After L.A.

En route home from the below LA trip, I stopped over in Taipei and had some time to kill. Went to local tackle shop and inquired about the fly fishing possibilities and was given directions to a stream outside of Taipei. There were some kind of small fish and also another more predatory fish the name of which I have no idea.

At the tackle shop I saw behind the counter a picture of a Tarpon. I asked whether the location was nearby and was surprised to hear that it was within the city.

However, the spot was near the outflow of a canal and the water quality was black and oily. BUT, when I got there, I saw the distinctive tarpon rise. Using a 6 wt rod, I tied on a white clouser and for the next hour I caught and released tarpon up to a kilo and a half. My hand and fly line was all black and oily at the end of the session but it was a memorable one.

L.A. June 2007

Well, after a one year hiatus from posting I thought I’d start again. No point wasting server space right?

That past year had been rough, with the culmination of most of my tackle lost...(a long story not to be retold..). A month or so after my last April post, I went on a trip to Los Angeles and had a chance to fish for trout in the San Bernardino Mountains in Orange County. Below is an account of what I can remember of the trip.

Early morning on 1st June ’07 in LA, I left Torrance in a rented car without a GPS for the San Bernardino Mountains in search of trout. Browsing through the internet the weeks prior to this outing, I worked out that the nearest possible stream/river to my hotel would be in Orange County. So with just a Google Map printout with driving directions, I set off….

After an hour and a half I reached the outskirts of the National Park at the foot hills of the mountains. Going up on Highway 38 I reached Barton Flats where I purchased my Park parking fee (bought my fishing license the day before). Wandering down Glass Rd to Seven Oaks Rd I looked forward to see the Santa Ana River.

From my research, I know that the Santa Ana River was stocked. But when I finally got my first glimpse of the ’river’, I was shocked! It looked more like a stream…a creek by other standards.

Needless to say I was sorely disappointed. It was only about 2-3 metres wide. But, having already invested the time driving all the way up, I changed into my waders (overkill in the heat and size of said ‘river’). I set my trusty 6 piece 4wt and tied on a 6 ft leader and left it at that. Wandering down the banks I could see that the river was only a foot and a half deep on average with a few deeper pools. The side on the river was lined with lots of tree and shrubs. I decided to go into the water to wade up.

As you can see, this looks like a perfect setup for a 2 wt 6-6.5 ft rod.

Then I saw a rise… I knelt down and watched for a few minutes. Then I saw it again. Just a foot downstream of an underwater boulder…another rise. I then fumbled to tie on a 5 or 6X tippet (I can’t remember already) and a size 14-16 Parachute with my 15 fingers. After finally putting the terminal rig together, I cast out the line. The fluro pink parachute stood out well amidst the shadow patched water. After two casts, the pink parachute disappeared in a dimple of water and I set the hook. The fish put up a short but spirited fight and even leapt one or twice. Eventually, I bought the fish in to the bank and was very pleasantly surprised to see a brown trout! I was expecting to see a rainbow but I realized that the fisheries did stock brown in here too.

So, the rest of the afternoon went quite productively. Each pocket of water more or less held fish. I caught and released around 8 – 10 browns. Curiously only browns were caught. I tried a couple of nymphs but they weren't as effective. I met a few bait fishermen using Berkeley Trout Eggs and they were catching only rainbows. It was only after talking to these guys did I realize I was in rattlesnake and mountain lion country. Goes to show how tunneled vision I can get when in pursuit of fish.

Here are some more photos of the trip -

My One and Only Sebarau

It was still dark when I started the walk in towards the river. By the time I got to it, there was barely enough light for me to set up. The river was in full flow, having rained the past couple of days. Amidst the roar of the flowing water, I fumbled in the dark as I tried to thread the 5 lb tippet to my Pheasant Tail Nymph (PTN). Finally, by the saving light of my handphone, I managed to tie the hook and was ready for business.

Casting upstream into the white water at the head of the pool, the current quickly pulled the line and fly past me. I wasn't quite ready for the swift flow and quickly re-cast to the same spot. This time I put in a mend and followed the fly with my rod. After a few passes, there were no takers, so I went and stood right next the white water and cast into the current seam. Aiming just into the fast current flow, I let the fly drift into the slack water hoping the fish would be there waiting for some tasty morsel to come out of the raging current. After 10 minutes, still no bites. Maybe it was still too early?

Fishing on fruitlessly, the darkness gradually faded away as the sky brightened and I could hear the odd splash of fish feeding. After snagging and losing my fly to the bottom, I switched to a size 12 beadhead PTN. Casting back to the white water, I let the fly drift as far as I could before casting again. The fly occasionally found the bottom but I managed to retrieve the fly, after all, having the nymph roll along the bottom is good!

Then a hit! The tug on the line woke me up from my stupor. The fish wasn't big, and I was half expecting a peacock bass. Instead, showing me its broadside was a cichlid type tilapia. This was interesting! A few casts later, another one. Then some more...

I didn't expect this type of fish species (sorry, no pic!) to be in such fast water. Apparently, they were all hanging out at the edge of the white water and picking on the nymphs and bugs that came out from the churning water. After a couple more of the cichlids, I moved down to the quieter water to try for peacocks and sebarau.

Up until now, I had never hooked a sebarau and was quite looking forward to get one; and this was the ideal place for it! Changing from nymphs to small clousers and surf candies, I failed to raise any peacocks. I could see a big one next to the rocks but he wasn't interested in any of the numerous flies put before him, only occasionally going for my fly line. I finally managed to hook a peacock on an all white baby surf candy. It was only when I was playing the fish that the big one began to chase the hooked fish looking for a easy meal!

It was past seven thirty when I went back to the flowing white water for another go. By now it was bright and I could see the bottom of the river better. After hooking a few more cichlids,
I noticed a ghostly shadow following the hook cichlids then swimming away at the last minute.

"Could it be...?" I wondered. I called old Master Q (yes, at 7:40am!) to confirm if sebaraus took nymphs. "Yes, yes.." was the answer. It was now almost eight and time to leave... just a few more casts..!

Suddenly, the rod jolted and took a deeper bend than usual. This fish was definitely much bigger than the others thus far. The fish then lunged forward taking a long run and the reel started to sing. The music from the reel said: "This is no cichlid or peacock!"

Wondering if the 5 lb tippet would hold, I played the fish just a little longer. In the mean time the reel seat was starting to come out of the rings from all the reeling I had to do. As you can see from the photo, it was a good thing I had 'O' rings to secure the reel, otherwise there would be a sebarau swimming around wearing a fly reel as a fashion accessory.

When the sebbie was finally landed, I cradled it up and took my few shots and put it back in the water as soon as I could. It was such an exhilarating experience. I cannot wait for the next trip to try again!


Many thanks to Master Q for the advice!

Til the next time...

BTW: You might want to check out TarponCraz with his similar encounter at -- http://flyfishingsg.proboards38.com/index.cgi?board=FreshWater&action=display&thread=1177210694&page=1

Abu Dhabi Beckons All Ye Fly Fishers!!

Its true! There are fish in the desert! Well.... at the edge of it anyway.

This time I'm in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates for a couple of days and the weather at this time of year is very pleasant, about 25-26 C in the day and below 20 C at night. I have fished here before use conventional tackle and fly gear. The locals like to use long (15-18 ft) poles to catch garfish and rabbitfish using bread, some will use bait, and even fewer use lures. There are also many Filipinos fishing here. These guys are usually fishing for fun and also to supplement their freezer.

So when they see a crazy chinaman waving a stick with line whizzing over their heads, they get very curious. The locals especially, like to stand in close and to the rear! But they're nice folks and very friendly.

The location of this fishing escapade takes place on a bridge that links the new Marina Mall and the city. The water below is coming through from the sea into a very large lagoon that stretches pretty much the length of the city skyline. The water is very clean and clear except after a dust/sand storm blows through. The current is quite strong, so is the wind. The best time to fish is just before dawn till about 10 am. That's when the fish are most active and feeding, also, the winds are not strong. In the summer months, it's also the coolest time to fish.

Yesterday morning, I went with my colleague, DP, to the bridge for a fishing session (lesson). DP had never fished before and was actually coming along to watch me for want of a better thing to do (but as you see in the photo above, he's not longer a virgin to spinning lures or fly fishing). After I set up my little spin stick and reel spooled with 12 lb Fireline, I tied on a Yozuri minnow. On my second cast, I saw a school of trevallys showing up and giving chase. Next cast...Hook Up! The little trevo was no match for the tackle and came up in a jiffy. The other guys fishing there were also surprised that we hooked up so quickly. The next fish came in 5 minutes later, about the same size as the first. There were bigger ones below, but the small eager beavers always appeared out of nowhere to grab the lure. DP was very excited and could believe that fishing could be so easy! I cast out the lure again and handed him the rod, after a couple of cranks he got a hit but the fish didn't connect. Out went the minnow again and this time he got a hook up and reeled in the fish, he was ecstatic and was really getting into this fishing business! So we took turns spinning and eventually he learnt to cast the lure. It also helped that the current was flowing away from the bridge as we could feed line out instead out casting far.

So while DP was entertaining himself with the spinning rod, I got out my 6 wt rod. I used a shooting head as I learnt from the previous trip that floating line doesn't work. Because of our height above water, a long cast didn't always mean the fly could be stripped over a long distance, so the sinking line helps keep the fly in the strike zone longer. Searching into my fly box, I picked an epoxy fly that resembled a 2 inch anchovy (something I tie for our Peacocks). I stripped out the shooting head and started to cast. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the usual stares, sniggers and utter disbelief from the onlookers. But after the second cast when I hooked up, the stares became eye bulgers as these guys couldn't believe that I could actually catch something.

The fish were all about palm size and some up to just under a kilo. We gave away all the fish we caught to the various guys fishing with us on the bridge.

After a couple of fish, DP was also very curious of how the fly could cast out so far without any lead weight. I gave him a quick rundown of the mechanics of the cast and how the stripping imparted action to the fly. I then made a quick cast out and handed him the rod to let him strip in the fly. At first he did it a little slowly and there were follows but no hits. As the stripping became faster, the hits followed and finally he had a hook up! However, because there was a lot of slack in the line, the fish came off. A few casts later, DP was lining in his first fly caught fish. Not bad for a first time fisherman! Of course the fish were very cooperative and willing to please.


This morning, Day 2, DP was having a little jet lag and slept in while I went out on my own. When I arrived, I looked down at the water and saw that it was much clearer than yesterday. There was a different set of Filipinos at the spot and were busy catching garfish and also bottom fishing. I wasted no time rigging up and out went to the trusty epoxy fly. Second cast later saw a repeat of yesterday. Up came a trevally.

Six identical twins later, I changed to a larger white streamer fly and hooked up and landed their older sibling.

I was using a 16 lb Fluorocarbon tippet with a braided leader. It was heavy enough to avoid any bust offs, but was used mainly for lifting the fish up the bridge. I also tried using a chartreuse over white clouser which was equally effective.


When I finally hit fish no. 12 or 13, I decided to try the other side of the bridge. So, after crossing 8 lanes (4 on each side) and a road divider I reached the other side of the bridge. The water was deeper on this side and at first glance, it looked quite dead. But I know that there were fish here because on my last visit in 2006, I had seen a BIG school of maybe 100 barracudas hanging in the current. As usual, the epoxy fly went over for the first probing cast. Quiet. Second cast, still nothing. Casting nearer to the breakwater, the epoxy fly was nearing the end of its run when from deep down, three trevally came up to give chase. By the time I saw them, my arm was already raised up for another cast and the fly lifted out of the water. But I saw that they were much bigger than their brethren from the other side. Over the next few casts, I managed to hook up and land several kilo sized specimens that fought pretty hard.


The fourth trevally I caught here was a heavier fish. As the previous fish were all hauled up using the rod, I felt that the weight of this one might just be too much for the rod. Thankfully, I had a helpful and most willing 'deckhand' to handline the fish up. Of course, all the fish I had previously caught were flapping away in his cooler box! So it was like this for the rest of the morning, I caught the fish and my friend unhooked them. My heart skipped a couple of beats on a few occasions when a large bluefin trevally (about 5kg) barged in on the fun of the other smaller fish. There was also a small school of very large jacks of similar size to the bluefin that swam by a few times.

Towards the end, I switched to spin tackle again because the line burn on my finger was getting sore. My 'deckhand' asked how he could get hold of 'this type' of (fly)fishing rod. I explained that he didn't have to get a fly rod to be able to catch trevallys. So I tied up a spinfly rig and showed him how to fish it. As for flies, I recommended white chicken feathers or raffia with some flash.

All in all, it had been a fun filled day and one of my better saltwater fly fishing days ever!

..............And there's still tomorrow!


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Photos of Past New Zealand Forays

Part III of New Zealand Fishing

This is the final installment of my New Zealand adventures. More like photo journal actually. I'm no photographer so hopefully the scenery will compensate for the crummy compositions!

October 2005 -- Some shots of rivers and lakes somewhere over the mountain range on the descent into Christchurch. This is I think the 13th of October, so its just around the start of the fishing season. Still quite cold.

On this trip I rented a car to fish the Hurunui River. Because I arrived in NZ around noon, and got the car only at 3pm, I only had the late afternoon to fish somewhere near Christchurch before the big day out the following day. At the suggestion of Mike, the fly shop 'man to ask', I found my way to Hart's Creek. This place is south of the city and it's a small stretch of stream that ends up in a large bay exiting into the Pacific. It has mainly Brown trout and the fish are very easily spooked probably because of the fishing pressure.

As you can see, the stream is not very wide, but it is quite deep in some of the pools. The browns tend to hide tight against the banks - sometimes even under the undercuts. Most of the time you have to fish from the top of the bank as there is almost no shallow water to step into. The banks drop right off -like our longkang (drain).

Then there are also the ever curious locals that you have to be careful in order to avoid hooking up on your backcasts!

Being still a green trout fisherman, it was inevitable that I spooked most of the fish. But it was a nice evening and a really scenic, cosy stream to fish in.

The next day, I left Christchurch early in the morning and drove almost 3 hours up to the Hurunui River. This is (supposed to be)one of the good dependable rivers with good trout density. As usual, there were locals on the drive up that one just had to stop to give the right of way to.

The drive up on sealed road was easy going, after about 2 hours the road became shingled, ie - loose gravel. One can only travel about 40-50 km/h, plus there are lots of twists and turns(see the following pictures).

But, the views are fantastic and breathtaking. These shots are on the way in along the river.

..........And more photos of the Hurunui.. I tried nymphing at the pool (right) but no fish. The water at the base of the rock face was 8 -10 meters deep!

I finally reached the end of my ride near the fork in the river and had to take a short hike up to the south branch of the river. Crossing the Sisters Swing Bridge to fish the opposite I saw a mother of a trout below! It looked like a meter long barracuda swimming slowly in the head of a deep pool. I scrambled down and tried my darnest to catch that leviathan -nymphs, Wolly Buggers, Matukas, even Clousers. Giving up, I crossed over the bridge and slowly worked my way up river. (Mike told me later that it might have been a salmon).

After a couple of hours in the cold water and thinking of the long trek back downriver, plus the walk back to the car, I gave up fishing just about the spot in the photo on the right.

When I finally got back to the car around 3pm, I weighed my options - go back to Christchurch or fish the waters that I drove past on the way in. If I continued to fish the Hurunui, I'd have to drive back around sunset and that means driving into night. I decided to leave the river for another assault some other time and fish the Waimakariri River on the way into Christchurch.

If you had read this post thinking you'd see many pictures of trout, well, sorry to disappoint you. But since you persevered thus far, I'm happy to show you the result of my earlier decision to fish the Waimakariri - My First NZ trout! A small rainbow caught while downstream nymphing.

So ends my NZ chronicles, until the next trip of course!! Thanks for your time and next time I'll bring your Desert Fly Fishing!

Cheers!

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