HVAV Newsletter March 2013 - Christchurch Fishing and Casting Club

jumper. As it was just about in the net it made one last bid forfreedom and broke me off. No less than 3lb and it was going to bereleased anyway. I had retired to a shingle island in themiddle of the river when a boulder the size of a football dislodgedfrom the cliff and hit the water near where I had been standing.Mental note made!! I also lost a smallish fish in the opposite pool.There were several fish rising in the next long flat pool but nothingof any size. The next pool had a nice riffle at the head and a dropoff at the tail. There were a couple of fish in the drop off butnothing tempted them. Moving up to the head a number of castsresulted in me just watching the indicator driftdownstream. Just like the next pool which hada wide drop off but no takes. The next shallowrun resulted in my first brownie on theRangitikei – 2.5 lbs and a little cracker.I fished the next pool at which stage Ross had caught up and hadhooked a nice fish in the drop off I had just fished. My excuse is itcame from water I hadn’t covered. The most fateful thing Rosssaid all day was “do you want to net this for me John?” I knew itwas trouble from then on. The fish wasn’t giving in but just as wethought we had her measure and the net was close – ping she wasoff. I have this on video and the language is not fit for a familynewsletter! Further upstream Ross had a fish of 2.5lbs and Imanaged to spook one. On the way back I had a nice fish of 2.25lbfrom the pool where I had just watched the indicator. For its sizethis one put up a real fight. Another fish of about 2lb further downand that was it for the day.The weather for the whole trip was absolutely perfect with a nicebreeze to cool things down unlike our usual Wellington howlers.We fished dry/dropper all the time having to adjust the dropperlength because of the shallow water and the weed that accumulatesin summer conditions. I’d have to say this was the most enjoyable3 days fishing I’ve had for a long time. The most successful fly wasthe Polish Nymph. It’s a simple fly to tie and if you want to knowhow go here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA6_S8EJl-4—oooOooo—Hutt Valley Angling Club Incorporated—March 201315