Fly Odyssey - Newsletters

Huge NZ Brown trout

2010-03-01T12:39:00.000-08:00

Congratulations goes out to Fly Odyssey client Mike Naylor who landed the fish of a lifetime while on a recent visit to Owen River Lodge. It was Mike's first trip to New Zealand and he managed to fool this 11 3/4 pound brown trout. Apparently it was the largest fish landed out of Owen River lodge since opening and is just one of many double figure fish taken by their clients this season. Looks to have been a mouse feeder at some point. Mike finished his 3 day stint at the lodge with another 3 fish over 6 1/2 pounds including one fish over 9lb. 2010 really was the year of the big fish in New Zealand.

For 2011 hosted trip, self drive and lodge itineraries please Contact us via email or call 01621 743711.

Fly Fishing New Zealand Week 2

2010-02-24T05:01:00.000-08:00

Our second week of hosted fishing was based in the McKenzie District. Arguably the most scenic part of the country it boast some great brown and rainbow trout fishing. While in the McKenzie we spent time with local Twizel guide Steve Carey and the 'wandering' guide Ian Cole. Both are top class guides and a good laugh around the BBQ as well.

• Paul with a great fish from a big high country river (Image courtesy Paul Procter)

The week was spent fishing the various high country rivers and spring creeks that drain the McKenzie basin. We had another fine week of weather with temperatures exceeding 30 deg C most days with clear blue skies and light winds. This got the tussock cicada in a good mood and provided some of the best cicada fishing I have seen in the McKenzie. A day on the Ahurriri River was most memorable with the fish really homing in on any cicada that was drift down a bubble line. For all the guys this day will be long remembered.

• Dormer with another big McKenzie District brown trout taken from a small tarn.

The biggest fish of the week went to UK angler Ben Garnett who landed managed to land an 8lb fish out of one the numerous small tarns that are scattered through the region The fish was taken on a tiny size 18 corixa pattern. This made up for a large fish lost by Ben earlier in the week which ate his cicada and came off after a long fight.

• Ben with a fine looking 8lb stillwater brown.

Just goes to show the diversity of the fishing sight fishing available. You can stalk big rivers, small spring creeks, bustling freestone streams and small stillwaters all sight fishing to fish exceeding 3lb in weight.

• John proves that you can find big fish in the tiniest of streams in New Zealand. This fish went 4lb on the scales.

Are you interested in joining one of our New Zealand hosted fly fishing adventures in 2011? Trips will be run from 22nd January, 2011. Space is extremely limited. For further details please contact us.

New Zealand Fly Fishing Report

2010-02-23T00:36:00.000-08:00

Well we have just completed three weeks of hosted fly fishing throughout the South Island of New Zealand. Over the coming days we will be updating the newsletters page with detailed reports of the fishing that was had. The guys on this trip were lucky enough to experience great weather with bright sunshine and warm conditions on most days which resulted in great sight fishing opportunities and lots of insect activity which had the trout looking skywards.

• A relaxed lunch on the banks of the Mataura (Image courtesy of Dormer Treffry).

WEEK 1 Fly fishing Southland

Week one which was based out of Simon Chu's TROUT COTTAGE in Lumsden. Trout cottage is a little fly fishing hut in Lumsden and provides an ideal base for traveling anglers. Full of NZ associated fly fishing memorabilia it sets the scene for a week fishing SOuthland. Lumsden is in the heart of some of Southland's best fly fishing country with rivers such as the Mataura and Oreti and their associated tributaries a short drive away. The first week resulted in some fantastic dry fly fishing. The willow grubs and cicada's seemed to come on as the weather warmed and the water levels dropped from the previous weeks rain.

• A Southland willow grubber. These fish are usually frustratingly difficult but Paul's willow grub pattern fooled each and every willow grubber we came across. Luck or great design? Its the most successful willow grub pattern I have used be we will find out again next year. (Image courtesy of Paul Procter)

One of the great aspects of fishing Southland is the diversity of fishing situations. One location will find fish sitting high in the water column sipping down willow grubs. One afternoon on a high bank on the Matarua we found fish stacked up waiting for cicadas or blowfly's to hit the water and then there is always the ever present backwater fish. Several of the larger backwaters would find 4-5 big browns cruising for nymphs or looking up for drowned blowflies.

• Dormer with a feisty Mataura brown. An hour was spent on this fish with over a dozen fly changes. At times it lay within 3 feet of our position. Keep still and they won't know you are there!!! (Image courtesy of Dormer Treffry)

Dormer, Pete and Paul all enjoyed some memorable catches in all of these situations with fish ranging from 3-5lb. Of course as always in New Zealand there was the missed opportunities. Large fish that make it back to the willows, several straightened hooks and the ever present 'quick strike' that succeeds in pulling the fly out of the fish's mouth before he has a chance to taste it!!

Paul with a big cicada munching Oreti brown trout (Image courtesy of Paul Procter).

Are you interested in joining one of our New Zealand hosted fly fishing adventures in 2011? Trips will be run from 22nd January, 2011. Space is extremely limited. For further details please contact us.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T03:43:00.000-08:00

Just a quick thank you to all those who have booked trips and travelled with us in 2009. We at Fly Odyssey wish you all a very Merry Christmas and and a festive time catching up with family and friends over the New Year period. We have some new and exciting developments for 2010 which include:

1. We will be running the first exploratory liveaboard trips to French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Kanton island in the Pacific in the newly built liveaboard BONEFISH (See pic below). We will be releasing dates and prices in early January 2010.

2. We are now the exclusive European agent for Casa Veijo Chac in Punta Allen, Ascension Bay, Mexico. The 'Casa' is local permit guru Manuel Chac's 4 room lodge with a capacity for 8 anglers. Fly Odyssey clients have been fishing with Manuel for several years and always return full of praise. The lodge offers the most competitive pricing in the region and is a must for the Permit junkie to visit.

3. We have also teamed up with Chile's finest trout fishing outfit Estancia Del Zorro and Cincos Rios Lodge. The Estancia is a 15000 acre property that it is riddled with springfed streams which are stuffed with big brown trout (as the photo below attests). Cincos Rios is situated on the banks of the world famous Rio Simpson and offers the chance to drift, wade and even jetboat into the headwaters and tributaries chasing the brown and rainbow trout as well as the salmon that inhabit this system.

4. We have also joined forces with Palm Valley Outfitters in the US who are exploring and opening up new and unfished waters deep in the Southern Yucatan Peninsula as well as operating a lodge in South texas for Redfish and white-wing dove shooting. Jeff at Palm Valley will also be acting as our US agent and running some saltwater fly fishing hosted trips to Christmas Island and Australia so if you have any questions about any of the destinations that we offer and are based in the US please give Jeff a call on (956) 428566 or email Palm Valley Outfitters for more information.

Merry Christmas
Mat

Ascension Bay Trip Report

2009-12-07T07:57:00.000-08:00

We have just had two large groups of anglers down in Ascension Bay in November. Paul Procter UK angling writer and guide has put together a summary of their fortnight below. Paul will be taking a group back to Casa Blanca Lodge in March for those interested in joining a trip with him.

Paul's Report

November 2009 proved a highpoint in my season during a visit to Ascension Bay. Given light breezes the first week we were treated to exceptional conditions. Consequently, blue skies and clear water allowed for top drawer sight fishing. Better still the highly prized and much elusive permit were up on the flats and even in a cooperative mood (does it get any better?). The group landed no less than 12 permit in the first two days with other fish being reported hooked and lost, I can tell there’s not many places that boast such stats.

To be honest, I’d gone in search of bonefish, but to squander such an opportunity would have been unforgivable. Besides, forgetting all around me, I turned to a gibbering wreck when the guide whispered “permit”, nothing can prepare you for the moment those dark sickle like tails come ghosting into view. Thankfully, following good fortune, by lunchtime the first day our skiff had three decent permit under its belt, not a bad start to the 14 day campaign!

With permit being seen and cast to everyday, it was hard to tear yourself away from the hunt. However, a few sessions wading ankle deep water, looking for tailing bonefish proved just as exhilarating. Nothing beats seeing those slender, transparent tails glinting in the sun from afar. I have fond memories for spending the penultimate day strolling along a golden shallow flat. With so many fish to throw at, it was even possible to target larger specimens. Believe me, 6lb of hooked bonefish has blistering pace in skinny water. More substantial bones were contacted, but their guile and speed certainly outdid me, especially amongst mangrove roots.

The breeze eventually yielded to cooler east winds which in turn favoured tarpon and snook. Either side of high water, we poled the mangrove margins for such tenacious predators and were handsomely rewarded with tarpon topping 40lb and snook into double figures. On a 10-weigth outfit the ensuing battle is real “heart in the mouth” stuff. What with dolphins, turtles, flamingos and even crocodiles watching on, it’s hard to imagine any better experience. However, chatting with the guides on our recent visit, aside from the usual suspects they reckon March is a prime time when permit can be found in numbers. With that, our scheduled trip in March 2010 to Ascension Bay promises to be something very special indeed.

We have a few spaces left on trips to Ascension Bay in 2010 but these trips are filling fast. If you are interested in joining one of these or fishing Ascension Bay at any time of year please contact us on +44 (0) 1621 743711 or email us.

Turneffe Permit

2009-11-12T08:39:00.000-08:00

Congratulations goes out to Phil who landed his first Permit while fishing down at Turneffe Flats last week. The group had tough weather with rain and overcast skies from Hurricane Ida making fishing conditions difficult. Here is his story. Makes me want to get out onto the flats just reading about it.

Hiya Matt,

I got it on a Merkin, hook size 1. We chased the pod of permit up and down the mangrove shore, going through the fly box as we went. Gave it three good shots per angler per fly then swapped over and changed the fly. The guide said our best chance was if the fish moved in close, right up against the mangroves. They did and I was lucky enough to be standing on the pointy end of the boat at the time.

The fight was scary, several long searing runs, sometimes towards the mangroves or close in along the shore. I was convinced it'd get snagged and break me but I guess the fishing gods were smiling on me that day. I still don’t quite believe I actually landed (boated?) the fish.

cheers,

Phil

Orvis hosted fly fishing arranged by Fly Odyssey

2009-10-28T15:11:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to be involved the launch of a range of hosted fly fishing trips to some of the worlds finest fresh and saltwater destinations in conjunction with Orvis UK. Orvis have recently added the whole range of trips which include destinations such as Mexico, Iceland, Bosnia and the Bahamas to their UK website where the trips are detailed in full.

Bookings can be made via the Orvis Sporting Traditions Agency or by contacting Fly Odyssey.

Alphonse Island Report

2009-10-21T13:42:00.001-07:00

Mad keen saltwater fly fisherman Mike Youkee has just returned from Alphonse island after visiting during the opening week of the season. He has provided a very informative report which can be read below. We have some special deals at Alphonse this season so if you are planning on fishing the Seychelles in 2010 this is a great time to book.

Hi Mat

Well, just got back from Alphonse and difficult to describe how good the trip was. After two days resting up in Mahe (the main island of the Seychelles) after the long trip down, I met up with the rest of the group for the flight down to Alphonse. This takes around an hour as Alphonse is some 250 miles southwest of Mahe.

The group comprised eight anglers including me -- a Spanish lawyer and his wife, an American author and his wife, two South African guys, an expat Brit based in Hong Kong and me. I was paired up with John Mitchell the expat in the boats, although all rooms were single occupancy except for the married couples. So, there is no fear of having to share with someone who snores like a gorilla, or vice versa!

The guides are of various nationalities -- South African, Norwegian, American, Seychellois and are highly competent and experienced. Their boat handling is fantastic and needs to be, particularly when fishing outside the reef for milkfish. The day starts with a trip over from Alphonse the resort island, to St François where the fishing takes place. Once inside the reef the anglers are deployed from the big boat with their guides in the skiffs. The trip over takes around 30 minutes and it is a good time to put on your sunblock and make minor kit adjustments.

On the first day, John and I were teamed up with Vaughn who trains the guides and we had a trainee named Andrew, who was very good. We were very soon into the bonefish and both had fish to seven pounds by lunchtime with many specimens of around four to five pounds. There were very few juvenile fish and although we did see some, there were some real hogs of bonefish mixed in with the average size of around three pounds. We rounded off the day by species bashing over the edge of the coral and had some interesting fish -- juvenile bluefin, various snapper and spangled emperors. Indeed, even bonefishing you are quite likely to catch small bluefin, junior GT and that first day I picked up a small golden trevally, only the third that Vaughn had seen in his long involvement with the fishery.

Both John and I were keen to get stuck into the GTs and we spent much of the rest of the week chasing up GTs. We finished the week with John on two fish to my one, although we both had other hook ups and numerous sightings of fish. Of the eight anglers, and it must be said some were novices, five landed GT’s.

We had a shot at milkfish one morning when the tide was right outside the reef. The technique is to dead drift a weed fly through a school of milkfish and hopefully the two will connect. Not so in our case as we swam the fly through the school many times with no luck. Vaughn, of course, managed to hook and land a milkfish as well as catch the largest GT. The American author managed to hook up but parted company with the milkfish after 15 minutes, a kilometre from where he started.

There’s lots of fishing although more than the maximum of 10 anglers would cause a problem. The species diversity gladdens my heart as I find bone fishing great the first 2-3 days but I yearn something different after that. You can certainly find that at Alfonse. In the evenings you can fish right outside your chalet and depending on the tide you can reasonably hope for five or six bonefish and 10 or 12 fish of different species in the hour or so before dinner.

The accommodation and food is at the luxury end of the spectrum. Although it can cater for up to 90 guests the resort is only being used at the moment for anglers and this of course is to our benefit. There is a well equipped fishing centre where you can buy kit or tackle, or borrow equipment if you are unlucky to break a rod as I was.

It’s about the only destination in the Seychelles currently operating and compared to other visits to the Seychelles I have undertaken, the fishing has been of higher quality with a greater range of species -- I had never till this trip fished for milkfish. It’s on my radar for a return trip next year maybe coupled with a trip down to Cosmoledo.

Regards
Mike.

If you are planning on booking a trip to the Seychelles in 2010 then please contact us or call +44 1621743711.

Fly fishing in Bosnia

2009-10-21T03:35:00.000-07:00

Here's an article written by Jonathon Tomlinson of Sportfish, Reading on fly fishing in Bosnia. JOnathon took a small party of anglers there in June 2009 and is planning on heading back in 2010.

Trout fishing in Bosnia

I told one of my friends that I was going to go on a fishing trip to Bosnia - his reply was “I’ve heard there are some good deals on Afghanistan at the moment!” which for a non fisher I’m sure would be a fairly regular response!

When I was asked to go on an exploratory trip to see what Bosnia had to offer the budding fly fisherman, as ever I jumped at the chance to expand my fly fishing experience. A short 4 night and 3 day trip was just the ticket (and easy on the wallet). A 2 hour flight to Zagreb and we met with two of the guides form the lodge and set off on the 3 hour drive to what would be home for the next few days. The sun had set as we wound our way through the countryside full of anticipation of what the Ribnik and Pliva rivers had in store for us. If you conjure up a picture in your mind of Bosnia, for many it’s an image of the war torn country during the nineties that so regularly frequented our television sets, but the reality is somewhat different. We would just have to wait until the light of the morning before its true beauty was revealed by the rising sun.

We arrived a little after midnight having had a stop in a petrol station for a beer and a quick bite to eat. We threw our bags in the modern and highly impressive accommodation and got our heads down for the night; alarms set for an early start for a breakfast of free range eggs and locally cured bacon washed down with some excellent coffee, the ideal pick me up for the day ahead us. We inevitably woke at the crack of dawn as you always seem to do on the first morning, to walk out onto the balcony to one of the most stunning scenes imaginable. Heavily wooded mountains rose up from the river valley and stretched out in front of us, clouds licking the tops. A warm start to the day that surely would signal some impressive hatches from the River burbling below us. Expectations were high and rightfully so as we perused the on site tackle shop and marvelled at the huge trout and grayling that adorned the walls. A very wet couple of weeks had left the river running around 20-25 cm high but the fast flowing river (70cm+ per second) was still as clear as gin; the fronds of weed could be clearly seen swaying in the current from our elevated vantage point above. The Ribnik springs from under the Srnetica Mountain near the village of Gornji Ribnik and runs for around 6km before it empties in to the mighty Sana. It’s heavy flow and high oxygen levels make it a perfect habitat for insects and in turn - trout!

The targets for us would be the huge grayling and brown trout, as well as a few of the escapee rainbows from one of the fish farms along the banks which makes the most of the superb quality of water travelling through the countryside. Dry fly was going to be the main plan of attack during the copious hatches that occurred, when the rises dried up then small tungsten beaded nymphs would be called upon. The local anglers favored size 16, 18 and even 20 nymphs tied with tungsten beads to get down in the heavy flow together with long fluorocarbon leaders up to 5m in length. The technique was to fish square and down stream and across searching the pockets of marginally slower water towards the banks and under over hanging trees. With single fly being the rule on the river, many of the typical multi pattern techniques that we would adopt in the UK such as Czech nymphing and the Duo/Trio became redundant, so a steep learning curve was put in place as it had been several years since I hadn’t used more than 1 fly at a time for fishing sub-surface on flowing water.

We hoped for large hatches and during the frequent showers we had we weren’t disappointed, BWO’s, rusty spinners, huge Caddis, Stoneflies, flying Ants and the occasional Mayfly kept the free rising inhabitants and happy anglers more than occupied. Long leader of anything up to 15’ down to fine tippets of 6X and 7X gave us excellent presentation both upstream and fished down stream. Presentation was paramount in the clear cold water (around 6 degrees, thermals are a must!) to these wily fish, even the slightest bit of micro drag on your fly would result in a last minute refusal or no joy at all. Preparation of the fly and regular degreasing of leaders had to be second nature or the results would have been minimal. The river’s flow and currents picked holes in even the most experienced of casters abilities and highlighted how ‘on your game’ you had to be.

The Ribnik is a fairly wide river stretching as much as 25m+ in places but averaged around thigh height but its powerful flow meant that you had to take your time and be fairly confident in your wading abilities to reach the deeper runs that were holding some eager rising fish. A relatively even bottom; a mix of gravel and the odd larger stone made wading less challenging. The heavy pour of water causes a lack of sediment to build up so the bottom is solid, for those less able a wading stick would be of benefit as would a life jacket.

Those with an acute skill for spotting fish, the gravel bars highlighted the schools of grayling interspersed with chunky trout, hugging the bottom moving around to take nymphs that flowed down to them on an endless conveyor belt of food. Regularly spotting the emerging adults hatching out on the glistening surface above them the quarry ascended up and sipped them in with consummate ease giving their location away to us eagerly waiting in ambush. A well presented cast, a classic rise followed by a spirited tussle and the result; a stunningly marked brown trout heavily colored with black and red spots melting into a toffee caramel body, colour’s that looked like they could have only come straight from an artists pallet, at 8 inches it was perfection in miniature.

A characteristic of the Ribnik inhabitants is that they are very thick set unlike many of the fish that you would expect to find in fast flows, rather than lean long bodies these chunky fish have grown fat on the plethora of fly life found throughout the river system. Many of the fish that had Sercombe to our flies weighed far more than their otherwise short bodies would have suggested. These squat bully boys were deceptively heavy and when it came to their fighting capabilities definitely punched above their weight!

Tackle selections were fairly standard 9’ #4 or #5 weigh rods together with floating lines was ample for covering the water and turning over the long leaders that we were using and were ideal for pretty much all situation that you would encounter.

Towards the head of the river as it rises up from the base of the mountains lies a stretch that is affectionately known as the ‘Trophy Part’. Some 500 meters in length this area has virtually become a slow moving lake between its start and the man made weir at the bottom of the run. The azure blue waters look almost glacial in their appearance and are home to some enormous fish sitting ready in ambush for any unsuspecting fly that dare stay on the water for too long. In this deep section larger dry flies such as Grey Wulff, Stimulators, Caddis and large spinner patterns often do the damage but a well presented heavy nymph cast to one of these leviathans can be just as effective. After a couple of hours and several fish up to 3 or 4lbs, we could clearly see how it had earned its name and reputation. As we were walking back to the car to try another area of fast water with large dry flies, one of my fishing partners, Ian, was filling us in on the ‘submarine’ that had been sitting happily in front of him refusing everything he had; but then again I’m sure you don’t get to 5kg by being stupid!

All in all we were pleasantly surprised by the fishing and awestruck by the scenery, accommodation and the hospitality of the Bosnian people. By the end of the 3 day trip I had landed around 90 fish, which included some fat grayling up to 2lb but unfortunately the 4lb plus fish managed to evade me this time. Along with the grayling that we landed we also took Brown and Rainbow trout approaching the 2 and a half pound mark. Other members of the group managed Browns approaching 4lb in weight. The good news was that Goran the lodge manager told me that the River was fishing less well than it had all year so needless to say I can’t wait to get back and see just how good it can be when it’s firing on all cylinders.

We had a superb time and the ease of getting there and the lack of time needed away from work makes this a perfect trip for someone who is time poor or has a family that they can’t leave for a week or more at a time. Highly recommended not just for the fishing but the whole package so if you have thought about it in the past but never taken the plunge then I urge you to jump on a plane and give it a go!

2009-10-19T04:36:00.000-07:00

Nick Reygeart of Gin Clear media has just finished off a trailer of his latest film on Iceland. We have been closely involved with Nick's trip helping to organise access to many of the rivers he has fished including the Minnivallalaekur, Jokla, Breiodalsa and Tungalaekur. As you can see by this trailer the fishing is spectacular.

The Source-Iceland

In 2010 we have numerous hosted trips to each of these rivers. For those interested please contact us for more details.

Christmas Island Report

2009-09-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

Christmas island continues to fish well and produce big GT's on the flats. Here is a report from a recent trip to the island by James and Tracey staying in the best lodge on the island The Villages.

Hi Mat,

Got back on Friday so we're over the worst of the jetlag - had a great time, thanks.

We've been on a number of saltwater trips in the last few years or so and have always come back knowing exactly how many bonefish we've caught, the fact that we both gave up counting midway through the first day on Christmas Island gives some clue as to how prolific the fishing was. What was very surprising was just how close the bones would get before taking at times, we both had many takes when the leader was inside the tip ring. I'd advise anyone thinking of going to practice fast-draw roll casting to 15-20ft! (easier said than done if you have a 15ft leader!) I'd say the majority of the bones were in the 3-4lb bracket and the biggest we landed being in the region of 7lb, although we both had casts at bigger fish on most days.

As for the trevally, they obviously have some sort of look-out that tells them it's ok to amble up on to the flat as the guide is in possession of the 12 weight! Conversely, if you want to attract bonefish, hand the guide the #7 and carry the #12! On the rare occasions that I had the right rod in hand I found the GTs to be quite schizophrenic in nature, timid and spooky at times whilst incredibly aggressive at others. I found sparkly white surface poppers best at eliciting a suitable response. One such response left me nursing a bruised and bleeding hand and looking down at a broken fly-line! (I failed to clear the line that was running towards me in the tide, in a fraction of a second it caught on my bum-bag and subsequently snapped like cotton just behind the head). This fish was estimated as well in excess of 50lb, however I did land them to 35-40lb. We also saw some monsters towards the 100lb bracket.

As for other species, we caught blue-fin trevally, snapper, goat-fish, ladyfish, trigger fish (or fly robbing *******s as I re-named them), queen fish and the occasional unintentional puffer fish! (plus various reef fish on bottom gear). There were also huge numbers of big milkfish towards the ocean side of the lagoon that could be targeted given the right algae flies. The dolphins that surfed the boats bow waves when heading out were also spectacular as were the manta rays within the lagoon.

One thing you don't mention is that the villages has a surprisingly well stocked tackle shop. I managed to replace the 12wt line that I broke as well as stocking up on some well tied flies. Rods and reels are also available, which was handy once the guides started breaking our rods! A bad cast with a teaser put paid to Tracy's T&T and a bizarre incident involving a shoal of smallish GTs led to the demise of my borrowed 12 weight (the guide pointed the direction they were coming from by dipping the tip into the water - the fish subsequently charged the rod breaking 2 inches off it!).

Overall the fishing on Christmas Island really suited what we enjoy doing most i.e. wading the flats. I'm sure we'll be going back at some point - I have got a score to settle with a certain GT after all.

All the best,
James

We will be running several groups to Christmas Island in 2010 so please get in touch for more information.

Iceland: Monster Brown Trout

2009-08-28T03:23:00.000-07:00

Iceland is home to one of the oldest strains of brown trout in the world. It is believed that the fish of the Minnivallalaekur river link back to the brown trout present in Iceland at the last Ice Age 1,3000 years ago. Through genetic popultion research these fish are believed to have been involved in two post glaciation re-colonisations of brown trout through Northern Europe. I recently visited Iceland for these brown trout with UK wild brown trout enthusiast Paul Procter to check out these fish for ourselves prior to our recent Orvis hosted trip to the Minnivallalaekur lodge.

The Minnivallalaekur lodge makes an impression on you right from the start. Sitting as close to the home pool as possible the lodge offers panoramic views to the inspiring and active Mount Hekla. But it is the three large speciens of brown trout adorning the walls that make any fly fisherman drool. These fish all in excess of 10lb provide a motivation to tackle up quickly and get onto the water. The river itself is spring fed and crystal clear offering the opportunity to see these monsters lying on station in the deeper pools when the conditions cooperate.

Over the three days of fishing we caught glimpses of 10lb+ fish but trophy brown trout don't come easy no matter where you fish in the world for them. Instead we managed fish in the 24-26 inch range, the largest of these weighing in at 6 and 1/2 pounds. An epic wild fish by anyone's standards.

Iceland is only a short 2 hour 30 minute flight from the UK and provides a unique experience. Having fished New Zealand for over a dozen seasons I was most impressed with the quality of fishing on offer. In fact I came to the conclusion that if a trophy fish was what I was after then Minnivallalaekur river would most likely be my first port of call.

In 2010 we will be running two group trips to the Minnivallalaekur lodge. The first will be during the first week of July 2010 during the prime black fly hatch. The second will be last week of August when the terrestrial flies like 'daddy long legs' abound and the brown trout become more aggressive with their spawning urges beginning to take over. For details and pricing please contact us or call +44 1621743711.

CLA Gamefair

2009-07-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

We will be participating in the CLA Gamefair on the 24th, 25th and 26th of July at Belvoir Castle, Grantham. We have a couple of special guests on our stand this year. Jeff Kean of Casa Blanca Lodge in Ascension Bay, Mexico will be joining us. Casa Blanca is the finest fly fishing lodge in Mexico and known as the Grand Slam capital of the world. For those who love to fish for bonefish, permit and tarpon this lodge offers all three in abundance. Jeff will be available to talk fishing and about the lodge facilities all weekend.

We also have joining us Nick Reygaert of Gin Clear media. Nick has been involved in fly fishing film production for many years and will be showcasing Gin Clears latest release The Search - Tasmania. Nick will also be promoting the UK's first fly fishing film festival to be held later in 2010 so if you are interested in seeing the latest in fly fishing film on the big screen drop by to find out about dates and locations for what is sure to be a great event.

We have also team up with Trout Guides and Lodges Tasmania and are offering one free 4 night/3 day fully guided fly fishing trip to Tasmania for one lucky person who signs up to our newsletter.

The trip will include: Flights Ex Sydney/Brisbane or Melbourne, 4 nights accommodation ( 1 night Hobart/ 3 nights Central Tablelands), 3 full days guided fly fishing and all ground transfers while in Tasmania. This prize will be drawn at the completion of the weekend so to be in for a chance to win please drop by our stand and fill out a form for the draw.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

All the Best
Mat

New Belize Destination: Hopkins

2009-06-15T01:12:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to unveil our new Southern Belize destination. Hopkins village is located a 20 minute flight South of Belize city in the Stann Creek district. This small fishing village is located a short run to some of the world's most prolific permit flats. Combine this with the countless lagoons that tarpon make their home and the ever present bonefish and you find yourself in an ideal saltwater fly fishing location. This destination will be part of our hosted fly fishing packages will several hosted trips running in 2010. We have just had UK fly fishing writer Toby Coe head down to Belize and check out the place and here are his thoughts:

Mat,

All of my nonsense about 'not being particularly fussed about permit' turned out to be exactly that as soon as I got to Belize. Like probably every other flyfisher that has ever seen that big black tail waving in the air, I was an instant convert. Although a remarkably unsuccessful one. Due to sheer ineptitude on my part, I didn't land any permit during my three days of fishing with Jim, although I got a lot of shots. However, Jim did have a nice fish of around 7-8lb.

I was amazed by the number and size of permit we saw on the flats. On our best day, we probably saw 40-50 permit, including a couple of shoals of around a dozen fish. They weren't small either - Jim reckons the average size of permit down there is about 10-12lb and we saw some clonking fish, including a really nice fish in the mid-20s that gave me a severe case of buck fever.

Caught a few bones too and saw bonito and jacks smashing bait, plus a heap of tarpon, both out around the cays and also in the creeks and mangroves. The sheer variety of fishing in the area really has to be seen to be believed.

Jim's house is fantastic! Beautifully finished, very comfortable and right on the beach. There are some great local restaurants and bars nearby as well. Hopefully the attached pics will help give an idea of what it's like out there!

Cheers, Toby

For trip information please check our Special Offers page.

Christmas Island keeps producing great catches

2009-06-03T04:27:00.000-07:00

Hi Matt,

.............. anyway christmas island what can you say! Well firstly its a long way but dont let this put you off, its a wonderful place and a great adventure for all you fly fishermen/women. We stopped at The Villages a small complex of 6 chalets 50metres from the fishing boats. They were quite new clean and were of a good size with all that you reqire including a fridge of beer.

When you tell people about the this trip you get the same old questions how was the hotel, pool and food ? Well their isn't a pool or hotel and the food is quite basic but tasty. Remember you are in the middle of the Pacific and that flight only arrives once a week. The flight is on a small twin prop plane that can seat 20 people but its no worse than your usual flight to Spain or Greece.

Primarily this was a bonefishing trip but turned into 3 days bonefishing and 3 days blue water fly fishing . Yes if you want to fish for bones and GT's then you can and you will catch plenty with the average size being 2-4lb with some bigger fish in the 8-10lb bracket to be found, but to fish just for the bones would be doing the island an injustice as their is such a variaty of other species out their waiting to be caught....... and they are big so go prepared with heavy lines and plenty of spare poppers and lures, THOSE GT PULL LIKE MAD AND LIKE THE ROCKS.

During the trip we managed to hook and land bones with the biggest being in the 6lb bracket, giant trevally, bluefin trevally, golden trevally, skip jack tuna, baracuda and wahoo. We also lost big GT's ,Wahoo and one shark. The best flies seemed to be the standard christmas island special in pink, orange and pearl for the bonefish and the blue flashy decievers and abel anchovy for GT's and tuna with the lures and poppers being about 25-30g 100mm long again blue mackerel colours being most productive.

Mike Marao was our guide for the week that's him with the big smile. He will put you on the fish, spot the bones and knows were to fish in the ocean and nothing is a problem. Always on time, flexible and ready with advise should you require it.

So should you go to christmas island YES!
Would I go back YES IN A SHOT!

So that said its a big thanks to matt and mike for a great trip!

P.S There are no fishing tackle shops on Christmas Island so take extra line and backing ect. If you do forget somthing there are 2 shops in Waikiki.

cheers and good luck
John and Angela

Belize: Fly fishing for Permit

2009-05-09T02:16:00.000-07:00

Permit on the flats are probably the ultimate challenge for the saltwater fly fisherman. This year we have seen an increasing demand from anglers for travel to locations where they have a chance at getting good numbers of shots at permit. We have had anglers land permit in Mexico and Cuba this season but the country that has produced more fish than anywhere else has been Belize. We have had anglers fish out of both Turneffe Flats and Tarpon Caye Lodge this season and all reported seeing more permit than at any other location they have fished. The trick of course is getting them to eat your fly and happily, enough of them did to make for some memorable fishing trips.

Turneffe Flats
Turneffe offers an expceptional quality lodge experience and is well suited with activities for the non-fishing partner and family holidays. They also have some of the most experienced permit guides in the world and it is not uncommon to be having not just multiple but dozens of shots at permit each day. The more shots you get at permit the more chance you have of success. Recently Sean Clarke of Farlows, Pall Mall managed 6 permit in a week. But permit aren't the only fish on offer. There is every chance that the permit can be followed up by a bonefish and tarpon making up the saltwater grand slam, as Sean also managed during his week there, a first for him which is saying something for the place considering his extensive experience fishing Cuba.

In 2009/2010 we are running 2 trips to Turneffe flats. The first is October 30th- November 7th 2009 and is on offer at 2 anglers for the price of 1 and the second week will be April 17th-24th 2010.

Tarpon Caye Lodge
Tarpon Caye Lodge is in Southern Belize an hours run from Placencia. For those that like to get away from it all and want endless miles of unfished flats then this is for you. However it is primarily for the dedicated permit fisherman, and while there are other species present it is the large numbers of permit that will be your primary reason for visiting the region.

Gavin Hodgson from Grangers Fishing Tackle hosted a group for us in March which saw 5 permit caught for the week and many more chances lost as will always happen when targeting this species.

For more information on fly fishing and travel to Turneffe Flats or Tarpon Caye Lodge please email us.

Christmas Island: Pictures of Paradise

2009-04-23T04:49:00.000-07:00

Toni Karuvaara of Karuvaara fly fishing and editor of Chasing Silver Magazine has just returned from a 2 week stay on Christmas Island with friend Arto who experienced his first taste of saltwater fly fishing. As you will see the fishing was spectacular and the photos tell their own story.

All images are copyright of Karuvaaraflyfishing.

For those wanting to travel to Christmas Island in 2009/2010 we have a a variety of packages available including a hosted trip in March 2010. For more information please email us or call on
+44 1621743711.

Fly fishing Christmas Island: Trip Report

2009-04-12T02:54:00.000-07:00

We have a had a small group of anglers on Christmas Island for the past couple of weeks. Here is a breif trip report from Paul from Scotland. His fishing partners, Toni Karuvaara editor of Chasing Silver magazine and Arto are still there chasing the bonefish, giant trevally, yellowfin tuna and triggerfish the inhabit this pristine coral atoll.

Hi Mat,

Just a quick update on the christmas island trip. The island is a truly wonderful place to both visit and fish. When first booking the trip my main objective was to bonefish, however I quickly realised there is far more to the island than just bones. Stalking triggerfish in the coral proved to be to be both exciting and addictive, hooking the triggers was the easy part !! keeping them out of their coral homes was the hard part.

The island also has a very health population of bluefin trevally,sight fishing double figure fish in water waist deep is an experience that wont soon be forgotten. A days of shore fishing also proved to be succesful and saw tuna,trevally,seabass,queenfish and rainboow runners brought to the boat.

So all in all a wonderful trip was had in superb company.

Many thanks Matt.

Paul, UK.

For more information on our Christmas Island trips please email me

Ireland Salmon Fishing

2009-04-05T14:31:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce our association with the Lower River Caragh fishery in County Kerry, Ireland. Having just spent the past three days there I think that this 3 mile stretch of water will produce some fine catches for our clients over the coming years. Having arrived on 1st of April to very low water conditions we thought that the river may make fools of us!! However there was enough fish moving in the dozen or so fishable pools to think we were at least a chance.

Our first morning on the water we concentrated on the lower pools where the tide still has some influence. Mark Nicoll jumped of a small fish, probably a kelt or sea trout. It wasn't until the Friday afternoon that the fish really started to get excited with an onset of some rain. Several pulls but no solid connections kept us interested and with a day to go confidence spread through the camp.

Our last morning our arrival was meet with little action through the first few hours. We supposed the large fish that were moving the previous evening had moved on up to Lough Caragh. But, a slight change in the weather as the wind picked up had fish rolling over the surface again. Before long I picked up a kelt on a Ally's shrimp and then an hour later Mark Nicoll managed a superb spring salmon of an estimated 14lb. An absolute cracker of a fish.

We will be heading back in July to check out the grilse fishing and then we will be hosting 2 groups next April for those big spring salmon. For those interested in fishing the Lower Caragh fishery please contact us for details of pricing and travel logistics.

Fly fishing Ascension Bay: Trip report

2009-03-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

Well the fly fishing in Ascension Bay continues to produce permit for our clients. A group of 5 anglers have just returned and had a successful week fishing the Ascension Bay flats. Three permit were landed as well a couple of bonefish approaching the 8-9lb mark and some big barracuda as well. Here's Phil's thoughts on their trip:

Hi Mathew,

Trip was great and we all agreed that overall it was our best trip yet. I have to say the place was ideal being very quiet and off the beaten track (literally !!) and Manuel and his team were excellent hosts.

The weather was not to good on a couple of days but the guides still managed to put us on some fish, and we now know why they say you must be able to cast 40ft into a howling gale to get the most out of the fishing.....!!

Attached are my best fish of the week all caught in one day when out with Manuel. I did have another permit of about 12lb's on the last day and Ellis also caught one earlier in the week about the same size.

Best regards
Phil

We have 1 space available for MAy 16th-24th trip and will be running another fortnight of trips in November and December 2009. For more information please visit our Special Offers page or email us.

New Zealand Fly Fishing Week 3

2009-03-04T19:54:00.000-08:00

Week 3 in New Zealand involved a move to the North and a base out of Murchison. Murchison provides easy access to a huge number of wilderness waters all with healthy populations of large wild brown trout. The fishing was reasonably tough with accurate and delicate presentations required but when this was performed the big browns would willingly take the fly.

The guys had the pleasure of fishing with arguably one of New Zealands best trout guides in Peter Carty. Apart from being a great guide Peter is also one of the finest fly tiers in the country and is continually innovating and producing an amazing range of nymphs and dry flies. Peter kindly talked the guys through his fly boxes which was mouth watering stuff.

Our 2010 trips will be run the first 3 weeks of February. They will again fish Southland, McKenzie and Murchison and space is limited so for bookings please contact us.

New Zealand Hosted Fly Fishing Week 2

2009-03-03T05:29:00.000-08:00

Week two of our hosted trip saw Peter's son Eddie join us to fish the major rivers of the McKenzie district. It turned out to be a week of big fish for Peter, eddie and Dormer from Week 1, with all landing fish that pushed the 8lb mark. The days were warm and this really turned on some great dry fly fishing with the browns keyed in on the alpine cicadas and the prolific numbers of grasshoppers in the high country. One day on a local creek saw the big browns eager to eat anything big that was splashed down on the surface.

The Ahurriri river fished very well with the guys landing some fine fish under the watchful guidance of Steve Carey.

All agreed the the scenery was equally as absorbing as the fishing.

Salmon fishing, Varzina River, Russia

2009-02-15T22:07:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to announce our association with the Varzina River Company who run camps on the famous Varzina river for both Atlantic salmon and brown trout. We have rod availabilities throughout the prime weeks of June, July and August in 2009 on the Varzina. For more information on 2009 rates and availability contact us on +44 1621743711 or at m.mchugh@flyodyysey.co.uk

Fly fishing New Zealand: Hosted Trip Week 1

2009-02-15T20:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a short trip report on the first week of our 2009 hosted New Zealand trips. The first week we visited Southland with Peter and Dormer fishing the waters around Lumsden. Great weather ensured plenty of sight fishing to rising browns and Rainbows. Peter managed his biggest eve brown trout on our first day of fishing on the Oreti, while Dormer fullfilled a lifelong ambition of landing a wild river rainbow from a stream in Fiordland. Stu Tripney of Stu's Fly Shop in Athol provided the guys with a couple of great days guiding on the Mataura to cap off the week. Here are a few thoughts from Dormer...

Hi Mat

Thank you for a fishing holiday of a lifetime. I was looked after from start to finish. I was well fed and watered and always had a comfortable bed. Best of all, the guides that you provided enabled me to catch fish. As you know I had never fished in NZ but with your guidance I managed to catch real wild fish, some a little larger than I was hoping for. I will be coming back next year, for you have given me the reason to return to a fishermans paradise. I will get the photos to you soon.

All the best
Dormer

Ascension Bay Fly Fishing

2008-12-23T04:41:00.000-08:00

We have just had three groups fish Ascension Bay over the past month and all experienced some good fishing and a great place to visit. The old sand road down to Punta Allen was a little worse for ware this season but the roadworks were being undertaken and by now the road should be back to its best. Here is a report from Jonathon Tomlinson of Sportfish, Reading (www.sportfish.co.uk) who hosted the November trip for us.

Well I’m back in the UK and with a real bang back to reality, landing to +1 degree and snow at Birmingham airport after a fantastic and highly memorable trip to Ascension Bay in Mexico.

After weeks of anticipation the departure date finally arrived for the trip to the ‘Grand Slam’ capital of the world and myself and 5 intrepid anglers were winging our way to our home for the next 7 days in Punta Allen. After a stop during our mini bus transfer for some much needed food and the obligatory ice cold Cerveza, we eventually arrived at our lodge to be greeted by our lead guide for the week Manuel. We were shown to our spacious air conditioned rooms; we dumped the kit and fell asleep before our heads had touched the pillows.

As usual the group woke up early in anticipation of our first days angling and were up and tackled long before the 7am breakfast; all itching to get started. 8 am and the 3 well equipped flats boats headed out. The weather was recovering from a large low pressure system that had been hanging around for the previous week or so, but the outlook was that it would steadily get better as the week progress which was music to our ears. Right enough each day it did get better and with it so did the fishing! The majority of the party started of cashing the numerous tailing bones that could be found in the shallow flats, with great results. As the week continued and everyone’s confidence grew the target species grew in numbers and Snook, Tarpon and Permit soon became the order of the day. During a night of margarita fuelled banter a species challenge was laid down to the group, rules were simple catch as many different fish as you can! The eventual winner boated 17 species for the week, impressive in any location but even more so when they are all taken by the fly!

Every day shots were taken at elusive Permit on the extensive flats surrounding Punta Alan with the catch figures getting larger and larger until the last day ended in the perfect conclusion for one angler. For most salty anglers the ‘Grand Slam’ is the ultimate prize but even more coveted than this is the very rare ‘Super Slam’ which involves the capture of not only a Bonefish, Permit and Tarpon in a single day but with the edition of the hard fighting mangrove dwelling Snook. Even as we landed back in the UK some 48 hours after the monumental achievement had happened it still hadn't sunk in with the captor, I’m sure it will stay in his memory for many years to come!

The figures for the week just speak for themselves, 3 Permit boated with another 3 unfortunately lost, several Tarpon with as usual several more jumped and lost, plenty of hard fighting Snook and more Bones than you could shake a stick at not to mention Barracuda, Jacks and numerous local Snapper and mangrove species.

I would rate Ascension bay as by far and away one of the very best locations for saltwater fly fishing regardless of your experience level. The biggest endorsement I can give it is that all 6 members of the group are heading back to the same lodge at the same time next year and probably will for quite some years!

We have groups fishing Ascension Bay in March/April and May in 2009. If you are interested please email us.