeding hard prior to the spawning period.

Image 01: That's a lot of baitfish! Keep in mind that this photo was taking from about 200 ft up, on the top of the dam and the fish in the picture are all around a couple of feet long.

Image 02: A typical fly for the Juramento

Image 03: Guide Marcello fishing a typical pool on the Rio Dorado

Image 04: Finally! Marcello and I were somewhat exultant when we finally landed this fish.

Testimonial: Glovers Reef, Belize

2011-06-07T01:56:00.000-07:00

Hi Mat,

Just back from Belize, and just wanted to say what an amazing time we had thanks.

It all went completely as you 'scripted', all the connections were good, and people met us where you said they would, the two guides you set up were both good at their jobs, slightly differrent approaches, which added to the experience of Permit hunting, on the flats, which was electrifying, seeing that black sickle fin sliding through the shallows.....

Saw a fair few permit and had more shots here than anywhere else I have been, and saw a fair few other species too, bones, jack crevalle, cuda, rainbow runners, and in blue water, tuna, dorado, kingfish, more cuda's... lots of fish !!

I cant wait to have my next adventure with you Mat, as everything was perfect, organised with the minimum of fuss my end, and seemlessly from yours, thank you.

Take care,best wishes.
Nick Foster-Brown

TRIP REPORT: RIO GRANDE, ARGENTINA, SEA TROUT

2011-06-02T02:12:00.000-07:00

Client David Reverdito finished on the Casa Blanca Lodge trip and flew down to Argentina to catch the end of the Sea Trout season out of Aurelia Lodge. He had a reasonable week considering the snow and high water...

"Ended up with 6 sea trout landed for the 5 days, 13, 14, 3 x 15 and 19lbs. Very happy given the tough conditions, high water and cold so fish not very active. Lodge, guides and staff very nice". DAVID REVERDITO, AUSTRALIA.

You can read about David's fishing adventures at DUCKBILL's FISHING BLOG which has a full report of his week on the Rio Grande.

TRIP REPORT: CASA BLANCA LODGE, MEXICO

2011-06-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

We sent a group of intrepid UK anglers down to Casa Blanca Lodge, Ascension Bay, Mexico in early April on a quest for bonefish, permit and tarpon. Despite some fierce weather they managed all three and had a great time doing so. Here is a few images kindly shared by Ian and Kevin.

"Our week was troubled by high winds ,but when the guides managed to find spots that weren't too badly effected we pick up some nice bones and tarpon, with a couple of real monsters looking at my fly as well .

I was also delighted to get a snook slam, my first ever. The group had several shots at permit in difficult conditions, with Ian Bailey finally catching. A big highlight was the fantastic company of the group." KEVIN, UK

These images are courtesy of Ian Bailey of BOOK BINDERS of LONDON. We will be displaying a series of books produced by the Book Binders at the CLA gamefair.

FOR INFORMATION ON OUR UPCOMING TRIPS TO CASA BLANCA PLEASE CALL US ON +44 (0) 1621 743711, VISIT OUR WEBSITE OUR WEBSITE or email us.

Los Roques permit

2011-04-28T03:27:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Rob Smallman on conquering his permit quest. Rob has fished in many locations for these fish and has managed to land his first permit on a recent three week stay on Los Roques.....

Dear Matt,

Thanks to Mat of Fly Odyssey we went to Los Roques. From a non-fishing wifes point of view it is one of those places that once tried, is never forgotten. The place and the friendly people have a charm all of their own. The colours and lovely beaches make a joint trip with a fishing husband the most balanced and most eagerly awaited destination we have been to. In short, a gem!

Take care,

Nikki

Rob and Nikki stayed at La Cigala. We can provide packages to La Cigala starting at £1800 per week. For mor information please email us or call on +44 (0) 1621 743711.

British Columbia Spring Steelhead

2011-04-07T22:52:00.000-07:00

The spring steelhead fishing ion the Skeena and its surrounding rivers in British Columbia is really firing. Just had this report through from Andrew Rushton owner of Kalum River Lodge.

Happy to report excellent spring Steelhead fishing at Kalum River lodge. Clients last week landed 44 Steelhead during their week. Clients were into multiple hook ups most days.

Average size was 12-14lbs. Largest fish hooked was over 20lbs. Warmer temperatures and rising water are bringing fresh fish into most of the rivers we fish. We also expect to see some early King salmon showing up in the Kalum the next couple weeks.

Regards
Andrew

If you would like further information on the Spring or Autumn steelhead fishing on the Skeena and surrounding rivers please call on 01621743711 or email us.

Iceland: Winter sightseeing tours

2011-04-07T22:40:00.000-07:00

Iceland Winter Wonderland

We helped to put together a bespoke trip to Iceland in search of glaciers, northern lights and even some ice fishing. Pam and Alan Ball share some of the highlights.....

Winter Wonderland ( even without any fishing !!!)

The trip to Iceland in January was a lovely surprise ( especially as we had planned to go to the sunshine in Morrocco but the temptation of seeing a few rivers and the Northern Lights took over !!)

Iceland has many natural attractions the scenery the wonderful northern lights the food ( more of that later ) and above all the people. The airport is efficient and welcoming and Reykjavik is a lovely little city.

Because we had to change our plans due to the weather ( we seemed to take the snow with us from England ) we spent a little more time in the city than we had expected.
Whilst it is small it offers some of the best food we have had anywhere in the world. The fish and lamb are exceptional ( especially if you avoid the fermented shark ) but it is worth experimenting with the tasting dishes some of the restaurants offer. We didn’t expect to eat minkie whale, reindeer or puffin but all were a pleasant surprise.
We were taken out some nights to “hunt the lights “ but to no avail. We did however get the chance to meet a very nice Icelandic horse ( whatever you do don’t call them ponies ) in a cosy stable at midnight --- it is a long story !

Reykjavik also has it’s Latin side. We found a delightful café full of locals who meet every Wednesday to perform the Argentine Tango and most welcoming they were.
Leaving Reykjavik allowed us to see some of the most magnificent scenery with volcanoes, frozen waterfalls, geysers, hot springs ,glaciers and even a beach. The glacier trip was undertaken in the largest 4x4 vehicle know to man and we have the photos to prove it ! The glacier is blue and to driving on the ice is a very disorientating experience but fun.

Our plans changed frequently due to the weather and it was down to Throstur and his team that everything worked so well. He kept in touch with us whilst we were in town and on the move. He is a real gentleman and did everything he could to make our trip a success ( even organising fireworks !!!)

It was really helpful to see the large relief map of the island in City Hall to make sense of the geography. Driving in winter in Iceland is an adventure the black ice and new snow does make you a little anxious but confident drivers and studs in tyres meant we had an uneventful journey.

We travelled south first hosted by Christian who not only kept us up to date with geography history and his culinary expertise but also kept Alan hanging on a hook with his tales of fishing in the long summer days. He proved a really lovely companion who suffered our sense of humour without complaint. We stayed in the small cosy lodge at Minnivallalaekur and got a chance to see the rather cold and windy river ( mainly through the window ) but here we did get to see the Northern Lights and that really is very very special.

The rivers we passed although rather icy in January look inviting and some of them small enough to tempt the sight fisherman. We moved further along the north east coast and met up with our next host Suddi. He is a larger than life character ( who certainly has seen life !!) He took us to our next stop the lodge at Breiddalsa.
This certainly presented a stunning snowy picture as daylight dawned. The lodge is extremely comfortable and Suddi’s cooking lived up to our experience of Icelandic food and hospitality.

We ventured out of the lodge to see the fish hatchery and some of the wonderful landscape. ( and Alan has now become an ace reindeer spotter )

The ice fishing was fairly brief because of the weather but a unique experience first to drive onto the lake then to fish through holes with the smallest rods you ever did see. The most essential piece of ice fishing equipment? A soup ladle! (To scoop the reforming ice from the hole).

Our return to Reykjavik was a little sooner than expected but the weather played it’s part again and thanks to Siggi we arrived at the airport and a brilliant pilot took us safely back to Reykjavik.

Iceland is a land of stunning scenery wonderful food and some of the most hospitable and flexible people we have ever met. They have one great selling point for any would be fisher person and that is ‘no biting mosquitoes’ even in summer.

So would we go back probably yes but we might give January a miss !

Our thanks go to everyone involved in the trip but Throstur made sure it all happened and a big thank you to him and his family.

Many thanks once again to Mat and Fly Odyssey for providing yet another adventure but this time in the snow. We’re now re-packing for another fly fishing odyssey to Mexico hopefully for some saltwater fishing and sunshine and no more furry hats!!

Ascension Bay, Mexico Trip Report March 2011

2011-03-17T15:50:00.000-07:00

Ascension Bay fly fishing report by Jonathan Tomlinson (Sportfish Reading)

Well another trip to Ascension bay’s Punta Allen has been and gone; with the weather playing its usual mixed hand. The first couple of days saw the normal steady trade winds and a mixture of bright sunshine and cloud which is always a tough way to try and tune your eyes back into fish spotting mode. Bonefish and barracuda were interspersed with shots at Permit and Tarpon some of which were up and over the very magical 100lb mark but none that size fell to our offerings.

Two days of much heavier winds and cloud made fish spotting increasingly difficult but none the less bonefish were tracked down and caught with some of the group hitting up to a dozen fish in a day. A day of heavy storm clouds building and the onset of a brief visit of low pressure saw us all arrive back into the lodge just in time to see the heaven’s open and thunder and lightning fill the air. A tentative night followed as we waited to see what the next day held and if the storms had passed, thankfully they did only leaving a slight higher than average cloud level. A couple of very good days chasing tarpon saw close to 30 tarpon landed up to around 25lb+.

A couple of very good days chasing tarpon saw close to 30 tarpon landed up to around 25lb+. 3 of the group left including one of my regular travel partners Paul Procter leaving 5 of us to head out on the last day. All bar 1 of the group had Bonefish on the mind but for me a single boat meant that my usual past time that occasionally results in a Permit could resume; standing on the bow of a boat staring out over flat after flat! As ever when you place a Permit rod in your hand it results in every other species of fish appearing, Bonefish, Barracuda, rays, boxfish, puffers all came by to say hello but only a couple of permit. Some really good shots that my guides and I couldn’t believe ended in a “no eat” took us up to Lunch with a couple of stray Bonefish to the boat. The afternoon resumed in the same vein of form as the morning but this time a rather obliging permit started tailing in front of the panga, not content with eating the fly once it came back and had a second bight of the cherry and this time it stuck.

A trip to find a tarpon to complete a grand slam saw a snook get in there first; a little more hunting for Tarpon a couple of flashes at the fly and there were no Tarpon to show, it was time to make the long run back home for a beer. Just missing out on a super grand slam on the last day is just another reason that I will have to head back again in November with Paul for a couple more weeks!

If you are interested in joining our trips to Ascension Bay we have a number of options in May and November. For more information please email us or call on +44 (0)1621743711.

Fishing Report Cayo Romano, Cuba

2011-03-14T06:45:00.000-07:00

First 2011 group to Cayo Romano

The first group of 2011 to Cayo Romano, Cuba has returned with tales of big permit. Congratulations to angler Tim Mark's for his permit estimated to exceed 30lb. The group also managed one grand slam as well as a large number of other species including bonefish, tarpon, jack crevalle, and baracuda. Photographer Matt Harris has kindly sent through some images of the trip. To view the full compliment of images visit Matt Harris Fly Fishing.

We have a few opportunities to fish Cayo Romano in June 2011 which should see increased numbers of tarpon available. For more information on our group trips during this time please email us or call on +44 (0) 1621 743711.

Cayo Romano images courtesy Matt Harris and Jonathan Webster.

Huge Permit!!

Matt's permit on way to the Grand slam.

Big jacks make Life fun.

Another permit success.

Cracking permit one of 4 landed during the week.

New Zealand Hosted Fly Fishing 2011 Report

2011-02-25T01:04:00.001-08:00

Fly Fishing New Zealand - Hosted 2011.

We another series of hosted trips in New Zealand has come and gone. The weather proved challenging with the El nina year ensuring that settled high pressure systems were few and far between. However there was always some clean water to fish and the guys all managed personal best brown trout. When the sun did shine the cicadas were singing merrily which ensured some great dryfly action. I have included a series of images below which sums up New Zealand in a nutshell. Enjoy....

A classic South island spring creek.

A typical spring creek brown trout.

Paul Procter into a large stillwater brown trout

A Southland lowland stream beauty for Scottish angler Mark Irvine.

Use strong hooks

Aussie angler James Laverty with a stonking Canterbury trout.

High country fish.

Scottish angler Douglas Irvine shows how to catch rainbows on the south island.

Small creek rainbow takes flight

A cracking brown on dry.

Occassionally a nymph was required to do the job.

Paul with another nice fish...

With scenery like this the fish is a bonus.

For information on 2011/2012 trips please contact us or call on + 44 (0) 1621743711.

Los Roques Bonefish

2011-01-15T00:33:00.000-08:00

Regular client Mike Youkee spent a week at Posada Cigala on Los Roques, Venezuela and shares his thoughts.....

Los Roques Fly Fishing Report
I have to say that I was slightly fearful of flying into Caracas, the jumping off point for Los Roques. An article in the Economist in August depicted Caracas as the most dangerous city in the world. As it turned out, nothing could be further from the truth and nothing untoward, or even a hint of it, happened to me.

I flew in on an Air France flight which was scheduled to land at 1430. It landed slightly after this and I thought that as my domestic flight out to Los Roques was scheduled for 1530 there was not much chance of making it and I would have to overnight in dreaded Caracas. But I hadn't bargained with Chavez time! Venezuela operates 30 minutes behind the international time zoned for it -- even Air France belatedly announced that we had landed at just after 1400. I caught my local connection with no problem. All the fears raised by the FCO site (accosted by bogus policeman, express kidnapped etc) were unrealised -- all very civilised really.

The flight to Los Roques is about 45 minutes and La cigala is 100 metres from the airport. The posada is comfortable and the owners and manager were hospitable and helpful. Food was good, in particular the huge breakfasts before the fishing day started at seven o'clock. Fishing ended at two o'clock because it's simply too hot, even in a boat with an awning. The boats are quite big -- there is a boatman and a guide. Because of their size and draft they can't be poled, or taken into very shallow waters. Although we did manage to fish deep water from the boat, generally it was out of the boat wading on pancake flats or close to the mangroves. Unfortunately, on still days the mangrove fly life became very excited by the proximity of warm blooded humans. More than once we were driven back to the boat by the mosquitoes and other biting flies, which bit through buffs, shirts and even the top of fishing hats.

All conventional bonefish flies worked, despite the guides being down in the mouth at my not having any gummy minnows; this is obviously THE fly for Los Roques. I caught between 30 and 35 bonefish during the four days I was there and probably lost an equal number due to coral heads, poorly tied knots and playing the fish too hard. The biggest fish was around 6lbs but generally they were between 3-4lbs. Shots at tarpon in the lagoon did not yield any results as the fish there are fished over probably six or seven times a day by different boats. But they are a decent size running I would guess to 40-50lbs but they showed scant interest in flies cast over them. I did land a Bonito and hooked a horse eye Jack which eventually rejoined the school of 200 he was originally with, without paying a visit to the boat.

Overall, the fishing was very good but really limited to bonefish at this time of year (September). There was certainly a lot of fish about, with tarpon rolling close to where the boats were moored overnight and there were bonefish sucking up baitfish between the boats first thing in the morning. With the birds going nuts it was mayhem as we launched and I wished we had hung about to fish the home beach before speeding off.

It may be that other times of year there are other target species but if you like wading pancake flats for tailing bonefish then you will love it here.

For more information on our inexpensive trips to Los Roques please call on +44 (0) 1621743711 or email us.

Matt Harris Fly Fishing Photography

2011-01-06T08:06:00.000-08:00

For lovers of great fly fishing photography take a look at Matt Harris new website. Plenty of articles and some awesome images!!

Matt Harris Fly Fishing

A First Timers Point of View - Tom Festing

2010-12-21T03:31:00.000-08:00

Saltwater Fly Fishing First Time

Tom Festing of SPORTFISH READING has just returned from is first saltwater fly fishing trip for bonefish. He provides a good insight to what you can expect.....

A FIRST TIMERS POINT OF VIEW

After many years of running around the world chasing freshwater species, I was regularly told enough was enough, it was about time I sampled ‘A salty trip’. So many people rave about experiences they have had and fish that they have caught, however, it is not until you have seen this first hand, you can get a grasp of what they on about. A week in the sun targeting elusive salt water species around the flats sounded pretty good to me. My chosen destination was Ascension Bay, Mexico, part of the southern Yucatan Peninsula. I had my kit which essentially broke down to an 8#, two 10#’s and a 12# (optional) and a spinning rod, just in case the conditions are against you. This trip was arranged through Fly Odyssey who is one of our Travel Partners here at Sportfish. I had been told so much about this area by a colleague at work and what to expect it was difficult for me not to be full of expectation once we had landed. We finally got to our final destination, Punta Allen having travelled for around 30 hrs, somehow that did not matter.

Paul Procter greeted us the next morning after just a few hrs sleep, he was our host for the week. The lucky swine had been down in Punta Allen for the previous two weeks, which must have been a real pain. After an extremely hearty breakfast, cooked by our chef for the week Pepe, we were all allocated our guides, these changed day to day through the week. You shared the boat with your boat partner and two guides. A nice touch was that Casa Viejo Chac only employed guides who lived in Punta Allen, these guides then owned their boats through a cooperative of which Manuel who owns Casa Viejo was the Chairman.

The main benefit of travelling to Punta Allen for my first salty trip seemed to me, to be the variety and density of various species which included, Bonefish (Macabe), Permit (Palameta), Tarpon (Sabalo), Snook (Robalo) and Barracuda. This was maybe down to the guides, each and every one knew the vast area of Ascension Bay down to the last mangrove stem. These guides loved what they did, it was obvious.

I won’t bore you with the detail of each day, all I can say each evening was full of different stories from the funny to the more serious chat about the amounts and sizes of fish. I was amazed by not only the quantity of fish but the nature around you whilst you fished, from Eagles and Ospreys to Turtles and Iguana’s, (the occasional mangrove frog would also show up, for those of you who were on any of the trips) The Sian Kaan Bio sphere seems to have most of what you want from a trip abroad.
Something that was evident was in order to enjoy the quality of the fishing and the guides you needed to be able to make casts into the wind off both shoulder’s to 40-50 feet, sounds easy but when you have a Permit travelling fast from left to right and the wind is blowing, you only get one shot. It needs to be a good one!!

ASCENSION BAY TACKLE SUGGESTIONS
So, to summarise a 8# (Bonefish), a couple of 10#’s (Permit and Snook/Tarpon) and a 12 (Barracuda/Tarpon) on the boat would be sufficient for this destination. The organisation from Fly Odyssey was excellent, Manuel’s detail on the day to day organisation around Casa Viejo Chac was finely tuned, including his ability to spot and follow a Permit at 80 yards. This is a must for anyone who enjoys their fly fishing.

For further details please EMAIL FLY ODYSSEY or call + 44 (0) 1621 743711.

Ascension Bay: The Host's trip Report

2010-12-20T01:56:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks we have posted up some of the client reports from their trips to Mexico's Casa Veijo Chac with Paul Procter in November 2010. Paul has sent through a summary of the three weeks fishing while he was there.

Fly fishing Ascension Bay Report: Paul Procter's Report

With numerous Permit credited to our party last year, November 2009 was always going to be a hard act to follow. However, our annual pilgrimage to Ascension Bay in 2010 was to prove just as successful for many different reasons. Yes, Permit did feature from day one though for me it was the tailing Bonefish that captured my imagination, as nothing comes close to gently strolling through ankle deep water and scanning the flats for glistening tails of large feeding fish. When I say large, it’s pleasing to see the average size of bonefish has increase year on year in Ascension Bay as we regularly encountered fish in the 5-7lb bracket with the occasional 8 pounder showing up too. Believe me, using 7-8 weight outfits, such specimens take off at a fair lick when hooked, exhilarating stuff I can tell you. Enjoying several days of this, personally, it ranks as one of my most memorable fishing experiences to date.

Whilst low tides are not to everyone’s liking, it certainly presented us with plenty of opportunities to tangle with Snook. These secretive predators are often tucked up tight in mangroves roots, but low water pushed them out into more accessible areas. And whilst every member of our group managed to hook them, Mark Windsor certainly got more than he bargained for when he latched into a Snook of well over 20lb.

Barracuda are one species that are often neglected here. So this year, we all decided on a concerted effort to bag a decent sized fish. Using slender baitfish imitations dressed on TMC 600SP, I experienced a high hook-up rate and managed to land several cudas over 10lb. What’s niggling me now, is the number of these fish I’ve past up on previous trips. For my money they’re a great sporting fish that take off at speed before tailing walking. One of our group-Rob Evans almost exclusively targeted these menacing creatures for his entire trip. Others thought he’d lost his marbles, but I’m with Rob all the way on this one!

As for the elusive “P” fish, well our group had days when they cast at not just one, but several permit. In fact they were surprisingly prevalent during our stay and at least one Permit was reported being caught most days, a testament as to how extensive the Permit fishing is out in Ascension Bay.

Newcomer to saltwater fishing-Steve Grimes didn’t realise what all the fuss was about, as on his third day, he landed a monster Permit of 25lb….incredible. I too got amongst fish with hefty shoulders and managed one nudging 20lb. Perhaps more of an angling feat was Jonathan Tomlinson who connected with a substantial Permit when bonefishing. Naturally, his 8-weight outfit took a beating, equally, he was looking somewhat worse for wear after the battle. Congratulations must surely go to Steve Langan though, who finally joined the Permit Club after chasing them for a number of years now. Though, before that eventful day, Steve did say he’d decorate himself a tattoo to mark the occasion, we wait with bated breath!

Finally, let’s not forget the Casa Viejo Chac in Punta Allen which made this trip special. Run by Manuel Chac we had access to the best guides in Ascension Bay, including the services of Manuel himself. His kindness and generosity made everybody welcome when on most evenings he entertained us with fly tying demonstrations. Needless to say, we have made many friends out there and have already rebooked for 2011.

Paul Procter Dec 2010

For further details please email us or call + 44 (0) 1621 743711.

Mexico Fly Fishing Report by Mike Bilson

2010-12-02T02:30:00.000-08:00

Mike Bilson kindly shared his thoughts on his second trip to Mexico with us on one of the Paul Procter hosted weeks. It makes for an interesting read and sums up the experience nicely....

Fishing Report – Punta Allen, Mexico: 22nd Nov to 27th Nov 2010

David and I met John Honour, Steve Grimes, and David Hoskins at Gatwick on Sunday 21st November for the ten hour flight to Cancun arriving at 14.30 local time. The Thomson flight was only half full so we had plenty of room. The AGI Tours minibus was waiting for us and we set off for Punta Allen, stopping briefly on the way at Tulum for a very pleasant meal at a road-side restaurant. The next part of the journey was a real test of perseverance with the main road running out and turning into a very hard and long 40 km drive. The road has clearly been badly damaged over the last year with constant pot holes and craters meaning that we averaged about 10 kph until Punta Allen. This was very unpleasant and will undoubtedly put some people off from returning, but the positive side is that Punta Allen will never become over fished with excessive anglers.

We were warmly greeted at Casa Veijo Chac by our host Paul Proctor who had organized the rooms. Since last year three new rooms have been built with good air conditioning and new showers, but the electricity did fail briefly on occasions in the evening. Not a major problem as it was quickly fixed but showering in the dark could be a challenge.

The first morning we were allocated guides over breakfast. Pepe and Marbella produced excellent authentic Mexican food all week which was wholesome and tasty with good measures of spice, onions and chilies. Breakfast was served at 07:00 before setting off for the boats at 08:15. A packed lunch was provided each day with plenty of drinks. Dinner was served at 19:00 and consisted of a three course meal. Beer was freely available and we settled up at the end of the week which was very reasonable at $110 each including staff tips and laundry.

The weather started mostly cloudy with a stiff East wind which was the aftermath of a heavy storm at the end of the previous week. The wind and cloud gradually calmed down each day until a magnificent last day of flat calm and few clouds. Temperatures were around 25 to 30 degrees centigrade.

Monday 22nd
Guides were Edwin and Osca who are new this year to Veijo Chac but very experienced. David’s first day started with an excellent 12 Snook on fly. I lost one Snook of similar size due to a straightened hook, and lost a tarpon of around 14lb on one of its airborne leaps. We also had several bonefish averaging about 2lb mainly on Cuban Shrimps, as well as a small Jack and Barracuda on a Deceiver. Fishing off the Punta Allen pier in the evening was not productive due to cloudy water from a strong onshore wind.

Tuesday 23rd
Heavy rain overnight cleared by the morning but still a stiff Easterly wind and 40% cloud cover. Philip was our very experienced guide. We chased permit in the morning and saw about half a dozen. I got one reasonable shot. After lunch we changed tactics and went for Snook, Barracuda, and Tarpon. David landed his first ever Barracuda on popper weighing in at 16lb. Soon after I landed a 15lb Barracuda on fly with wire trace. We saw a Permit cruising through so a quick change to crab fly was presented beautifully only to be stolen from the Permits nose by a greedy 2lb Snook. David then had a great shot at the Permit which followed the fly but turned away. We finished that day by wading for Bonefish at “Lagoon Duos” where we came across a massive shoal of tailing Bonefish, landing a few between us.

Wed 24th
Weather improved again with the wind calming and 30% cloud cover. Guides were William of 24 years guiding experience at Punta Allen and his boatman Edwardo. We waded for Bonefish in the morning and while doing so David got an excellent shot at a Permit which took the tan crab fly but after a very brief encounter, spat the fly out before he could set the hook. I later hooked a large Barracuda which bit through the 25lb wire trace and made its escape. Then we saw two Shark cruising and after casting a fly and getting a couple of follows with no takes the guide suggested we used a bait fish. So I rigged up a large wire trace and hook on the end of my AFTM 10 fly rod and line. We threaded half a Needle Fish on the hook and waded into the flat to stalk the Shark. After a brief sniff the Shark took the bait and there followed a massive fight on the fly rod taking about 150 yards on the first run. Many more long runs followed but after about 25 minutes the 30lb Lemon Shark was beached and duly dispatched presumably to feed the guide’s family for a week. The using of bait earned the esteemed prize of the “Pink Bow Tie” in the evening. Later David was smashed up by an estimated 40lb Barracuda on popper which ripped off line on its way to the mangrove snags 120 yards away. It took the hook, trace, braid and backing. During the day we also caught a few Bones.

Thursday 25th
We had the most experienced guides today being Manuel and Choo Choo. Some cloud and threatening rain at first but this cleared nicely by the time we reached the fishing grounds. David landed his first ever Tarpon on a fly weighing in at around 10lb. Several others were seen cruising. Then we moved around the Island were Manuel put me on a massive Bonefish. I cast my Cuban Shrimp four feet in front of his slow feeding path. He moved to the fly and made a confident take, followed by my two strip strikes setting the hook. After a long fight it came to the boat at 7lb. Manuel believed it should have been a 9lb fish due to its length but was a little under-weight for its length. Still, a magnificent specimen. After lunch we went for Permit and found a large shoal of tailing Permit in the bay with an average size of around 15lb and some going much larger. I cast a tan crab fly, the lined tightened and after setting the hook the large Permit made a brief strong run before parting the leader on what turned out to be a wind knot. A quick change of fly and increase in leader strength from 16lb to 20lb gave me another clean shot at a large oncoming shoal. The fly was perfectly presented and the line tightened at which point Manuel clarified that a 10lb Jack Crevalle had intercepted the fly in front of the Permit. There followed a 20 minute tug-of-war resulting in the AFTM 8 Helios rod exploding into six pieces leaving me with just the cork handle and reel left in my hand. With no other option I had to hand line the rest of the fight. By the time the fish was returned and a new rod tackled up the clouds had come over and the Permit shoal moved on. This episode also earned me the “Pink Bow Tie” for the second time. Thankfully Robin had lent me his Orvis Zero Gravity AFTM 8 rod just in case of a breakage which proved to be very valuable.

Friday 26th
Guides were William and Edwardo for the second time. David waded on the flats for Bonefish while I went for Permit with William. We found a tailing shoal of about 20 Permit and got out the boat to wade gently from 50 yards away. At 10:30 I landed a 6lb Permit on Manuel’s china man crab fly, being smaller than most of the shoal but still a good fish. I then got a Bonefish at 10:45 so we decided to go for the Grand Slam and picked up David who had caught a few Bones. We went to the brackish mangrove swamps and found a school of three Tarpon. The second one took the fly aggressively and weighed in at 10lb’s and completed the Grand Slam before 11.00. We spent the rest of the day trying to get a Snook to make it a Super Slam but none were found.

Saturday 27th
Guides for the day were Pablo and Marcus. Weather was magnificent with a mirror calm trip to the Bonefish flats where we found many large shoals of tailing Bones on the low tide. Everyone had endless fun taking Bone after Bone some up to 3lb. After lunch we decided to split up with David continuing to wade the flats for Bones while I chased Permit. Unfortunately the clouds came over putting an end to the splendid Bonefish sport and making it hard to spot Permit although we did see half a dozen and get a good shot at one which ignored my crab fly. During the afternoon I saw a large Barracuda and cast a Popper at the fish using Martin’s Greys spinning rod. It took the popper with a massive attack and a long fight ensued culminating with me landing the beast at 30lb. That evening I won the “Pink Bow Tie” for a third time for casting at a Bonefish which in fact turned out to be a crab moving sideways towards me from 30 yards.

Summary
Over the week the group managed three Grand Slams (Pete, Paul, and me) with a fourth closely missed by Steve whose 40lb Tarpon just held off taking. Individual fish of the week was Steve’s first ever Permit at 25lb. Several good Snook were taken by most anglers. Six Permit were landed in total (Pete 3, Steve 1, Paul 1 and me 1).
Endless species of various sizes were seen, many of which are not mentioned here as they were not landed. The trip back was much easier with the difficult road tackled at the start of the day and in the light. The journey was made fun by the admission that John had inadvertently been wearing his room-mates trousers all week, and commando style at that! David had wondered where his second pair went but all was revealed at Cancun Airport.

Overall a great week.

Mike Bilson

Permit Season: Mexico and Belize fly fishing

2010-12-02T02:07:00.000-08:00

We have had over 30 fly fishermen travel to Belize and Mexico over the past three weeks and it has resulted in a large number of permit captures for many first time saltwater flats fishermen. A total of 5 first time anglers have landed their first permit on their first ever saltwater fly fishing trip abroad, along with a host of other species.

A group of first time bonefishermen were led by Sean Clarke of Farlows, Pall Mall to Turneffe flats in Belize last week. The fishing proved challenging but also rewarding with bonefish to 6lb's being landed and also 2 permit coming to first time flats anglers Dorian Soanes and Jim Page. Their thoughts on the trip are below:

Mat,

As you can probably imagine it wasn't great waking up to minus temperatures this morning! Sad to be back as the trip was INCREDIBLE. Thanks all your help in arranging, Sean was a great host. The attached picture says it all.

Best of all my wife loved it, so much so we're already talking about the next one.

Hi Mat,

Great trip, excellent company, excellent fishing - lots to learn.

Plenty of luck with the Permit, but as the guide said `luck beats skill
everytime`.

All the best,

Jim

In Mexico the Paul Procter hosted trips have yielded over 14 permit and 5 grand slams over the past three weeks. The biggest permit came to first time flats angler Steve Grimes at a huge 25lb. Snook have also been in big numbers with many 15 lb plus fish landed. I will post up Mike Bilson's detailed report of week 2 which sums up a typical weeks fishing in Ascension Bay very well.

For more information on fly fishing in Mexico or Belize please feel free to contact us or call on +44 (0) 1621743711.

NEW FLY ODYSSEY WEBSITE LIVE

2010-11-24T01:28:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to have just released the second incarnation of the Fly Odyssey website. The new site will hopefully provide some inspiration to travel to the many new destinations that we now have available. These include Kuala Rompin, Kalum River Lodge, Hopkins, Belize, Espiritu Santo in Mexico, numerous trout and salmon rivers in Iceland and much more.

The new website can be viewed here Fly Odyssey.

As always if you have any queries about travel for the upcoming year please don't hesitate to get in contact on +44 (0) 1621743711 or email us

New Zealand Early Season Update

2010-11-23T06:58:00.001-08:00

arly season reports are starting to come in from New Zealand. After a very wet early part of spring the weather settled through October. Unseasonably warm weather all through October and November has even got the cicadas chirping much earlier than normal. These trout proton pills don't usually become active until late January. The stable water levels should mean that by high summer fish should be in peak condition. Hopefully there is some rain through December to ensure that the river levels don't drop to low.

The guys at Owen River Lodge have been putting their clients onto some quality fish as can be seen by the images below.

For anyone interested in booking a last minute trip to New Zealand please don't hesitate to get in touch and we will provide you with upto date availability and local information on where's fishing best.

For more information please call on +44 (0) 1621743711 or email us.

Mexico fly fishing report: Casa Blanca Lodge

2010-11-08T01:23:00.001-08:00

Fly Fishing Ascension Bay

Just had this report through from a recently returned client who visited Casa Blanca lodge in Mexico in October. A grand slam plus 25lb snook highlights the truly world class nature of the fishery down there.

Hi Mat,

As the merkins go back in the cupboard for another year I just wanted to write to thank you for an awesome trip to Casa Blanca. We were very luck to have a week of relatively stable weather sandwiched between 2 tropical storms, and experienced some great and varied fishing. I hadn't really appreciated how much water can be reached from the lodge - during our 6 days we spent time in the vast Ascension Bay, the slightly more intimate Espiritu Santo Bay, Santa Rosa lagoon system, and also wandering the surf immediately in front of the lodge.

At the end of the guided fishing day we'd grab a quick cerveza, gulp down some of the amazing hot snacks (that seemed to miraculously appear as soon as we arrived back at the lodge) and then walk no more than 20 minutes or so up the beach to have some great fun with triggerfish and permit tailing amongst the breakers, and jack crevalle marauding at breakneck speed. We did our best impression of 'Running Down the Man!' as we chased the jacks, but fitness hampered our beach-sprinting efforts! There were always bones around the Casa Blanca pier, and usually a few tarpon/cuda/cubera lurking under the pier nights after dinner.....but they are seriously educated fish.

We spent a lot of time chasing permit, and had legitimate shots each day. Most permit did what permit do best, and either entirely ignored our best efforts, or spooked at the sight of our crab/shrimp creations. One of the other guys at the lodge landed his 80th Casa Blanca permit during our week, and he patiently tolerated a ridiculous amount of quizzing about the finer points of fishing for cruising permit on deep flats. Who knows whether it was a result of Joe's advice or plain good luck that we managed to secure the Grand Slam on our final day. The Super Slam was oh so close....next time.

We had some truly exceptional fishing for snook on other days - whether packs of double figure fish herding mullet schools in open water, or shots at 30+ lb brutes (honestly!) skulking under the mangroves. You know it's a big snook when 80lb mono shock tippet is seriously abraded!

The Casa Blanca set-up is very very slick. The food and lodging are really first class, and guides very accomplished (their ability to spot permit at 200+ feet is humbling, as is their ability to spin a Dolphin skiff on a sixpence if needed to take a tricky shot), and lodge managers Bobby and Mike bend over backwards to make sure that no little detail is left neglected. The air charter from Cancun to the lodge was a real treat as we could scan loads of flats from the air...not that we needed to be any more excited prior to our first day's fishing.

Thanks again for a great trip.
James

For more information on fly fishing Casa Blanca lodge or participation in our group trip 2nd-9th April 2011 please email us or call on +44 (0)1621743711.

Fly Odyssey

Christmas Island fly fishing report

2010-11-02T04:10:00.000-07:00

Christmas island continues to produce for our clients. Giles Eustice went to Christmas island in search of Giant Trevally and by the sounds of it he found what he was looking for. Here's a few words about his trip and the pictures say it all....

Hey Mat,

Had a very good week on Xmas island. Spent first couple of days on various, waiting for full moon. Had over 20 bones on one day ...many 3/4/5lb fish...saw bigger - had lady fish, triggers and raised 3 good GT's and landed a couple smaller. My guide managed to break my loomis on day one casting and catching a baby bone while I went after a black tip on the flat - result!

Day 3,4 and 5 sorted myself out the best guides for hunting GT's - have heard that guides at the other lodges do a lot of chumming on the edges for GT's so was glad that the guides at the villages do not practise that and fish properly, hunting the fish. Over all caught 15 GT's and some small blue's. Sighted hooked and set an 80lb fish only to have the last inch of line to clear whip around the reel handle - end of!

Caught numerous 25-40lb fish and the one in the photo the guides estimated 55-60 - it felt like a sack of potatoes ! Last day spent hunting the back lagoons and had a good few opportunities on the golden which was awesome fun and cast to a 90-100 GT but followed to the flat and spooked!

Overall caught a good number of GT's - lost the big one (next time) - saw plenty of good size and had enough variety.

Will send a couple of other photo's.

Many thanks
Giles

Christmas island still offers one of the finest flats fishing destinations in the world. From more information on the lodges that we work with, pricing and itineraries please contact us via email or call 01621743711.

Upcoming events

2010-10-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

We will be involved in a number of UK events in November starting with the British Fly Fair at Stoke on Trent this coming weekend. If you want to come and discuss your travel options for 2011 we will be present at the following locations this November.

30th-31st October, 2011
British Fly Fair International
Trentham Gardens, Stoke on Trent

4th November, 2011
Farlows, Pall Mall, London
We will be onsite at the Farlows Travel Desk.

Iceland Presentation Days
11th November, 2011
Farlows, Pall Mall

13th November, 2011
Sportfish Reading Store

Fly Odyssey is pleased to invite you to our in-store presentations on the salmon, sea trout and brown trout fishing in Iceland. These will be held on Thursday the 11th of November in Farlows, Pall Mall and on Saturday the 13th of November at the Sportfish Reading store.

We are excited that Throstur Ellidason of Strengir Angling Service will be present in store on both days. Throstur was a pioneer of the smolt rearing and release programs in Iceland through the 90's with his work on the Ranga and his current rivers the Breiodalsa and Jokla are proving successful in following a similar path. The Breiodalsa, one of the few big fish rivers in Iceland, had a record year in 2010 with over 1150 fish landed on this 8 rod river which is now famed for its large 2SW fish. A 28 lb fish being the largest landed in 2010. Throstur will be preparing a presentation on the development of smolt release in Iceland from the early years through to its present day that he will present at each store.

As a special offer Throstur will be offering a free days fishing on the Jokla river for any bookings taken on the day for any of the rivers that Throstur has on offer in Iceland in 2011. We will also have 2011 pricing and information on the range of our salmon, sea trout and brown trout rivers we have on offer in 2011 including the Breiodalsa, Jokla, Huseyjarkvisl, Laxa at Leirarsveit, East Ranga, Tungulaekur, Litla, Minnivallalaekur and Svarta.

For more information please contact Mathew McHugh on 01621 743711, Brian Fratel at Farlows on 02074841000 or Tom Festing at Sportfish Reading on 0118 930 3860.

Mongolia: Float trips

2010-10-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to join up with Mongolia River Outfitters to offer Taimen fishing on over 200 miles of wild Mongolian Taimen water. The Mongolian River outfitters have a long history of providing high quality float trips and have been instrumental in setting up the world's first WWF Taimen Sanctuary in Mongolia in 2008. The fishery produces excellent opportunities for Taimen over 50 inches with one angler landing 20 fish in a single day during the recent September trips. We are now able to offer limited access (6 anglers per week) to this catch and release fishery during the short season that it is open in 2011.

In 2011 a full 8 night/6 days fully guided fishing upper river float trip costs from $4990 per rod. Full details will be on the new website soon. Enjoy the images below and if you require further details on the itinerary and pricing please email me or call on +44 1621743711.

All images copyright of Mark Johnstad/Mongolia River Outfitters.

Christmas island fly fishing report

2010-10-12T13:51:00.000-07:00

We had a group of intrepid anglers fishing the past two weeks at The Villages on Christmas Island. The group was led by Toni Karuvaara editor of Chasing Silver magazine who had previously fished Christmas island in 2009. This year the guys were met with some unusal conditions with cold weather which has been linked with El Nina in the Pacific. That meant jumpers in the evening and frigid waters, very unusual for a location that lies virtually on the equator.

Even so the island still produced some awesome captures and a lot of fun. Toni has been kind enough to share some of his brilliant photography with us. For a complete look at his images from the trip please visit his website.

For more information on fly fishing Christmas island and prices and bookings for 2011 please contact us viaemail or call on +44 1621743711.

Fly fishing Colorado - A K-T ranch review

2010-09-29T01:21:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to be working with a new operation in Colorado at K-T ranch. K-T Ranch is 975 acre working ranch located in Meeker, Western Colorado. The property has 7 miles of the world class white river and numerous spring creeks providing a diverse trout fishery. The ranch is suited to both small group bookings and family holidays and provides an authentic experience of the American midwest. You can read a review below of a recent clients visit to the K-T ranch.....

COLORADO 2010-09-27

“ It was a long way to go fro some trout fishing !”

Well yes it is, some 26 hours from our home in Yorkshire but from the moment we were met by Buzz and Rose Cox ( and Princeton their Yoda look a like dog ) at the K-T Ranch we knew that we were in for a very special holiday.

Buzz described recently in a fishing magazine as a “ quiet and taciturn man “ could have been mistaken for a member of a ‘60s rock band ( complete with chromium Harley Davidson parked in the garage ) but he proved to be a superb guide and an extremely amiable and humorous companion. Within minutes of entering the White River with it’s fast water rifles and eddies, tying on a “Chubby Chernobyl “ ( which resembled a small surf board with half a dead sheep tied to it ) I was landing my first substantial Rainbow, followed by Brown, Cutbow and the especially lovely Cutthroat trout.

During the next 10 days Pam and I caught many fish up to 24” on Hoppers, Nymphs and Streamers ( the latter used in cloudy conditions which meant they were rarely used ). The trout were supplemented by White fish ( a grayling look alike without the extended dorsal fin ) and an unusual Flannelmouth.

In addition to the White River we had access to some much smaller spring fed creeks which Buzz has lovingly developed which provided sight fishing opportunities. The cattle upstream clouded the water whilst we were staying but we have to remember this is essentially ranching country !

We also took the chance to do fish the Colorado river a couple of times in a float boat. This was guided by Dustin Harcourt again a very able and experienced river guide. We caught many fish ( and had lots of laughs) mainly by nymphing the edges of some fast water ably assisted by some expert boatmanship in a very comfortable boat.

All of the fish caught were wild, fully finned and in superb condition a great test for our 4 and 5 weight outfits and a great testament to the conditions found in the rivers. I have never seen such abundant food resources clinging to every single rock and boulder.

At the K-T ranch it was not all fishing Pam managed to be invited on a cattle round up ( complete with two very real and charming cowboys) and went for some horse rides, the scenery and sky in Colorado is breathtaking especially seen from horse back at 9000 feet. We also took part in some Elk stalking and together with the surrounding wildlife it was a real privilege to see this country through the eyes of the locals.

However the most important part of the K-T is Rose. She is a most welcoming, courteous and charming lady making our stay and mealtimes especially memorable. Thank you.

K-T is part of a larger business including the main ranch at High Lonesome some 2 hours drive away were we spent the last few days of our visit. High Lonesome is run more as a dude ranch providing fishing, shooting, riding , communal dining and good food.

The fishing is on clear beaver ponds, some man made. We were expertly guided by Steve Loshbaugh ( another great companion ) all the trout species previously caught were there plus in addition some beautiful Brook trout. Once again fish readily took dry flies and small nymphs and there really were some monster fish. Pam landed a Rainbow of 25”+ ( on an English Daddy Longlegs ) and at dinner that night was presented with her pin as a member of the 25” club (up to then only 8 members on the board she being the only female) This was followed the next night by both of us receiving membership of the “ Grand Slam “ club (again only 1 member previously shown) so maybe the fishing wasn’t that easy!

Colorado was a great experience for us both. The weather and scenery far exceeded our expectations. The fishing and the people were superb, it may be a long way to go for trout but we can’t wait for our visit next year.

Well done Mat for finding and setting up a really great and special trip!!

Alan and Pam.

FOR INFORMATION PACK, DVD AND BOOKINGS PLEASE EMAIL US OR CALL ON + 44 (0) 1621 743711

Fly Fishing in Bosnia - Trip report

2010-09-20T02:35:00.000-07:00

Our last Orvis group trip for the season was to the Rivers Ribnik and Pliva in Bosnia. Paul Procter gives an account of the fishing and almightly hatches of flies below....

A party of five rods and myself have just returned from Bosnia where we experienced unprecedented hatches of fly on the Ribnik. With perfect river levels and gin clear conditions, targeting trout and grayling was relatively straightforward. For once the weather dealt us a kind hand, overcast and muggy for the entire trip is a dry fly fishermen’s dream. Consequently, vast numbers of Pale Wateries and Blue Winged Olives kept fish rising all day long.

Initially, the challenge was presenting you imitation without any telltale drag. Decreasing leader diameters to 7X (0.10mm) certainly helped, as did a drop in fly size. And, once we’d done this the flood gates well and truly opened. Peter Legge managed to catch his first ever grayling on the first morning. Chuffed to bits, he climbed back into the river and proceeded to winkle out another five the best of them topping some 2lb. As you can imagine, he was grinning from ear to ear!

Under the watchful eye of our guide, Paul Maxwell mastered the downstream approach with a dry fly. And, having got his eye in there was no stopping him. Interestingly, brown trout featured heavily in Paul’s returns though he did manage to charm the odd grayling or two. As for Garry Carr, he came into his own on the Pliva by pitching a nymph into lively pools and runs.

Mike Collins, Steve Grimes and myself simply just pottered about, quietly slipping into the water here and there. On one occasion, Mike was blistering form, as it seemed every time I glanced upstream, his rod was buckled over in to yet another feisty trout. Steve too did me proud though he experienced a relapse when he lost a huge brown trout. Following the usually outcry, he soon settled down and continued to tempt fish with a size 18 CdC F fly.

Being autumn, chilly mountain air would come wafting down the valley about 5pm, summoning an end to the day’s events. Time for a cool beer and to reflect on what must rank as some of the most memorable hatches I’ve witnessed to date. As usually, it’s not until boarding the plane home that we suddenly realized just how special this adventure had been. Dates are already being planned for next season, roll on September 2011.

Paul Procter Sept 2010

Fly Fishing Varzina River, Russia: Client report

2010-09-15T05:27:00.000-07:00

We had a group of anglers from Farlows, Pall Mall fish the Varzina River on the North Kola Peninsula in Russia in mid July this year. Chris Ward has kindly provided a report on the fishing during his week.....

Varzina Fly Fishing Report
We get our first view of the Varzina as the helicopter banks hard to the right on its final descent towards the camp.
Even from two thousand feet up the river is an imposing site as it cuts an impatient dash through the wild tundra of Russia’s northern Kola Peninsula.

Long foaming stretches of boulder strewn rapids are interspersed with mouth watering glassy pools and immediately I’m reminded of the advice from our Farlows representative. “Don’t expect to catch 50 fish in a week here but make sure you have strong tackle because this is a powerful river where you may just catch the fish of a lifetime,” I was told.

The camp sits on a hill with commanding views of the Varzina at its junction with the River Penka. The river is tidal here and it’s possible to see fresh fish entering the home pool on rising water. It also makes for some excellent fishing after dinner just a few minutes walk from the main lodge in the endless arctic daylight. We’re already too late in the season for the Penka’s impressive run of 20lb spring fish but our week from July 10-17 is considered a peak time for the Varzina. Even before leaving London we’d heard rumours that runs of salmon right across the Kola were down on previous years but I chose to banish negative thoughts and fish as hard as I could in the week ahead.

On the first morning my fishing partner and I were first to be dropped off by the helicopter at Finn Pool – one of the most consistent and productive beats on the river. Either side of lunch I lost two good salmon, one of them right at the net. Mastering the art of playing such powerful fish in heavy currents is all part of the learning experience. Towards the end of the afternoon my guide, Volodya, ferried me over to the right bank and within a few minutes of casting into the tail of the pool I hooked and landed a lovely fresh 13lb fish right on the lip of the rapids. Simultaneously, my fishing partner was into a better fish on the left bank and I enjoyed the theatre as our guide rowed back across like an Olympian to net what turned out to be a cracking 16 pounder.

And so the week continued with each day a new fishing experience on a new beat. The visiting angler can expect a mixture of rock hopping, different grades of wading, some easy casting and some not so easy. If, like me, you’re relatively new to salmon fishing it will pay to put in the hours back home to finesse your spey casting – preferably off both shoulders so you can cope with all circumstances.

I ended the week with 14 fish to 19 pounds. There were bigger fish to 25 lbs for some of my more experienced fishing friends and we saw plenty of grilse in the river which must auger well for future years.

For more information on rods available on the Varzina River in 2011 please email us or call on +44 1621743711

Fly Fish Iceland: Breiodalsa Salmon Report

2010-09-15T01:30:00.000-07:00

Recently Tom Festing of Sportfish hosted a group of enthusiastic salmon anglers to Iceland's Breiodalsa and Jokla rivers. The Breiodalsa and Jokla are located in the North East of this majestic fly fishing country and offer a wilderness salmon fishing experience. While river levels were not perfect both rivers produced good numbers and size of fish with 60 odd salmon coming to the 5 rods over the 6 days fishing.

George Kavanagh produced a stunning set of images from the trip a selection of which can be seen below. To view more of George's photography follow the link to his website.

All images copyright of George Kavanagh

Guests comments

The fishing was great on the Breidalsa and tributary and our Icelandic guide, Sigi, was charming and very knowledgeable. The valley is beautiful with its broad sweep between hills and mountains to the sea. The clouds come floating along the sides of the valley so that the tops of the hills appear above them - sunlit if you're lucky. Lovely. The river and tributary have waterfalls and craggy pools as well as broad, smooth stretches - a bit of everything, you might say. I loved it.

C. Kershaw

In 2011 Fly Odyssey will be offering a range of salmon fly fishing rivers including the Breiodalsa, Jokla, East Ranga, Big laxa, and Laxa at Leirarsveit. For rod availability and rates for 2011 please email us or call on +44 1621743711.

New Zealand Day Farlows, Pall Mall 2nd September, 2010

2010-08-19T02:51:00.000-07:00

On Thursday the 2nd of September we are pleased to be hosting a New Zealand fly fishing day at Farlows, Pall Mall, London. This day is being supported by Tourism New Zealand, Poronui Station and Fly Odyssey and will be showcasing the finest brown trout fishery in the world.

New Zealand has long been regarded as the finest trout fishery in the world with its unlimited rivers, streams and lakes producing wild brown and rainbow trout that grow to large proportions. The country is filled with a vast richness of cultural and natural beauty and makes the perfect holiday destination for both the fly fisherman and non fisher.

In shop one of New Zealands premier fly fishing guides Ian Cole the principal fly fishing guide and FFF instructor at Wanaka fly fishing will be available to discuss tactics, flies and tackle for fly fishing in New Zealand. Ian's undoubtedly one of the best-qualified and experienced guides on the South island. He will be doing some fly tying demonstrations on how to tie the prime summer dryfly: the Cicada.

There will also be literature from Poronui Station and Owen River lodge, Tourism NZ and staff from Fly Odyssey available to discuss all aspects of travel around New Zealand.

Iceland trout fishing: Minnivallaekur River

2010-07-30T04:46:00.000-07:00

Our recent trip to the Minnivallalaekur river in Iceland in July was a great success. Typically for Iceland the weather conditions change rapidly but we had our fair share of light winds providing excellent conditions for some prolific midge hatches ensuring rising fish were found in abundance. While the majority of fish landed were between 1-3lb several exceeding 5lb came to the net.

Paul (Maxie) Maxwell sums up his trip nicely below:

Hi Mat
Just thought i would send you a few words to express my thanks for a fantastic holiday. Right from the start you made me feel relaxed and at ease. The accommodation and the food were superb and all set in a wonderful lodge right beside the river. As for the fishing, it was Brilliant! I have never experienced anything like it before. With your guiding Mat I had the biggest fish of a lifetime and just when i thought it could not get any better you guided me onto a biger fish. Thank you once again Mat for fantastic holiday and I have no reservation at all in recommending Fly Odyssey to anyone looking for a fly fishing holiday. I am now looking forward to my next trip with Fly Odyssey. Cheers Maxie

FOr information of fly fishing the Minnivallalaekur river or further details on our 2011 hosted trip to this river please email us or call +44 1621743711.

Some pics from the trip below courtesy of Jody Burton and Toby Coe:

Paul Procter's 5lb 6 oz midge feeder

Maxie's 5lber in the net.

Jody with a hard fighting brown trout

Big Sky

scenery

CLA Gamefair 2010

2010-07-13T07:55:00.000-07:00

We will be back to the gamefair this year at Rageley Hall between the 23rg-25th July. We have some interesting guys along on the stand helping out.

Ian Cole one of New Zealand's finest fishing guide will be there with us to talk about fly fishing in New Zealand. So for those who are planning a trip to New Zealand in the future please drop by and ask Ian all about the NZ experience.

Jeff Kean from Palm Valley Outfitters in the US will also be on the stand. Jeff has extensive experience in Mexico and works closely with Casa Blanca and Playa Blanca lodges. He is exploring some of the most remote fisheries in the Caribbean and will be on hand to discuss the exploratory options for Bonefish, Permit, Snook and tarpon fishing of the remotest parts of the Yucatan Peninsula. Jeff also runs red fishing and hunting operations in Texas.

We look forward to weeing you there and if you have any questions about fly fishing travel throughout the world please drop by for a chat.

Mathew McHugh
Director

Varzina River Salmon fishing

2010-07-05T09:46:00.000-07:00

We have just had a group from the UK fishing enjoying the spring fishing on the Varzina River on the Northern Kola peninsula for atlantic salmon. While the fishing was tough by the rivers high standards with a total of 58 fish for the week one of our clients managed a personal best salmon of 28lbs. There were another 2 fish over the magical 30lb mark landed by others in the camp. It appears most of the rivers on the North Kola are slightly down this year on numbers. The water on the Varzina was still quite cold so the fishing over the next few weeks should improve still. Another group of ours heads over on Friday so we look forward to more big fish stories upon their return.

Kevin's personal best salmon above.

For interest in fishing the Varzina river in 2011 please call us on +44 1621743711 or email us.

Greys Point Inn Bonefishing-Acklins Island

2010-06-11T06:08:00.000-07:00

Paul loves his bonefishing and having travelled to Mexico and Christmas island in search on bones he decide to head to one of the homes of bonefishing-The Bahamas. We narrowed down his location for him to Greys Point Inn. Paul brought his brother Scott along on his first ever bonefishing trip and the results were impressive. Scott managed plenty of bones along with some big sharks on fly (pics to follow shortly).

In short was was overjoyed with his trip and has vowed to return again in 2011. Heres a few pictures of their journey.

Grey Point Inn in the background. Bonefish flats on your doorstep. You can fish even upon returning from your day on the water.

Solid bones with fish up to 8lb were landed.

Perfect conditions for bonefishing.

The quarry. A fine specimen of a bonefish.

For more information on a range of fly fishing options through the Bahamas including Acklins, Abaco, Andros, Grand Bahama, Exuma and the remote southern islands Contact us or call +44 (0) 1621743711.

Sportfish Casa Blanca, Mexico Group trip 2010

2010-06-11T03:28:00.000-07:00

Allan Shephard of SPortfish UK recently led a group of intrepid anglers to Casa Blanca lodge in Mexico. Casa Blanca is famed for its permit fishing and Ascenscion Bay didn't let them down. 4 permit were landed for the week with several more fish lost. The diversity of the fishing in Ascension Bay was displayed by a total number of 21 species landed ranging from shark to big jack crevalle. Some photos and thoughts from the guys on the trip are below:

If you are interested in fishing Casa Blanca lodge in 2010/11 we have some excellent fall deals including a group trip over the thanksgiving holiday period and a range of Autumn specials. Please give us a call on +44 (0) 1621743711 or email us.

Casa Blanca lodge, Mexico: First permit!!

2010-04-30T03:49:00.000-07:00

PERMIT WITH A STING IN THE TAIL

Tim Render tells the tale of week’s fishing in Mexico [with Farlows’ Sean Clarke] [arranged though Fly Odyssey].

After a while every flats fisherman’s thoughts turn to permit. You’ve caught bonefish, you’ve caught tarpon, you’ve seen permit, maybe even cast to one. And catching that elusive first permit looms ever larger in your thoughts.

So it was for me. And a trip to Casa Blanca Lodge on Mexico’s Ascension Bay last March gave me the chance to try in one of the world’s best permit locations.

The first day showed the extent of the fishery in Ascension Bay. Large areas of flats, channels and mangroves, with lots of the deep sand flats so loved by permit. And we saw good numbers of fish, both singles and small schools. We had perhaps 10 decent shots at permit that first day – and yes, most were ignored by the fish. But three times we had that heart stopping moment as a fish darts for the fly and chases after it – only to shy away at the last moment. Disappointing, but confidence building – the fish were there and interested in our flys.

Day two brought more permit chasing. I had a good shot at a group of 6 or 8 fish, fly in front of them, several darted towards it – this was it. They chased the little crab pattern through three strips – the line just had to go tight – and then veered off .... Would I ever get a better chance.

Fortunately, yes. Ten minutes more polling along the flat and that school returned. First cast muffed. Second cast, just short. Third cast, 6 feet in front of the school. Again the reaction from the fish, and this time the line did go tight. Set the hook, clear the line, let the fish run .... I don’t think I’ve ever played a fish with so much care, keeping the pressure on, but not too much (did I get those knots right?), side strain to stop the fish trying to go round the boat. Soon it was there by the boat and then mine. OK, not huge - well actually pretty small – but my first permit.

Reward came that evening – with the lodge ritual for a first permit. The tequila stinger. A shot of tequila, but surmounted with a pickled scorpion (reassuringly (?) with stinger and venom removed) – you had to eat the scorpion and wash it down with the shot! Well, I couldn’t let the American lodge guests think a Limey was a wuss, could I? Treat the scorpion like an oyster – eyes closed, into the mouth, crush and swallow in one motion. Still the tequila was very good. And the bragging rights from my first permit were worth it ...

The rest of the week was more permit hunting –although unfortunately some cloudy and pretty windy weather made it harder to spot them. Still we had plenty more shots and some follows. But the rest of the fishing remained good – plenty of bonefish tailing in the mangroves. Jumping baby tarpon in the river mouths and wrestling snook out of snags.

All in all in good week’s fishing at a top rate lodge. Good food, air conditioned beach front accommodation, top end flats boats and excellent (English speaking) guides. Offering the full range of flats fishing for anglers of all experience, from novice to expert - you can spend your time catching lots of bonefish or obsess on permit or target an enjoyable mix of all the main flats species.

Just remember that the permit at Casa Blanca can come with a sting in their tail!

For more information about fly fishing in Mexico out of Casa Blanca, Playa Blanca or Punta Herrero please visit the Fly Odyssey website or email us.

Air Pacific Christmas Island flights

2010-04-16T01:35:00.000-07:00

For all those wanting to fly fish on Christmas island transport to the island has now been taken over by Air Pacific. The Air Pacific flights will start up again from May 25th, 2010. Air Pacific will be flying a Boeing 737-700 to the island every Tuesday departing Nadi and Honolulu.

Christmas island has been fishing very well recently. Fly Odyssey client Chris Cook recently had a great trip to the island landing 28 Giant trevally for his weeks fishing with the biggest coming in at 50lb off the flats. He also managed a 10lb bonefish and some big Wahoo when trolling offshore.

To read about his trip visit on the The complete Fisher website.

We have a group trip to Christmas island lead by Toni Karuvaara (Editor of Chasing Silver) in September 2010. For details please visit our Special offers page.

(Image: Copyright Toni Karuvaara)

For more information about trips and travel to Christmas island pleasecontact us or call on +44 1621743711.

Flylife Online magazine

2010-04-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

Flylife is a quarterly magazine published out of Tasmania, Australia. It is one of the finest fly fishing magazines in the world with outstanding photography and a great mix of travel, technical and fly tying pieces each issue. The Flylife team have just released their first issue of online version of the magazine with a collection of stories from past issues grouped together as the 'Wildside collection'.

We are lucky enough to feature with an article from travels to the remote tropical island of Tetiaroa in French Polynesia. To read the article and the other great sotories within the E-zine click on the link below:

Flylife E-zine

Huge NZ Brown trout

2010-03-01T12:39:00.000-08:00

Congratulations goes out to Fly Odyssey client Mike Naylor who landed the fish of a lifetime while on a recent visit to Owen River Lodge. It was Mike's first trip to New Zealand and he managed to fool this 11 3/4 pound brown trout. Apparently it was the largest fish landed out of Owen River lodge since opening and is just one of many double figure fish taken by their clients this season. Looks to have been a mouse feeder at some point. Mike finished his 3 day stint at the lodge with another 3 fish over 6 1/2 pounds including one fish over 9lb. 2010 really was the year of the big fish in New Zealand.

For 2011 hosted trip, self drive and lodge itineraries please Contact us via email or call 01621 743711.

Fly Fishing New Zealand Week 2

2010-02-24T05:01:00.000-08:00

Our second week of hosted fishing was based in the McKenzie District. Arguably the most scenic part of the country it boast some great brown and rainbow trout fishing. While in the McKenzie we spent time with local Twizel guide Steve Carey and the 'wandering' guide Ian Cole. Both are top class guides and a good laugh around the BBQ as well.

• Paul with a great fish from a big high country river (Image courtesy Paul Procter)

The week was spent fishing the various high country rivers and spring creeks that drain the McKenzie basin. We had another fine week of weather with temperatures exceeding 30 deg C most days with clear blue skies and light winds. This got the tussock cicada in a good mood and provided some of the best cicada fishing I have seen in the McKenzie. A day on the Ahurriri River was most memorable with the fish really homing in on any cicada that was drift down a bubble line. For all the guys this day will be long remembered.

• Dormer with another big McKenzie District brown trout taken from a small tarn.

The biggest fish of the week went to UK angler Ben Garnett who landed managed to land an 8lb fish out of one the numerous small tarns that are scattered through the region The fish was taken on a tiny size 18 corixa pattern. This made up for a large fish lost by Ben earlier in the week which ate his cicada and came off after a long fight.

• Ben with a fine looking 8lb stillwater brown.

Just goes to show the diversity of the fishing sight fishing available. You can stalk big rivers, small spring creeks, bustling freestone streams and small stillwaters all sight fishing to fish exceeding 3lb in weight.

• John proves that you can find big fish in the tiniest of streams in New Zealand. This fish went 4lb on the scales.

Are you interested in joining one of our New Zealand hosted fly fishing adventures in 2011? Trips will be run from 22nd January, 2011. Space is extremely limited. For further details please contact us.

New Zealand Fly Fishing Report

2010-02-23T00:36:00.000-08:00

Well we have just completed three weeks of hosted fly fishing throughout the South Island of New Zealand. Over the coming days we will be updating the newsletters page with detailed reports of the fishing that was had. The guys on this trip were lucky enough to experience great weather with bright sunshine and warm conditions on most days which resulted in great sight fishing opportunities and lots of insect activity which had the trout looking skywards.

• A relaxed lunch on the banks of the Mataura (Image courtesy of Dormer Treffry).

WEEK 1 Fly fishing Southland

Week one which was based out of Simon Chu's TROUT COTTAGE in Lumsden. Trout cottage is a little fly fishing hut in Lumsden and provides an ideal base for traveling anglers. Full of NZ associated fly fishing memorabilia it sets the scene for a week fishing SOuthland. Lumsden is in the heart of some of Southland's best fly fishing country with rivers such as the Mataura and Oreti and their associated tributaries a short drive away. The first week resulted in some fantastic dry fly fishing. The willow grubs and cicada's seemed to come on as the weather warmed and the water levels dropped from the previous weeks rain.

• A Southland willow grubber. These fish are usually frustratingly difficult but Paul's willow grub pattern fooled each and every willow grubber we came across. Luck or great design? Its the most successful willow grub pattern I have used be we will find out again next year. (Image courtesy of Paul Procter)

One of the great aspects of fishing Southland is the diversity of fishing situations. One location will find fish sitting high in the water column sipping down willow grubs. One afternoon on a high bank on the Matarua we found fish stacked up waiting for cicadas or blowfly's to hit the water and then there is always the ever present backwater fish. Several of the larger backwaters would find 4-5 big browns cruising for nymphs or looking up for drowned blowflies.

• Dormer with a feisty Mataura brown. An hour was spent on this fish with over a dozen fly changes. At times it lay within 3 feet of our position. Keep still and they won't know you are there!!! (Image courtesy of Dormer Treffry)

Dormer, Pete and Paul all enjoyed some memorable catches in all of these situations with fish ranging from 3-5lb. Of course as always in New Zealand there was the missed opportunities. Large fish that make it back to the willows, several straightened hooks and the ever present 'quick strike' that succeeds in pulling the fly out of the fish's mouth before he has a chance to taste it!!

Paul with a big cicada munching Oreti brown trout (Image courtesy of Paul Procter).

Are you interested in joining one of our New Zealand hosted fly fishing adventures in 2011? Trips will be run from 22nd January, 2011. Space is extremely limited. For further details please contact us.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T03:43:00.000-08:00

Just a quick thank you to all those who have booked trips and travelled with us in 2009. We at Fly Odyssey wish you all a very Merry Christmas and and a festive time catching up with family and friends over the New Year period. We have some new and exciting developments for 2010 which include:

1. We will be running the first exploratory liveaboard trips to French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Kanton island in the Pacific in the newly built liveaboard BONEFISH (See pic below). We will be releasing dates and prices in early January 2010.

2. We are now the exclusive European agent for Casa Veijo Chac in Punta Allen, Ascension Bay, Mexico. The 'Casa' is local permit guru Manuel Chac's 4 room lodge with a capacity for 8 anglers. Fly Odyssey clients have been fishing with Manuel for several years and always return full of praise. The lodge offers the most competitive pricing in the region and is a must for the Permit junkie to visit.

3. We have also teamed up with Chile's finest trout fishing outfit Estancia Del Zorro and Cincos Rios Lodge. The Estancia is a 15000 acre property that it is riddled with springfed streams which are stuffed with big brown trout (as the photo below attests). Cincos Rios is situated on the banks of the world famous Rio Simpson and offers the chance to drift, wade and even jetboat into the headwaters and tributaries chasing the brown and rainbow trout as well as the salmon that inhabit this system.

4. We have also joined forces with Palm Valley Outfitters in the US who are exploring and opening up new and unfished waters deep in the Southern Yucatan Peninsula as well as operating a lodge in South texas for Redfish and white-wing dove shooting. Jeff at Palm Valley will also be acting as our US agent and running some saltwater fly fishing hosted trips to Christmas Island and Australia so if you have any questions about any of the destinations that we offer and are based in the US please give Jeff a call on (956) 428566 or email Palm Valley Outfitters for more information.

Merry Christmas
Mat

Ascension Bay Trip Report

2009-12-07T07:57:00.000-08:00

We have just had two large groups of anglers down in Ascension Bay in November. Paul Procter UK angling writer and guide has put together a summary of their fortnight below. Paul will be taking a group back to Casa Blanca Lodge in March for those interested in joining a trip with him.

Paul's Report

November 2009 proved a highpoint in my season during a visit to Ascension Bay. Given light breezes the first week we were treated to exceptional conditions. Consequently, blue skies and clear water allowed for top drawer sight fishing. Better still the highly prized and much elusive permit were up on the flats and even in a cooperative mood (does it get any better?). The group landed no less than 12 permit in the first two days with other fish being reported hooked and lost, I can tell there’s not many places that boast such stats.

To be honest, I’d gone in search of bonefish, but to squander such an opportunity would have been unforgivable. Besides, forgetting all around me, I turned to a gibbering wreck when the guide whispered “permit”, nothing can prepare you for the moment those dark sickle like tails come ghosting into view. Thankfully, following good fortune, by lunchtime the first day our skiff had three decent permit under its belt, not a bad start to the 14 day campaign!

With permit being seen and cast to everyday, it was hard to tear yourself away from the hunt. However, a few sessions wading ankle deep water, looking for tailing bonefish proved just as exhilarating. Nothing beats seeing those slender, transparent tails glinting in the sun from afar. I have fond memories for spending the penultimate day strolling along a golden shallow flat. With so many fish to throw at, it was even possible to target larger specimens. Believe me, 6lb of hooked bonefish has blistering pace in skinny water. More substantial bones were contacted, but their guile and speed certainly outdid me, especially amongst mangrove roots.

The breeze eventually yielded to cooler east winds which in turn favoured tarpon and snook. Either side of high water, we poled the mangrove margins for such tenacious predators and were handsomely rewarded with tarpon topping 40lb and snook into double figures. On a 10-weigth outfit the ensuing battle is real “heart in the mouth” stuff. What with dolphins, turtles, flamingos and even crocodiles watching on, it’s hard to imagine any better experience. However, chatting with the guides on our recent visit, aside from the usual suspects they reckon March is a prime time when permit can be found in numbers. With that, our scheduled trip in March 2010 to Ascension Bay promises to be something very special indeed.

We have a few spaces left on trips to Ascension Bay in 2010 but these trips are filling fast. If you are interested in joining one of these or fishing Ascension Bay at any time of year please contact us on +44 (0) 1621 743711 or email us.

Turneffe Permit

2009-11-12T08:39:00.000-08:00

Congratulations goes out to Phil who landed his first Permit while fishing down at Turneffe Flats last week. The group had tough weather with rain and overcast skies from Hurricane Ida making fishing conditions difficult. Here is his story. Makes me want to get out onto the flats just reading about it.

Hiya Matt,

I got it on a Merkin, hook size 1. We chased the pod of permit up and down the mangrove shore, going through the fly box as we went. Gave it three good shots per angler per fly then swapped over and changed the fly. The guide said our best chance was if the fish moved in close, right up against the mangroves. They did and I was lucky enough to be standing on the pointy end of the boat at the time.

The fight was scary, several long searing runs, sometimes towards the mangroves or close in along the shore. I was convinced it'd get snagged and break me but I guess the fishing gods were smiling on me that day. I still don’t quite believe I actually landed (boated?) the fish.

cheers,

Phil

Orvis hosted fly fishing arranged by Fly Odyssey

2009-10-28T15:11:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to be involved the launch of a range of hosted fly fishing trips to some of the worlds finest fresh and saltwater destinations in conjunction with Orvis UK. Orvis have recently added the whole range of trips which include destinations such as Mexico, Iceland, Bosnia and the Bahamas to their UK website where the trips are detailed in full.

Bookings can be made via the Orvis Sporting Traditions Agency or by contacting Fly Odyssey.

Alphonse Island Report

2009-10-21T13:42:00.001-07:00

Mad keen saltwater fly fisherman Mike Youkee has just returned from Alphonse island after visiting during the opening week of the season. He has provided a very informative report which can be read below. We have some special deals at Alphonse this season so if you are planning on fishing the Seychelles in 2010 this is a great time to book.

Hi Mat

Well, just got back from Alphonse and difficult to describe how good the trip was. After two days resting up in Mahe (the main island of the Seychelles) after the long trip down, I met up with the rest of the group for the flight down to Alphonse. This takes around an hour as Alphonse is some 250 miles southwest of Mahe.

The group comprised eight anglers including me -- a Spanish lawyer and his wife, an American author and his wife, two South African guys, an expat Brit based in Hong Kong and me. I was paired up with John Mitchell the expat in the boats, although all rooms were single occupancy except for the married couples. So, there is no fear of having to share with someone who snores like a gorilla, or vice versa!

The guides are of various nationalities -- South African, Norwegian, American, Seychellois and are highly competent and experienced. Their boat handling is fantastic and needs to be, particularly when fishing outside the reef for milkfish. The day starts with a trip over from Alphonse the resort island, to St François where the fishing takes place. Once inside the reef the anglers are deployed from the big boat with their guides in the skiffs. The trip over takes around 30 minutes and it is a good time to put on your sunblock and make minor kit adjustments.

On the first day, John and I were teamed up with Vaughn who trains the guides and we had a trainee named Andrew, who was very good. We were very soon into the bonefish and both had fish to seven pounds by lunchtime with many specimens of around four to five pounds. There were very few juvenile fish and although we did see some, there were some real hogs of bonefish mixed in with the average size of around three pounds. We rounded off the day by species bashing over the edge of the coral and had some interesting fish -- juvenile bluefin, various snapper and spangled emperors. Indeed, even bonefishing you are quite likely to catch small bluefin, junior GT and that first day I picked up a small golden trevally, only the third that Vaughn had seen in his long involvement with the fishery.

Both John and I were keen to get stuck into the GTs and we spent much of the rest of the week chasing up GTs. We finished the week with John on two fish to my one, although we both had other hook ups and numerous sightings of fish. Of the eight anglers, and it must be said some were novices, five landed GT’s.

We had a shot at milkfish one morning when the tide was right outside the reef. The technique is to dead drift a weed fly through a school of milkfish and hopefully the two will connect. Not so in our case as we swam the fly through the school many times with no luck. Vaughn, of course, managed to hook and land a milkfish as well as catch the largest GT. The American author managed to hook up but parted company with the milkfish after 15 minutes, a kilometre from where he started.

There’s lots of fishing although more than the maximum of 10 anglers would cause a problem. The species diversity gladdens my heart as I find bone fishing great the first 2-3 days but I yearn something different after that. You can certainly find that at Alfonse. In the evenings you can fish right outside your chalet and depending on the tide you can reasonably hope for five or six bonefish and 10 or 12 fish of different species in the hour or so before dinner.

The accommodation and food is at the luxury end of the spectrum. Although it can cater for up to 90 guests the resort is only being used at the moment for anglers and this of course is to our benefit. There is a well equipped fishing centre where you can buy kit or tackle, or borrow equipment if you are unlucky to break a rod as I was.

It’s about the only destination in the Seychelles currently operating and compared to other visits to the Seychelles I have undertaken, the fishing has been of higher quality with a greater range of species -- I had never till this trip fished for milkfish. It’s on my radar for a return trip next year maybe coupled with a trip down to Cosmoledo.

Regards
Mike.

If you are planning on booking a trip to the Seychelles in 2010 then please contact us or call +44 1621743711.

Fly fishing in Bosnia

2009-10-21T03:35:00.000-07:00

Here's an article written by Jonathon Tomlinson of Sportfish, Reading on fly fishing in Bosnia. JOnathon took a small party of anglers there in June 2009 and is planning on heading back in 2010.

Trout fishing in Bosnia

I told one of my friends that I was going to go on a fishing trip to Bosnia - his reply was “I’ve heard there are some good deals on Afghanistan at the moment!” which for a non fisher I’m sure would be a fairly regular response!

When I was asked to go on an exploratory trip to see what Bosnia had to offer the budding fly fisherman, as ever I jumped at the chance to expand my fly fishing experience. A short 4 night and 3 day trip was just the ticket (and easy on the wallet). A 2 hour flight to Zagreb and we met with two of the guides form the lodge and set off on the 3 hour drive to what would be home for the next few days. The sun had set as we wound our way through the countryside full of anticipation of what the Ribnik and Pliva rivers had in store for us. If you conjure up a picture in your mind of Bosnia, for many it’s an image of the war torn country during the nineties that so regularly frequented our television sets, but the reality is somewhat different. We would just have to wait until the light of the morning before its true beauty was revealed by the rising sun.

We arrived a little after midnight having had a stop in a petrol station for a beer and a quick bite to eat. We threw our bags in the modern and highly impressive accommodation and got our heads down for the night; alarms set for an early start for a breakfast of free range eggs and locally cured bacon washed down with some excellent coffee, the ideal pick me up for the day ahead us. We inevitably woke at the crack of dawn as you always seem to do on the first morning, to walk out onto the balcony to one of the most stunning scenes imaginable. Heavily wooded mountains rose up from the river valley and stretched out in front of us, clouds licking the tops. A warm start to the day that surely would signal some impressive hatches from the River burbling below us. Expectations were high and rightfully so as we perused the on site tackle shop and marvelled at the huge trout and grayling that adorned the walls. A very wet couple of weeks had left the river running around 20-25 cm high but the fast flowing river (70cm+ per second) was still as clear as gin; the fronds of weed could be clearly seen swaying in the current from our elevated vantage point above. The Ribnik springs from under the Srnetica Mountain near the village of Gornji Ribnik and runs for around 6km before it empties in to the mighty Sana. It’s heavy flow and high oxygen levels make it a perfect habitat for insects and in turn - trout!

The targets for us would be the huge grayling and brown trout, as well as a few of the escapee rainbows from one of the fish farms along the banks which makes the most of the superb quality of water travelling through the countryside. Dry fly was going to be the main plan of attack during the copious hatches that occurred, when the rises dried up then small tungsten beaded nymphs would be called upon. The local anglers favored size 16, 18 and even 20 nymphs tied with tungsten beads to get down in the heavy flow together with long fluorocarbon leaders up to 5m in length. The technique was to fish square and down stream and across searching the pockets of marginally slower water towards the banks and under over hanging trees. With single fly being the rule on the river, many of the typical multi pattern techniques that we would adopt in the UK such as Czech nymphing and the Duo/Trio became redundant, so a steep learning curve was put in place as it had been several years since I hadn’t used more than 1 fly at a time for fishing sub-surface on flowing water.

We hoped for large hatches and during the frequent showers we had we weren’t disappointed, BWO’s, rusty spinners, huge Caddis, Stoneflies, flying Ants and the occasional Mayfly kept the free rising inhabitants and happy anglers more than occupied. Long leader of anything up to 15’ down to fine tippets of 6X and 7X gave us excellent presentation both upstream and fished down stream. Presentation was paramount in the clear cold water (around 6 degrees, thermals are a must!) to these wily fish, even the slightest bit of micro drag on your fly would result in a last minute refusal or no joy at all. Preparation of the fly and regular degreasing of leaders had to be second nature or the results would have been minimal. The river’s flow and currents picked holes in even the most experienced of casters abilities and highlighted how ‘on your game’ you had to be.

The Ribnik is a fairly wide river stretching as much as 25m+ in places but averaged around thigh height but its powerful flow meant that you had to take your time and be fairly confident in your wading abilities to reach the deeper runs that were holding some eager rising fish. A relatively even bottom; a mix of gravel and the odd larger stone made wading less challenging. The heavy pour of water causes a lack of sediment to build up so the bottom is solid, for those less able a wading stick would be of benefit as would a life jacket.

Those with an acute skill for spotting fish, the gravel bars highlighted the schools of grayling interspersed with chunky trout, hugging the bottom moving around to take nymphs that flowed down to them on an endless conveyor belt of food. Regularly spotting the emerging adults hatching out on the glistening surface above them the quarry ascended up and sipped them in with consummate ease giving their location away to us eagerly waiting in ambush. A well presented cast, a classic rise followed by a spirited tussle and the result; a stunningly marked brown trout heavily colored with black and red spots melting into a toffee caramel body, colour’s that looked like they could have only come straight from an artists pallet, at 8 inches it was perfection in miniature.

A characteristic of the Ribnik inhabitants is that they are very thick set unlike many of the fish that you would expect to find in fast flows, rather than lean long bodies these chunky fish have grown fat on the plethora of fly life found throughout the river system. Many of the fish that had Sercombe to our flies weighed far more than their otherwise short bodies would have suggested. These squat bully boys were deceptively heavy and when it came to their fighting capabilities definitely punched above their weight!

Tackle selections were fairly standard 9’ #4 or #5 weigh rods together with floating lines was ample for covering the water and turning over the long leaders that we were using and were ideal for pretty much all situation that you would encounter.

Towards the head of the river as it rises up from the base of the mountains lies a stretch that is affectionately known as the ‘Trophy Part’. Some 500 meters in length this area has virtually become a slow moving lake between its start and the man made weir at the bottom of the run. The azure blue waters look almost glacial in their appearance and are home to some enormous fish sitting ready in ambush for any unsuspecting fly that dare stay on the water for too long. In this deep section larger dry flies such as Grey Wulff, Stimulators, Caddis and large spinner patterns often do the damage but a well presented heavy nymph cast to one of these leviathans can be just as effective. After a couple of hours and several fish up to 3 or 4lbs, we could clearly see how it had earned its name and reputation. As we were walking back to the car to try another area of fast water with large dry flies, one of my fishing partners, Ian, was filling us in on the ‘submarine’ that had been sitting happily in front of him refusing everything he had; but then again I’m sure you don’t get to 5kg by being stupid!

All in all we were pleasantly surprised by the fishing and awestruck by the scenery, accommodation and the hospitality of the Bosnian people. By the end of the 3 day trip I had landed around 90 fish, which included some fat grayling up to 2lb but unfortunately the 4lb plus fish managed to evade me this time. Along with the grayling that we landed we also took Brown and Rainbow trout approaching the 2 and a half pound mark. Other members of the group managed Browns approaching 4lb in weight. The good news was that Goran the lodge manager told me that the River was fishing less well than it had all year so needless to say I can’t wait to get back and see just how good it can be when it’s firing on all cylinders.

We had a superb time and the ease of getting there and the lack of time needed away from work makes this a perfect trip for someone who is time poor or has a family that they can’t leave for a week or more at a time. Highly recommended not just for the fishing but the whole package so if you have thought about it in the past but never taken the plunge then I urge you to jump on a plane and give it a go!

2009-10-19T04:36:00.000-07:00

Nick Reygeart of Gin Clear media has just finished off a trailer of his latest film on Iceland. We have been closely involved with Nick's trip helping to organise access to many of the rivers he has fished including the Minnivallalaekur, Jokla, Breiodalsa and Tungalaekur. As you can see by this trailer the fishing is spectacular.

The Source-Iceland

In 2010 we have numerous hosted trips to each of these rivers. For those interested please contact us for more details.

Christmas Island Report

2009-09-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

Christmas island continues to fish well and produce big GT's on the flats. Here is a report from a recent trip to the island by James and Tracey staying in the best lodge on the island The Villages.

Hi Mat,

Got back on Friday so we're over the worst of the jetlag - had a great time, thanks.

We've been on a number of saltwater trips in the last few years or so and have always come back knowing exactly how many bonefish we've caught, the fact that we both gave up counting midway through the first day on Christmas Island gives some clue as to how prolific the fishing was. What was very surprising was just how close the bones would get before taking at times, we both had many takes when the leader was inside the tip ring. I'd advise anyone thinking of going to practice fast-draw roll casting to 15-20ft! (easier said than done if you have a 15ft leader!) I'd say the majority of the bones were in the 3-4lb bracket and the biggest we landed being in the region of 7lb, although we both had casts at bigger fish on most days.

As for the trevally, they obviously have some sort of look-out that tells them it's ok to amble up on to the flat as the guide is in possession of the 12 weight! Conversely, if you want to attract bonefish, hand the guide the #7 and carry the #12! On the rare occasions that I had the right rod in hand I found the GTs to be quite schizophrenic in nature, timid and spooky at times whilst incredibly aggressive at others. I found sparkly white surface poppers best at eliciting a suitable response. One such response left me nursing a bruised and bleeding hand and looking down at a broken fly-line! (I failed to clear the line that was running towards me in the tide, in a fraction of a second it caught on my bum-bag and subsequently snapped like cotton just behind the head). This fish was estimated as well in excess of 50lb, however I did land them to 35-40lb. We also saw some monsters towards the 100lb bracket.

As for other species, we caught blue-fin trevally, snapper, goat-fish, ladyfish, trigger fish (or fly robbing *******s as I re-named them), queen fish and the occasional unintentional puffer fish! (plus various reef fish on bottom gear). There were also huge numbers of big milkfish towards the ocean side of the lagoon that could be targeted given the right algae flies. The dolphins that surfed the boats bow waves when heading out were also spectacular as were the manta rays within the lagoon.

One thing you don't mention is that the villages has a surprisingly well stocked tackle shop. I managed to replace the 12wt line that I broke as well as stocking up on some well tied flies. Rods and reels are also available, which was handy once the guides started breaking our rods! A bad cast with a teaser put paid to Tracy's T&T and a bizarre incident involving a shoal of smallish GTs led to the demise of my borrowed 12 weight (the guide pointed the direction they were coming from by dipping the tip into the water - the fish subsequently charged the rod breaking 2 inches off it!).

Overall the fishing on Christmas Island really suited what we enjoy doing most i.e. wading the flats. I'm sure we'll be going back at some point - I have got a score to settle with a certain GT after all.

All the best,
James

We will be running several groups to Christmas Island in 2010 so please get in touch for more information.

Iceland: Minnivallalaekur Brown Trout

2009-08-28T03:23:00.000-07:00

Iceland is home to one of the oldest strains of brown trout in the world. It is believed that the fish of the Minnivallalaekur river link back to the brown trout present in Iceland at the last Ice Age 1,3000 years ago. Through genetic popultion research these fish are believed to have been involved in two post glaciation re-colonisations of brown trout through Northern Europe. I recently visited Iceland for these brown trout with UK wild brown trout enthusiast Paul Procter to check out these fish for ourselves prior to our recent Orvis hosted trip to the Minnivallalaekur lodge.

The Minnivallalaekur lodge makes an impression on you right from the start. Sitting as close to the home pool as possible the lodge offers panoramic views to the inspiring and active Mount Hekla. But it is the three large speciens of brown trout adorning the walls that make any fly fisherman drool. These fish all in excess of 10lb provide a motivation to tackle up quickly and get onto the water. The river itself is spring fed and crystal clear offering the opportunity to see these monsters lying on station in the deeper pools when the conditions cooperate.

Over the three days of fishing we caught glimpses of 10lb+ fish but trophy brown trout don't come easy no matter where you fish in the world for them. Instead we managed fish in the 24-26 inch range, the largest of these weighing in at 6 and 1/2 pounds. An epic wild fish by anyone's standards.

Iceland is only a short 2 hour 30 minute flight from the UK and provides a unique experience. Having fished New Zealand for over a dozen seasons I was most impressed with the quality of fishing on offer. In fact I came to the conclusion that if a trophy fish was what I was after then Minnivallalaekur river would most likely be my first port of call.

In 2010 we will be running two group trips to the Minnivallalaekur lodge. The first will be during the first week of July 2010 during the prime black fly hatch. The second will be last week of August when the terrestrial flies like 'daddy long legs' abound and the brown trout become more aggressive with their spawning urges beginning to take over. For details and pricing please contact us or call +44 1621743711.

CLA Gamefair

2009-07-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

We will be participating in the CLA Gamefair on the 24th, 25th and 26th of July at Belvoir Castle, Grantham. We have a couple of special guests on our stand this year. Jeff Kean of Casa Blanca Lodge in Ascension Bay, Mexico will be joining us. Casa Blanca is the finest fly fishing lodge in Mexico and known as the Grand Slam capital of the world. For those who love to fish for bonefish, permit and tarpon this lodge offers all three in abundance. Jeff will be available to talk fishing and about the lodge facilities all weekend.

We also have joining us Nick Reygaert of Gin Clear media. Nick has been involved in fly fishing film production for many years and will be showcasing Gin Clears latest release The Search - Tasmania. Nick will also be promoting the UK's first fly fishing film festival to be held later in 2010 so if you are interested in seeing the latest in fly fishing film on the big screen drop by to find out about dates and locations for what is sure to be a great event.

We have also team up with Trout Guides and Lodges Tasmania and are offering one free 4 night/3 day fully guided fly fishing trip to Tasmania for one lucky person who signs up to our newsletter.

The trip will include: Flights Ex Sydney/Brisbane or Melbourne, 4 nights accommodation ( 1 night Hobart/ 3 nights Central Tablelands), 3 full days guided fly fishing and all ground transfers while in Tasmania. This prize will be drawn at the completion of the weekend so to be in for a chance to win please drop by our stand and fill out a form for the draw.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

All the Best
Mat

New Belize Destination: Hopkins

2009-06-15T01:12:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to unveil our new Southern Belize destination. Hopkins village is located a 20 minute flight South of Belize city in the Stann Creek district. This small fishing village is located a short run to some of the world's most prolific permit flats. Combine this with the countless lagoons that tarpon make their home and the ever present bonefish and you find yourself in an ideal saltwater fly fishing location. This destination will be part of our hosted fly fishing packages will several hosted trips running in 2010. We have just had UK fly fishing writer Toby Coe head down to Belize and check out the place and here are his thoughts:

Mat,

All of my nonsense about 'not being particularly fussed about permit' turned out to be exactly that as soon as I got to Belize. Like probably every other flyfisher that has ever seen that big black tail waving in the air, I was an instant convert. Although a remarkably unsuccessful one. Due to sheer ineptitude on my part, I didn't land any permit during my three days of fishing with Jim, although I got a lot of shots. However, Jim did have a nice fish of around 7-8lb.

I was amazed by the number and size of permit we saw on the flats. On our best day, we probably saw 40-50 permit, including a couple of shoals of around a dozen fish. They weren't small either - Jim reckons the average size of permit down there is about 10-12lb and we saw some clonking fish, including a really nice fish in the mid-20s that gave me a severe case of buck fever.

Caught a few bones too and saw bonito and jacks smashing bait, plus a heap of tarpon, both out around the cays and also in the creeks and mangroves. The sheer variety of fishing in the area really has to be seen to be believed.

Jim's house is fantastic! Beautifully finished, very comfortable and right on the beach. There are some great local restaurants and bars nearby as well. Hopefully the attached pics will help give an idea of what it's like out there!

Cheers, Toby

For trip information please check our Special Offers page.

Christmas Island keeps producing great catches

2009-06-03T04:27:00.000-07:00

Hi Matt,

.............. anyway christmas island what can you say! Well firstly its a long way but dont let this put you off, its a wonderful place and a great adventure for all you fly fishermen/women. We stopped at The Villages a small complex of 6 chalets 50metres from the fishing boats. They were quite new clean and were of a good size with all that you reqire including a fridge of beer.

When you tell people about the this trip you get the same old questions how was the hotel, pool and food ? Well their isn't a pool or hotel and the food is quite basic but tasty. Remember you are in the middle of the Pacific and that flight only arrives once a week. The flight is on a small twin prop plane that can seat 20 people but its no worse than your usual flight to Spain or Greece.

Primarily this was a bonefishing trip but turned into 3 days bonefishing and 3 days blue water fly fishing . Yes if you want to fish for bones and GT's then you can and you will catch plenty with the average size being 2-4lb with some bigger fish in the 8-10lb bracket to be found, but to fish just for the bones would be doing the island an injustice as their is such a variaty of other species out their waiting to be caught....... and they are big so go prepared with heavy lines and plenty of spare poppers and lures, THOSE GT PULL LIKE MAD AND LIKE THE ROCKS.

During the trip we managed to hook and land bones with the biggest being in the 6lb bracket, giant trevally, bluefin trevally, golden trevally, skip jack tuna, baracuda and wahoo. We also lost big GT's ,Wahoo and one shark. The best flies seemed to be the standard christmas island special in pink, orange and pearl for the bonefish and the blue flashy decievers and abel anchovy for GT's and tuna with the lures and poppers being about 25-30g 100mm long again blue mackerel colours being most productive.

Mike Marao was our guide for the week that's him with the big smile. He will put you on the fish, spot the bones and knows were to fish in the ocean and nothing is a problem. Always on time, flexible and ready with advise should you require it.

So should you go to christmas island YES!
Would I go back YES IN A SHOT!

So that said its a big thanks to matt and mike for a great trip!

P.S There are no fishing tackle shops on Christmas Island so take extra line and backing ect. If you do forget somthing there are 2 shops in Waikiki.

cheers and good luck
John and Angela

Belize: Fly fishing for Permit

2009-05-09T02:16:00.000-07:00

Permit on the flats are probably the ultimate challenge for the saltwater fly fisherman. This year we have seen an increasing demand from anglers for travel to locations where they have a chance at getting good numbers of shots at permit. We have had anglers land permit in Mexico and Cuba this season but the country that has produced more fish than anywhere else has been Belize. We have had anglers fish out of both Turneffe Flats and Tarpon Caye Lodge this season and all reported seeing more permit than at any other location they have fished. The trick of course is getting them to eat your fly and happily, enough of them did to make for some memorable fishing trips.

Turneffe Flats
Turneffe offers an expceptional quality lodge experience and is well suited with activities for the non-fishing partner and family holidays. They also have some of the most experienced permit guides in the world and it is not uncommon to be having not just multiple but dozens of shots at permit each day. The more shots you get at permit the more chance you have of success. Recently Sean Clarke of Farlows, Pall Mall managed 6 permit in a week. But permit aren't the only fish on offer. There is every chance that the permit can be followed up by a bonefish and tarpon making up the saltwater grand slam, as Sean also managed during his week there, a first for him which is saying something for the place considering his extensive experience fishing Cuba.

In 2009/2010 we are running 2 trips to Turneffe flats. The first is October 30th- November 7th 2009 and is on offer at 2 anglers for the price of 1 and the second week will be April 17th-24th 2010.

Tarpon Caye Lodge
Tarpon Caye Lodge is in Southern Belize an hours run from Placencia. For those that like to get away from it all and want endless miles of unfished flats then this is for you. However it is primarily for the dedicated permit fisherman, and while there are other species present it is the large numbers of permit that will be your primary reason for visiting the region.

Gavin Hodgson from Grangers Fishing Tackle hosted a group for us in March which saw 5 permit caught for the week and many more chances lost as will always happen when targeting this species.

For more information on fly fishing and travel to Turneffe Flats or Tarpon Caye Lodge please email us.

Christmas Island: Pictures of Paradise

2009-04-23T04:49:00.000-07:00

Toni Karuvaara of Karuvaara fly fishing and editor of Chasing Silver Magazine has just returned from a 2 week stay on Christmas Island with friend Arto who experienced his first taste of saltwater fly fishing. As you will see the fishing was spectacular and the photos tell their own story.

All images are copyright of Karuvaaraflyfishing.

For those wanting to travel to Christmas Island in 2009/2010 we have a a variety of packages available including a hosted trip in March 2010. For more information please email us or call on
+44 1621743711.

Fly fishing Christmas Island: Trip Report

2009-04-12T02:54:00.000-07:00

We have a had a small group of anglers on Christmas Island for the past couple of weeks. Here is a breif trip report from Paul from Scotland. His fishing partners, Toni Karuvaara editor of Chasing Silver magazine and Arto are still there chasing the bonefish, giant trevally, yellowfin tuna and triggerfish the inhabit this pristine coral atoll.

Hi Mat,

Just a quick update on the christmas island trip. The island is a truly wonderful place to both visit and fish. When first booking the trip my main objective was to bonefish, however I quickly realised there is far more to the island than just bones. Stalking triggerfish in the coral proved to be to be both exciting and addictive, hooking the triggers was the easy part !! keeping them out of their coral homes was the hard part.

The island also has a very health population of bluefin trevally,sight fishing double figure fish in water waist deep is an experience that wont soon be forgotten. A days of shore fishing also proved to be succesful and saw tuna,trevally,seabass,queenfish and rainboow runners brought to the boat.

So all in all a wonderful trip was had in superb company.

Many thanks Matt.

Paul, UK.

For more information on our Christmas Island trips please email me

Ireland Salmon Fishing

2009-04-05T14:31:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce our association with the Lower River Caragh fishery in County Kerry, Ireland. Having just spent the past three days there I think that this 3 mile stretch of water will produce some fine catches for our clients over the coming years. Having arrived on 1st of April to very low water conditions we thought that the river may make fools of us!! However there was enough fish moving in the dozen or so fishable pools to think we were at least a chance.

Our first morning on the water we concentrated on the lower pools where the tide still has some influence. Mark Nicoll jumped of a small fish, probably a kelt or sea trout. It wasn't until the Friday afternoon that the fish really started to get excited with an onset of some rain. Several pulls but no solid connections kept us interested and with a day to go confidence spread through the camp.

Our last morning our arrival was meet with little action through the first few hours. We supposed the large fish that were moving the previous evening had moved on up to Lough Caragh. But, a slight change in the weather as the wind picked up had fish rolling over the surface again. Before long I picked up a kelt on a Ally's shrimp and then an hour later Mark Nicoll managed a superb spring salmon of an estimated 14lb. An absolute cracker of a fish.

We will be heading back in July to check out the grilse fishing and then we will be hosting 2 groups next April for those big spring salmon. For those interested in fishing the Lower Caragh fishery please contact us for details of pricing and travel logistics.

Fly fishing Ascension Bay: Trip report

2009-03-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

Well the fly fishing in Ascension Bay continues to produce permit for our clients. A group of 5 anglers have just returned and had a successful week fishing the Ascension Bay flats. Three permit were landed as well a couple of bonefish approaching the 8-9lb mark and some big barracuda as well. Here's Phil's thoughts on their trip:

Hi Mathew,

Trip was great and we all agreed that overall it was our best trip yet. I have to say the place was ideal being very quiet and off the beaten track (literally !!) and Manuel and his team were excellent hosts.

The weather was not to good on a couple of days but the guides still managed to put us on some fish, and we now know why they say you must be able to cast 40ft into a howling gale to get the most out of the fishing.....!!

Attached are my best fish of the week all caught in one day when out with Manuel. I did have another permit of about 12lb's on the last day and Ellis also caught one earlier in the week about the same size.

Best regards
Phil

We have 1 space available for MAy 16th-24th trip and will be running another fortnight of trips in November and December 2009. For more information please visit our Special Offers page or email us.

New Zealand Fly Fishing Week 3

2009-03-04T19:54:00.000-08:00

Week 3 in New Zealand involved a move to the North and a base out of Murchison. Murchison provides easy access to a huge number of wilderness waters all with healthy populations of large wild brown trout. The fishing was reasonably tough with accurate and delicate presentations required but when this was performed the big browns would willingly take the fly.

The guys had the pleasure of fishing with arguably one of New Zealands best trout guides in Peter Carty. Apart from being a great guide Peter is also one of the finest fly tiers in the country and is continually innovating and producing an amazing range of nymphs and dry flies. Peter kindly talked the guys through his fly boxes which was mouth watering stuff.

Our 2010 trips will be run the first 3 weeks of February. They will again fish Southland, McKenzie and Murchison and space is limited so for bookings please contact us.

New Zealand Hosted Fly Fishing Week 2

2009-03-03T05:29:00.000-08:00

Week two of our hosted trip saw Peter's son Eddie join us to fish the major rivers of the McKenzie district. It turned out to be a week of big fish for Peter, eddie and Dormer from Week 1, with all landing fish that pushed the 8lb mark. The days were warm and this really turned on some great dry fly fishing with the browns keyed in on the alpine cicadas and the prolific numbers of grasshoppers in the high country. One day on a local creek saw the big browns eager to eat anything big that was splashed down on the surface.

The Ahurriri river fished very well with the guys landing some fine fish under the watchful guidance of Steve Carey.

All agreed the the scenery was equally as absorbing as the fishing.

Salmon fishing, Varzina River, Russia

2009-02-15T22:07:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to announce our association with the Varzina River Company who run camps on the famous Varzina river for both Atlantic salmon and brown trout. We have rod availabilities throughout the prime weeks of June, July and August in 2009 on the Varzina. For more information on 2009 rates and availability contact us on +44 1621743711 or at m.mchugh@flyodyysey.co.uk

Fly fishing New Zealand: Hosted Trip Week 1

2009-02-15T20:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a short trip report on the first week of our 2009 hosted New Zealand trips. The first week we visited Southland with Peter and Dormer fishing the waters around Lumsden. Great weather ensured plenty of sight fishing to rising browns and Rainbows. Peter managed his biggest eve brown trout on our first day of fishing on the Oreti, while Dormer fullfilled a lifelong ambition of landing a wild river rainbow from a stream in Fiordland. Stu Tripney of Stu's Fly Shop in Athol provided the guys with a couple of great days guiding on the Mataura to cap off the week. Here are a few thoughts from Dormer...

Hi Mat

Thank you for a fishing holiday of a lifetime. I was looked after from start to finish. I was well fed and watered and always had a comfortable bed. Best of all, the guides that you provided enabled me to catch fish. As you know I had never fished in NZ but with your guidance I managed to catch real wild fish, some a little larger than I was hoping for. I will be coming back next year, for you have given me the reason to return to a fishermans paradise. I will get the photos to you soon.

All the best
Dormer

Ascension Bay Fly Fishing

2008-12-23T04:41:00.000-08:00

We have just had three groups fish Ascension Bay over the past month and all experienced some good fishing and a great place to visit. The old sand road down to Punta Allen was a little worse for ware this season but the roadworks were being undertaken and by now the road should be back to its best. Here is a report from Jonathon Tomlinson of Sportfish, Reading (www.sportfish.co.uk) who hosted the November trip for us.

Well I’m back in the UK and with a real bang back to reality, landing to +1 degree and snow at Birmingham airport after a fantastic and highly memorable trip to Ascension Bay in Mexico.

After weeks of anticipation the departure date finally arrived for the trip to the ‘Grand Slam’ capital of the world and myself and 5 intrepid anglers were winging our way to our home for the next 7 days in Punta Allen. After a stop during our mini bus transfer for some much needed food and the obligatory ice cold Cerveza, we eventually arrived at our lodge to be greeted by our lead guide for the week Manuel. We were shown to our spacious air conditioned rooms; we dumped the kit and fell asleep before our heads had touched the pillows.

As usual the group woke up early in anticipation of our first days angling and were up and tackled long before the 7am breakfast; all itching to get started. 8 am and the 3 well equipped flats boats headed out. The weather was recovering from a large low pressure system that had been hanging around for the previous week or so, but the outlook was that it would steadily get better as the week progress which was music to our ears. Right enough each day it did get better and with it so did the fishing! The majority of the party started of cashing the numerous tailing bones that could be found in the shallow flats, with great results. As the week continued and everyone’s confidence grew the target species grew in numbers and Snook, Tarpon and Permit soon became the order of the day. During a night of margarita fuelled banter a species challenge was laid down to the group, rules were simple catch as many different fish as you can! The eventual winner boated 17 species for the week, impressive in any location but even more so when they are all taken by the fly!

Every day shots were taken at elusive Permit on the extensive flats surrounding Punta Alan with the catch figures getting larger and larger until the last day ended in the perfect conclusion for one angler. For most salty anglers the ‘Grand Slam’ is the ultimate prize but even more coveted than this is the very rare ‘Super Slam’ which involves the capture of not only a Bonefish, Permit and Tarpon in a single day but with the edition of the hard fighting mangrove dwelling Snook. Even as we landed back in the UK some 48 hours after the monumental achievement had happened it still hadn't sunk in with the captor, I’m sure it will stay in his memory for many years to come!

The figures for the week just speak for themselves, 3 Permit boated with another 3 unfortunately lost, several Tarpon with as usual several more jumped and lost, plenty of hard fighting Snook and more Bones than you could shake a stick at not to mention Barracuda, Jacks and numerous local Snapper and mangrove species.

I would rate Ascension bay as by far and away one of the very best locations for saltwater fly fishing regardless of your experience level. The biggest endorsement I can give it is that all 6 members of the group are heading back to the same lodge at the same time next year and probably will for quite some years!

We have groups fishing Ascension Bay in March/April and May in 2009. If you are interested please email us.

Fly Fishing New Zealand: Gisborne Report

2008-12-01T06:14:00.000-08:00

We have just had clients Cavan and Owen fish a combined saltwater/freshwater package in the Gisborne region of the North Island of New Zealand fishiing out of Murphy's Lodge and with supreme saltwater guide Nik Mathiesen. Here is a recount of the trip.

Hello Matt,

Owen and myself enjoyed the trip very much and did catch some memorable fish. Unfortunately, we experienced some bad weather at the start, which cut our salt water fishing down to one day. However, we did catch some Kingfish and spent some time on the rivers guiding Nick, who freely admitted he was not much of a "trouty" but may well become a convert.

Frank is an "ol dog", who we liked very much. He proved to be a great guide and not short of a story or two! He also taught us a lot about emptying a wine cellar and Owen and myself proved to be very able students. Pam looked after us very well at Motu and Jan managed able feasts at the Ruikitori Hilton. We both decided a diet was out of the question and made the most of it all.

We really only had one day on the Motu, due to inclement weather. However, what a day it was! With Frank guiding us along, we caught some very nice Browns - all sighted fish. The best was in the order of about 4lbs. Bigger fish were lost, usually by nailing themselves about a snag. We did fish the Motu a little on the second day but the water had been turned to mud due to heavy rain the night before. Nevertheless, Frank vowed to find fish and we had a success in one of the feeder streams, where the water was running clear.

We were at a loss in trying to decide what to do regarding the weather. In the end, I rang Nick and a discussion ensued regarding what to do with the next days fishing. We eventually followed the original plan because it was very hard to change days due to one factor or another. So, next morning Nick arrived and we set off for the cape. On arrival, it was obvious that the sea would be far too rough, so we formulated a plan and re - rigged the 8 wt with a floater and headed off to the rivers. I bought flies, indicators and leaders and we tried to catch the evening rise........... River 1 , fishers nil.

The next day, we headed further up river on a beautiful excursion through some glorious countyside. Lots of wildlife to see including Hares, Turkeys, and Pheasant. The day had cleared and we were rewarded with a fabulous bright, summers day. We caught some lovely rainbows on nymph and indicators amongst pocket water within rapids.

At the cape we got ready for our only opportunity to catch Kingfish. The sea had calmed somewhat and we headed out early in the morning to areas that Nick had plotted on his GPS. He found fish almost immediately and I caught the first fish on the first cast. We continued to pull fish fairly regularly and then it became a bit quiet. Nick unleashed the "Samurai sword "with hooks attached - apparently the favoured method with the Japanese- and more fish were brought to the boat. (Apparently, this style of fishing is called Jigging ).The Kingfish lived up to their reputation and put up a well respected fight - should try that with a 6wt!

Nik was a nice fellow and we got along well. Later that day we returned to the Motu Lodge and prepared ourselves to travel to the Ruikitori River. On arrival at " The Ruikitori Hilton", we set up for the last leg of our trip. The gods smiled. The weather just kept improving. We had probably the best fishing conditions that NZ could offer. Bright, warm summer sun. Neither too hot or too cold - perfect. The fish agreed and we had the river almost to ourselves.

The river was full of big beautiful Browns and Rainbows inhabiting all sorts of water. Mostly caught on nymphs but some on the dry. Usually a Hare and copper or Royal Wulff. (The fast sections were explored with tungsten beadheads in order to get down to where the fish were feeding). Most fish were spotted with polaroids. Owen, proved to be a top spotter!

Alas, all good things come to an end. I dare say that Franky is still talking about the large Brown that Owen hooked and played hard to get. ......Often lodging itself on the bed, round a rock, racing into awkward runs; requiring Owen and myself equiped with a stick to follow it across treacherous water, trace it downstream and on more than one occassion, prod it with the stick to get it going! Yes, and Franky had a bit of a laugh, swore we had made his day and could not believe we actually succeeded. But we did....... a nice fish of 5lbs.

Cav

For those of you wanting to experience the best saltwater fishing on the North island combined with some backcountry trout fishing please email us for more details.

Belize Permit Specials

2008-11-26T07:18:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about being in this business is when a client achieves a fish capture that they have devoted a large amount of time and energy to. Generally this involves the pursuit of Permit. Mark Nicoll has long craved a permit on fly. He spent months tying crab flies of all descriptions (kindly offering me his rejects) with the aim of spending 3 weeks in Belize and Mexico chasing permit as hard as he can. Well he is currently out at Turneffe Flats Lodge part way through his first week away with another keen saltwater fly angler Mike Youkee and has already managed 2 permit. That makes one happy angler. I will be joining him out in Ascension Bay in a couple of weeks time and look forward to hearing the stories of their capture over a nice cold cerveza.

Turneffe Flats are offering some great deals through January. For the weeks of 10-17th January and 17th-23rd January 2009 you can fish and a friend can fish at Turneffe flats at 2 for the price 1 or you can take a non fishing partner free of charge. For more information please email us.

Christmas Specials

2008-11-24T06:33:00.000-08:00

There are lots of bargains to be had over the Christmas and New Year with many lodges offering 2 for 1 deals or heavily discounted packages.

Here are a few of the opportunities available:

Casa Blanca Lodge, Ascension Bay

Ascension Bay is one of our favorite fly fishing destinations and the best lodge in the region is offering a 2 for 1 deal between the 3rd-10th of January. For the weeks January 10-17th and 17th-24th we are offering 10% discount on all packages to Casa Blanca lodge. For those wanting to escape the UK winter this is a great opportunity to do that in the Grand Slam capital of the world.

Alphonse Island, Seychelles
The premier lodge in the Seychelles, Alphonse makes a great location for fly fishers and non fly fishers alike. For the week of 10th -17th of January, 2009 Alphonse Island is offering $US2500 off its normal price weekly rate for fly fishers and $US1000 off its weekly rate for non anglers.

If you require any further information on these packages please email us.

Christmas Island in The Field

2008-11-23T09:09:00.000-08:00

We are please to see Tobias Coe's feature in the UK's premier field sports magazine, The Field, on Christmas Island from our hosted trip to the island in July 2008. They encountered some big bonefish and some even bigger Giant Trevally on their trip to the island. Thanks for some great tales Toby.

Also an update on the flight situation for Christmas island will see the charter flight from Honolulu being the only means of accessing the island in the near future. This was the original route before Air Pacific started regular flights in 2006. Cost of the return flight between Honolulu and Christmas island is $US1100.

We are also pleased to announce that we have the UK's exclusive agent for bookings to Christmas Islands premier lodge The Villages. The villages offers air conditioned ensuite rooms with an ideally located bonefish flat on its doorstep. The head guide are Teanaki has been guiding the island for 25 years and is a big GT specialist. For 2009 rates and bookings please email us.

Family Travel: The Bahamas

2008-11-19T08:47:00.000-08:00

For those wanting to escape to the sun over the winter we are able to offer you 2 fantastic locations in the Bahamas, Old Bahama Bay and Green Turtle Club ideal for a family getaway.

Old Bahama Bay is located on the Western End of Grand Bahama. With easy access via Miami or Fort Lauderdale, Old Bahama Bay makes a great, safe location to take the family. Excellent swimming beach, pools and games room, stylish rooms and excellent service really make a trip to Old Bahama Bay special. For the fisherman you have a world class bonefish fishery on your doorstep. The legendary Bonefish Foley is famous around these waters and you can enjoy your meals overlooking the Marina from the Bonefish Foley Bar and Grill.

Green Turtle Club and Marina is part of the Abaco group or of out islands. Offering unspoiled beaches, a relaxing atmosphere, luxury accommodations and some of the biggest bonefish found in the Bahamas swimming around on the flats surround Green Turtle Cay makes this an ideal location for a family trip combined with some times on the flats.

For further details on prices and availability please email me.

Free 1/2 Day Fly Fishing Lessons

2008-11-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

Fly Odyssey are pleased to announce that for all bookings with Fly Odyssey between now and March 2009 our clients will be entitled to a free 1/2 day lesson with the Scott fly Fishing School based down in Devon. Whether it be honing your fly casting in preparation for an upcoming bonefish trip or dusting out the cobwebs on a Dartmoor stream or learning a new salmon presentation, Pete Tyjas and his team of AAPGAI accredited guides will provide you with an excellent service that will help in your preparations for your next Fly Odyssey trip.

For more information please visit Scott fly fishing schoolwebsite.

British Fly Fair

2008-11-04T09:12:00.001-08:00

Well the BFFI has come and gone again. What a great show and a great opportunity to put some faces to names and discuss all things related to fly fishing and the places that we fish. For those that missed out the BFFI offers the chance to see some of the world's best fly tyers in action and watch demonstrations of their 'killer' flies. The main tent is filled with more tackle and tying gear than you could ever dream of and I am sure more than a few bargains were had by those attending.

Thanks to everyone who dropped by and enquired about our New Zealand trips and affordable bonefish options. I look forward to you all joining one of our groups and experiencing some special fly fishing locations.

New Caledonia fly fishing: Short film by FF Media

2008-08-28T03:19:00.000-07:00

Here is a short film by FF Media on their recent trip to New Caledonia.

Christmas island fly fishing report

2008-08-26T08:38:00.002-07:00

Here is a report from a recent Fly Odyssey group trip to Christmas Island. The guys had a mixed week with plenty of bonefish with the largest around the 8 pound mark and while Toby reported seeing good numbers of big GT's with Tom Brumm from the US busting a hook on an estimated 60lb fish.

Dear Mathew.

Christmas Island certainly lived up to it's reputation as one of the great places in the world to catch bonefish! On our best days of fishing, a dozen bonefish in a few hours of fishing was the norm and one of our party had over 30 fish on his best day. I was surprised by the size of some of the fish we saw though. Our group caught several over 7lb and one of the guy's hooked a fish that he swore blind was into double figures!

We saw decent numbers of GTs and bluefins trevally as well each day - up to half a dozen fish or more on some of the outer reefs. Some were pretty huge as well - 60lb+! We only managed to land a few small ones unfortunately, but it was still fun trying. All in all a pretty great trip, even if the wind did blow your ears inside out on a couple of days!!

Cheers, Toby

Christmas island fly fishing report

2008-08-26T08:38:00.001-07:00

Isla Holbox Tarpon

2008-08-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

Isla Holbox keeps producing big fish. Just had this shot through from Toby Sprinkle, lodge manager who managed a personal best fish estimated at 170lb. Several of our clients managed fish over 100lb last season. Space in 2009 is filling fast. If you would like more information on fishing Isla Holbox please email me.

New Caledonia Filming

2008-08-14T12:59:00.000-07:00

The fishing out at New Caledonia continues to produce big bonefish. In early August we helped put together a party of anglers to film the flats fishing of Northern New Caledonia. The filming was undertaken by Janpanese fly fishing production company FF MEDIA. Yoshi and Aki will put putting together a film of what New Caledonian bonefishing is all about so keep an eye on their website. Here are a few pics from Peter Morse of their weeks fishing.