Friday Fly Day - Chris Reygaert's Spring Winners
Chris Reygaert AKA Fiordland Fishing Guide is chomping at the bit for the new season and has been kind enough to gives us a bit of insight into which flies from the Manic Fly Collection he'll be throwing at fish come Oct 1st.
Simon’s Ugly Mother Tiger
More than likely October and November will see significant spring rainfall events. This will top the rivers up after a relatively mild winter and flows will be strong and swift. The Ugly Mother Tiger designed by Simon Chu comes packed with two tungsten beads for some serious depth finding and a great fly to trail a smaller nymph behind. The slim profile aids in sinking this little beasty fast and on the way down or on the swing the cdc gives it that lively attractive movement which trout are always on the look out for. The two tone ribbed body is great in a buggy subtle colour.
Prince Nymph
An Ole classic and a fly that sometimes gets over looked. A great all round nymph pattern and like a prince it's sharply dressed providing great definition with it's buggy profile. Rainbows absolutely love these things and it's a trusty nymph fished blind thru faster deeper runs as the trailing fly on a double set up. In the larger sizes 12 and 10's it's proven to be very effective on waters that hold the larger of the mayfly family the Colobriscus.
Skeletal Smelt
As I type I can here the rain tapping on the roof and the prediction is for a fair ole dump, just what’s needed to get the bait moving down in the lower reaches of the larger rivers and estuary's. If you’re lucky to find fish smashing into bait the skeletal smelt is a go to pattern to match the hatch as they say. Slim, slightly flashy and sparse so it sinks just enough to get noticed. Don't be afraid to fish this inert can be deadly.
Tom Jones
Another older style fly that kicks about in the odd fly box. I love this fly early season especially on those fish that have parked up in those backwaters that have filled up with early season high river flows. Is it a minnow? is it a damsel? is it a large nymph? who knows. A very versatile fly that can be fished many different ways on both rivers and lakes.
Parachute Adams
Just on the off chance that you score one of those perfect warm spring blue sky days, the birds are chirping, the winds light and the rivers are clear. These are the conditions early season that your more than likely to see a small hatch coming off. If it's happening then I can't think of a better pattern to have in varying sizes than the Parachute Adams. Fish will be looking to feed and having received very little angling pressure over winter they won't be shy in gobbling these little morsels down. Great fly to hang a nymph off as well, the small white post is a great indicator. The bonus - if the fish doesn't eat you dry then you'll more than likely have him fooled on the dropper. The Ole Double Whammy.