You can't catch fish here,Your jokeing

[chief]

Just been over to NZ with the wife and had a ball sightseeing around Rotorua, Taupo,Auckland. Had the pleasure of calling into O'Keefes Tackle shop in Rotorua and haveing a great chat with Bert Robinson who works in the store.Comparing plastics that are slowly becomeing popular around the traps and different types of tackle available.Now this gentleman Bert threw out the invite to take me out for a fish.we only had a window of a few hours in the late arvo but this bloke supplied me with everything I needed.Even tied a few flies before we left.He had me False casting and mending the line and taught me heaps with in 1/2 hour and had me to a standard I might even catch a trout. I must admit the area we fished had me scratching my head and thinking Is this fair dinkum. Bert kept saying Keep going digger,Things are a little slow but The more casts the more chance you have of hooking a fish. Kept showing me pictures of trout caught in this very spot pushing the 15-16 bl mark. As darkness started to fall and the chill in the wind found its way through my clothing,I WAS SMASHED by a fish and all hell broke out. Bloody thing went like the clappers smashing the surface .Let him run Berts yelling.Dam stream is flowing like a freight train over the shallow water and the fish is useing it to his every advantage and me being a total greenhorn didn't help ,so eventually me and the fish parted.I was DEVASTATED:'( :'( New spieces and a new style of fishing ,but Not to be. One thing for sure that kept going through my head is how i could adapt this to salt water around home . 8-) Maybe a fish around the kilo landed would have made my day and I would have been happy as a pig in #$%# Not one of Berts horses straight up ,but could you imagine if I landed that sucker,you would have heard me cheering overhere.:o Anyway back home today and ready for a fish,Cheers

[RAT-KING]

Unlucky chief! would have bn awesome to get a trout on fly! Ive bn thinking more and more about it fly fishing in the salt! U have bn greeted with great weather 2!
At the gateway on sunday there was around 1m of swell!
Cheers Simon

[fleety77]

good read chief, hope u enjoyed your time away!!

[BLOOEY]

Good stuff chief.Crying shame about the trout.Brown or Rainbow? I knew you'd get out for a fish over there. Sounds like something i'd like to give a go one day.Don't get bitten to hard by the fly bug, It'll take over all of your'e fishing as it did me for a few years. Ben

[Chuckmeister]

Well done mate! I would love to give fresh water fly fishing a crack. It's almost like an art form. Looks like good country to be fishing in too.

[outsiderskip]

hi chief
did u get out on the lake and have a hot bath in spring water

pete

[TimiBoy]

I really narked off my guide and teacher by landing a brown trout on my first day of fly fishing in Tassie! It is sure as hell a buzz - evrything's stacked against you when you're up against those buggers.

Cheers,

Tim

[nuggstar]

awsome repot chief.

[Xtreme]

Hi Chief,

It's an amazing fishery NZ that's for sure, well done on mastering fly tackle well enough to connect with a big fish in just one short lesson, many go a long time without getting fly on the water, let alone a take...

Regarding your "guide", do you know if he takes paying clients? My young bloke (14) is going to NZ for holidays next month and I am looking for good value guide to spend a few hours on a open stream and show him the ropes. The one in your shot looks ideal.

Cheers, Steve.

Ps - Fly tackle works well on bream too.

[chief]

rat-king.. wheather looks terrible,praying on the way home on the plane I'd be met with some cracker wheather,Dam

outsideskip...No mate,didn't get out on the lake but what a cracker of a spot. Would love to have a few days there again and have a fish at my own pace.

Take 2..hi mate, you could give Bert a call and see if he would guide. He tells me he used to act as a guide but now he is a journo writing articles and fishing reports. He's at Okeefes fishing specialists Eruera St Rotorua I think you'd ring him on 00164 7 346 0178 (shop).He had set me up useing a floating line with 10 bl tippet with 2 flies (last one weighted to get to the bottom) and a fur indicator.I reckon this set up would work on Bream in a few places I fish in the river.
Bert Robinson the name.

[BrandonH]

Bad luck with that monster mate:( still it would have been an awesome experience fishing skinny water like that and fishing with such a knowledgeable guide:)

Cheers
Brandon...

[Horse]

So do we look for a fella in a tweed jacket and a long wand throwing deceivers at the shipping terminals from now on;D

[chief]

Thats the one horse, just heading out this morning to find a hat like Dr Harry's practice ;D and a sherlock holmes style pipe and from now on if you see me at the terminals, come over and say good morning Watson.

[ddobson]

At least you got to use traditional gear. Our family trip around north NZ in a motorhome was fun as until we went out in a 8 mtr boat downrigging trout from 100mtres down and cost me $680 for 4 fish. Still fun but i bet youe experience would have been more exciting in the rapids. Well done chief i bet you had a ball over there i know we did. Still saw more cattle than sheep though.

[pickers]

chief
aahhh fly fishing nz style..can't beet it.
they breed some monster trout there and not just an odd one or two but heeps of them and you don't have to drive far to find them , not even out of town in some places.
pickers

[chief]

Pickers.. Most would not believe where this spot was. Sounds like you may have an idea .Cheers

[kronfeld7]

hey chief

welcome to my old world of nz fly fishing.... you always hook the big bugga when you least expect it. i was born around the taupo region and fly fished most of my life there, although i never fished the rotorua area, silly really as i know there are some monster trout in the area. i still go back every 2nd year for the spawning season as my parents still live in taupo..... you never lose the bug!

live in brissie now, bought me boat a few months ago and now learning this saltwater gig. Hope you had some fun over there.

Rosco

[chief]

Rosco..During summer here in the river we get a run of bream who really feed agressively with a lot of surface action.Thats when I'm going to give them a go on fly and next year I'll take some gear with me to NZ and do a fair bit of exploring and fishing.I love the place.Cheers

[Callop]

Hi Chief
Great report as usual.
I didn't read your post saying you were going until after you had left. A mate and I have been going accross the big ditch every 2 years for the last 10 years chasing trout around Taupo. It sure is a buzz when you hook up.
I have some fly gear and hadn't given the bream in the river a thought but now you mention it, sounds like a damn good plan. I have even got some bream flys.
We are taking our wives over in 2 weeks for 12 days of campervaning and hope to fit in a few days with the long wand around Taupo.
We hired some waders from that tackle shop in Rotorua, 4 years ago and found they were great to deal with. Can't remember if the guys name was Bert or not but the guy we dealt with was originally from Sydney.
I have got a spare fly rod and reel you can borrow if you want to give it a try before buying your own. Check you pm's for my phone number.

[chief]

Callop..I met the bloke you had met from O'keefes.He has actually left and works at ,I think its call the outdoors shooting and tackle (still in Rotorua).He told me he had worked at O'keefes and in the past had lived in Sydney.Just done a little asking round the traps and brought a few "crazy charlies" flies for bream.I will give it a go come summer time when the river bream are really aggressive and smacking the surface.