Video: Paul Smith Lead image: Mark Hoffman This stunning time lapse video tracks a fly fisherman working the flats at dawn. The angler is JP Samuelson and the location is Port Waikato. There is nothing quite like the serenity of fishing at dawn. Continue reading VIDEO – DAWN PATROL (TIME LAPSE)
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In order to successfully stalk fish it is important to have an appreciation of what fish can actually see. This is determined by several things, where their eyes are positioned on their head, water clarity and how deep in the water they are holding. There are some fundamental rules of physics which help understand what a fish can see and it is really useful to understand these … Continue reading THE SCIENCE OF STALKING FISH
Text: Alan Bulmer Images: Frank Richard & Paul Smith Not every fishing is session is full on action, especially when fly fishing. Despite what the angling magazines would have us believe, it is not uncommon for anglers to have blank sessions or sessions where very few fish are hooked. Even professional guides have tough days where the fish do not seem to want to cooperate. On … Continue reading HOW TO BECOME A BETTER FLY FISHER
Recently I happened upon two pieces of information, an article and a catalogue, which got me thinking about how difficult it can now be to choose a weight forward fly line to match a particular fly rod, especially the newer fast action models. The article was “Line ’em up” and it was written by the late Hugh McDowell for Fish & Game NZ back in 2002. It is … Continue reading MATCHING FLY LINES TO RODS
Fly casting techniques have changed markedly over the past hundred years and this in many ways has been influenced by rod manufacturing developments. In the early part of the 20th century when fly rods were predominantly made of cane the fly casting mantra was to use the wrist more than the arm, straight up and down, 10 to 12 on the casting clock with the … Continue reading HOW TO FLY CAST BY FEEL
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?
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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Several months ago I wrote a rod review on the innovative Kilwell Xantu 9’6” #8 weight fly rod. Check it out:- https://activeanglingnz.com/2015/03/27/kilwell-xantu-96-8-weight-rod-review/ One of the things that I noticed as soon as I held the rod was that the diameter of the cork handle was slightly larger than any of the other fly rods in my arsenal. In real terms it was around 2.5 millimetres wider which … Continue reading WHY THE SHAPE OF FLY ROD HANDLES IS IMPORTANT
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