Brown trout and smiling woman

I've had a great day. The smile is bigger large

I opted to be out on Lake Benmore in a small boat with just one other guy. Warwick and I became good friends. What he doesn't know about trout fishing probably isn't worth knowing. Not that he'd agree because he's humble.

The water was a bit dirty (rain in the high country and more water released from the Ohau scheme) for me to learn fly fishing. Here I've just caught my first trout using soft baits.

Soft baits come in various kinds. These ones didn't have any smell because the fishing regulation ban those sorts in the lakes in this area. We were in a small boat known as the 'tinny' but it wasn't the sort of tinny I've been in before.

This one was so stable we could both stand and cast, then retrieve with as gentle flick of the wrist. That makes the soft bait move like a small fish. It took a bit of coordination but I clearly mastered the technique.

Most of the fish I caught I realeased but I did keep this brown. I had a great day with Warwick. We laughed, talked, sat in silence, put the world to right, talked about religion. I learned so much from Warwick. He showed me things that helped me read the water and when we were in clearer water, spot fish.

We're both hunter gatherers and if nothing was happening, Warwick changed something. Maybe we moved or changed from lure to soft bait and back again. He shared many tips and I enjoyed hearing about his trips and how he and his wife pack up their caravan and head away.

I did make my contribution though. I know enough to know that if the expected colours of lures aren't working, sometimes you go for left field. In that situation I go for a shocking pink lure. All too girly for Warwick but it worked :-)

He couldn't believe it ;-)