KEY POINTS:
It is always a great pleasure to see expert flycasters in action. I have never been more impressed than by two visiting anglers I took to the upper Ngongotaha Stream one morning this summer.
Unluckily there were few fish in the stretch of the river in which we fished for three hours. It was a dead period over the whole fishery for a couple of days, and we came away without a catch. Had active feeding been taking place then these guys would have slayed them.
Many anglers will flag away an early-morning start, especially if the weather is chilly, in favour of a warm lie-in. Not these two. They were up at 4.30am and cooked a good breakfast before our 5:30 start, something many ignore in their keenness to get to the river but spoil their morning when hunger sets in later.
They had never been to the upper Ngongotaha, a most difficult stream to fish because of its densely overgrown banks and overhanging trees that limit casting range, and the large number of snags in the water. It is a challenge even for the most seasoned and dedicated anglers.
Yet these two summed up the river with their first glimpse of it and went about their business like the professionals they were. Their teamwork, their rapport, were almost palpable as they shared the available fishing spaces and explored the currents and pools.
It was a cold morning, but they spurned their warm waders in favour of shorts, socks and old sneakers, knowing full well the discomfort waders would bring as the heat of the day came on.
You can almost guarantee that fishers new to the upper Ngongotaha will hook up on the surrounding tree overhangs and blackberry bushes within three or four casts. It takes a while for even an experienced angler to become accustomed to this stream.
But these two had no problem avoiding the troublespots. Their casting was superb: distance casts, short flick casts between tree branches, side casts through narrow gaps under willows, roll casts, back casts and steeple casts - you name it, they had it in their repertoire.
Just as impressive as their control of the line in the air and on the water was their subtle manipulation of the flies around, over and beyond snags which claim large numbers of flies and trigger the tempers of most anglers who never master this tricky business.
They were observed for a while by an adventure-enterprise official visiting the river who commented on their ability not only to cast, but to stalk the stream carefully without spooking fish, another attribute that most anglers never master.
What I found extra special about these two was that they were only 15 years old, had been fishing for only a couple of years and were self-taught except for a minimum of parental input - yet in expertise they were light years ahead of most adult anglers I have met.
They come from Taumarunui, where they fish the upper Wanganui and local streams and can be found on the water with dry fly or nymph most days after school. They have American Sage rods and they deserve them.
There was absolutely nothing I could have taught these guys. "Just stay away from booze, tobacco, amphetamines and women," I told them, "and you'll be great flyfishers."
Their names are Sam Hawkins and Glen Scheyvens. If you ever run into them on the river, sit back, watch and learn.
Anglers could learn a lot, too, from James Cornelius, of Oratia, an expert flytier and big-fish catcher at age 14, whom I met fishing the Waiteti Stream, near Ngongotaha.
Last summer James landed a fine 3.5kg trout with his own fly, a tiny hare-and-copper variation, at a pool beside the Waiteti Trout Stream Holiday Park where he was staying. Got his picture in the local paper.
This summer he rose at 4:30 for a 5am start and at 5:05 landed a splendid 4kg brown with a small black and tinsel snail pattern of his own design.
James taught himself flytying through books and experimentation, and his patterns are now being promoted by the holiday park. He is a natural. He can tie half a dozen flies in the time it takes me to tie one.
James, Sam and Glen are the expert anglers of the future.
