Day Eighteen: Mr Glister

Sorry Chris: (hope this doesn’t violate any trademarks etc)

The Mr Glister was invented by one of NZ top guides, and if not one of our top anglers, Mr Chris Dore, who’s love of glister, is only beaten by his love of catching “fush”

Sight fishing in rivers, with streamers, is gradually becoming a very fashionable way to fish for big fish, and big fish love a big feed, the Mr Glister fits the bill beautifully.

Day Seventeen: Turks Tarantula

Cicada Time:

The best time of year, this is what NZ is renowned for, when the big browns through caution to the wind and rise freely to a big dry, plopped heavily in the water.

I can’t remember any individual session with a cicada, there is just too many, and they just seem to be getting better and better.

Day Sixteen: Royal Wulff

Classic Dry:

Wither you are new to fly fishing or and old hack, chances are you would have fished one if these. Around here they are very popular in tandem with a nymph dropper, and for a searching pattern.

My fondest memory, of the Wulff, was on a very wet day, a fish beside me started to rise, His neb braking the surface no more than 2.5m from me, long story short, here is his, all 5lb of him:

Day Fifteen: March Brown

Timeless:

This is one of those patterns I hate to tie. The wing sucks! Here I have used Turkey instead of the original Hen Pheasant. I don’t know if it really matters, but it’s all I could find in the mess on a tying table.

I once brought some very nice tied March Browns, the only problem being they seemed to catch more fish after the wing had almost worn away. Money well spent, I think not. The rough and ready home ties seem to do just as well.

Day Forteen: Red Head Wet

Traffic Jam Beater:

Pretty simple and boring looking, what’s not boring is the sharp tug as a fish hit’s mid swing. Such an effective fly should not be forgotten as the dusk turns to night.

While living in Newtown and working in Upper Hutt, I would often stop and flick this pattern through a few runs of the Hutt on my drive home, simply the best way to beat rush hour traffic.

Day Thirteen: Para Adams High Vis

Unlucky for some:

I must admit I really wanted to tie a Lead Wing Coachman for today’s fly, or failing that, a classic Coachman. But looking into the gear do you think I could find a suitable wing material? So I ended up tying another emerger.

I very rarely bother to fish emergers, although when I do they are usually very, very successful. This highvise Parachute Adams is simply one of the best.

Day Twelve: Coch-Y-Bondhu

Beetle time:

One of the most infamous flies of all time.  However, it is not limited to imitating a beetle. Fished wet with a sparser hackle it can deceive fish on dusk, or tied with a longer, fuller hackle it makes a nice cicada pattern for fussy trout.

I can’t really pin point the first time I ever use a Cochy, they have always been in my fly box and my fathers before me. Here’s hoping it will feature in my sons or daughters.