When most people think of fly fishing in New Zealand they think of clear back country streams and big browns coming up slowly to eat small drys on the surface. That is definitely what brought me to New Zealand, but after doing some research I kept finding pictures of these ridiculously huge trout found on the Twizel canals. Most of which are caught on spin gear, while standing around battle fishing with a bunch of red necks, who will most certainly kill whatever fish they catch. Even with that unpleasant situation, the thought of landing a twenty pound trout had me very intrigued.

I knew that there was definitely a way to do this on the fly, and that with a little effort I could be holding one of those monster trout as well. Fly fishing on the twizel canals is completely different from most fisheries in the world that I’ve been too but it is very similar to still water fishing, so I knew this could be done

Day one on the canals :

Twizel canal

While traveling south on my way to Te Ananu to fish the famous Oriete river. I had to pull over, something was telling me, you’re here, its right over there, you’ve gotta give it a try. The weather was overcast and rainy, I knew that most rivers nearby wouldn’t be worth my effort anyways. So I pulled the van in and started looking over the water, in no time at all I saw a monster rainbow come breaching out of the water looking like a small shark. After about a half hour of watching the water I saw over ten monsters breach the surface, I knew I had to get my bugs in the water. With only the basic info about the salmon hatcheries upstream and how these monster trout feast on salmon eggs year round, I put on an egg pattern and a small leech under and indicator and throw it out there to see how it went.

About an hour went by and I hadn’t gotten a thing. It was time to change something. I took off the egg and moved the leech up as my first bug and put on a small pheasant tail as a trailer. I also changed my depth from about ten feet to about fifteen feet. I hadn’t found the bottom yet, so figured gotta go deeper.

Three casts later boom, the indicator shot under and my heart started to race, thinking here we go, but after about ten seconds I could tell it was a smaller fish and my heart slowed down a bit. It was a twelve-inch rainbow not the monster that I came for but a solid start.

He had taken the leech, after about ten more minutes I had another smaller trout bouncing around on the end of my line this one was on the pheasant tail. My rig seemed to be doing something right so I continued to fish and landed four more small trout and a 3lb salmon.

3lb salmon

Feeling a little worried that the day was only going to bring little trout with this set up and location. It was time to move up stream closer to the salmon farms. Knowing that’s where every red neck in NZ would be, but also where the larger trout might be as well. I started walking up the bank towards the farms, when I spotted a monster rainbow cruising the bank right in front of me.

In complete shock I hurried to get my rig out and going. I stalked up behind him and gave it a cast the flies hit the water maybe ten feet in front of him, he moved over to feed the indicator stopped, I lifted my hand, and fish on.

As he went darting off into the depths and my reel started to scream my heart started pounding. As the battle went on I could tell this was a very large fish, and this was gonna take some time. The massive head shakes going on under the water were making me question the 4x tippet, I had seen him take the pheasant tail, so I knew the hook was a little under sized for a fish of this caliber.

I was running an eight weight rod that was doubled over for most the fight. After three long runs I could finally see the fish coming up in the column and I knew he was getting tired. I got him closer and closer to the bank, as I realized that my fifteen foot leader was gonna be a massive challenge getting him to hand.

I picked a spot where I could drag him into a small water cove made by some massive rocks on the bank and decided to try to tail the monster. Luckily everything went as planned and I finally had him in my hand.

Canal Monster

After a couple quick photos, I spent some proper time reviving the old beast before I sent him on his way. I watched him swim away and I couldn’t believe that had just happened. I sat back on the bank, and decided, this was worthy of the beer that I had wedged in my bag. In awe of what just happened I enjoyed my beer and a smoke, wondering if I could repeat the process again.

I spent the rest the day stalking the banks and only saw one more large brown, who wanted nothing to do with me or my bugs. I fished a couple other spots on the canal where I would see whales breaching and I landed two more small trout and another salmon.

As the winds picked up and it started to rain I headed back to the van to continue my travels. I would return to canals on my way back up from the south and I would give this one more day to see if I could land another canal monster.

Day two on the canals:

After about two weeks of back country fishing lower on the island, some heavy drinking over the new years, while cruising up the coast heading to Golden Bay in search of the famous yellow tail king fish. I blew a tire near linkis pass and was stuck in Twizel for a couple days. After getting my van back up and running I had about a half a day to fish the canals once again.

I showed up to the canals and realized that it was definitely holiday season in NZ as the amount of fisherman had tripled since the last time I was there. It was a very pleasant day and the sun was out and the winds were somewhat low.

view on my walk to the zone

Walking the banks with this many people was not gonna be an option, and I knew that the trout would be nowhere near the edges with all the people around. I scoped the area in search of some open water and I spotted a place just below the farms and right above the out flow that looked good to me.

It was a decent walk over and I could only see one person over there and he looked like a fellow fly fisherman, that would have to be the spot. I rigged up and headed over, as I got closer I could see he was a fly fisherman. Excited to not be stuck next to some bait dunking kiwi, and to hopeful to get some info from a credible source.

We greeted each other and enjoyed a smoke together, as he told me about his day. He had landed several small trout on an egg pattern that I had never seen before. He proceeded to give me one, I tied it on under my leech and we both started fishing.

About a half hour went by and neither of us had a hit, so I figured a rig change was in order. There were several large trout feeding within casting distance and it was getting a little frustrating that they hadn’t fed on my offerings. I extend the tippet to twenty feet and put on two pheasant tails. One large bead headed CDC, and a smaller one unweighted.

After about ten casts, as the flies swung in under me boom, the fish took so hard it about ripped the rod out of my hand. Before I knew what was going on I was out into my backing, and all I could see was the biggest trout I’ve ever had on my line flying through the air hundreds of feet away from me. He quickly stopped and came straight back at me, I shove my tip in the water trying to keep tension and I reeled as fast as I could, as it got closer I could tell I had lost him.

My new fishing buddy looked at me and says “that happens all the time with these fish, they are smart as hell” he laughs and continues fishing. I finish reeling in the rest of my line and check my bugs to find that they’re both still there and that he had just out smarted me and not snapped me off.

I cast back in and literally on the next cast about half-way into the drift boom, the indicator goes down again. The fish goes way out into my backing and I’m worried this whole thing is going to happen one more time. Luckily this time I keep up with the fish as he makes his runs and keep solid tension on him.

16lb rainbow

As I’m getting him close my kiwi friend comes walking over stands next to me and say with a huge grin and small laugh, “you want some help?” I started laughing with him as I bring the fish towards the bank. He slips it in his net, and looks at me and says “things a dink”. We both chuckle, as I proceed to tell him “I haven’t seen you land anything”.

He helps with a coupe photos and weighs the fish for me in his fancy net,”16 and half pounds” he says “fish of a lifetime for you wankers from America”. I get a solid laugh out, and thank him for everything. He looks at my flies and asks me “what happened to the egg I gave you?” I look him in the eyes and tell him, “that thing only works on small trout”. We both chuckle as I hand him a bead headed CDC pheasant tail, I tell him “here this is what you need”. We both laugh he changes his rig and we go back to fishing

Ten minutes later I see him set the hook, I watch as a monster rainbow goes flying up in the air and spits the hook. He looks at me and goes “do you pinch the barbs on those things?” I smile and laugh” of course.” All I hear him say form under his breath is,”what’s wrong with kids these days, always trying to make things harder than they have too” I get a solid laugh out and we go back to fishing.

I ended up landing one more decent rainbow around 10 lbs, and he landed several small trout and missed one more giant all in about 3 hours. With all the commotion going on over on our side of the the redneck bait dunkers start to move in. Our little zone was over run shortly and we both decided to pack it in and walked back to the cars.

I never actually got his name, he was sure a great guy to fish with tho, lots of laughs were had that afternoon and I truly won’t ever forget that day fly-fishing on the canals.

My Gear:

the rod

I’m not sure if I really figured anything out while on the canals, or if I just got lucky. I didn’t see any other person land a big trout and I’m not sure why I kept finding them, but I can tell you what gear I was using and what worked for me. I’m by no means an expert on canal fishing and I’m sure there are guys that live down in NZ that probably have it dialed in like my kiwi friend.

I decided on running an eight weight green series rod from Rise fishing company, with an 8 weight trout boss floating line from Cortland lines, spooled up on my Cheeky reel. I choose the eight weight because I knew I might find some large trout and it would be nice to be able to slow them down if I need. You could probably get away with a six weight, but the longer leaders and heavy winds make me think the eight weight is the stick of choice for the canals.

My Rigs:

My leader was hand built and I used about ten feet of straight 2x fluorocarbon, and added 4x fluorocarbon blood knotted for another 5 to ten feet to my first fly. I did run an indicator tied all the way up by the fly line as-well. Running a hand built leader helps to get the flies down faster in my opinion and also is more stealthy in the water.

pheasant tails

For flies, I had the best luck with pheasant tail of all sorts. The salmon seemed to like the leech and so did the smaller trout. As, for eggs or “glow bugs” as the kiwis call them, I didn’t have much luck but that is definitely the recommend fly down on the canal and i know some guys have great luck with them, so it is always an option. Like I said I’m no expert on these canals, just explaining what worked for me.

Looking back on the canal:

As, I pulled out and head up north for my next adventure, I couldn’t help but smile. I landed some amazing fish on this fisheries in two short days and can honestly say it was worth the stop.

10lb rainbow

I’m sure on my next visit in New Zealand I will be on the canals once again, and hopefully can break the twenty pound mark. For me tho all three monster rainbows I landed were truly fish of a lifetime. I was very happy about the time I had spent there and honestly didn’t mind fishing with that many people. Everyone I met was very nice and they all seemed to be good people. That being said the eight or so hour I spent was plenty for me, I would rather be in the back country any day. I had to give it a chance tho and would definitely return to give it a shot again.

If anyone has any questions about fly-fishing the twizel canals feel free to leave a comment or email me directly and ill be sure to get back to you with as much information as I can provide.

Some of the most productive days I’ve ever had fly fishing has been in the middle of the winter. While most anglers are inside tying flies, or not thinking of fishing at all. Growing up in the mountains of colorado, I spent a lot of my winters chasing trout on many of the tail water around the state.

Winter fly fishing in Colorado can be some of the most peaceful times you’ll ever have on the water. There are very few anglers on the water the fish are still feeding and you have a chance at some true trophies. Colorado has always been known for its monster tail water trout, and this is the time of year to get after them.

If you can push yourself past the frozen fingers the rewards are defiantly there for the taking. Here are a couple tips I have learned over the years to keeping me on the water and the trout in the net.

Staying warm, and on the water

One of the most important thing to remember when winter fishing is staying warm, so wearing layers, and even bringing extras in the car is very important to staying on the river all day. I even buy my waders a size up so that in the winter I can fit more layers underneath.

Keeping yourself dry is another huge tactic, so carrying a small towel with you can be very helpful for after you get your hands wet when releasing trout. A good pair of gloves goes a long way and I generally have a pair of latex gloves with me as well. Latex is not gonna keep you warm but it will keep you dry and that can make all the difference.

Don’t be afraid to take a break, go back to the truck and warm up. Keeping a warm thermos full of coffee can be a great treat on those cold days on the water, and a good meal will help as well. Just remember to take care of yourself when your on the water, this will keep you sharp and most defiantly bring more trout to the net.

Rigging and winter flies

A lot of the time ill set multiple rigs up at home, this will help you to be quick on the water and not have to worry about tying full rigs while your freezing on the water. Being efficient with your hands on cold winter days goes along way. You can always set up new rigs in the truck as well when you’re taking a break which also helps as well.

Most of the time in the winter the main source of food for the trout is midges, so running size 20-26 flies is almost always the most effectively way to fish. I’ll some times run a small egg pattern as an attractor on the front of my rigs, which can be very productive as well. Just remember to keep the flies small and the tippet super light.

Good winter flies

• zebra midge

• rs2

• pure midge

• uv midge

• tail water assain

• wd40

• juju bees

A lot of the time in the winter I find the drift to be more important than the flies them self. So try and make sure your tippet is right and you’re getting a solid drift over the trout without spooking them, and you should be in business.

Where to be wetting your line

Most of the time your going to want to spend your winter days on the water in Colorado on one of the many Tail water sections threw out the state. If you can find some open water on any of the freestone rivers, I would surely give it a go because those fish are defiantly going to be hungry and see a lot less pressure.

Colorado Tailwaters

• Blue River, Silverthorne

• Dream Stream, Eleven mile, Dekers, South plate

• Taylor River, Almont

• Fry Pan, Aspen

• Williams Fork, parshal Colorado

• Stage coach, Steamboat

All of these Tail waters have their own beauty and can be very productive in the winter. There are in fact, many more tail waters in Colorado but these are the most famous and hold the most amount of fish, but buy all means get out and explore you’ll never know unless you try.

Techniques, and time of day

Most the time in the winter I will start my day sight fishing, looking for the hungry trout that are feeding. I generally start with a small indicator rig and go from there, with the water being supper clear they do get a little weary of indicators so keep the color mellow or lose it all together. I have had great luck with naked nymphing so don’t be afraid to take the indicator off and watch for the eat.

Time of day is also of importance when winter fishing, showing up to early and the fish will probably be very slow. Mid day always seems to be the best, look for anywhere the sun starts to hit first. Basically there is no rush to be on the river in the morning. once the midges start coming off the fish will become much more active.

Lastly the guides on your rod are probably going to freeze up and there are a couple of tricks I’ve learned over the years to fix that. Cooking spray works well, so does sunscreen and also floatant, so make sure you grease up your rod before you hit that water so you don’t spend the whole day break off ice chunks and potentially breaking your rod.

My Favorite time of year

Winter fishing has always been my favorite, there are fewer crowds, big fish and unbelievable scenery . There is nothing like standing on the river with snow coming down, and watching fishing to a hungry trout. Its defiantly not for everyone but if you can get past the freezing temps and cold finger you’re sure to have a great day on the water.

If you have any other questions about winter fly fishing in Colorado don’t hesitate to ask, leave a comment below and I will be sure to get back to you as soon as possible

Fishing Lure also is known as “Bass Fishing Lure”, Bass Fishing Lures”, “Antique Fishing Lures” Fishing lures use movement, vibrations, and color to make fish attack. Fishing Lures are equipped with one or more hooks that are used to hook fish when they attack the fishing lure. Fishing lures can be made out of wood, plastic, rubber, metal & cork. Although there are many types of fishing lures, all fishing lures are made to resemble prey for the fish. Some fishing lures have moving parts and some fishing lures have no moving parts. Some fishing lures are made to look like dead fish and some fishing lures look like fast moving fish.

Fishing lure has been around since the caveman. Chinese and Egyptian also used fishing lures as early as 2000BC. Fishing lures have been made commercially in the United States and Europe for over a century. Antique fishing lures are highly collectible Some different types of fishing lures:

• Jig – a weighted hook with a lead head.

• Top water lures – float and resemble prey that is on top of the water.

• Spoon lures – thin and flashy to attract fish.

• Crankbaits – dart back and forth.

• Artificial flies – used with a fly rod.

• Bass worms – plastic or rubber worms and lizards in the water.

• Spinnerbait – wire bent at a Ninty degree angle with a hook on one end and a flashy spinner on the other end.

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Getting into tying flies but not sure where to start, getting a kit can be the way to go. There are many kits out their on the market and can be very helpful in starting your journey into fly tying. I personally bought the cheapest kit on the market when I first started. There was only a couple back then and it helped me get into tying at a relatively low cost.

I’ve since upgraded my gear but it certainly got me going, and was very helpful to go home with every thing I needed to sit down and start tying my first flies.

They have tying kits for just about everything now a days from salt water, to fresh water, to materials, and even just the tool. I would recommend getting a complete set up with a vice and some materials if your just beginning, but you can certainly piece everything together if you want for a low cost as well.

Tying flies absolute will make you a better angler it gets you more in touch with which bugs are effective and also helps you to learn the entomology of the river. Tying is also very creative and relaxing .

This is the start of your journey into tying flies and can be very fun and creative.

Complete Kits:

Complete kits are exactly what I would recommend to anybody that’s just getting into Tying. They generally come with all the essentials and have more then enough materials to keep you busy for a long while. You can always go get more hooks and material after you gotten started, and know what you need.