It's been such rubbish weather this weekend, I decided to stay at home, catch up on some work and tie some flies for an up coming trip to chase sea runs in the Canterbury rivers. In fly tying you always need something new to play with and for me this weekend I had the C&F epoxy fly drier.

To chase these big sea runs I've tied a stack of big bearded zonkers. They are basically a rabbit fly with a fox fur beard. I've tied these in a bunch of bright colours as attractor flies, some natural colours with silver flash to imitate the silveries that the sea runs feed on and then also a few black versions for change of light and after dark. I'm hoping for big fish so all of the flies are either tied on Partidge size 1 salmon hooks or Size 2 Black Magic B series fly hooks. I added some lead to the bodies to help get them down, I know they are going to be super heavy once wet but I'm going to fish them on a double hander so I should be able to handle them.

To finish the flies off and give them an added realism I stack on prismatic eyes, epoxied teh heads and then dried them on the epoxy fly drier. The idea of the fly drier is that it rotates the fly so the epoxy doesn't run to one side and create a buble or a drip on one side. Instead you get a nice and round epoxy head.

I find fly tying a critical part of my preparation steps to a big trip. I know I can't buy flies like this commercially so it's worth taking the time to tie up exactly what I want. I normally try and imagine what I'm likely to come up against during the trip and then make sure I have all of the right flies to meet those challenges. Anyway it beats working.

I've just been fishing for the last few days in Nelson with Zane Mirfin and a few of his team from Strike Adventures. Zane's been guiding for something like 23 years so he totally knows the game down that way. Actually Tony Entwistle who's been Zane's primary mentor over the years reckons Zane know's the South Island rivers like no other person.

I've only had a few days in the area in the past and I often forget how much many top class rivers run through the region. In summary we caught a stack of fish (well Zane caught a stack and I managed to fluke a few). I definately learnt a few things.

1. If you've got limited time then a guide like Zane can get you onto fish straight off the bat. As I mentioned I've fished the area in the past and always struggled to make the most of my time.

2. Don't let Zane fish in front of you because he doesn't leave anything behind.

3. Don't let Zane fish behind you because it's embarressing when he starts pulling fish out of water you've already fished.

4. The Nelson region is a must go destination in NZ, the fishing is hard but super rewarding.

Well it's been a wet winter but the rivers are finally open and I've managed to sneak out a number of times on my travels to poke a few flies at some trout. I spent opening day in the hills with Sean Andrews who guides out of Poronui Ranch and Fly and Gun Shop in Taupo. It was a brutally cold day and visibility was poor but we took our time and managed to pick off some nice fish.

The start of the season is never what you hope for, the rivers are normally high and the spring winds always make casting a challenge. My main tips for early season is look for smaller tributaries which often clear faster than the main rivers. Fish are rarely difficult to catch so focus on finding the fish and take your time to make the right casts and get the right drifts.

Most importantly don't wait for perfect conditions but get out there and make the most of the season. At least winter is finally over.