Yesterday started warm here at middle. The wind was low and
the sun was out. As I sat to type the blog out on the steps of our lodge I was
really warm. Then the cloud rolled in and it was remarkably cold still. We had
a mixed morning with 1s and 2s here and there; much as we saw last week.
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| Picnic lunch at Peartiha |
By lunchtime we had still air and the warm sun was back out.
We had a picnic lunch on Peartiha beach which certainly ran on longer than
usual as people warmed up and rested. After lunch the same was true of the fishing except
Kevin C who had hold of 5 in quick succession but sadly only landed 2. Brendon
G’s unwavering determination out of hours paid off and he had 3 fish from Generator.
We ended up with 14 for the day with a couple of fish in the 10lbs range.
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| Brendon G having success round the island |
Over at Kitza they had some sport all through the beats. Bryan
P had a splendid day with 8 fish landed. 2 fish from Shute, 4 from Green Glide
and 2 from Gold Mine. Josh C had 4 with 3 of those coming from Sergei’s. Ian B
had 5 fish and Alan M had 3 with one of about 10lbs from Heli pool. Ollie
reports than many of the fish are still fresh which is great news. We often expect
Kitza fish a little later so this is expected. Here at Middle we are still
catching a few fresh ones along with a good number that came in just after the
ice break.
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| Ivan watching like a hawk as John G gets to grips with Simmon's |
Pana landed 17 for the team, Charlie T and his fishing
partner Andrew G landed 5 fish each from the tail of the lagoon down to White
Rock. They reported losing a fair few fish too. Graham T landed his first ever
Russian Salmon on the float trip and his fishing partner also landed one. The river
is in perfect condition and is dropping slowly.
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| Wading out on the bar |
Yesterday we had rather a number of live jackets go off.
None actually from proper swimming but from a stumble or slipping from a rock.
The wading here is not as easy as many people tend to believe with big shiny
rocks hiding down every run. However wading a bar in the middle of such a huge
river is a truly amazing way to fish.
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| John G rewarded on Simmons |
This morning it is mild and still but over cast. We lost one
inch of water in the last 24hrs and the water is still 11 degrees. Whilst
colour does not seem to matter, with all sorts of flies being fished (many I
have never seen or heard of before,) size certainly does and those catching
most consistently are fishing size 8s or 10s. Whilst things can change very
quickly in the wilderness it would be wise for anyone heading out next week to
pack a few 8s,10s and 12s in their fly box as well as the usual size ranges.
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| Safe release |
Whilst the blog is not really designed for personal requests I promised Kevin and Karen that I would send their love to sons James and Charles. They are having a wonderful time here and keeping everyone up beat and positive.
Jack Selby
