Hosting the last couple of weeks

Well a couple of weeks have passed since my last post and in that time we have hosted friends from the US and made new ones from the UK.

A couple of weekends ago I took friends John and Danny out on a local stream and we had a day of almosts. 8 hookups for only 2 landed were not great odds and some errant nylon took the blame. I like the triple surgeons knot when connecting nylon/flouro and use an improved clinch to the fly. There are a couple of other really good knots out there and I am looking at one called the 40/20 or suchlike. That Saturday night I spoke in Queenstown at the Wakitipu Anglers Club annual dinner. What a great event and thanks to Chris, Mark and Duncan for inviting me and treating me to a great night out. The next day I managed a few lovely fish on the dry but admit a little snooze under a willow tree, helped with excesses of the night before. I hear Chris, John and Ronin headed for the hills and managed to land a very nice fish of 7lbs.

This last weekend was once again plagued with WIND. The usual spots were once again called upon and did not disappoint. Having 10 years of diary entries and some local knowledge of the topography goes a long way to ensure windy days can still be enjoyed. The prevailing wind in Southland is often from the NW in spring. The significant memory of my Saturday was breaking or losing of 9 fish in a row. The poor old 10th fish didn't stand a chance and I brought him in quickly with 7lb nylon! I then wondered why I wasn't using that strength tippet right from the get go!!?? I do believe we sometimes fall into the trap of using light nylon when in fact we can use much heavier tippets.

I fished Sunday with Robbie, Olly and Malcolm. Nicer guys you couldn't find and we had a blast learning NZ techniques, improving our casting and line control. We managed several fish in the bargain and they got to see first hand some of the exceptional backwater fishing on the Mataura. Guys it was a pleasure to fish with you and I know you will take those techniques back home and slay them.

Today Cam (aka Gumwah) arrived from Australia and he has just left for Southland with Robbie McPhee, our backcountry guide. He will stay in Lumsden at Trout cottage and I look forward to joining them on the weekend to hear their tales of big fish.