Los Roques permit

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.