Fortyone Degrees Issue 3 by Evolve Outdoors Group Ltd

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A VISUAL EXPERIENCE OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE

issue #3 october 2011

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past issues ��

issue one

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issue two

contents Wild Back Country

Spring Session

Time to Live Again

B&W Passion

Winter Freeze

South Island Adventure - Part 2

• Hamish Carnachan

• Jack Kos

• James Pearse

South Westland Experience - Film

• Mark Hamilton

• Robert Wilson

• John Tsialos

• Robert Wilson

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contributors John Tsialos is a Melbourne-based photographer specializing in photojournalism, travel editorials and offbeat, contemporary portraiture. John has been documenting his friends’ hunting expeditions for the past six years throughout Australia, New Zealand and Africa.

Mark Hamilton - I rifle is most often lies in the alpine e Mountain Edge V when im not getti

James Pearse is a keen young hunter, fisherman and photographer from a deer farm in South Canterbury. Currently studying Environment Management at Lincoln University, there is plenty of opportunities to pop out for a hunt. Deer, Chamois and Tahr are the target throughout the Southern Alps in all seasons.

Robert Wilson ha age of 12. Found recent years I hav these days I don’

Jack Kos. I live and breathe for fly fishing. These days I mainly concentrate on sight fishing for XOS brown trout in the clear waters of the South Island rivers. When I’m not fishing I’m a student at Canterbury University studying Law and Arts (majoring in history).

Hamish Carnacha tender age of 12. throughout New Z forays overseas. new-found huntin photos… of fishin

I have been hunting all my life , but these days my replaced with a video camera. My passion would environment chasing deer, chamois and Tahr. I run Video Productions and also work as a taxidermist ng about in the hills.

as been a passionate fly fisher and hunter from the der of brands Riverworks and Hunters Element. In ve become a very passionate photographer and ’t always need to take the rod or rifle with me.

an was bitten by the fly fishing bug at the . Since then he has fished extensively Zealand and squeezed in a few angling When he’s not fishing – or feeding his ng addiction – Hamish is writing and taking ng and hunting.

Cover Shot Hamish Carnchan Editor Robert Wilson rob@evolveoutdoors.co.nz Assistant Editor Jack Kos jrk53@uclive.ac.nz Advertising/Marketing Inquiries advertising@evolveoutdoors.co.nz

Contributors Alex Broad + Robert WIlson + Hamish Carnachan + Jack Kos + James Pearse + Sam Dowd + John Tsialos + Mark Hamilton

FORTYONE DEGREES is a division of Evolve Outdoors Group Ltd Evolve Outdoors Group Ltd PO Box 50-203, Wellington 5240, New Zealand Phone +64 4 238 2823 Fax +64 4 238 2827 info@fortyonedegrees.com FORTYONE DEGREES is a Trademark of Evolve Outdoors Group Ltd Information and opinions expressed in FORTYONE DEGREES solely represent the opinions of the contributors and are not endorsed by, or reflect the opinions of Evolve Outdoors Group Ltd. Copyright © 2011. Evolve Outdoors Group Ltd

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Welcome to the third issue of

FORTYONE DEGREES Magazine.

The days are getting longer, the opening of the trout fishing season is finally here and spring hunting is in full swing. I am looking forward to getting out there and enjoying some fly fishing and hunting. I hope to see you in the bush sometime.

Robert Wilson

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WILD BACK COUNTRY Photographs by Hamish Carnachan

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Photographs & text by jack kos

PHOTO ANDREW HEARNE

time to Live again

Early season’s an interesting time to fish. The optimistic amongst us will envision big fish swinging to take nymphs in clear water, whilst our pessimistic brethren just see swollen dirty rivers. So where do I fit in? Well, I’m a pragmatist. I see opportunities, but I know I’ll have to work hard to take advantage of them. This may involve adapting tactics or fishing different locations. A year or so ago I knocked up a wee post for Riverworks Lifestyle outlining how to take advantage of tough conditions. Get to know your weather forecasts This one’s pretty obvious, but you shouldn’t underestimate its value. Websites such as www. metservice.co.nz and www.metvuw.com (my personal favourite) offer you a little advantage.

PHOTO PHILIP HILLS

Part of me thought that winter would never end. I swear it gets longer with each successive year. But by the time you’re reading this the drought will have ended. The season will be upon us. We can fish again. We can live again.

PHOTO PHILIP HILLS

Metvuw.com is particularly useful as it gives you full coverage of New Zealand whereas metservice.co.nz concentrates on populated areas. If you can learn to read the wind and rain indicators on metvuw.com youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have a very good indication of where to fish.

Get to know your river flow data Again, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing complicated about this but it astounds me how many people ignore river flow readings. All regional council websites will provide you with the information you need, however if you want

an easy central directory just hop onto the Riverworks home page and click the Rivers, Streams and Weather link at the bottom of the page. Make a mental note of the flow of your intended river before you fish it. Over time you’ll work out what the fishable flows for respective rivers are. Get to know different rivers One of the great advantages of New Zealand is the sheer number of river systems that can be accessed for day trips. The weather conditions are not going to be the same in all of them. Some river systems will rise but remain relatively clear, otherwise will colour up quickly. If you can work out which river systems are going to escape the brunt of the weather bomb then you’ll have an advantage. Get to know how long they take to clear as well. There are a few spots that I’d happily fish the day after a deluge, whereas others I’d hold off for much longer. One last point on this; fish tributaries further up the river system. The further up you go, the lower the flow and typically the clearer the water.

So what if the river’s a bit high and dirty? It’s not the end of the world. The key word is adapt. Adapt adapt adapt. When I get to a river and discover it’s a little high I’m usually pretty excited (within reason). High flows simply bring more food to trout, typically triggering a period of high feeding. If you can still sight fish then the tactics don’t have to change too much. Go a little heavier on your nymphs just to ensure they’re getting down, but other than that things stay virtually the same.

When the river’s too high or dirty to sight fish it’s time to change tactics. Simple logic will tell you that if the river’s in heavy flow trout will move to areas where the flow is minimal: concentrate on these. This means the edge of runs or in the slack pockets behind or in front of boulders. The old adage ‘fish

your feet first’ is never more valid. I’ll usually fish heavier and brighter flies in these situations simply to get down to the fish and to get their attention. I can remember catching a nice brown trout on October the Third in a Lewis pass river that can only be described as in flood. I fished a very heavy, very large

black stonefly under a buoyant high visibility indicator along the edges of a run. It accounted for a fish that I would never have caught if I hadn’t adapted my tactics. Sure, it’s not the prettiest way to fish – but it can be incredibly effective. Finally, embrace streamers. Fished down and across or upstream and stripped back towards you they can be a complete game changer in high flows. Big streamers are that much more visible than most nymphs and what’s more they tend to get the attention of big fish. A trout can only convert approximately 60% of invertebrate prey to energy compared to an almost 90% conversion of baitfish. Not only are trout feeding on baitfish getting a larger portion, but they’re utilising more of it as well. Big fish like big meals and high flows are a perfect time to feed them some serious meat. A final word… At the end of the day, these are just my suggestions. They work for me. Find out what works for you. Get out there and fish. You might well be surprised how good the fishing can be when the weather’s off. The first time I

really experimented with outside of the square flies was on a high and dirty river – it also turned out to be the best day I’ve had on that river. You just don’t know until you try it. Fish hard, but most of all enjoy yourself.

PHOTO ANDREW HEARNE

�� films �� south westland experience

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