Author: Martin Clements

A Good Day Out

Another summer morning with the weather at odds with the season. The forecast in the high country wasn’t great with 70k winds and little sun to talk of but Dave and I were anxious to be away as we waited for Nige to appear . When we eventually got going, we bumped into a Frenchman with a jeep and a pontoon heading to lake taylor , with a smile we waved him on his way ( I could here the petrol tank empty as he put the foot down). Arriving at the lake we put our gear on , it was definitely colder up here. The fleece and the jackets went on. At the lake ,the wind was blowing from the west so casting into it would be a chore but possible. Dave and I headed off round one side and Nige the other.
As we progressed along Dave with dragon fly and dry , me with nymph and dry ,Dave spotted one turning over in the waves. Good positive sign we worked our way along with not much happening. I changed to an intermediate line and cast a small damsel out but no takes. At the end of the beat dave’s rod went up and bent into one, it had taken the nymph. I changed back to the floater as they were only a foot or so out and less deep.
We moved on and started spotting a few in the shallows taking turns at casting to them. I found the spotting early in the day difficult but dave with his amber lenses picked them up quicker than me . With the weather battering us you could literally walk up to the fish and drop the fly on its head. I saw a fish in the shallows. I cast and whamm ! the dry got taken big time. They had some toe, even for a 3lb brown . Soon after releasing that one I looked up and Dave was into another that took him to the backing and then –  gone. The sun started peaking through now and again which made spotting in the shallows so much easier. I cast again to a fish 10ft up. Forward went the rod the line shot out but short , something wasn’t right. As I looked up reality dawned , a click i had heard earlier in the day had been the tungsten bead hitting the rod – result , tip section had snapped ! about 5 inches up from the join. Needless to say the ever eloquent Mr Reid was Not a happy chappy ! Fortunately I follow in the Dave Reilly school of thought ie take as much tackle as you can uncomfortably carry so out came another rod and the invalid was put away to be sent to Mr Sage for repair.
Onwards and upwards , we traversed the lake edge working up into the wind with short leaders , casting  to sighted fish.  The mood soon lifted as another fish hits the dry. Catching fish on the dry is in my mind the dogs ! Absolutely Sooperb ! All concerns about the broken rod were gone (appreciation for warranties has increased somewhat ) The norwest was blowing hard now and added to the fun. Continuing on through the waves , we missed and spooked several more until it was time to stop for lunch. Seeking shelter behind a tussock we looked across to the diminutive figure of Nige , he was bending into something then a splash – he had a fish on so all was sweet.
After literally chewing the breeze and a simple lunch , we decided a good option was short roll casts through the shallows. Big visible dry and a small nymph for me. Dave with his signature 3 fly rig. You can all guess what one of the flies was.
Short line roll casting as you slowly make your way down wind is a bit like loch fishing without the boat. Quick casts , dabbling flies on the hang over shallows and quick takes on both dry and nymph. Any fish on the dry in the weather conditions – sooperb !!
We moved down towards the bottom of the lake catching and missing a few as we went. As we got closer to the end the fish numbers started to slow but Dave , true to form (and general “tinnyness”) managed one at the very end on a woolly bugger when Nige and I had given up. A good day was had !
Lesson from the day , never be afraid to fish in the wind, it can be productive and fun and can make a very difficult place to fish (when flat calm ) that wee bit easier.