Thread: Catch Any Trout Today?

Originally Posted by Pixie Z

It's getting to that time of year for reviews of the season! After having always been a spin fisherman, I decided it was time to give fly fishing a go. So with the the 2015/16 season approaching I got myself some gear & had a few practice sessions casting at the park before heading backcountry for opening with a couple mates (Alan who's been fly fishing almost as long as I've been alive & basically catches every fish he sees, & Gabe with a season or two experience). I'm not bothered about goin out & catching nothing, & really just enjoy getting out into the backcountry and hanging with these lads. My experienced mate believes the best way to learn is to jump straight in the deep end, so the waters we fished for our 4 day opening trip were not beginner friendly. After the four days our tally's were Alan with 25+ fish, Gabe with about 4-5 and me with none. At times was super frustrating losing flies to trees & dealing with the wind, but just being around these guys I learnt a heap, drank far too much whisky in the evenings & had a great time.

Took me 11 more weeks of fly fishing at least a couple times a week before I landed one (hooked & lost a couple along the way), but when things finally clicked everything seemed to come right. Ended up landing around 25 fish on the fly this season including three over 5lb (biggest was a 6.5lb Oreti brown on cicada), mostly browns but the odd rainbow & in a mix of still water & rivers/streams. While I'll never stop spin fishing completely, I've only picked up a spin rod a couple times this season. Thoroughly enjoyed my first season fly fishing, especially the sight fishing aspect & it's quickly becoming an obsession. Here's a few pics of my favourite fish caught on the fly this season...

How's everyone else's seasons been? Best of luck to everyone for the opening of the new season!

Those brown's look awesome