Every day, we get news on sweet catches and dream spots from around the world. Videos, pictures, tales and more. Today, we got some words from photographer David Lambroughton, words that describe great times in a great land. You’ll probably enjoy these words as much as we did, so here they go. You can take a look at some of his fantastic shots too.
“Hello from British Columbia, where a late Spring and a healthy snowpack will make for happy Trout Streams and Steelhead Rivers all summer long. After another 5 month submersion in New Zealand Trout Fishing, I’m trying to re enter society with lots of spring skiing and laps in the pool while I try and remember how all the remotes on the coffee table work.
Just a couple of weeks ago I was racing the setting sun while driving across the Desert Highway towards my North Island Base after another mostly South Island Summer. I had the windows down and the music up, and being reminded once again of what a great voice Sarah McLachlan has…another Good Keen Canadian Gal of course! I was thinking about the season and all the stops along our routes. I thought about the big fish that were lost and those that were not. But mostly I thought about all the friends, and rivers, and the nightly dinner parties in the little farm cottages that we often rent and the wonderfully friendly plate licking frisbee mad dogs and cats that usually come with them. To stay in such places and fish remote areas, where everyone waves when you drive by and where you leave the car keys in the ignition, and never lock a door with cameras and lenses and laptops left all over the place, is such a rejuvenating counter balance to much of the rest of the world. It is something I appreciate more every year; being reminded that the world is not as Fucked Up as the the Daily News Feeds often portrays it to be.
Like every season, this came with some new discoveries like the little spring ponds that dot the MacKenzie Country Foothills, at the base of Southern Alps. They have some crazy large Browns in them and make for a nice easy day to rest your legs after some super long slog up a river the day before. Also on the Discovery List are a number of small streams that I had overlooked for decades. Like so many anglers I was often drawn to the “Famous Rivers” with thoughts of catching something huge. But more and more, I find myself wandering up a new little stream that barely even gets a mention, if at all, in the John Kent Guide Books. They are perfect environments for fat, small headed (mostly female) fish in the 3 to 5+ pound range, that can load your 4 or 5 weight rod up right to the cork as you try and keep them out of the lumber and lettuce. With the smaller streams also comes less wind issues, fewer footprints and better fish spotting with more stream side foliage backdrops to break the glare. So in the late Fall, when I’m freezing my ass off on some Steelhead River, I won’t be dreaming about the Oreti, or Ahuriri, ‘Tiki, etc., it will be about these little gems that few people seem to pay much attention to. For those of us “Playing on the Back Nine” they are a perfect match and every new one is like a Wonderful First Date.
As for the North Island, the first thing I did when I got back to Turangi was to go over to the Tongariro River Motel to say hello to the owner, Ross Baker. But the first thing I noticed when I pulled into this Fisherman’s Haven was that the place was absolutely packed with anglers, the result of the Tongariro having an utterly superb summer/fall season and a good Cicada Year as well. So I went and had a chat with Michael Dedual, the local Biologist for the Department of Conservation who studies and watches the Tongariro and Lake Taupo System like a Hawk and flat out calls the Tongariro River one the greatest trout rivers of the world and he’s got a point. When the Plankton, Daphnia, and Smelt Population in the lake are in balance, big things happen and 60,000+ Rainbows will run the river, and with fast growth rates many of the early fish will come in months ahead of any spawning and will be at their Prime Silver Fattest Best. On top of this you can add Smart Browns that will average about 7 pounds and a few weighting twice that, so floating the river in small boat like a Water Strider (rowing skills required) and tossing big rubber legged dries under the overhanging trees and willows and probing the back channels can really turn into some unforgettable days and will make angler’s who chase Summer Runs feel right at home.
So if you haven’t been to N.Z. and are thinking about it, there’s a couple of great places to start your homework. Reading Chis Dore’s Website and Blog (ChrisDore.Com) is a generous sharing of information from one of the most respected guides in the country. Also, the great N.Z. Writer Derek Grzelewski has done it again with, "The Trout Bohemia” to go with last year’s great book, “The Trout Diaries.” He also wrote a superb story for North and South Magazine called, “Saving Trout Country” that should be shortly appearing on his Blog/Website; DerekGrzelewski.Com and it brings the fight for clean water with the Dairy Industry to the front page and has garnered lots of support for doing the right thing for the long term health of the rivers and streams. Hats off to Derek. Another contact that should be in everyone’s address book is for Nigel Birt (mail@backcountry.co.nz). I first met him about 25 years ago when he was the “Chore Boy/Fly Tier” for Lake Brunner and he has always impressed me for being much wiser than his years. He’s got his finger on the pulse of some wonderful Alpine Spring Creeks in the Canterbury Area, among other waters. He also has the perfect Guide Demeanor, like the legendary Tony Entwistle, that doesn’t tighten clients up when they blow/choke on some mega fish. Hey, it’s just fishing.
Here are a few photos from this past N.Z. Season that caught my eye and there are lots more just injected into my website galleries at: DavidLambroughton.Com. Most were taken with my new little Fuji XE-2 that I love hiking up and down the rivers with. Hopefully I’ll click a few keepers this coming summer and fall as I make the rounds.
So there you go. One season ends and another begins and for all you people who buy my words, images, canvas prints, or my annual Fly Fishing Dreams Calendar, I would just like to say, Thank You Thank You Thank You. Without you I might have just been another Seagull at the dump fighting over a fish head.
Good Fishing, Safe Travels,
David Lambroughton
One Horse Ranch B.C.”