It wasn't an easy day but I thought this was how winter fishing going to be llike and I was quite happy that I got a good one at the end. It's just the beginning of this winter fishing, still long way to the end of September. I hope that I'll catch a bigger one like 7-8lb here during winter.
I think I'll get a chance for that as long as I keep casting.
On Sunday, I went back to my home river to try some wet fly and streamer fishing again taking my switch rod.
I started fishing at 2PM, only three hours fishing at this spot where I tried to fish for the first time on last Sunday, however, I dopped a good one then.
I tied some flies after the last fishing. These are modified Woolly Buggers weighted with 3.8mm gold tungsten bead.
Also, this is a modified Trout Gum streamer, short body version. I changed a few in this fly, the tungsten bead size up from 3.3mm to 3.8mm, shorter Trout Gum body and the colour of the Salmo Web on the gill was changed from red to black to add some strong contrast of black and orange in mind.
Line systemwise, the same Rio Scandi Short 320gr but added heavier T-3 tip on the body, I was using inter tip last weekend though.
The first fish was on the new Wooly Bugger, black.
Are you a sea-runnner ? 17 inches brown looks like a sea-run.
Another one on the Woolly Bugger in different colour, olive/white.
Actually I got several more bites but I was unable to hook up most of them. Maybe small one's bites?
When I first came across this spot, it looked very good water to me and I think I was right. This stretch holds lots of fish.
After that, finally a good one put full bend in my switch rod, I got it hooked out in the middle of the fighting...
Nooooo....
It was a really good fish, reeled out about a half length of the whole running line like 20m, but I stopped the fish and was almost reeling back the line in.
Mmmmm, it's sad...
Somebody's decoy. The fishing season has ended and the hunting season has started.
And on Monday, I really wanted to try again as I dropped the good one the day before.
The river looked pretty much the same but something was different for some reason. I just got one bite that was too short to hook up, and got no bite for the next two hours after that, a lot quieter than yesterday.
Although I was kind of thinking to move, I just tried to move around in this stretch and kept swinging and stripping streamers over and over again.
And I finally got a bite when the Trout Gum streamer turned up from the bottom down stream.
Good fish, Strong fish!! I just felt the fish as strong as the one that I dropped the day before.
I got another big chance! I must land this one!!
I made it!
6lb, 24inches, awesome jack.
I'm so happy to hold it in my hands.
Winter fishing is hot!
As a matter of fact, I quite like winter fishing because fish tend to be larger even though it is quite tough, less number of fish to catch. It was the same when I was fishing in the North Island.
This part of the river is only 25mins drive from Dunedin to get to and I've already been finding here exciting enough to fish through this winter. As this was the second weekend for this winter fishing, I thought I could make some improvements in the way to fish. But on the other hand, I'm still not sure how fish move and feed in these lower reaches. In some large pools, I feel like fish may migrate to feed like lake fish because I sometimes get absolutely no bite even at good spots as if there is no fish at all.
Anyway it's just the beginning of winter fishing. I'm gonna keep fishing this river.
As the river fishing season has ended, I went to fish at the lower reach of my home river to find some winter fishing spots and to know how productive or exciting fishing at the lower parts of the river.
I tried two different access spots to the river to see how.
The night before, I uncased my switch rod Scott L2H 1106 after... mmm I can't remember, maybe more than a year I never used it.
Rod: Scott L2H 1106
Reel: Waterworks Lamson Konic 3.5
Line: Rio Scandi Short Versi Tip #5 320gr
Leader: Tiemco Fluoro 2X 12ft
The strategy for the day were to strip some streamers and to swing some wet flies on the switch rod.
It was a nice and calm winter day.
Although the temperature was still high for a winter day, the river water was getting much colder, and the current was quite slow at this lower reach.
The first browny was like 16inches one.
And the second one was even smaller.
Both of them bit on this fly which I created as one of my original patterns using Japanese " Trout Gum" stuff. A copper tungsten bead 3.3mm at top, vibrant orange Polar Fiber for the outer body and some red Salmo Web added on the gill.
Actually the Trout Gum gets so much longer as it gets wet, so it can be shorter that was what I found to improve it today.
I didn't get many bite on the day but I dropped a good one that bit on the Clouser Deep Minnow kind of streamer which I tied when I was back in Sydney to use for saltwater games.
And the next day, on Monday, I went back to the river again taking my 6 weight single hand rod to try to fish at a different stretch out of the lower reach with some heavy nymphing in my mind.
Rod: Loop Evotec 696-4MF
Reel: Ampex SK-PⅢ
Line: SA OH&D Single 14g #6F or #6Inter
Leader: Tiemco Nylon 2X 12ft
Another calm and warm afternoon.
A little browny.
And maybe 16-17inches one.
Both of them took a Clouser Deep Minnow in the same run.
After that I missed a good fish again just like yesterday!
"Buggerrrr!!!"
Why.... Just hooked out again...
Hmmm, maybe I wasn't a very good fisherman this weekend but I thought it was okay for the first week for winter fishing, caught two fish each day and dropped a good fish each day. What I found about fishing methods were flies had to be heavy because my woolly buggers never worked. They were weighted but not with a tungsten bead or a dumbbell eye like flies that worked this weekend. Additionally, heavy nymphing was not really fun to do there as the current was too slow. Streamer and wet fly fishing were a lot more likable methods to fish there. And swithch rod or single hand rod? I think it doesn't really matter, my double hand Sage is obviously something too much because the river is not really big even at the lower. Maybe I'll focus on my switch rod to build up some effective methods for this fishing. Good things were I could find those lower stretches worth fishing during winter and they hold some good size brownies for sure, I didn't land them this weekend though...
Hopefully I will land some good ones next weekend.
