Truck travels, windy days and festive preparation

When it's been a while since you last posted in a blog it's either because you were too busy or too layzeeee. Mainly the former for me. I haven't been fishing much but I've been preparing for fishing trips.

For the last 2 years I've thought about the storage capacity of my truck - a 97 Toyota Surf, just about the best fishing 4x4 around. I usually end up shoving stuff in the back and it handles it fine but when I'm planning a stay away and sleep in the back I always have to shuffle stuff around at night. A friend has storage drawers in his and they make a huge difference. I have spent the last 6mths researching the different types out there which are mainly made in Aussie and cost mucho $$. So after a lot of research I finally bit the bullet and along with a friend at work I put together a design spec, which he used his free time to draw up on CAD.



The rest was up to me. So armed with a drawing, measurements and a whole lot of faith, I began acquiring the bits and pieces on a modest budget. It's NZ - where it's not what you know but whom.

A rough build photo diary is here. They aren't quite complete yet. I still have to buy some marine carpet and finish covering the top surfaces, and paint the remainder but it's functional and got christened this weekend. More of that later.




Big thanks to Ross at work for his design skills, Dave @ Dotmar who provided some off cuts of polyethylene sheeting to make the drawer runners for a princely $20, Charlie at my work who used his lunchbreak to cut the plywood to small enough chunks for me to take home and for my patient wife, who had to put up with sawing, drilling and dust for 2 weeks in the garage.

Well back to the fishing. A good friend and I were joined by another fisho on Saturday for some Canty exploration. We decided on a high country stream we know to fish well if the rivers rough out and headed off at a reasonable hour. However it wasnt' long before we realised the Canty Norwester was really going to be as bad as the forecast predicted. It was a long 3km walk from the trucks to the stream, all the way against the wind. When we got to the stream spotting was pretty impossible but we had a go at blind fishing. After getting hit by my streamer on the head and then noticing a rapid addition of clouds we decided on a hasty retreat. Discretion was indeed the better part of valour for we weren't long back at the truck when the dust storm hit and we gota cup of coffee and beat it out of there.

We drove around to another stream looking for some shelter. Indeed we did find one where the stream looked a sweet run, and off we went after the obligatory Didymo clean up. Unfortunately we weren't really out of the wind, and spotting was impossible again. After a couple of kms we retired to a local hostel for some wedges and cold liquids. That bundaberg never tasted so good.

Well today I've got manflu. Cold, sniffles, sneezing and headaches. So I'm catching up on blog time.

My lovely wife and kids are putting up Christmas decorations because tomorrow is the first Sunday in Advent. Normally our tree doesn't go up until Christmas eve but because this year we're not at home we are putting it up now.

The best thing about this is that I get to be on quality control of the chocolates going on the tree. My favourite are Guylian, while the kids get smarties and other sugar rushes. Of course Christmas isn't just about decorations, sweets and presents. Living in NZ after growing up in the Northern Hemisphere its hard get used to a summer at Christmas but I'm warming to it. Christmas therefore sneaks up on me down under. I just like the excitement of putting up these things because it reminds me that the Celebrations are far away.



Some hope!





Drei Heileige Konig (Three Kings)


Next post hopefully I'll be able to talk about another fishing trip and have photos to show for it.

Account opened

Well,

The freshwater fishing season for New Zealand has begun. My season sort of fizzled and then banged much like a brown bess. I couldnt' get to the annual Southland get together with a few good mates so I had to make do with watching their antics in pictures they posted in forums, reading the texts and emails. Of course they only were telling me half the story because it seemed that apart from having sore heads in the morning the weather wasn't as good as they hoped. Some of them though did indeed fire. Some decent fish were caught and a good time had by all as usual.

So I had to wait until the 3rd before I could get on some water. I took an elderly parent of a friend out and let him loose with the Sage. Considering the last time he cast a fly they were using silk lines and split cane his old eyes sparkled and I couldn't prise it out of his fingers. We only spotted 2 fish though and they scarpered PDQ.

The 6th is my birthday, so I travelled with 2 close friends to a river running into a mountain lake that is indeed open from Oct 1st. We only spotted a couple, I missed the first but the second stuck and managed to obligatory smiling photo before releasing it to put on some more lbs for next season. Overall between 2 rivers I covered approx 24kms that day. I don't need another birthday to remind me I'm getting older, I can still feel my feet aching one week after that outing.

This month our New Zealand Fish and Game are holding their elections for council members. I'm standing to be a member for North Canterbury. I've decided that it's time I put my hand up and commit some time to helping protect the precious resource that is our hunting and fishing. There were 18 candidates nominated for 12 postions, so I'll have to be elected. Hmmm. It means I may not get in, depending on whether a lot of ordinary anglers prefer someone else, or just don't know me. If I don't get in, well at least I put my hand up. I would really like to be able to contribute though but it if it isn't meant to be, c'est la vie.

Big up to my mom, who's recently had an operation to remove a goitre from her voicebox. I'm sure my Dad was quite glad to have her quiet for a few days. I was pulling her leg when I told her the op was really a chin tuck and face lift disguised as a real medical procedure. She threatened to ensure I didn't see another birthday, but I know she doesn't mean it - her wooden spoon doesn't reach to New Zealand from Northern Ireland :)

Anyway. Have a good month and I hope you get some fishing done. One day you may publish a picture that makes you famous. Dream on!

Anticipation

Well - first good news, my health has been good. I got the all clear from the doc. No more stones.

A couple of very important dates are looming. The new fishing season is nearly at hand, my birthday isn't far behind and the protest march against a dam all fall in October.

I'm as excited about the new fishing season this year as I always am prior to opening every year. Every season I draw up a mental list of things I want to do that season but don't achieve everything I expected, however I do get surprised when I achieve things I never expected. At the beginning of last season I fished for a couple of days in Southland and although I didn't land any of the fish I hooked, I was overwhelmed by the wealth of fishing down there. I returned to the area with a close mate to finish the regular season coinciding the trip with one of the famous hatches. It was like duffers fortnight in the UK. This season I won't make the opening in Southland mainly due to other committments but I fully intend to explore the area more.


Last season I fished new and unexpected waters, enjoying both the experience and some success. As usual our family camping trips are always located near fishing possibilities so armed with John Kent's guide book I explored a lot of streams in the few hours I was allowed to escape. I have come to the conclusion that a poor review in that popular book isn't a bad thing - people leave those streams alone, so fish grow and aren't too spooked so the streams aren't that bad after all. Fishing such streams have influenced my fly tying, I've gone smaller and generic ending up with another fly box specfically for small streams. And it's influenced my casting - I've concentrated on presentation, drift and drag. This season I hope to get back to those streams, and even explore a couple more.

With my birthday looming I'm aware that it's only the 36 candles which cause the fuss because I'm not all that worried about growing older. I am reminded of the quote by Mark Twain - "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter". Note to any family reading this - Birthdays matter, especially when I receive fishing gear as a present.

The final anticipation is the date for a protest match against the planned damming of a very important local river. The Hurunui Water Project (HWP) plans to build a 75-metre high dam in the south branch of the Hurunui River, creating a 7km-long lake, with about 525ha of the Hurunui's pristine south branch being inundated papers filed with Environment Canterbury show.

Together with a 2nd dam at the outlet of lake Sumner that would raise Lake Sumner's level by up to 3.2m, an extra 138 million cubic metres of water would be stored for irrigation.

Under the plan, up to 32 cubic metres per second of water will be diverted from the Hurunui River into an intake and canal system for irrigation and hydro-power generation.

Dairying now occupies 9 per cent of HWP's irrigable area, but 45 per cent of the land is expected to convert to dairy if the irrigation plan is approved.

Environmentalists are outraged, especially because of a proposed water-conservation order for the Hurunui River. Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said the project "will effectively privatise what is a public resource, which is a wild river, and using the water to carry out a huge dairy conversion in Canterbury".

"The implications are that we will lose one of the last wild rivers," he said.

Despite the massive implications to fishing, kayaking and wildlife, the area will be transformed from a nationally significant, pristine, backcountry resource to an 'irrigation scheme' with roadways and infrastructure that will sour the natural heritage of the park forever.

So I'm urging any anglers out there, anyone who appreciates New Zealand's pristine environment to support the protest. It's already being supported by Fish & Game NZ and we need your support. If you live in NZ and can make it to the protest please come along and march in support. If you can't make it then please visit www.dambusters.co.nz and support the cause.

Tying times

This post is a pun - Maybe is should read "tRying times".

Are you well? I can't say I am.
This week I'm going to see a Urologist and have a cystoscopy. For a while now I've been troubled with kidney "pains", I had a stone removed in 2004, and lived each day since consuming 2-4litres of water under medical advice. It meant lots of toilet trips but hey I didn't want to have to go through that OP again. So a few months ago I started having issues and after scans, consultations and tests they haven't found any root cause. Except that the pain has nearly gone now in the last 2 weeks. So just to be sure I'm off for the exam this week. GREAT!

My birthday is coming up, I'll be 36 in a few weeks. No great deal. Having spent most of my life with a baby face it will mean a lot to be older. So what do I want to do for my birthday? Easy - go fishing. Yep. After many years of having to go to school or work on my birthday, I decided a few years ago to do what I want to do on my day. Once I decided to re-tile the bathroom. Never again, as I didn't get to bed until near midnight. It helps of course that the day of my birth happens to conincide with the opening of the fishing season here in New Zealand. Yippeee.
This year a good friend has said he will consider joining me on some little trek and fishing expedition.

The second part of my pun today is the "tying" part. The economic situation at home has made me think about combining my hobby and my time to tie some flies in a part commercial situation. Hey, if I earn a few $ to pay for my habit/hobby or at least to pay for gas money then so much the better.

So I've started tying some flies to sell online. Who knows, coming to a flybox near you might be one of my flies.


Tightlines

Jonathan

Still waters run deep

Well. In a month we've gone around in a complete circle. The last 4 weeks weather has been mild, with Canterbury Norwesters and warm days up to 19 Deg C. The clear skies have given us cold nights and frosty starts but it's got me eager for spring. Early spring fishing for me is about river mouths and sea run trout and late spring is about lake fishing. For the smaller lakes or stillwaters I primarily fish with midge pupae or "buzzers" as they are known in the UK.

Here are some of my tyings, which are posted on my good friend, accomplished tier and excellent angler, Stefan Florea's site

What to do on a rainy weekend in the winter...

The promise of snow is still only that. The radio continues to forecast inclement weather but outside it's only grey and drizzle. The Scots call it "dreek", well it would be if we were in Bonnie Scotland. But here in New Zealand it is just winter, well it is in Canterbury.

In such circumstances I resort to the fly tying bench or a good book. I've recently completed reading Hal Moore & Joe Galloway's account of the 1st Cavalry's initial forays into Vietnam. The book was made into a movie a few years ago starring Mel Gibson, though the movie is a Hollywood representation generally of the book. I haven't decided upon the next book I'll read, maybe because I simply haven't been to the library. So it's back to the tying bench.

I only began tying my own flies 3 years ago. Mainly under the influence of many wonderful tiers at my fishing club, and from other anglers I met. I began with some simple but essential New Zealand patterns, went through the "tie everything I see on the web" phase, before returning to a few choice generic and some specific patterns. Recently I received a bag of CDC from a fellow forum member on The New Zealand Fly Fishing Forum - see my links box. Generally CDC feathers are expensive to buy as they are imported here (and in New Zealand most imported items are at a premium), so I have tended to be quite sparing with them. However, this source is from a duck shooter and in New Zealand there are plenty of those. The CDC feather is amazing and I'll be endeavouring to make more use of them this season in my tying now I have secured a good supply.

So, back to the bench. Enough of the computer. Time to get tying. Tonight I'll be dreaming of hooking a big trout on one of my flies. Oh, hold on, I've done that already.



Tightlines.

Welcome to my Blog

Welcome to my rants, raves, thoughts and general chit chat especially about piscatorial persuits.

This is the first article of a new blog. "Opening day" for the fisherman refers to the first day of the fishing season. This is my opening day, the kick off of the blog.

Why call it "Compleat Angles"?

Well it's my homage to the classic book "The Compleat Angler" by Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton. Published in 1653 the book is written as a conversation about fish and fishing, in a style very familiar to those who've read poetry in17th Century English such as works by Shakespeare or John Milton. As a flyfisherman, I would reccomend the book as an essential read into the history of fishing. Indeed it is one of the most comprehensive accounts of the development of fly fishing albeit in a lyrical context.

I also want my blog to be another angle - another look on life.

So enjoy and feel free to post a message to me, but please don't be abusive.

Regards

Jonathan