|
NEWSLETTER #33 -
FEBRUARY 2005
If you have access to Microsoft Word, open the
attachment above to see the information below in a
more “reader friendly” format.
Leland Fly Fishing Travel Newsletter - February,
2005
TOPICS IN THIS ISSUE:
This is the thirty-third edition of our monthly
newsletter with updates on great fly fishing venues
and insights for our traveling fly fishers. We want
to help you match the right location with your fly
fishing goals and objectives and properly prepare
you to fully enjoy the experience. We’ve been to
most locations and pride ourselves on our ability to
research new sites. One of our services is to
compare and contrast different lodges/outfitters.
Whatever unbiased information on timing and
locations we can provide comes at the same cost to
you as booking direct – i.e., no extra cost.
SATURDAY AT THE MARIN FLY FISHING SHOW IS OUR
"DESTINATION DAY"
The Marin Fly Fishing show has become the premier
fly fishing show in the Bay Area. It takes place
this weekend at the Marin County Civic Center
Exhibit Hall. Leland's will have our usual booth
just as you enter the main hall - can't miss us.
The show consists of anything and everything that
relates to fly fishing with 125+ individual booths,
classes with the experts, casting demonstrations,
and presentations on a variety of destinations.
I'll be in our booth all day Saturday with an array
of presentations on different world class
destinations. The Saturday schedule is:
11:00 Patagonia - the Chilean Andes and Fjords
12:00 Alaska
1:00 Belize Via Mothership
2:30 Early Season at North Platte Lodge, Wyoming
3:00 New Zealand
4:00 Salt Water Flats Destinations Compared and
Contrasted
5:00 Giant Brookies of the Minipi River
Additionally, I'll be available on the half-hour for
individual discussion and presentations. Also, I'll
have the photos from our recent New Zealand trip
with me. Stop in and say hi
TRIP REPORT - NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand
gets in your blood and you can't get enough of it.
It's the people, the country, and the fishing.
There are greater numbers of traveling fly fishers
each year who make the annual pilgrimage. Of
course, my wife and I have been part of this group
for some time, usually doing a "couples itinerary"
as opposed to a "hard core fly fishing agenda." We
just completed our annual trip to Fiji and then on
to New Zealand - I'll have our report in next months
newsletter.
"I caught so darn many big fish on dry flies………it
was unbelievable" - so sayeth Jim Taylor who just
returned from his annual trip to New Zealand.
Unless you've been to New Zealand, it's going to be
hard for you to comprehend Jim's trip report. Jim
did a combination of world class fly fishing lodges,
independent guides, and farm stays while visiting
both islands - a "hard core fly fishing itinerary."
He had great weather which didn't hurt - most days
in the mid-80's. His trip started fast by getting
his first double digit fish, a monster brown, on the
surface at his first lodge stop.
While New Zealand is famous for it's big trout in
small, crystalline rivers and streams, it's not
usually a big numbers game - those big fish don't
come in large quantities on a daily basis. However,
on some days for Jim this year, they did happen in
good numbers. His top three days, not including his
double digit brown, were:
1 - eight fish day
2 - nine fish days
One of his nine fish days included the following
weighed fish in pounds: 7.5, 3.5, 7, 7, 6, 7, 6, 3,
and 8.5 - a total of 55.5 pounds.
Jim is a "big fish hunter" and that's where his
focus is - very few of the fish he caught the entire
trip were under four pounds.
THE BEST PART: All Jim's fish were taken sight
stalking individual fish AND THEY WERE ALL TAKEN ON
DRY FLIES.
Jim already has his premium lodge space and his
favorite guides booked for 2006. NZ regulars who
like to go in February know that early booking is
necessary to get the top guides and space at the
best lodges.
QUIPS AND QUOTES
This month's quote is the first of a two-part
story. It happened on our recent trip while we were
at a lodge near Arthur's Pass in New Zealand's South
Island alps. The lodge manager introduced me to a
couple named Vicky and Jim from Virginia. During
our conversation, I learned that this was their
first trip to NZ and that the next day was going to
be Jim's first fly fishing day. During that visit,
Vicky made a statement that should warm the heart of
every passionate fly fisher.
"Jim and I are getting married tomorrow evening
after he gets in from fishing. And, if he's late,
we'll just have the ceremony the next morning"
(next month in part two, we'll report Vicky's
comments to the guide as Jim left to go fishing on
their scheduled wedding day).
Either phone or drop us an e-mail if you have
questions or would like more information about any
of our destinations.
An enthusiastic traveling fly fisherman,
Don Muelrath
Leland Fly Fishing Adventures
888-347-4896
flyfish@napanet.net
www.flyfishingoutfitters.com
e-mail Josh Frazier at
Josh@flyfishingoutfitters.com
If you want to be removed from our e-mail newsletter
list, just hit “reply” and let us know – you’ll be
removed immediately.
 |
