Manic Monday - Brothers In Arms
One of the perks of working for Manic Tackle Project in my role as accounts manager is being able to travel to the different towns of the North and South Islands which adds a nice bit of variety to the job. This also means I am often passing through great fishing towns whilst on the job with no time for fishing! This is hard to swallow sometimes but hey that’s life, you get used to it.
However, on this occasion fishing was on the cards where I was able to combine work with pleasure.
On my recent South Island trip, I decided to stay on for the weekend to fish with my brother Rhys Adams who lives in South Canterbury. Apart from leaving my fly reel at home, this was a rare occasion of when the stars aligned logistically and the weather was kind.
Mouse Munchers aside, we set out for a couple of days fishing in the interior. On both occasions we encountered low numbers of fish however, this never phased us and in the end we had enough fish experiences to be satisfied all the while being surrounded in the beautiful New Zealand countryside, there’s no complaints here! Fishing was enjoyable with a few resident fish making the net, taken on both dry fly and nymph patterns. I had success with the Indi Klink #14 and Hippie Stomper #14 dry’s. Rhys on the other hand took fish on Tungsten Stealth CDC PT #14 and after a few fly changes, moved a couple of stubborn fish to Kyles Brown Stone #12. I had my Scott G series 8’8 #5 fly rod which I teamed up with the new Lamson Speedster S 5+ fly reel. Thanks to Ballinger’s Tower Junction Hunting & Fishing for freeing up one from there stock and saving my butt when I left mine at home. Line of choice was the Airflo Super Flo Presentation WF5F. Rhys and I really enjoyed fishing this set up. We came across a number of fish holding in smooth water lies, this where we benefited from the presentation fly line with its more subtle taper along with its small tip diameter and it enabled us to present the fly well with less water disturbance. One fish I hooked was persistent in diving deep and under a rock shelf into a hole and made many attempts to return there after a I had lifted it out. What was very evident to me was the way the G series 8’8 #5 rod handled this situation. I was able to apply plenty of power and lift when needed, while at the same time the rod cushioned every sudden lung the fish made protecting the Airflo G3 5lb tippet.
My brother and I live Islands apart, life has got in the way of the days of fishing together so being able to get out for a fish together is awesome! Chewing the fat, comparing parenting stories while sharing a river fly fishing for trout, now that’s hard to beat!