New SAGE rod, NZ Fly Fishing Schools, Stu's Superior Flies, RISE film fest, Gin Clear, start of the season

Teaching pt. II

We have just been traveling through India, filming & photographing fishing as we went with the odd bit of teaching fly casting to some locals and travelers. Now in Nepal doing the same but hampered by the monsoon weather- like in India - which has made things harder to get the footage and shots. 

A good quote out of the newspaper today

I have yet again learned so much more this year and I take my hat off to all the local guides and fisherman_women who have showed me their local methods and tricks to fool fish and posed for my photos!

This will be the dinner - for the whole family!

Check out the crystal bait fish design that the predator fish (Mahseer) love!

Check out the NZ RISE Fly Fishing Film Festival Sept dates!

Check out the award winning new "Predator" fly fishing film clip from Nick - Gin Clear. 

For your plastic fishing license visit fish & game

Check out the award winning hands free rod clip available in September. 

Check out the SAGE award winning new "Circa" fly rod. 

Visit us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The web shop will open on 19th of Sept so get ready with the wife's credit card or your husbands or dads :) or mums (joke)!

Inspired by a great sign - maybe found soon in Athol ;)

Cheers, 

Stu

 

NZ Fly Fishing Schools, Stu's Casting Lessons, Ela's Fly Fishing School, Mahseer

Introducing Ela / Teaching

Normally it all seems a bit rushed in a way, due to clients, time limits when it comes to my casting tuition and fly fishing schools. Even if it's spread over 2 or 3 days. With Ela traveling over a long time and being very keen to learn about fly fishing i have been experimenting with a new approach to my teaching methods, (a new game plan!)

For the past 2 months Ela has been learning mainly about the flies, equipment and aquatic life of the food of trout. But still i have not given her a fly rod or taught her anything about casting as of yet. The foundations at the moment to me seem really solid doing it this way over time. Ela has decided to share with you on the blog some of what she's been learning along the way. I'm sure you will all enjoy her journey into the world of fishing and fly fishing!

Stu overseas testing some new equipment

It's Ela here from Stu's Fly Shop. I'm on the road with Stu & his fly rod vice (he is busy working on new fly designs) now for 3 months - it's time for the newbie's next blog!

As Stu is a natural born teacher and i'm keen to learn more about the fly fishing mystery, i asked him to share his knowledge with me. We've had plenty of time - in 28 hours bus rides, at overcrowded trains (it's always nice to have more audience) or at a sun-kissed balcony with a nice chai tea. 

An Indian advert - brilliant

So i bought myself a student notebook, pens and here we go: 
As i knew nearly nothing about fishing, insects & the hardware, Stu started with the basics. I felt like I'm a student again - all new for me! I practiced my hand-writing skills and soon had to buy new pens (as the indian ones' don't last too long)
After each lesson, i was tested the day after - back in school again, dudes!

Studies, studies, studie

Watching Stu at the river showing off his casting skills helped me a lot to combine theory & practice of the whole fly fishing thing.
Soon there came the day when Stu went out to discover new waterways and improved his casting skills - it was early in the morning- i went with him and his guide to learn more by watching - i thought. 

As Stu went upstream by himself quickly, the "Ghillie" (yes, i had to call my guide Ghillie) decided to teach me! I was quite surprised but didn't had time to think about it 'cause the Ghillie handed me a fly line on a wooden stick (aka the reel)! He taught me how to use it, there was something stinky at the end of the line, they use a special formula of pattie- called "Raggie" to catch fish here! 

Yummie - Raggie

A minute later i had a first nibble, i casted the line out and within seconds it happened - i caught my first fish!!! As i was so exited about this, i nearly dropped the fish! 

My first Mahseer!!!

At the time Stu came back from his fishing, i already caught 7 fish in 3 hours - not too bad for me, who never did fishing before- both of Stu's arms are sore from casting and he had not even seen a fish! Maybe i should teach him.

Look at this big fellow :)

Stu's Superior Flies - the most TRUSTED name in fly fishing flies" is stoked to be a sponsor of RISE FLY FISHING FESTIVAL 2012  - check out the advert here 

That's it for today, i hope you enjoyed the story of Ela getting pimped up to answer all your questions from October, 1st @ Stu's Fly Shop
 
Dates are filling fast so if you want to book Stu for October, November or December, please contact him soon.
See you all soon, have a great time, enjoy the time!
Cheers, 
Ela 

New SAGE CIRCA fly rod, RIO NZ, NZ fly fishing school, RISE fly fishing film festival

Hello,
Well- as most of you know- the fly shop is closed at the moment and will be re-open as usual in mid September.
Internet is not so easy to find here and power cuts are frequent. I never thought i would be able to update the blog but low & behold, a few updates and one newsletter should be with you, before the grand pre-opening of Stu's fly shop in September.

I saw this on a wall near the river. Apparently there's fish in the river the locals told me.

SAGE fly rods - i hear-  have taken best new fly rod at the big European show. Something and which they manage to do time & time again. Last year they did it with the ONE fly rod this year its a mid priced quality rod called the Circa fly rod which replaces the ZXL series.
RIO products in New Zealand have a new agent and who could be better for the job than Don Fraser - the long-time ex-SAGE agent and owner of  Guide quality NZ Ltd. In case some of you do not know SAGE for the past few years own RIO fly lines and products. So it makes total sense to be all in house in NZ, so expect better pricing and easier access to new products in New Zealand.
No doubt - some of the new rods will be in stock for the start of the season and any new RIO fly fishing products!
It's been all go most days with some huge travel days on some interesting smelly public transport. I have managed to finish a few new fly designs which in due course you'll all got to view and use.
My right arm is still troubled with pain from too much casting in the USA last winter for Musky. Having not been casting as much as i would like to, it's a pain. But still i'm chasing fish whenever i get a chance. Hopefully the photos will tell tales!

Best we double check the knots. We may only get one chance.

I'm traveling with two of the new ECHO instructor fly rods a 6wgt & a 8wgt which i'm doing my best to break on any fish. Some of you would have seen the photo that i posted on facebook with that nice big bend on the white 8wgt rod, now that was a dream day for me. The saltwater SAGE reels drag was on max and two hands were gripped to the cork handle.

Ela - who i'm traveling with- and myself have been also busy shooting lots of amazing photos for magazines and advertising
as well as some exiting interesting film footage for a future film. Working with some guides and local people has been fun and it's been very rewarding helping a few of them with their fly casting & fly fishing skills.
Keeping my hands in with casting tuition keeps me on my game even when on the road. (I hope!)
Many hours and days have been spent working with helping Ela and her quest to become a world of knowledge on fly fishing and fly casting, we hope to release footage and photos of her progress - or not!!

She's a fast learner compared to most of us men. I'm sure when you meet her again this coming season in the shop / or NZ fly fishing schools she will blow you all away again and if not, there's always a spinning rod for her! 

This hotel manager wasn't really cooperative.

If you are looking for a good non fishing book to read, then maybe try sourcing- Lance Armstrong "Every Second Counts" - i just finished it on a day of rain in my tent and it was a very enjoyable read.

If you want to get off the couch this winter get yourself along to the RISE fly fishing film festival which Stu's Superior Flies Ltd. is proud to be sponsoring along with other great brands. Here are the dates & venues: 

NEW ZEALAND SHOWS Please note that shows often sell out weeks in advance, to ensure a ticket it is safest to purchase online and guarantee a seat.

Invercargill Show	7.30-9.30pm 5th Sept 2012	Reading Cinema
Christchurch Show	8-10pm 10th Sept 2012	Hollywood 3 Cinema
Wellington Show	8-10pm 12th Sept 2012	Lighthouse Cinema
Palmerston Show	7.30-9.30pm 13th Sept 2012	Cinema Gold
Hawkes Bay Show	8.30-10.30pm 17th Sept 2012	Reading Cinema
Auckland Show	8.30-10.30pm 19th Sept 2012	Academy Cinema

AUSTRALIAN SHOWS Please note that shows often sell out weeks in advance, to ensure a ticket it is safest to purchase online and guarantee a seat.

Perth Show	Wednesday, 8th August 2012	FTI Cinema
Hobart Show	Monday, 13th August 2012	Eastlands Village Cinema
Launceston Show	Thursday, 16th August 2012	Village Cinema
Burnie Show	Wednesday, 15th August 2012	Metro Cinema
Melbourne Show	Wednesday, 22nd August 2012	Classic Cinema Elsternwick
Melbourne West Show	Tuesday, 21st August 2012	Sun Theatre Yarraville
Ballarat Show	Saturday, 18th August 2012	Ballarat Fly Fishers Club
Wagga Show	Sunday, 26th August 2012	Forum 6 Cinema
Albury Show	Friday, 24th August 2012	Albion Hotel
Canberra Show	Monday, 27th August 2012	Greater Union, Manuka
Bowral Show	Tuesday, 28th August 2012	Empire Cinema
Sydney Show	Wednesday, 29th August 2012	Chauval Paddington Cinema
Central Coast Show	Friday, 31st August 2012	Kariong Neighbourhood Centre
Singleton Show	Saturday, 1st Sept 2012	Maitland City Bowling Club
Brisbane Show	Monday, 3rd September 2012	Palace Barracks Cinema

Have a fun time,
Cheers,
Stu

The Heart of the Driftless area Wisconsin, Reverb film stars Pegboy, Fly fishing for Carp,Fly Designs,Killer nymphs, Stus fly shop Facebook

 YOUR LAST CHANCE TO GET YOUR GOODIES

It´s your last chance to place an order, you have until Monday evening to get your order in,before it´s too late! 
From Monday Stu´s fly shop is closed until mid Sept. Remember to Like Stus fly shop on facebook and sign up for the Stu´s newsletter to get the latest gossip and News.

SOME OF STU´S KILLER NYMPHS TAKE SHELTER FROM RISING WATER

STU'S SUPERIOR FLIES IS  NOW OFFICIAL  FLY SPONSOR OF THE RISE FILM FESTIVAL!

Yes having worked closely with Nick Raygaert in the past and watched his dream growing. We have decided to work together in taking fly fishing passion to the masses and i have accepted his offer to become the official fly sponsor of his excellent Rise fly fishing film tour that will be coming to a city near you soon. Watch out for the latest adverts and promotion for the festival and get your tickets in advance so your not left standing outside as some shows will sell out!

 YES THE FLY SHOP WILL BE CLOSING

Every winter the wee shop full of passion closes and Stu then finds time to work on the fly design projects, photos, fly casting/teaching and content for all the next seasons blogs and newsletters.

For the first time Stu is not taking his laptop, but will try and find computer on his travels to check for bookings for guiding , Flycasting lessons and nz fly fishing school bookings.

A big tail on a very big fish! Testing fly design and development for all species!

Due to the nature of the exploration this time there may be delays between emails etc. Orders will not be processed at the web shop until mid Sept. So it will be in mid Sept that you can let the all moths escape from your wallets and purses, support and share the fly fishing passion that this wee shop brings you.

THE MAD MATAURA RIVER MAY FLY RISE below GORE

The King Pogo - A nymph that dances (pogo's)

I had to go to Gore the other day for business. That´s pretty cool i thought i´ll take my rod with me and after the meeting i´ll give the lower Mataura a wee fish as its now open until the end of May down past Gore. 

I got there just at 2pm and i used nymphs for about 10 mins with a nz bomb and King pogo nymph. I soon caught a nice but quite skinny brown which was fun. Then i noticed in front of me terns and swallows working the back of a big flat pool.

The mayflies were hatching all over the place but for about 10mins then it all stopped happening abruptly, i landed one more skinny but large trout that was rising on a size 16 clear wing cripple.

Stu's mayfly cripple does the damage again.

SKINNY FISH!

It surprised me the condition of these fish at this time of year. Yet the trout in the upper are very fat and healthy. I was happy with my short time fishing this fishery, but it did make me think that it was pretty easy and i personally would be bored guiding down this area of the Mataura. But do not get me wrong, it´s that i´m sort of addicted to sight fishing for challenging fish.

200-wild browns- 2-3lb- world class fishery.

But if you ever get the chance the lower Mataura is an awesome fishery with over 200 fish per klm in about the 2-3lb mark - and the chances you will hardly see another angler and even if you do you can stand side by side and hopefully still catch fish and share a sandwich.

Small streams of the Driftless are full of wild trout

WISCONSIN TROUT ADVENTURE

Last year Stu spent months sleeping in a car and tent round Wisconsin in the USA and discovered it was an awesome  area full of wee spring creeks, no people and trout a plenty from the beautiful small trout infested town called Riverfalls to the Driftless area down south.

One area in particular was called the Driftless area, that Stu put up his tent for weeks, and it was whilst in this area that two of the the newest designs Stu released last year were finished after years at the vice and on the water.

FLY DESIGN STUDIO IN THE OUTDOORS

Yes the Deadly hi-viz Ant , Deadly Hi-viz Hopper and Deadly  NZ cicada had their finishing touches put to them on camp tables outside amongst the insects and trout, normally after consumption of a tasty Spam Wrap to keep my brain going! Low and behold a new DVD just got released, about this special area- please read on!

This was my office in the Driftless area for 4hrs a day last winter, i managed a wash each day in the public toilets.

 HEART OF THE DRIFTLESS - A film looking into the driftless trout fishery

I found the DVD on the internet and realized it was from the same dude Robert Thompson who made Musky country another DVD i sell in the shop. As i was about to close for the winter i decided i would just buy a copy for myself as it had quite good write ups.

Heart of the Driftless- DVD- this made me smile more than most because of the weeks i had spent exploring that area- so much so on my travels i went back to that area 3 times and never fished the same stretch of water twice. The amount of fishable water and the stream work that has gone on to help and promote this fishery is huge and rightly so.

The film takes you on a journey of why the Driftless area is so special yet undiscovered. Interesting for many will be to hear and see what has been achieved by trout unlimited and others in this area with working with landowners to gain public accesses.

The film is well put together and you will not get bored, maybe it could have been a few mins shorter and still achieved the same effect, this is not a fish porn DVD- it´s about a special area, the people who fish and work it and promote it. All i can say is if you like small streams and fishing for wild trout with accurate casting Get your self to the Driftless area and check out this dvd or trailer.

Just where does Reverb fit! you decide!

REVERB - THE FLY FISHING / DOC DVD OF A PUNK ROCK BAND- PEGBOY AND FLY FISHING!

This film is a 50 min extra film along with another one on the Heart of the Driftless DVD- yes you get 3 films for the price of one!!

Again this film is not fish porn instead it is a very well produced and edited film about a pretty famous punk rock underground band from Chicago called  PEGBOY that have influenced many other bands of that type of music and era. 

How after all the music, drinking, drugs and fights they still are all mates and now in their late 40 still play together, but are now also bundling into their roadie bus mostly,  fly fishing equipment rather than guitars and drum kits.

It´s about how fly fishing bonds you, how music and friend ship bonds you.

The lead singer now has started a small company full of passion called fly pig rods - cool name! Its great to see him going crazy on stage then sitting back making fly rods!

Ill have to send them my pogo nymph fly as after all its the  punk rock nymph - named after the pogo dance !! But thats another wee story on the actual history of this wee design.

Personally this film is so good and it´s so well documented and different, it´s hard for me to believe this is not a separate DVD  that you would purchase, i honestly think it should make it into the music DVD sections in shops and review in the music magazines and not just the fishing magazines. 

Fishing magazines with old fart type editors may struggle to understand this DVD- but maybe they should not if they truly under stand fly fishing.

REVERB - Robert Thompson nailed this film, thats probably why it has been picked to tour on the USA fly fishing film festival.

Check out the trailer.

THANK YOU ALL

I wish you all the best for your support this season and i´ll see you all in mid Sept.

Remember to like Stus fly shop on Facebook and tell your friends about this blog and shop web site .

 If your new to Stus fly shop check out all the past news letters on the web site for a good read and put a smile on your dial :)

Cheers

Stu

The Hamburg trout, an evening fly fishing in Germany, black beetles

On a sunny Sunday i did some special research: i conquered a river close to Hamburg called Este.

I was out with Carsten from pukka-destinations as he kindly invited me to come with him on a sunny spring day. So i took my chance to extend my knowledge about the fly fishing mystery :)

We drove a little while by car out of the city and passed yellow-blossomed canola fields and i interviewed Carsten of his latest trip to Iceland fly fishing.

After 5 mins i nearly got the travel bug to return there soon because Iceland is one of my favourite places to travel, until i discovered NZ last year!!

As we arrived at the river not far from the city i straight away noticed it was located in a beautiful valley surrounded by the German country side.  

We started wandering downstream and it didn´t take long and Carsten hooked his first brownie on a small nymph and it was to be the first of two, they were so beautiful.

Maybe he would have caught a few more if he was using some of Stu´s Superior Flies - i teased him.

I was quite nervous and excited when he hooked both trout and nearly dropped my camera into the river! - maybe i should have bought a waterproof one!! I should have listened!
We were wandering further downstream, it was a perfect spring evening and i learnt a lot about fly fishing, rivers and insects like these little black beetles that must have been on the trouts menu after they had finished bonking?

These " black love-beetles" remind me of the Bionic Water Beetles i was selling this year in Stu`s fly shop. I now realise how realistic some of Stu's fly designs are even to my eyes, let alone the trout!

Soon after some walkers let their dog swim in the river, it seemed like it was game over for today as the trout did not seem to want to play with the dogs in the water - bugger!

We had a break and i was amazed how clear the water was, i did not expected it to be so clear not far from the huge city.

After a few hours we made it back to the car, i thought about buying some special sunglasses to prevent myself from spotting wood & stones instead of fish and i´d like to thank Carsten - it was a great day!
But before even thinking of fly fishing i should better improve my casting skills as there were many trees around top catch at this river - better i best start where there are no trees- i ask my self.

Hiring Stu seems to be quite a good idea, but hopefully i can wrangle to sit in a few more of his casting lessons or NZ fly schools again next year as yes - i have been invited back to slave behind the counter- maybe with George!!
I now know why he got this sign made up that is on the fence in the fly shop car park.
 

That´s it from the newbie for now, i´m off on my holidays soon. 
Maybe i will give you a report about anything fishy i find along my way back to NZ.

Catch ya next season - Cheers & tight lines,

Ela - Founding Member Of The Famous Fun Dreamteam! 

Remember that Stu´s Fly Shop will be closing on the 14th of May so best get your orders in now and support the passion - or wait until next September!

Sage One Fly rod, Fly Fishing The Mataura, NZ fly Fishing schools, NZ Casting Lessons, Mayfly nymphs, Stu's Superior Deadly Minnows, NZ Smelt

THE DREAM TEAM HAS RETURNED- WHERE IS GEORGE!!

Even when it`s quite there is always work to get done- where is George!

Just when things got quite in the shop and this April i´m down to 1 or 0 customers a day in the shop, the awesome dream team had to leave. Yes George my dad who you all got to meet in the shop the last few months has gone back to bonnie Scotland and the funny thing is has also taken mum the shop and house cleaner with him- the bugger! 

It was again awesome having their help and without them providing some great slave labour, i´m actually not too sure how i would manage to keep the shop doors open. Because the guiding and teaching is what still supports the shop. 

Two members- Mum & Dad of the dream team praying for customers for the Easter sale -from the universe!! 

Having my parents staying with me for over 10 weeks some would say would be crazy. Having them help, meet and understand all of the crazy fishing women and men and what makes all you guys tick and what drives me.

It is just an awesome thing, special thing to share with ones parents, lets hope i can budget to get some of the dream team back next year.

I hope you all had fun with them and no doubt you all did as people keeping coming in and looking at me and saying where is George!! - that does make me smile.


JUST IN IS THE NEW DVD-HATCH -CHECK IT OUT- you might even see my flies and ugly mug on it!

SAGE ONE FLY RODS- 4wgt 8,6 just in stock

RIO HI - VIZ  ORANGE Tournament fly lines- 120ft now back in stock.

SALTWATER FLIES- Check out some of the Best Baitfish flies you will ever use!! 

APRIL - FLY FISHING IN SOUTHLAND!- mid - upper MATAURA starting to fish well.

I have just finished doing quite a few full day fly fishing schools for beginners and some advanced fishers, where i was teaching casting in the morning in the casting area at the shop, then in the afternoon we would go to the Mataura river where we would put into practice our casting and some stream craft skills. Once everybody has roughly (in a day) got the hang of things we go chasing those things with fins!

We have been fishing mainly using the easy to see Deadly Cicada flies with a 1/2 foot of rio fluro 3.5lb tippet, tied off the bend of the cicada hook and a small size 16 nz realistic mayfly nymph tied on.

April trout are normally fat and in top condition.

Nearly every afternoon we have caught fish on the cicada and the nymph about 50-50. There as usual at this time of year seems to be quite a few fish in the riffles especially down in the Nokomai gorge walk in area down to cattle flat.

We all love dry fly April mayfly Madness!

Around 3pm there have been mayflies hatching with some fish starting to watch there clocks and start to rise for these small brown mayflies, but still not in a feeding frenzy- which we all want!

The upper Mataura has a few larger fish holding in pods in some holding pools but still not numbers moving up yet. One thing i personally want to do is to fish up from cattle flat up through the Mataura gorge area - that´s on my bucket list! One day!

There has hardly been any fishermen around so it´s been quite easy guiding at the moment and finding water and fish.

A client of mine stayed down in the gorge area until dark and just on dark he had a big hatch of mayflies and caught and missed a few fish- staying that bit later sometimes works!

Tie on a deadly cicada size 10 and nz nymph and search the foam lines and the shallow riffles, the fish will be hard to see but you shall have fun!!

I would think from now on the lower Mataura should start to fire up with some hatches, just yesterday i noticed mayfly spinners on my car.

 APRIL CASTING - GUIDING DATES 

I still have right up to the end of April some availability for anyone wanting to  perfect or learn how to fly cast or fly fish. A few dates are also still available for some hopefully dry fly mayfly action.

THE RIVERS-

All the rivers are low and clear and the sun´s been out most afternoons so spotting trout has been quite easy in some areas.

RAINBOW TROUT HEADING UP STREAM - BIG BROWNS- DEADLY MINNOW WHITE SMELT ACTION

Plenty rainbows are heading up the rivers near Te Anau, a couple of friends fished down stream and across due to strong winds blowing down stream the day they arrived, using my deadly minnows in the barred smelt white color and nailed plenty, mind you these guys can fish well.

Smelt flies- whitebait flies! These are the ones you need in NZ
Only avaliable from Stu´s Fly Shop!! Check out the different colors - these are barred tan.

Although they said it was not too hard fishing but was great fun as some times the water was erupting as the rainbows chased and nailed the deadly minnows as they swung round in the current and they stripped them in as fast as they could.

Another guide friend bought some deadly minnows and was working at the mouth of the Lochy river near Queenstown and 1/2 km up stream was also nailing plenty fish using the minnow in the same color- this guide was casting upstream and letting the minnow drift back near the fish and then stripping it. 

The fish would instantly turn and hammer down onto the fly, as the water was so clear he got some great visuals. Around the mouths of most of the rivers he has had clients stripping them on from the boat or bank as many fish are gathering ready to head up stream as well as he has been seeing plenty large shoals of smelt with trout smashing into them.

He mainly was catching rainbows, though he did say not far up the river there was a few big browns starting to show! Sometimes you do not need to go far for some action, especially if you have a boat!

ORDER NOW BEFORE YOU FORGET!

Best if you want to stock up for your winter saltwater holiday or winter trout fishing to make your orders soon before i close at the start of may for the winter. I look forward to receiving your orders and support.

I hope you enjoyed this blog- just as much as my flies! Please keep the great photos and feed back coming in :)

Cheers

Stu