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Lead image: MidCurrent (Hughes) Most rivers still have an evening rise during Spring and Summer where trout rise voraciously to feed on insects concentrated in the surface film. Stretches of river which appeared barren during the day suddenly spring to life as dusk approaches. It is arguably the best time to be on the river if you are a dry fly fisherman. Casting to rising trout … Continue reading FLOATING FLIES FOR NIGHT FISHING
Text: Mike Ladle & Alan Bulmer Lead image: Constantine Alexander Around the world there are several species of grey mullet. In the UK there are three namely the thicklip (Crenimugil labrosus), the thinlip (Liza ramada) and the golden (Liza aurata). To the untrained eye they may appear to be identical. The streamlined, silver-grey striped flanks, toothless rubbery lips, powerful muscular bodies and … Continue reading TARGETING GREY MULLET
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Lead image: Paul Smith One of the most important things to understand before venturing onto the rocks, flats or in a boat to go fishing is tidal movement. Many anglers, especially those with no marine background or those new to the sport, assume that the tide comes in and goes out at a constant rate. This is definitely not the case and it is very … Continue reading TIDES AND SAFETY – THE RULE OF TWELFTHS
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Recently I was given the opportunity to test an Epic Fastglass 888 fly rod made by the Swift Fly Fishing Company. Swift is based in Wanaka New Zealand and sells premium quality fibreglass and carbon fibre rod making kits and studio built fly rods. The studio built rods are handcrafted and made-to-order. Like many anglers I learned to fly fish with fibreglass rods and while … Continue reading ROD REVIEW – EPIC FASTGLASS 888 FLY ROD
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Lead image: Kiyoshi Nakagawa When I was young my father, who always seemed to catch something when we went fishing, used to harp on about how I needed to learn how to “think like a trout” in order to consistently outsmart them. Teenage boys rarely listen to their fathers so this advice, which I struggled to understand without some concrete examples, entered one ear and … Continue reading OUTSMARTING TROUT
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Recently I was fortunate enough to accompany my wife on a business trip to Toronto. One of the items on my bucket list had always been to catch a pike so on a day when I was not required to carry luggage I arranged a fishing charter with Taro Murata of Fish City Tours to try and catch one. Taro and I corresponded before the … Continue reading PIKE ON LIVEBAIT
Many fishing tackle retailers, especially those trying to move volume, seem to match spinning rods and reels based on achieving a particular price point rather than whether the two items of equipment are actually compatible. Some of the budget rod and reel pairings are very poorly matched and would underperform spectacularly on the water. These combinations would be either heavy to hold for long periods of time or cast … Continue reading MATCHING SPINNING REELS TO RODS
The advances in fly tying technology over the past 50 years is staggering. Whereas in the past flies were constructed from fur, feathers, wire and thread, nowadays there is a dizzying array of materials that are used in “crafting flies”. Foam, man made fibres and films, rubber legs, hot melt glue and UV epoxy in particular have revolutionised fly tying techniques. The possibilities to create … Continue reading CRAFTING FLIES TO MIMIC SUCCESSFUL LURES
The Tongariro River rises in the central volcanic plateau of the North Island of New Zealand and wends it way in a roughly northerly direction through the township of Turangi to eventually enter Lake Taupo near Tokaanu. It is easily the largest and most important spawning river in the Lake Taupo fishing region. Ever since Zane Grey fished the river and immortalised it in his book “Tales of the Angler’s … Continue reading TONGARIRO MEMORIES
Recently I happened across an excellent article written from Steve Starling which looked at the how to choose a lure colour to suit the conditions and summarised the findings in several elegant pictograms. It is well worth the read and most of the recommendations reinforced what Active Angling has already written on the subject of lure colour (https://activeanglingnz.com/2015/08/28/what-are-the-best-fly-and-lure-colours-for-the-flats/). Check out Steve Starlings article by clicking on:- https://www.fix.com/blog/view-from-below-lures-underwater/ The … Continue reading WHAT IS THE BEST LURE COLOUR?
Active Angling New Zealand 