Alan Bulmer, Fresh Water Fishing, Light Tackle, Lure Fishing, Product Reviews, Saltwater Fishing, Spin Fishing, Tackle, Techniques

Rod Review – Ocean’s Legacy Dream Cast DCL-S882L Spinning rod

Recently I was asked to test an Ocean’s Legacy Dream Cast DCL-S882L Light Shore Game spinning rod to see whether it was suitable for estuary fishing in NZ. I’ve used it now for over a month and to be honest it is a truly remarkable rod. Before testing any spinning rod it is critically important to select a spinning reel that best matches the way … Continue reading Rod Review – Ocean’s Legacy Dream Cast DCL-S882L Spinning rod

alanbulmerOctober 27, 2020Leave a comment

Alan Bulmer, Blogs, Fly Fishing, Lure Fishing, Saltwater Fishing, Spin Fishing, Techniques

FINDING FISH ON THE FLATS

Images: Mark Hoffman & NZ Fishing World Recently I wrote an article which described in detail how to find suitable estuarine flats to fish using Google Earth and marine charts and the signs to look for once you are at your chosen spot which give away where the fish are probably holding. https://activeanglingnz.com/2014/04/21/stalking-the-flats-part-one-the-approach/ Despite what Google Earth and marine charts show estuarine channels are dynamic. They are … Continue reading FINDING FISH ON THE FLATS

alanbulmerDecember 5, 2016March 8, 20202 Comments

Alan Bulmer, Fly Fishing, Lure Fishing, Saltwater Fishing, Spin Fishing, Surfcasting, Techniques

TIDES AND SAFETY – THE RULE OF TWELFTHS

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

alanbulmerNovember 5, 2016March 8, 20206 Comments

Alan Bulmer, Fly Fishing, Lure Fishing, Saltwater Fishing, Spin Fishing, Tackle, Techniques

FLY PATTERNS FOR THE FLATS

Text: Alan Bulmer Images: Alan Bulmer and Geoff Dunne As you know, I predominantly stalk (or hunt) kahawai, snapper and trevally on the flats and 90% of the time I only use five fly patterns. These flies are both 5 – 7.5 cm in length and all are fished sub-surface. This is deliberate. A couple of years ago I discovered an article in the journal Marine and Freshwater … Continue reading FLY PATTERNS FOR THE FLATS

alanbulmerApril 12, 20161 Comment

Alan Bulmer, Fly Fishing, Lure Fishing, Saltwater Fishing, Spin Fishing, Techniques

DOES CAMOUFLAGE CLOTHING WORK?

Text: Alan Bulmer Images: Mark Hoffman As you have probably gathered from the images posted on Active Angling I am a firm advocate of wearing camouflage clothing when fishing the flats, especially when using a fly rod. While it may not make much of a difference what you wear if you only fish around dawn or dusk once the sun rises and bathes the flats in light … Continue reading DOES CAMOUFLAGE CLOTHING WORK?

alanbulmerMarch 21, 2016October 28, 20169 Comments

Alan Bulmer, Fish Species, Fly Fishing, Spin Fishing

WHERE TO FIND FISH IN HARBOURS

In “Stalking the Flats – What to look for” I listed some of the things to look out for which give a clue as to where fish will be holding in estuarine flats. Check it out: http://-https://activeanglingnz.com/2014/04/21/stalking-the-flats-part-2-what-to-look-for/ Over the weekend I happened upon a publication from Mark Morrison et al entitled “Linking marine fisheries species to biogenic habitats in New Zealand: a review and synthesis of … Continue reading WHERE TO FIND FISH IN HARBOURS

alanbulmerSeptember 10, 2015December 13, 20153 Comments

Alan Bulmer

CHOOSING A LURE COLOUR TO SUIT THE CONDITIONS

Photos: Paul Smith, Jim Lanfear & Alan Bulmer I recently stumbled upon an article http://www.tacklemaking.com entitled “Colour theory for fishing lures”. While the article is written from an American angling perspective it got me thinking about the most effective colours for flies and lures when fishing the estuarine flats in NZ. Before I add my thoughts read what they had to say below:- DIFFERENT FISH … Continue reading CHOOSING A LURE COLOUR TO SUIT THE CONDITIONS

alanbulmerAugust 28, 2015March 21, 20204 Comments

Alan Bulmer, Fish Species, Fly Fishing, Lure Fishing

TARGETING TREVALLY

One of the most sought after estuarine flats targets is trevally. Nicknamed the “Silver Prince” they are a difficult fish to hook and often can be even harder to land. The larger specimens encountered in estuarine environments tend to hunt alone, unlike in the open ocean where schools of fish are common. Tagging studies by local fisheries scientists have shown that trevally are not a wide ranging … Continue reading TARGETING TREVALLY

alanbulmerAugust 8, 2015April 12, 20163 Comments

Alan Bulmer, Fly Fishing, Lure Fishing, Techniques

MOORED BOATS ARE FISH MAGNETS

In order to successfully fish estuarine flats it is important to be always on the lookout for places where fish will likely congregate. Features such as subsurface rocks and weed beds are regularly identified as fish holding areas and need no further discussion. However, one of the most obvious fish attracting features in an estuary is one that is often overlooked completely by anglers, namely … Continue reading MOORED BOATS ARE FISH MAGNETS

alanbulmerAugust 2, 2015April 17, 20173 Comments

Alan Bulmer, Techniques

FINDING FISH USING BIRDS

The first thing I do when I first walk onto an estuarine flat is to take 10 – 15 minutes to look around through my polaroid’s and see what is happening. I’m looking for two things, fish movement and bird activity, and while I’m looking I try to keep my own movements as unobtrusive as possible. Checking for fish movement, especially in the shallow margins, … Continue reading FINDING FISH USING BIRDS

alanbulmerJuly 29, 2015April 17, 20173 Comments

Active Angling New Zealand

For Anglers Who Want to Fish More Actively

Tag: Flats