The Department of Conservation who manage perhaps New Zealand's most important fishery, that of the Lake Taupo Region, are currently gauging the views of anglers around a number of proposed changes to the regulations of the fishery, and have released a survey that you can fill out here.

Firstly, the are looking at potentially lowering the size limit from 400mm, to 350mm, and increasing the bag limit to 6 fish a day. The logic around this is that it will lower the pressure of the smelt population - by reducing the trout population, and this will in time lead to larger trout (due to a larger population of smelt). It could also lead to more spawning runs, as studies have shown that trout condition is one of the factors that dictate when they run. Overall I am in favour of this. Personally, I release around 90% of what I catch - and I would be highly unlikely to keep anything that is smaller than 400mm regardless. But I do know of people who may only get to the fishery once or twice a year - who love eating trout - and who would love the oppourtunity to "stock up the freezer" while they are there. And for this reason the 6 fish bag limit works. To put it in perspective - I cant still remember when the bag limit was 8 fish. And more people these days than ever before are catching and releasing. So I dont think this is going to have a negative impac on the fishery.

Perhaps the question that does concern me is around looking at what is defined as fly fishing - the reason being that Czech and European nymphing have raised questions around what is defined as fly fishing. The issue I have with this question is that it doesn't actualy state whether DOC have issues with these two methods, and are therefore trying to outlaw them. This, in my opionion, would be a backward step. Yes - czech nymphing is a highly effective way of catching fish, and I know it is popular with competition fly anglers. I also dont know of a single angler who uses this method, and nor have I seen anyone using it on the Tongariro River. But in my mind it is fly fishing. And we need to be able to incorporate new techniques as they emerge. Otherwise we would all still be fishing with wet flies, and using silk lines (which actually probably would be quite fun).

The final question is around introducing a family licence, and raising the age of a child from 16 to 18 - which I am in favour of as it gets more anglers into the sport. And another proposal for lowering the cost of a season licence for a over-65 angler. I am less in favour of this - as in my opinion most anglers over 65 have probably been fishing for many years and the cost of an annual licence is not going to break the bank.

Anyway, if you use the fishery and want to have your say, then fill out the survey. It only takes 5 minutes.

Well, another year, another International Fly Fishing Film Festival, and hopefully coming soon to a cinema near you.

​One of the first trailers out of the blocks is The Dorado by Flygal April Vokey, no doubt featuring some great glass rods from Epic which she bought into in 2016.

The Crazy Charlie is perhaps one of the most iconic Bonefish flies and was developed by local guide Charlie Smith in the Andros Islands in 1977.  So I couldn't possibly head away to Aitutaki without at least a few of these in my fly box.

The original pattern calls for chain-link eyes - but as I didn't have any to hand I went with what I had. The pattern is very simply to tie, can be tied in any number of different colour combinations.

The Crazy Charlie

Hook: Tiemco 8111S size 2 through to 8.
Thread: To match the wing colour
Body: Vinyl D Rib over pearl mylar wrap (I have used a clear rib, but you could try different colours)
Wing: Calf tail hair, a few strands of crystal flash. 
Eyes: Chain-link, or lead.

Tie in eyes one third the way down the eye of the hook. Tie in mylar at the back of the hook, and then wrap thread forward to just behind eyes. Tie in vinyl D Rib behind eyes on top of hook shaft, and the wrap thread down to the back of the hook to secure rib, and then forward again in front of the eyes this time.

​Wrap mylar flash forward cover hook. I then go back down the hook and up one more time, on the final wrap bringing it in front of the eyes. Tie off and trim excess. Now wrap D rib forward tightly and tie off in front of the eyes. 

Take a pinch of calf hair fibres, tie in in front of the eyes. And a few strands of crystal flash, whip finish, and coat with zap-a-gap.

The last several months or so I have been putting off buying a new pair of wading boots. For the last year or so my current pair have been showing increasing signs of being past their best-buy date.

I've been wearing pair of Simms' Rivertek 1 BOA boots since around 2009 - and they have served me well. But after replacing the BOA fasteners once (incidentally at no cost - BOA have a lifetime warranty, so go to their website and they will ship you out replacement kits if yours fail), it has now gotten to the point that all the stitching has gone, along with most the tread on the soles, and it's only a matter of time before I end up on my ass going the wrong way down a set of rapids.

I had been mulling over what to get. We are somewhat limited in New Zealand to really two main brands - Simms, and the River Works. I did find a pair of Korkers recently in an outfitters in Turangi - but was told they are no longer being bought into the country due to the change in the exchange rate. Which is a shame, as they looked to be a solid pair of boots (just not in my size). So I revert t what I usually do - and that was to buy Simms. I am unashamedly a gear-snob, and I havent yet had a piece of gear made by Simms that has failed to impress. Sure, it's espensive - but you pay for quality, right?

I had been quite interested in the Vapor boot that Simms has recently brought out onto the market. This looks more like a hiking boot than a traditional wading boot - and is not nearly as high as some of the other boots Simms produce. And it looked light - which is something I was after. I find a day scrambling over rocks, as well as the long hike back to the car after walking up a rover several hours, to get somewhat tiring when you are wearing a heavy-duty pair of wading boots.

Finally last week I found that Totally Fly in Auckland had these boots marked down from $349 to $220.00. At that price it became too good a deal to pass up, so I bit the bullet and purchased a pair online. I'm yet to take them out on the river - but first impressions are that despite being a "light-weight" boot, they are still of pretty solid construction. In fact more than what I had expected based on the images on the website. I also ordered one size smaller than what my Rivertek's were - thinking I'd probably use these more as a wet-wading boot. As it turns out they are too big for this - but fit perfectly with my waders. I'll just need to get a pair of neoprene guard socks to wear with them on the warmer days when I want to leave the waders at home.

So, first impressions are a really nice boot that is lighter than most - but of a sturdy enough construction that they should last a good several years. I'm going to fish them "as is", and not add the optiona screw in studs and cleats that you can buy for them. I found that when I used these on my Riverteks that writhing a few months most of them had been ripped out. So overall not a huge fan. But if I find I'm not getting enough grip I may re-consider.

In late 2016 I was driving down the highway when I heard a plug on the radio for an upcoming interview with a "world famous female fly fishing guide" who has just bought into a Wanaka-based New Zealand Fly Rod making company."  The female angler in question was April Vokey - who I had heard of, but I had no idea what the rod company  was.   The only fly rod makers I was aware of where the two "big brands" - Kilwell and Composite Developments.   Two rod companies that were huge and had a strangle-hold on the flyrod market in New Zealand while I was growing up, but whose day I would argue has been and gone.  A quick google search revealed that the company in question was Swift Fly Fishing, who produce a line of flyrods - predominantly fibreglass - and market them under the name of Epic Flyrods. On their website you can buy rods and blanks, but what really caught my attention was the "ready to wrap kits."   Essentially this is a box that contains all the components you require to build your own rod, and a very comprehensive step-by-step guide. 

I had never considered building a rod before. And I wouldn't have known where to start had I wanted to. But now here was a kit that contains everything you need - and the best part - apart from the satisfaction of building your own rod, is that by building it yourself you are saving pretty much half the cost of what you would spend if you bought a completed rod from Swift.

You see, Swift state that they are not in the business of building rods - they are in the business of making world class fibreglass blanks (and a couple of carbon ones - almost as an afterthought it seems). They employ only one rod-builder, and each rod is "made to order" - and as you would expect,  you pay a premium for it. No more though I would add than what you would pay for a top of the line mass-produced rod - such as a Scott Radian or a Sage X. But if you buy the kit then you pay roughly half the cost. The more I looked at it, the more it seemed like a really good idea. And the catch phrase "if you can tie a fly, you can tie a rod" finally convinced me. 

So I bit the bullet and placed an order for an Epic 480 rod kit - in "so blue" colour scheme with a black reel seat. The kit ships in a Asolid cardboard box, that opens up an converts into a rod-building stand. The kit comes complete with the blank, snake brand guides, high-grade Portuguese cork handle, an aluminium Epic-branded reel seat, a pack containing all the resins and glues you will need, Japanese silk thread for the wraps, a rod sock, and a very cool fibreglass rod tube. And most importantly, a very comprehensive "how to" guide complete with pictures. 

The process of building the rod itself is reasonably straight forward. You need to glue on the rod seat and the handle - which is as easy as it sounds,  and then the bulk of the work is taken up with tying on the guides. Using the rod stand and a fly-tying bobbin this is a pretty straight forward task. The very first guide took me about 15 minutes to do - but after a few more they were taking me probably two minutes for each side of the guide. I did invest and purchase a CRB Hand Wrapper while on a quick trip to the US, and while this made things a little easier, it is not a requirement. Once the all the guides were on and aligned correctly it was time for the one part I was particularly nervous about - applying the resin (finish) to the guides. 

This essentially involves mixing up the two-part rod finish, and then applying it to the wraps with a small paint brush while trying to avoid any drips or bubbles. To make this process slightly easier I had also picked up a rod dryer from the US. At roughly $40USD this piece of equipment spins the rod as it dries, meaning that the resin won't sag or drip during the drying process. Without one of these you would instead need to turn the rod by hand every 15 minutes or so - and I was not convinced that I would get as good a finish using this method. 

Applying the resin itself was not as scary as it sounded. The instruction guide basically said to "be bold" and not spend time trying to get it perfect. The resin is "self-levelling" and once it is on it tends to flow evenly across the wraps as it dries. I applied resin to all the wraps - which being Japanese silk in a natural colour immediately became transparent - and left the rod on the dryer to set over night. 

To say I was impressed with what I found in the morning would be an understatement. So would be saying it was "as good as a bought one" - because in my mind it was better. I could not fault the finish. The resin had dried smooth with no bubbles, and had levelled out perfectly. And now all that was left was to test it out on a fish.

So, I headed up the Hutt River on a sunny Saturday morning to see how it fished. This was both my first 4wt rod I had ever cast, as well as the first glass rod I had cast in about 20 years. Man, what a difference! Swift say they make "fly-rods with soul" - which is a great catch phrase, but there is some truth to it. The rod is a medium action - so it took a little bit of getting used to after having been bought up on fast and ultra-fast actioned carbon rods. But once I had the timing right I found I was punching the line out as far as I needed to - and as far as I was able to with my heavier rods. I now started to regret the not-insignificant amount I had recently spent on a Scott Radian 6wt.  Eventually I came across a deep pool with a dark shape moving slowly in the current off to the side of a submerged log. I added a tungsten bead-head nymph to my leader to get down a bit deeper and cast upstream - and spooked the fish. So I moved on up the river. On my way back down stream an hour or so later I could no longer see the fish, but always the optimist I cast into the pool and watched the indicator as the leader drifted through. halfway through the drift the indicator jerked under the current, and I whipped the rod tip up. The line went taught, and the then came the tell-tale thump of a fish shaking its head, before he realised he was hooked and bolted upstream into the current.  The main thing I noticed was how much "grunt" this rod had for a four weight. The rod bent hard, but at no point did it feel like it was under any stress or in danger of breaking. After quick battle I had a nice conditioned 4lb brown in the net. 

In short, I am sold. And I am not kidding here - I don't think I'll ever buy another "factory rod" again. My very new Scott Radian (which was a rod I had dreamed of owning for a long time) has only been used once since I built the Epic - and even then it felt horrible to cast, having gotten used to a slower action rod. I'm sure I will use it again on bigger waters in the winter, but the Epic will become my go-to rod for the local rivers around where I live.

I will add that Swift are only one of a number of rod makers offering blanks, and there are numerous online stores that specialise in rod building equipment - the best one I've found being www.mudhole.com. I will eventually look at build a rod "from scratch" - including turning my own cork handle, but for now I have my eyes on a few more Epic ready-to-wrap kits. I have already placed and order for an Epic 888 which I am building to take to Aitutaki to chase Bonefish with in July, and after that I will probably go big - and look to build a double-hander. 

So, if you have never considered building a rod, then I strongly suggest you give it a go. The Epic rod kits are a good place to start - and as a bonus you get arguably one the finest fibreglass rods on the market today as a result of you efforts. And there is nothing quite as satisfying as catching a fish on not only a fly that you have tied - but also on a rod that you have built. 

Andrew Harding (check out his YouTube channel "Troutboynz") has done it again. Using a drone as well as the standard assortment of GoPros he has produced this stunning clip. Lake Otamangakau is known as a "Trophy Lake" - and sits within New Zealand's volcanic plateau, at the base of the three mountains of Tongariro National Park. This should be on every anglers bucket list.

Having checked out the numerous videos on Norvises's very comprehensive website I decided that I had to have one. I set about trying to track down a supplier in New Zealand. No one seemed to have heard of Nor-vise, so  after several failed attempts I emailed the owner of the company, and the inventor of the Nor-vise, Norm Norlander. Almost immediately I received a reply from Norm in which he pointed me to an outfitters who could supply me with one of these. I contacted the outfitter and was told that while they didn't hold any in stock (…not sure why) that they would be more than happy to order one in for me. Several weeks later and I was unwrapping my new toy.

The first thing that strikes you about the Nor-vise is how well it is constructed. It looks - and feels - solid, like it is made to last, unlike some of the cheaper vices on the market. The system consists of three major components. The vise with the jaws, a bobbin-rest post, and the Norvise bobbin. The Nor-vises's main point of difference over other vises is the ability to spin the hook around its axis very quickly, and a quick spin of the vise revealed a very smooth, almost friction-free movement. First impressions count, and in this case, so far, so good.
​
Unlike other vises, the Nor-vise does not have a stand, or a clamp to affix it to your working surface. Instead you need to mount the vise and the bobbin rest post to your working surface through screws located at the bottom of each part.  I headed down to my local hardware store and picked up a nice piece of laminated particle board, the sort that you use for kitchen cabinetry, to use as my vice mount, although Nor-vise do offer a ready-drilled bamboo mounting board on their website. A couple of quick drill holes, and the addition of some self-adhesive non-slip rubber feet, and I had my Norvise mounted and ready for action.

So, how does it rate? Well, since purchasing a Nor-vise I have found I tie more often than I used to. Tying flies such as Woolly Buggers is a breeze, just tie in the materials, spin the vice, and move the material down the hook shanks while watching it wind on. Additionally, Norvises's website is a great source of information on how to use the system, with numerous  videos showing different techniques that can be used, and showing how to tie a number of different patterns.

The Norvise takes a bit of getting used to , but like all things, the more you do it, the better you get. The bobbin is amazing, and quite frankly, I don't know how anyone could tie without one - with or without a No-rvise to use it with. I don't think I could go back to using a standard vise now, and I often watch friends tying flies on their more traditional systems and are amazed that they wouldn't switch to something that in my opinion is so much simpler to use.
​
Overall rating 5 out 5.

I'll admit it - I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to where I fish. I blame this on the fact that I grew up learning to fish on the rivers in New Zealand's Lake Taupo region, specifically the Tongariro. And from a very early age I was told that Taupo was home "to the best trout fishing in the world." Fast forward 30 years and I'm now not so sure. Yes, it's a great place to cast a fly, but no one can argue that it's the same fishery as it was when Zane Grey put it on the world stage in his book "Angler's Eldorado." Nevertheless it's always held a special place in my heart - and it is against this that I judge all over rivers I fish.

For that reason - despite having lived within 2km of it for the last 5 years, I had until recently never fished Wellington's Hutt River. One of the reasons being that visually it just didn't appeal. For a large stretch of it length it is is paralleled by a motorway. It runs through the cities of Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt before emptying itself into Wellington harbour at Seaview, and it is easily accessed by dog walkers, runners, trail-bikers, mountain bikers, and other river users. When I compared this to the solitude of fishing a pool on the Tongariro - which lets face it - even when it's really busy it's still not that busy, I just couldn't be bothered. And besides - it looks like shitty water, so it probably holds shitty fish, right? How wrong I was.

​In late 2016 I finally decided to give the Hutt a go. This was mainly due to having seen a number of YouTube videos of some seriously nice looking Brown's being pulled out of areas of the river that I recognised. I did my research - and was surprised to find that the river holds a reasonably respectable population of Brown Trout - some approaching trophy size. This is more or less the opposite to fishing the rivers of Taupo, where Rainbows make up the vast majority of the fish caught, with the occasional Brown being the exception to the rule for those anglers not specifically going out to target them. I even bought a new rod (well, two if truth be told - but that's a story for another day) - a Scott Radian 6wt - specifically for fishing this river. I wanted to give myself the best chance of success I could.

As luck would have it, friends had recently built a house north of Upper Hutt overlooking a stretch of the river. I had often sat on their veranda looking down at the sweeping horse-shoe bend, thinking that there must be fish in that piece of water, so it was here that I decided I would fish first. I wasn't disappointed. Fishing a deep fast run alongside some willows not more than 30 minutes into my session I hooked up into a solid fish. What ensued was one of the hardest fights I have had for a long time. I finally managed to bring the fish to the net about 100m down stream from where I had hooked him - a solid conditioned 4lb jack, with wide soldiers, and copper and gold colouring. He had succumbed to a size 14 Hare and Copper being towed behind a small tungsten bed-head Princes Nymph, and had put up a hell of a fight. I released him back into the river, and as he swum away I couldn't but take a moment to reflect on all the time I could have spent on this river over the last five years - but hadn't. This pool was literally a fifteen minute drive from my house. The Tongariro is 4 hours away. And I wondered how many other local waters I could have been fishing over the years, but had discounted due to he misguided belief that nothing could stack up with what Taupo had to offer. And it was at this point that I decided to rectify this fault. I have decided to spend less time fishing the waters I am most familiar with - and more time exploring unfamiliar lakes, rivers, streams, creeks - and as a new challenge - saltwater locations. So stay tuned, and join me on what will hopefully be one of many future adventures.
​

Recently I made the decision to book a holiday in the Cook Islands for July. Winter gets me down - especially in Wellington, which lets be honest - hasn't had much of a summer. This is partly family holiday, and partly a "significant birthday," so in line with the later I decided I would look to go chase some of the local Bonefish that are starting to gain a reputation in Aitutaki. Now - full disclaimer - I have NEVER caught a fish in the salt on a flyrod. But I have always had a bit of a fixation on Bonefish since I first saw a video with them in it a good fifteen years ago. I think I like the fact that they are more or less the size of a trout - but with about 5 times the horsepower.

So, the flights and accomadation are booked, as is a day's fishing with a guide when I get there. And now I have 6 months to wait. So I have decided that I'm not going to waste them. I am going to spend them tying a variety of saltwater flies to take with me - and I am going to build me a kick-ass glass rod specifically for the trip. And I will post updates on both these projects.

First up though, fly pattern number one. This is a Clouser Minnow - a very famous pattern that can be tied in a multitude of ways. I have tied up a dozen of these so far in this colour scheme - and I will probably tie a few in different sizes. The colours were dictated by what I had sitting in my fly tying supplies at the time (I've since placed a number of orders to restock my supplies to give me more options. Anyway, here it is

Minow Clouser

Hook: Tiemco 8111S Size 6
Thread: Denier 6/0 Fluro Green
Tail: White Buck Tail
Wing: Chatreuse Bucktail, with a couple of strands of crystal flash
Eyes: Small painted lead Dumb-bells

​