NZ Fly Fishing Autumn hatches, Southland guided fly fishing, Willow Grubs still falling, Mayflies hatching

The Fishing, Guiding, NZ Fly Fishing School

The guiding days have been very good with days filled ,of fish landed and lost.

 The main rivers in the area have been fishing great despite the low water,  feed by spring creeks they are cool and the browns most of the times have been exploding into the air, like rainbow trout.

Yesterday I worked with a fly fisher from Switzerland who had been struggling to catch any of the browns in the South Island. He had been in the North and caught plenty. But the South was beating him and he was starting to beat himself.

But he was honest and realized his casting was not up to fooling some of these browns. He had been fly fishing for 5 years and is in a club. 

We ended up spending nearly the full day in the casting area and gradually I managed to turn him around as he was a very quick learner and ironed out his faults very quickly.

We ended up on a small local river for 2 hrs at the end of the day and in that space of time he hooked 7 large brown trout. He was ecstatic and it goes to show what help a day at a NZ Fly Fishing school can do for some and a wee bit of local knowledge.

New sizes of my saltwater flies available Now!

QUITE DAYS AT THE WEE SHOP

The shop has been very quite in the past two weeks with not many fly fishermen or tourist around. Three days three customers, so we now have a press the bell system on the door of the shop. This way office work can get done at the same time. So if you are passing and see the door closed but the flags out it means, we are always open. Just press the bell and we will be there to serve you with a smile.

It seems many people are getting ready for a saltwater trip over the NZ and Australian winter. As we have received many emails regarding orders for the Superior Saltwater range of flies.

In 16 yrs this has to be the most calm weather wise season I have ever had. Especially no wind!! Yes,  nearly every day there has been no wind. Yes, not much rain either and now in my small town. I hear that 4 of the houses have run out of water, some for the first time ever!

My client caught this brown just over 4lb on a size 18 willow grub - what fun

Top 12 flies at the moment are:

1 - Willow Grubs - yellow

2 - NZ realistic Mayfly Nymphs

3 - King Pogo Nymphs

4 - NZ Mayfly Bombs

5 - Hi Viz Mayflys

6 - NZ Spent Spinners

7- Black Deadly Blowflies

8 - NZ Tungsten gold bead nymphs

9 - Tungsten Realistic Damsel nymphs

10 - Gold bead NZ Killer Nymphs

11 - Deadly Minnows

12 - Realistic Black Water boatmen

NEW ! NEWSLETTER

There will be a new newsletter bing sent out in the next day or two, which I'm sure you will all enjoy.

If you want to receive the latest Stu's news - It's very simple and only takes seconds - click here.

 THE NEW PILLOW FLY ?

Pillow grubs! The other day I had some overseas fishermen in the shop screaming for some more pillow flies, as they had been having great success with my pillow fly? It took a wee while to realize what they were after. That was a good laugh - Willow Grubs - not pillow grubs :)

WILLOW GRUBS IN FIORDLAND?

A Huge fish ,just waiting on a Chartreuse Willow Grub, How clear is this water, photo taken from over 100ft away.

Also great feed back has been coming in from all over the world about the success people are having using my designs. One that caught my eye was a gentleman from Brazil who had been fishing in Fiordland and had great success with my chartreuse willow grubs - this was strange I though as there was mainly beach trees in Fiordland and I had never heard of Willow Grubs in that area, but I still believed him - especially when he sent me the photos,of the flies in the trouts mouths.

Maybe the fish were just being suicidal and eating any fly I thought to myself. It was only when I was on a four day camp out on a river in Fiordland just recently I figured out why! There was lots of small chartreuse caterpillars drifting down the feed lanes and the Chartreuse Willow Grub matched the hatch as they say! Perfect. Fish on!

Another great thing I have learned this year! The learning never ends and I love it.

The photo-"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" - Jesse's words on his awesome photographic art - remember send me an email, if you want to contact Jesse regarding buying a copy of the limited edition print - 4 left out of 10.

A self portrait with a cheeky and ostentatious feel, an image purely driven by my own fantasy and love of all things ornate and excessive. 

Fly fishing traditionally ruled by the elite and rich, and a sport so close to my heart since early childhood, I have tried to bring it inline with a more lowbrow and rock n roll lifestyle. A mixture of tweed and hot latex makes for humorous and fun feel. 

A boy can but day dream of a world dripping of Helmut Newton extravagance and desire. Black and white transforming an Australian alpine stream into the highlands of of Scotland and the elitism and ownership of fisheries that bars average men and women from fishing them. 

Unless of course they can afford to pay for the right to fish.

Perhaps the extravagance and desire would not appeal so, if the beautiful streams I fish freely in Australia were suddenly privately owned and hired to only those who could afford them.

FULL RANGE OF SALTWATER FLIES IN STOCK

The barred Gimp - a Saltwater killer and a Carp slayer - fish it on the bottom - give it a twitch!

WATCH AND LISTEN

Recently The Trout Diaries 50 min slideshow interview has been uploaded to Youtube so you can now listen and watch some cool photos at the same time. Click on the image below to watch and listen.

SOME NEW SOUNDS - NOTHING TO DO WITH FLY FISHING - Feel the love!

Remember to place an order asap and support a wee shop that actually does allot more than a big chain shop :)

Thank you all for your AWESOME support and feedback.

Cheers,

Stu &Ela

NZ Fly Fishing, NZ Trout Radio, NZ Fly Fishing Film, Trophy Trout, Mayfly Hatches, Spinner Falls, Stu's Fly Shop NZ

The nearest  to life like - easy to see Blowfly design you will ever buy. Only avaliable at Stu's Fly Shop. Stu's Deadly NZ Blowfly design - unique! The book they sit on is the best trout book that you will enjoy that has been printed in years.

Hello 

The Interview - 53mins of  Fly Fishing, History, Casting, Tips, Fun, Fly Tying and Fly Design - enjoy!

Yes - at last the author of the top selling trout book "The Trout Diaries' and producer of the Trout Diaries radio show - got hold on me. 

Derek asked me quite a few questions over 50 min and recorded it live. There was no written down questions and answers, a  microphone was just held in front of me and we just did it.

The interview has had well over 600 downloads and is still rising, this has surprised us both.

  It just shows when the truth is told and some good information is given people do listen. 

So if you have not had a listen to it, stick on your head phones, crank up the volume, click here after reading the blog and even without being on the water, you will be taken on that thought provoking journey into the world of fly fishing, guiding, casting, catching fish, fly design. 

If you like it let your fishing club members and friends know and share the passion, without our passion we would not have as many waterways full of life!

Stu's Superior Flies do the damage again - Stu's Deadly NZ Cicada chartreuse size 10,  fooled this 1/2 pound trout for another very happy client.

GUIDED FLY FISHING - IN SOUTHLAND

If you are looking for some of the best mayfly hatches April is the time to come to southland fewer fishermen around and plenty of cool water.,  living on the river  means i get to know first hand what is going on in the trout world in Southland. Some dates are available for the end of March and April , call or send me an email for that small dry fly fishing fix.
 Remember there are not many guides who live on the river or have spent as much time on the water, ,there is not much i do not know about whats going on in the southland trout world, Local knowledge you will not find just anywhere!

The new Superior Flies Film - the history, big fish, the journey, the years of design, the art , passion and dreams - enjoy!

The new short film has been very well received through out the world and great comments and feed back have been coming in.

One person commented that I had the flies in my box the wrong way! Never said it was a good clip and congrats, just wanted to let me know !!!!!! wrong!!! But was I :) ?

Allot of the times I'm not right but who always is? But he did make me realize why for many years I had changed the way I put the flies into this box. 

My vest and box get thrown around when I'm guiding and the odd time my nymphs would fall out.

With the tungsten little heavy nymphs mainly, I found they would not fall out of the foam slots as much if they were put in the other way round.

Just like how you hold a rod there is no right or wrong way as long as it works for you.

So now you are going to watch the film and the flies and box and it's going to get you thinking and that's the magic of fly fishing - it's a game of thinking and working things out and just when you think you have it cracked. You have to start again- it's great, the learning never stops.

To watch the film clip remember post it on your social media site and enjoy and share it.

A range of mayfly designs from my vise, all ready for the hatches.These mayfly designs work throughout the world.

What's HOT at the moment

Well, it's been very hot and most of the small streams have dried up and many fish have died - which is a shame. Some have been rescued by Fish & Game and many by caring members of the public especially some awesome farmers. 

Lots of these small streams are spawning streams for the trout , so I would imagine that many small trout have died and the long term out look is not so good. Hopefully nature will take it course and things will pan out.

Many farmers have been stopped from getting water from the ground as all the rivers are getting so low . Environment southland are the ones who regulate this.

My house water comes from rain water, which is stored in a tank which is also getting very low, so rain is need all round. Fingers crossed.

Mayfly spinners on my car early in the morning before guiding.

The Guiding - Mayfly Hatches - available dates!

It has been a terrific year so far with clients enjoying great fun days on the water with plenty surface action.

The hot weather has made the fish all look towards the surface as the bugs keep floating down on mass. 

Less water means less places to hide so spotting fish is at its all time best for me and clients.

The visuals have been awesome with many clients pulling the fly away before the trout takes in excitement, especially when fishing the Willow Grub up close.

Recently there has been some large mayfly spinner falls more than normal in March, which means April is looking great for the autumn mayfly hatches.

Cicadas are still around and fish are still munching on them, as well as Willow Grubs - which are still dropping big time from the leaves.

If you are looking to catch some beautiful colored mayfly feeding trout before the season ends or brush up on your casting or river craft skills, look no further. 

 Check out the new super slim fly boxes - you can buy now - custom selected filled box - full of Stu's Superior Flies - all tied on the best TMC fly hooks.  Just contact me today and let me know your custom wishes.

I still have a few days available in March, April and May so contact me today.

Much more than just a wee shop!

This season I decided to sponsor the full Rise Fly Fishing Film Festival tour and take Stu's Superior Flies to world and chase the dream!

The feedback from the tour has been great from so many countries and passionate fishermen and women. The tour - I'm pretty sure - has rekindled many peoples love for fly fishing, especially in the cities.

To be able to go along to a venue and meet like minded people and watch some of the best fly fishing movies in the world just makes many people realize what more destinations and species can be caught on the fly.

Here is another wee tune to listen to, that may get your feet tapping.Its nothing to do with fishing or is it?

Keep sending in your fish photos and feedback, please :)

Cheers,

Stu & Ela

New Fly Fishing Film, Rise Fly Fishing Festival, Midcurrent, Trout Diaries Radio, NZ Fishing Flies

14 years of study and development - then Stu's Deadly NZ Cicada fly design materialized.

I hope you all enjoyed the recent newsletter with the new film announcement.

If you have not done so already, sign up for Stu's news and get all the new info, special offers & gossip.Next week the new March news letter will be sent out with some great stuff on it and links, so do not miss out, sign up today!

THE NEW SHORT FLY FILM

To view the short new film about Stu's Superior flies - click HERE.

Remember you can enlarge the screen to watch it. Please let us know your thoughts and comments - it all helps.

The Fishing

The fishing has been on fire all season with record amounts of fish being landed. Many clients have managed to catch their personal best size brown trout.

For the past month it has nearly been all dry fly action and many clients joining the Grub Club - that is landing their first fish on the mighty wee size 20 Willow Grub.

Fat and very healthy was this just under 5lb hen fish fooled with a size 10 Deadly NZ Cicada 

A combination of Grubs, Blowflies and Cicadas seems to be the normal diet of many of the trout at this time of year in the river systems.
 Find a good piece of stable water, work out the feed lane and proceed carefully casting up the feed lane with a Deadly Cicada / Deadly Blowfly with a NZ Floating Willow Grub tied off the back seems to be the best rig for catching fish for customers and clients.

When recently guiding, we have ignored most sighted fish in the deep pools as it can be harder to fool them with heavy nymphs etc. at this time of year. 
 Fish sighted in the faster riffles have been keen on size 18 King Pogo Nymphs tied off a nz mayfly bomb as a trailer nymph.

Over the last 3 days guiding 51 trout have been fooled into taking the flies, though not all have been landed, as it's fishing not catching :) 
But imagine if we caught everyone? 

Fish Feeding times in NZ

Unlike most countries in the world in NZ the fish seem to feed through out the day and the most productive time seems to always be when the temp is at its hottest. This probably is due because of the amount of insects that hatch and get active when it's hot, thus bring on the trout to feed especially on the surface.

Having no real natural predators like eagles and bears fish will easily move into clear shallow water if especially left undisturbed for a few days where they can be much easier to spot.

Clear blue sky with high warm temperatures are my favorite guiding days by far with the most fish being caught between 11am - 4pm. 
So here in NZ it's not unusual to arrive at your spot late and have the best chance of hooking up.
 For some there is no need to even set the alarm for that early start?

The River Conditions

All the rivers are now getting quite low. They are all gin clear. Hopefully we get a wee bit rain to top them all up a bit, but it's not looking likely.

This is also the time of the year that Fish & Game do their drift dives. This involves a team of guys with wet suits and masks floating down certain river systems and visually counting fish numbers. 
Recently on they did a drift dive on the Mararora River which was the first river to have the dreaded Didymo and have since for years been troubled with it. 
This year the drift dive had some great news. The river was now sporting a good population of trout again and looks like it's starting to recover.
 I wonder if it's just a natural cycle of fish stocks and breeding or if all the recent floods had something to do with it, by flushing out allot of Didymo and clearing the stones so that the aquatic live and trout can go about their business in the normal way.

Getting all the triggers in a fly design is very important for a very successful fly 

New Trout Diares Radio

Every morning during my 50 min exercise regime, I listen to Youtube interviews about fishing and learn allot. Recently The Trout Diaries author Derek Grzelewski has launched his own radio show that - you never know - may go international if enough people like it. Like all things time will tell and it will only get better and better the longer it's on air. The great thing is you can listen to it when tying flies, stretching your body or driving to your favorite fishing spot. To listen click here.

 Mid Current - fishing news.

There is one web site that sometimes I have advertised on called midcurrent. It's a great source of new up to date fishing and product news from around the world and worth visiting, they also send out very regular news letters which you also may find interesting. Check it out here.

Rise Fly Fishing Film Festival Europe 2013

It will not be until august or around that time that the RISE Fly Fishing Film Festival will hit your local big city. At the moment it has kicked off in France for the first time and being well received with shows selling out in most of the big cites, 200 + people at a show. The German side of the tour has also kicked off and all we have had from many people is that they had a great night of fish porn with like minded people, again sell out shows. When the pre-sale starts for NZ and Australia, you best get your TICKETS quick.

Fly Fishing shop in Italy stocks Stu's Superior Flies.

Recently we have started to supply a specialist fly shop in Italy. The feedback from the owner is that his customers are loving the designs and quality. As the years go by, I hope to add more and more specialist fly shops in different countries to my list of supporters.

You just never know what you may find. This lovely lass Vivi was found hanging and rope dancing under the Oreti bridge. She is a circus performer from Germany - one of Ela's friends. 

NEW smaller Sizes of Stu's Deadly NZ Cicada are in stock.

Back in are the size 10 Cicadas and newly released are the green size 10 Deadly NZ Cicadas. Great searching flies - order here.

Catch us also on Facebook and like our page. Upload your photos of fish caught on Stu's Superior Flies and have some fun.

Thank you for the support.

Cheers

Stu & Ela    " Inspired by nature and driven by passion"

NZ CICADAS, STU'S Hi-VIZ DEADLY NZ CICADA FLY, TOP10 FISHING FLIES, FLY REELS, TIEMCO FLY HOOK, SUPERIOR FISHING FLIES

Yes - without my consent they put me on the cover - mind you - I'm not complaining :) as it's a great shot - by Nick Reygaert from the Rise Fly Fishing Film Festival and that rainbow is dam sexy looking, sorry Ela.

PHOTOS

Do you have any great photos of fish you have caught with Stu's Superior Flies and comments. If so please send them to us or post them on Facebook with a comment.

Sign up here for the coolest unique fly fishing newsletter -

NEW SEXY FISHING CAPS

I just returned from guiding and a good friend Paul, a fly fishing guide from Wanaka, was in the shop and on a road trip with his client Brandon who had been having some NZ fishing fun - he could not resist such a good  fishing cap.  Oh and yes, we are nearly always that happy even Paul.

Just in are even more damn sexy fishing caps of the highest quality - Flexfit USA caps that are made to last.

Some great new colors - blue camo, green camo, tartan, brown, aqua, pink, black, camp mesh truckers in green and brown camo.

Look sexy this summer with these unique caps, not many shops in the world carry fly shop caps for women and men, Oh! We have a few kids sizes as well!!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

THE NZ CICADAS

Every year unlike some countries that have to wait 15 yrs between cicada hatches! 

The NZ cicadas hatch every year and it's an awesome time to be here.

There are many different species of cicadas from large to very small, they all pretty much have the same silhouette that the fish see from below. 

They tend to take to the wing in search of sex when it's a calm windless very hot day. Many fall or fly clumsily onto the water. When they hit the water, they do so with a little plop. 

As soon as they hit the water and become stuck in the surface, they panic and struggle for a short while creating little vibrating wakes of water in the film.

 Kevin Thompson from NZ bought some Deadly NZ Cicadas to try and caught this cracking brown ! 

This only lasts for seconds normally and then they just sit quietly on the surface waiting to washed to shore where they can climb back onto land. 

Many do not make it and become trout food. It normally takes about 3 weeks from when I hear and see the first cicadas of the season for the trout to start to feed on them.

Once the trout start to feed on them for us fly fishers it can be so much fun casting large cicada dry flies out and watching fish move considerable distances to engulf them.

A few years ago one of my clients wanted to chase only large trout and after a full day of searching without even casting at any large fish, we managed to find one.

The fish was in the middle of the pool and looking like he was in cicada mode.

My client cast his fly out 20ft short and 20ft to the left of the fish, nowhere near it. As soon as the cicada fly landed the fish must of heard it and turned and came down stream like a missile. I screamed at my client to leave his fly and the fish slowly came up to suck it down.

THE TIP! If you are fishing a cicada to a sighted fish - or blind fishing - no matter where it lands as the plop can trigger them from afar. GET READY!

The full NZ Cicada Range - Check out the awesome review of this design in the latest Fish & Game NZ Magazine - Reviews do not get better ! The Nom 1- go to NZ cicada Design!

Last year I released the Hi-Viz NZ Deadly Cicada and it's turning into the go to fly of choice at this time of year for most customers. Every other day guides from though out NZ are on the phone or emailing looking for some and it's a good feeling to have after many years perfecting an easy to see cicada fly, that is now recognized and in demand through out NZ and Australia. 

26 inches long getting up there! With the big boys! 

Having it on the best strongest fly hook with the largest gape also helps anglers hook and land the big trout of a life time, that at this time of year come from the deep in search of these double cheese burgers with mayo.

TIP- When using this design: no tippet is needed, tie it straight onto a 12ft RIO Tapered Leader and hang on and have a some fun.

It looks like I will eventually run out of this design this month due to demand, so best be quick if you wish some as I have no time to get onto my vice and tie up more.

 Now - back in stock !

TOP 10 SELLING FLIES FOR FEBUARY FOR NEW ZEALAND- Click on each fly to view.

1- Stu's Deadly NZ Hi-Viz Cicada - black, green, tan, chart and olive

2 - Stu's Deadly NZ Hi-Viz  Blowflies - blue / brown / black

3 - Stu's NZ Floating Willow Grub - chart / yellow

4 - Stus NZ Realistic Mayfly Nymph - grey / brown

5 - Stu's Realistic Damsel Nymph

6- Stus Deadly Daddy / Damsel

7- Stu's Waterboatman - black / tan

8 - Stu's Foam Elk Hair Caddis

9 - Stu's Deadly Dragonfly (Adult)

10 - Stu's Deadly Hi-Viz Ant

THE GUIDING

This time of year is pretty full on, with the odd day still available at the end of the month and next. Contact me today if you are interested in any of my services. Fly casting lessons, NZ Fly Fishing Schools and back to back guiding for the past weeks means very long working days.

But each day the hours fly by and I realize this is because I'm doing something I'm so passionate about. 

Years ago when I have worked in other jobs some of them I would be looking at my watch as to when I could finish and go home nearly every day.

Working on the water, it is actually very hard to call it a day and return to base camp and I can think of no other job that I could wish to do.

fat, spotty and sexy!

Everyday I have been netting good solid fat trout, due to the coolness of the water after the recent showers of rain and cooler water temps. The trout have been very frisky with many of them jumping at least 3 times during the fight. Thinking they are rainbow trout!

ELA'S  FLY  SHOP DEMONSTRATIONS

Ela - queen of Stu's fly shop ,social media  has been busy adding even more knowledge / skills to help you all .

Remember to take off the tags :) They rattle a bit in the wind.

Recently Ela has been spooling up fly reels with backing and line for happy customers and in the past weeks learning how to attach the leader with a needle knot and finishing it off with UV glue. 

Demonstrating the new strike indicator is her favorite thing though as there are so many people who have sell not seen this easy to use Strike Indicator. 

There is now not much Ela does not know about all the gear and flies. So if you have an order or question regarding gear / guiding / casting / NZ Fly School just give her a call on 03 2488890 or contact her by email - click here.

FLY FISHING CLUBS

The people I meet are amazing people and also very passionate. 

This past week I have been working with returning members of Sydney's two largest fly fishing clubs. Everyone of them has no huge expectations of fly fishing here in the South Island and are here for the challenge and big wild trout.

It's a yearly escape from the city life and these guys know how to enjoy the pleasures of the countryside and the fishing.In the next Blog or news letter , i should have some great photos of the large trout they managed to land with me. Shame i do not have any photos of the ones that got away! :)

If you are in Sydney, Australia or in any city in the world, look up your local fly fishing cub and go along and have some fun, male or female, young or old it's the best way to meet fellow fishers, learn new skills and have some fun trips away.

GIFT VOUCHERS

Some people are hard to buy a present for - here is the perfect gift.

The Jaws of Death! Fooled on a Stu's Deadly NZ hi-viz blowfly .

RIVERS & LAKES

All the waterways are fishing great and are all low and clear. Expect to start to find trout in the fast shallow riffles as water temperature rises and they seek more cooler oxygenated water. Lakes, as usual the fish will be patrolling the lake edges, so short casts are all thats needed. A Hi-Viz Deadly Cicada on the surface just off the drop off will do the trick.

PHOTOS CHECK IT OUT

A few of you have been asking about the great underwater shot in last weeks news letter.

Here is the link to the dude that takes the time and effort to get the shots we drool over.

A Place to Stay in NZ - near the shop

Here is the link to the Naylor House - a great place to stay nearby the shop. Many of my returing clients stay here in this free standing historic country house - it's cosy, modern, self contained and you can get meals at the farm house - which everybody loves. The lovely hosts Avis and real fisherman John leave you alone and you have your own space in the country. It's two fields walk to the Upper Mataura and only a 5 min drive from the World Famous Fly Shop. What more could you ask for?

Some of the locals are a bit  fluffy

Oh! be warned you will get more than enough food if you chose the meal option and you will put on a kilo in a week:)

There is the odd ghost in the house and killer sheep patrol the perimeter. But overall you can ask for a better place or price - can sleep heaps. Click here to view.

PINK FLY REELS

At last I have found some pretty cool pink fly reels and have two models in stock - though they are in stock and for sale, to be honest if I can not sell them, they will look awesome in photos with my instructor rods and orange line, so watch out for some cool photos.

Thank you for your awesome support guys.

Cheers,

Stu & Ela

NZ Killer Trout, Loops, Hobbits, Trout Diaries Blog, NZ Dry Fly Action, NZ Nymph Action, Fly Fishing Films, Needle Knot Tool

WOW ! THE BLOG - 39.000 !!

It's been great to have the blog over the past few years as a way of letting you know a little about what's going on and free information.

In the short time it's been going, the first blog - with great skill! -was deleted and lost all that great content which was a shame.

The great thing is there was a record of view figures and if I were to add them both together, it is a little over 39.000 views which is amazing for a wee shop in middle earth surrounded by hobbits and large killer brown trout!

Stu's New Deadly Blood worm fools another sexy trout

The blog does take quite a bit of work doing it and that's why over the past year I do not have the time to update it as regularly as I wished. 

The newsletter which is sent out monthly, will always be the number one for FREE information, fun free stuff, & the best photos.

 Hope you all enjoyed last weeks Monthly news letter, next months will make you drool and smile!

THE HUB OF STU'S FLY SHOP

If you want the best news, sign up and enjoy the monthly Stu's News - IT'S FREE and easy - just click here.

Stu's Deadly NZ Cicada - the best Cicada you will ever use - Hi-VIZ!

HARDY FLY RODS  UK OR CHINA

The iconic House of Hardy is up for sale! The company as far as I know is split into 3 different parts and they are all for sale.

This is huge for the tackle industry ! Why ?  

The main contender to buy it may be out of China. If that happens, the Chinese will then have a major foot in the door. 

What will happen with Hardy name? The quality? The price?  There is allot that could go belly up? Or things could get better for the Hardy brand? 

All the other major brands in the industry will be watching this one. But then what if China does not buy? Who will?

some of the sexy new Stu's Fly Shop unique merch.

THE FISHING AT THE MOMENT - THE GUIDING AT THE MOMENT

As you all know I don't get munch chance to fish myself - so I'll let you know instead how the guiding has been going.

The guiding has been fantastic. With more and more of my clients staying local and we are always on the water and at a good spot before others arrive from Queenstown and lodges etc.

The challenge this past few weeks of back to back guiding in this weather pattern has been finding clear water.

Sometimes we have had to travel up to an hour to find good spots though most of the time we have managed to stay locally.

Tom one of my  returning clients basically just want to fish a dry fly from brown trout as thats his favorite style of fly fishing which can make things as he knows a little tricky. 

A few times, I had to explain that this may be a wee problem with the water levels etc. Tom understood and off we went every day.

As soon as I found a trout in clear shallow water.

On went the Hi-Viz Foam Elk Hair Caddis size 14 and up came trout to engulf it and fun we all had.
 A few times in the not so clear water I did manage to persuade Tom to cast nymph rig - adjustable indicator, NZ Mayfly Bomb with a Deadly Blood Worm size 18 dropper and each time this was presented to a trout, there was no resistance to the taking the very small Deadly Blood Worm.

On average 11 trout were tricked into eating our fly offerings each  day and 5 trout were landed each day the biggest around five pound, the average was 2 and a half pound.

They were all in top condition. Oh! The smallest was around 4 inches long and it was the smallest NZ trout my client had ever caught, we ended up taking heaps of photos of that one, now where is that wide angle lens :)

Check out the new Stu's Deadly Dragonfly / Mud Eye design - years of research and development

LOOPS - LEADER TO FLY LINE CONNECTION! STU'S THOUGHTS

For years I have hated the welded loop on fly lines and loops in general, I also do not like bulky knots on the leader to fly line connection. 

The list is endless on my reasons why energy transfer, less knots, leader all the way in when playing a fish, etc. 

You will catch more fish if you cut them off and use a needle knot tool, and use a needle knot, finish the knot off with a little uv glue over the knot, for an even more pro finish.

I have been using the system for years and it never failed me.

Yes, loops are easy for changing leaders etc, but it's more rubbish you do not really need when you are casting or fishing!!

NEW - top quality Flexfit caps

Another unique product - this will become your favorite fishing cap! Great fitting caps!



 SMUGGLERS - SPEEDOS!

Loved your Flylife magazine advert, by the way. After traveling throughout Australia for more than 20 months, we had more than our fare share of far too tight budgie smugglers - although they seem to become less common - and beer feed bulging guts.

So it came as quite a relief to see such a well defined and somewhat attractive backside. And regarding the feelings of the fish, well, we thought it to be common knowledge that carp are suckers for anything wormlike, regardless of its size.
 Stu, you definitely were our pin up of the season. 
Keep the great work up, please.

Cheers,

Béatrice & Viktor- Switzerland

RISE FLY FISHING FILM FESTIVAL

The selections for the RISE Fly Fishing Film Festival Europe that is run by Nick from Gin Clear Media, based here in NZ.

Has announced more dates and films it will be showcasing on the night. The films as usual selected are all looking great.

Working with Nick and his crew the past few months makes me realize the work that goes into making even 3 mins of one of these films - gone are the days of making just a fishing film, they have to be so well done to compete in the market place. 

NEW - Stu's Deadly Hopper / Cricket - Easy to see floats like a cork and on the best TMC wide gape hook! I finished off this design two years ago in the USA.

Many of the small fly fishing film makers have pulled out through the years, they though it would be easy and plenty money to be made. 

The truth is there is very little profit in selling DVD's unless you have a well made unique product and the cost of the good equipment the main guys are using is considerable.

Do not let this put you off giving not a go why? 

Many years ago I managed to get stuck on a remote island for many days and had no choice to fish while waiting for the air plane to get fixed. While sort of stranded, I had the chance to fish with an fun american fly fisher.

It turned out he was a major Hollywood movie director and reckoned he could have not so good camera work and equipment sometimes.

But if he had good guys involved in the editing suite it would be all good. Good editing is the key - that was his point.

So if you are thinking of making a film or have a great idea - go for it and have fun doing so. If it does not make the cut for say the fly fishing film festival, it will still be great for You Tube. We all love fish porn and the more the better.

Check out the dates for the shows - click here.

HOW COOL IS THIS EXCLUSIVE NEW ZEALAND, STU'S FLY SHOP BUFF!!! LIMITED STOCK !

TROUT DIARIES  BOOK - DEREK'S BLOG

Here is a good interesting new blog that I have been meaning to recommend to you all :)

Check it out and his older blogs. Yes ! From what I understand Derek has been busy with his creative thoughts and new book has been finished and maybe out in May. I look forward to another great interesting book.

Click here to read.

Remember - if you are reading this and do not support Stu's Fly Shop - you are a mean bugger and I hope every fish busts you off this season and next :)

You can easily fix this wee curse and click here and start supporting the passion, it's that easy. What other shop actually cares about you! :)

Thank you for your feedback and great support.
Cheers,
Stu & Ela and also my Mum and Dad -
 who have not been imported as cheap labour this year as I can not afford them, so sorry dad will not be in the shop this year as he drinks too much whisky and not the cheap kind :)