ROD AND GUN Nymph In A Nor’-Wester

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30626, 17 December 1964, Page 8

ROD AND GUN Nymph In A Nor’-Wester

(Specially written for “The Press” by JAMES SIERS It was a day when “she’ll be right” sounded reassuring. It was blowing a near gale-force nor’-wester and we had an American on the streamside to impress with New Zealand fishing. It was a day for the nymph and a short line we decided as the wind whipped spray from the stream. We donned polaroids and moved in to spot the first victim. Disaster. Black clouds raced across. Behind them marched a downpour with huge raindrops and if this was not enough on a summer’s day, hail, at tremendous velocity, stung into us. The American, an oil company finance expert, Lee Munson, here on a short business trip, looked dubious. With a bad dose of hay fever in the bargain, he must have been ready to call it a day. The hail stopped, the rain too and though the wind kept on under the dark sky, we attacked the river. Mr W. M. Satterthwaite and his son Garth, determined the strategy. We would continue with the nymph, but because it was bad light it would be necessary to fish blind in broken water.' This type of fishing calls for a short line and almost a constant motion. The line is cast ahead or quartered

up. It’s allowed to sink for only a short distance and is then cast again. Because a fish can easily miss the fly when fishing “blind” the water is worked meticulously. The trout is hooked either by the weight of the current on the line, moving quickly in fast water or by the timing of the removal of the fly from the water.

This is not as precarious as it sounds. The fly is cast, given a short time to sink and is removed just when it passes the most likely point where a fish would take it. If a fish does take it, it is hooked automatically. Fishing in this way, Mr Satterthwaite took two fish and lost one and the American visitor was able to get in some practice.

But it was not until after lunch that the sun came out again. The wind kept on but Garth felt more confident of being able to put Lee on to a fish. First there was a dapping attempt from a high bank but the large brownie ignored a selection of offerings. Further upstream Garth spotted a shadow weaving in the current and after detailed instruction Lee moved in to present a March Brown nymph and several casts later a fish was fighting for his freedom. Garth recorded the whole incident on Lee’s movie camera and when the fish was landed, a plump 12-incher, Lee was shocked at Garth’s

insistence that it should be put back. A fish this size is large by New York standards. And if there’s a moral to this story it could be: Never accept conditions as impossible and if you haven’t done so already, master the nymph, it’s deadly.