The Trout Man

Softbaiting has taken off in the Rotorua region. It is not unusual now to see flyfishers heading out on the lake with flyrod in hand and softbait rod tucked in their back belt. Softbaiting is a skilful method that leaves spinning for dead but, according to the experts, very few people know how to do it correctly. Cast and hope is the old Kiwi way but there's a lot more to it than that. If you want to learn softbaiting properly then contact Simon Aston, founder and administrator of the NGO Trout Fishing Club in Ngongotaha. I've seen Simon in action and I know just how good he is. If you want to try a softbait on a flyrod, then you can't go past the gold paddle-tail silicone smelt pictured. Cast it as far as you can, tuck the rod under your arm with the tip down near the surface, and use a fast overhand retrieve using both hands. Also known as the rolypoly retrieve. Fish don't hang about when the paddle-tail zaps past them just below the surface. They rocket after it at top speed and WHACK! Photos show browns coming to the net with the paddle-tail in their mouths, and being released. It is a very exciting method of flyfishing. Everything happens so fast and the strikes are unforgettable. Keep your eyes on the water behind the line and you'll see your quarry break the surface as they chase the paddle-tail. Great stuff!

I might be wrong, but I get the impression that smaller browns go for soft-baits more readily than the bigger ones for which the Rotorua fishery is famous. I've noted a lot of the lads at the lower Waiteti are getting browns under 41b, when in past seasons a 5lb brown is considered a bit on the small side. Do the bigger browns prefer bending a fly rod? What do you think?

Hooked 10 for seven landed on my local stream at Rotorua this morning. I'm still having trouble striking accurately and strongly while sitting in my stroller, otherwise I would have hooked a few more because I missed about six hits. I did manage to keep the line under control and not get it tangled in the stroller, which has been a problem. I'm not quite the Stroller Slayer yet but I'm slowly getting there. Flies of choice were a stonefly (101) and an orange Slushy. On three hook-ups I passed the rod to beginner Sara, pictured taking instructions from NGO Trout Fishing Club founder Simon Aston. We, the locals, try to help the flyfishing beginners as much as possible. Sara was shouted the session by her grandfather. What an excellent gift.

A bit of action fishing from my stroller on a dawn raid at my local stream this morning. And old mate Tony Dunk hooked eight for a total of 60 hook-ups for his annual holiday before returning to Queensland tomorrow. I introduced Tony to the egg pattern known as the Slushy. "I was amazed at the way they hit the Slushy," he said. "It meant I had a great time instead of a good time." Make the most of it while it is the fly of the moment Tony. Because when you return next summer the trout might ignore it completely. They do things like that. They lift your spirits one day and ignore you the next. That's fishin'.

Aussie angler Tony Dunk has discovered the Slushy, and it has changed his life. The Slushy is the latest development in egg patterns, and it is proving to be a highly successful trout-catcher. After a 6am foray in the lake today, Tony was feeling very tired by the time I put him in at Waiteti mouth in the afternoon. He was jolted awake within minutes as rainbows attacked his orange Slushy and went to war. He landed three, but three others smashed off his leaders, indicators and all. (He blamed his line, but we all know that excuse, don't we? A bit rusty in the fish-playing arena are we Tony?). "I was amazed at the way they hit those slushies," he said hours later, still dazed, confused and wide-eyed. A bolting rainbow broke off his last orange Slushy, so he made a special mission to the superb fly counter at the Family Holiday Park in Beaumont Rd, Ngongotaha, and bought seven more. That's him pictured at home admiring them. I think he's going to take them to bed with him.

Queensland friend Tony Dunk had 14 hook-ups and landed 11 quality rainbows fishing from the bank at a Rotorua stream mouth today with a 101 stonefly nymph under an indicator. With trees on either side of him, Tony had to learn to roll-cast between the trees out into the fishing zone. He also learned that lifting the rod sharply above him when striking can lead to hook-ups in the treetops, and that it is more effective to strike sideways to avoid branches. You catch more fish with the side strike because the trout's mouth is more exposed to the hook, yet very few anglers do it. Tony soon got the hang of it and the trees ate only two of his nymphs. It was a most enjoyable session with enjoyable company.

YOUNG GUNS
When the alarm sounds at dawn, most people reach for their cellphones. These two lads reach for their fishing rods. When people with rolling stomachs rise late and slop around eating lazy fatty breakfasts in their nightgowns, these two are heading out on the lake in the wind and rain at 6am well wrapped up in their wet weather gear. A storm or two is no obstacle to their sense of adventure. This morning they caught 16 rainbows softbaiting at the mouth of my local stream at Rotorua, releasing most of them. They are Archie Anselmi (left) and Saxon Butcher, both aged 12, of Cambridge. So hey, all you kids out there, get off your cellphones and get into the outdoors and learn something. Archie and Saxon were heading out on their second mission when I left them. What a blast to meet these young guns! And they were as polite and well-mannered as you could wish for. Obviously well brought up.

I learn something new each time I go fishing with my stroller. Today the lesson was what not to do. When you hook up, don't remain seated and start stripping line or it will tangle around the stroller's handles (see second two photos) and the fish will break off when it runs. Best to stand (if you can) and drop the stripped line at your feet. So I lost a good fish but made up for it with a better one later. The angler in the first photo is Queensland friend Tony Dunk, who has just started his yearly holiday with me. It is up to me to make sure he returns to Oz with great fishing stories. Today we hooked about 20 and landed 10 of them.

Great stuff kids! You helped the adults by reeling in the fish and scooping them up in the landing nets on the Waiteti stream at Rotorua today. Hemi Grooby-Black (left), of Ngongotaha, reeled in these two rainbows hooked by myself and old mate Tony Dunk, from Queensland. Hemi is a keen spin-fisher and, at age 8, is a bit young for a fly rod until his wrist is sufficiently developed to handle the casting, but he's very keen and in a year or two he'll be slaying them. Top right is local lad Harlyn Lawrence, already an accomplished flyfisher with a new rod thanks to the recently formed Ngo Trout Fishing Club, which specialises in helping the local kids. And the little lady bottom right needs no introduction. Merekara Jenkins, from Te Kaha, has been dominating the club photographs with her winning personality ... Queen of the Stream.

A TALE OF A TAIL
I'm a big fan of the constant worldwide hit song "The Last Cast", sung by the group Global Anglers Who Can't Catch a Damn Thing. Last casters don't really mean it when they announce "last cast." They find excuses to have several last casts, especially if they get a bite, then it turns into 10 last casts. Well this morning I took Mr Stroller down to my stream at 6.45 and the conditions were too calm and the place was packed with anglers and fish but very few being caught. In two hours I missed four strikes (globug nudges), still getting used to striking fast enough sitting in the stroller. Mr Stroller, who is very observant and offers good advice, suggested I cast over toward a wooden fence. "That's where the browns hang out at this hour," he said. I got a good hit there but no hook-up. Finally, after two hours, the arthritis started kicking in and it was time for the last cast. Wow! The indicator rocketed under, I struck perfectly and the trout raced up and under the bridge and just kept on going. A MONSTER ! Then came that telltale rhythm through the rod that tells you its just a little three-pounder foul-hooked in the tail. So that's fishin'. But it was a beautiful morning to be out early and great to catch up with locals Dave, Dez and Eriah. Thanks for the offers of help guys, I'm gonna need it on future last casts if I hook a trophy in the tail.

I took Mr Stroller fishing for the third time today, and what great team-work we are developing. With his help we landed four and lost one biggie. Mr Stroller knows just when to plop himself down behind me while I'm landing a fish so that if my feet tangle and I fall, I land squarely in his lap. I let him go for a stroll with a fish displayed so people could admire him, and I saw several giving him a friendly "well done" pat on the seat while he lectured them about flyfishing. Mr Stroller brings major benefits as a fishing companion. He doesn't wear bright clothing and white hats that can be seen from the moon, he doesn't make a lot of noise yabbering and laughing, he doesn't answer back, and he keeps a low profile, carefully observing everything going on around him and offering sage advice. Today he whispered to me: "That young Maori bloke over there has landed six with an orange slushy. Put on a bright globug." That was mighty fine advice, as it turned out, and a pink globug did the damage. Mr Stroller is really shy but he does like to meet people. If you see us out there, stop and say hello. And he gives free rides to kids.