Tag: Flies

Alan Bulmer, Fishing History, Lure Fishing, Spin Fishing, Tackle, Techniques

FLY FISHING’S DIRTY SECRET?

Recently I wrote about an innovative Scotsman, Alexander Wanless, and how he pioneered fly fishing with spinning tackle. If you want to revisit this article then click on:- https://activeanglingnz.com/2014/06/11/alexander-wanless-spin-fishing-innovator/ Essentially Wanless figured out how to use ultra light spinning tackle to deliver dry and wet flies large distances. His method equalled the Spey cast in efficacy and was much easier to learn and use. It allowed him … Continue reading FLY FISHING’S DIRTY SECRET?

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Alan Bulmer, Fishing History, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water Fishing, Tackle, Techniques

FREDERIC HALFORD – THE HIGH PRIEST OF DRY FLY PURISM

Recently I’ve been reading some articles written by Tony Hayter about the high priest of dry fly purism, Frederic Halford. The following passage in particular piqued my interest. “Once upon a time there was a Jewish businessman called Fred Hyam. He made his pile, as did many others, from the “rag trade”. He worked hard, and in his spare time fished the Thames for bream, barbel … Continue reading FREDERIC HALFORD – THE HIGH PRIEST OF DRY FLY PURISM

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Alan Bulmer, Fly Fishing, Tackle, Technical, Techniques

SINK RATES OF FLIES TIED WITH TUNGSTEN AND BRASS BEADS

Getting down to the bottom of the river is critical for success when fishing weighted nymphs. Fly fishermen use a variety of techniques to do this, mainly by adding lead split shot to the trace or incorporating brass or tungsten beads into their nymph patterns. Common logic is that materials with high bulk densities, such as Tungsten, sink fastest and that the heavier the bead … Continue reading SINK RATES OF FLIES TIED WITH TUNGSTEN AND BRASS BEADS

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Alan Bulmer, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water Fishing, Technical, Techniques

ANALYSING TROUT RISE FORMS – A LOST SKILL?

Words: Alan Bulmer   Images: Tim Angeli When I was young and learning to fly fish I was given a tattered book on trout fishing by a curmudgeonly old friend of my fathers. He took me aside, gruffly told me that I should read the book as it contained a wealth of useful information, attempted a wry smile and shuffled off. The book was “Trout fishing … Continue reading ANALYSING TROUT RISE FORMS – A LOST SKILL?

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Alan Bulmer, Technical

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

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Alan Bulmer, Fish Species, Fly Fishing, Lure Fishing, Technical

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

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Alan Bulmer, Fly Fishing, Lure Fishing, Technical, 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

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Alan Bulmer, Trip Report

EARLY MORNING MAYHEM ON THE FLATS

Words Alan Bulmer , Photo’s & Video Mark Hoffman Mark Hoffman and I have been planning for weeks to fly fish a shallow flat we’d discovered on Google Earth close to central Auckland. Our plan was to hit the spot when the weather was settled and a high tide next coincided with dawn. All the stars aligned this Saturday. The weather was perfect. Fine and sunny with a westerly … Continue reading EARLY MORNING MAYHEM ON THE FLATS

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Alan Bulmer, Fly Fishing, Lure Fishing, Techniques

SNAPPER – DAWN AND DUSK

Due to low tide almost coinciding perfectly with dawn and dusk, I managed to get two fishing sessions in paradise yesterday. Excellent! The morning session fitted in with Paul Smith’s schedule so we arranged to rendezvous at 06.15 am at our normal parking spot. The drive to paradise is a long and winding one which our canine fishing companion Louis was no fan of. Whenever … Continue reading SNAPPER – DAWN AND DUSK

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Alan Bulmer, Fly Fishing, Technical, Trip Report

WHICH MONTHS ARE BEST TO FISH THE TONGARIRO?

Back in the day most anglers timed their trips to the Tongariro river to coincide with the main rainbow trout spawning runs which occurred over the winter months. Between 1960 and 2000 these runs were mostly concentrated between May – August. However there has been a major change in the timing of the rainbow trout spawning runs since 2002 and the fabled winter runs have … Continue reading WHICH MONTHS ARE BEST TO FISH THE TONGARIRO?

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