Ronan Creane’s New Zealand Fly Patterns

Before I talk about my New Zealand fly patterns available on Fulling Mill I feel I should mention my approach to fly tying and to flies in general. I was never really that hung up on specific patterns or complicated flies. I always felt that having the fly in the right place and doing the right thing was more important than the fly itself. Living in NZ for most of the past 20 years compounded those beliefs. They heavily influence my fly tying today.

Dries

My thinking around dry flies is about size, general shape, colour to some extent and whether the fly sits in or on the surface film. So, for example, if I feel a fly needs to sit high on the surface film and needs to be a slender size 12, then any fly fitting those basic parameters will work as well as the next. Although some flies seem to have a little magic and this is where trial and error with fly design filters out the best flies.

Nymphs

My thinking around nymphs is very similar. Size, profile and colour are important, but the most important thing is the weight of the nymph to get to the required depth. With every fish I see in a river, I assess the depth the fish is at, the speed of the current and the optimum lead distance to avoid drag or obstructions. I then pick the correct weight of nymph to get the fly into the fishes feeding zone taking these variables into account. If lots of weight is required then obviously I can’t fish a very small nymph if thats what’s required. In this circumstance I simply tie an unweighted or lightly weighted nymph of optimum size, profile and colour to the weighted nymph. I like to tie straight to the bend of the weighted nymph and keep the trailing nymph about 12” away. So the key is getting the fly to the correct depth with a natural drift. If I do this well then the fly only needs to be in the imitation ballpark and most trout will eat. The “wrong” fly well presented will catch way more trout than the perfect fly badly presented.

Nymphs for Fishing Blind

Choosing nymphs for blind fishing on a river is just a little different. Since I’m not usually trying to get my fly to a specific spot this can change my choice of weight. Usually with blind fishing I’m trying to efficiently cover small to large expanses of a pool or run. The key here is to fish a weighted nymph that will cover the optimum depth for as much of the drift as possible. With blind fishing I’ll often use very long drifts to cover water thoroughly and efficiently. I’ll frequently use a double nymph rig here to increase my chances. Once again the key is weight. A 2.5mm bead might be too light when a 3mm bead is just right. Have the weight right and the fly just needs to be in the ballpark.

Nymphing lakes and still waters is a little different again but it still comes down to depth. So the weight of the nymph or nymphs is decided by the depth I want to fish or the depth the trout are cruising at. The fly itself is much less important than having it in the right place looking natural – usually!

My Nymph Patterns

My nymphs cover a range of weights and sizes from size 16 with a 2mm tungsten bead up to a size 10 with a 4mm bead. With this range of flies you’ll be covered for most river trout challenges. They will also work well on lakes and still-waters.

The Hotspot Nymph

This fly was designed with a few things in mind. Firstly, the hotspot makes the fly stand out. Great for coloured water – a regular variable in NZ with frequent rain events. Secondly, depth. This fly is tied in a size 10 and a size 12 with a tungsten bead to suit. Great for getting down quickly in deep or fast water. Thirdly, as a carrier. Very often this fly is too big to catch wily NZ trout so I use it’s weight to get a smaller, more imitative fly to depth. Deadly in conjunction with my claret nymph in a size 16 or an unweighted nymph. I tie it on a 12″ dropper off the bend of the hook. This double nymph rig is usually fished 3 to 5 feet under a buoyant dry or indicator. 

The Brown Nymph

This fly is tied for general use. If I’m not sure what to put on, I put this on! Tied in a 12 and a 14 it’s often small and imitative enough to to be fished on it’s own. This makes it easy to manage under my dry or indicator. This is a great imitation of common NZ mayfly nymphs but equally successful as a general imitator of trout food. This fly has accounted for trout to 12lbs for me.

The Claret Nymph

My go-to nymph. This is a multi purpose fly. Tied in a 14 and a 16, this fly is imitative of much of the food in a trouts diet. I have caught more fish on this fly in NZ than any other. On one river it has accounted for 5 double figure browns so this little fly is not to be underestimated. This is a deadly pattern on light tippet for spooky, difficult trout. It’s also one of my go-to flies to suspend under a dry for lake edge cruisers, especially the size 16. The colour of this fly certainly stems from my youth in Ireland. Claret flies were deadly on the lakes. Claret dabblers, bumbles and olives were unbeatable.

My Dry (well, dad’s dry!)

The Kiwi Dun. A great little fly! Tied in a 14 and a 12. This is a fly that my dad invented for NZ. It evolved over 15 years of trips so it’s very much tried and trusted and possesses the aforementioned magic. I love the 14 for trout locked onto adult mayflies or emergers. The 12 is a superb general dry or to represent larger mayflies. Depending on how you apply the floatant it can be fished in or on the surface film.

My Streamers

Streamers are another kettle of fish. Over the years I’ve used lots of different streamers and always paid attention to the pros and cons of each. Weight is very important and I almost never fish unweighted streamers – partly because the majority of my streamer fishing is done with a floating line. You can fish shallow water with a heavy fly but you can’t fish deep water with an unweighted fly (on a floater!). Weight gives you versatility and for me that’s essential.

The next key is size. For trout I’ve always found 2 to 3 inches best so I base my fly design around these dimensions. I always did best with simple streamers. Excessive bling, articulation or numerous components never really added anything for me so my streamer design is based on simplicity. After years of trialling various components I found the best combination to be marabou in the tail and possum fur in the body. These natural materials gel seamlessly together in the water giving natural, fluid movement with a lifelike fish profile. Another big advantage is the fly doesn’t wrap around like many streamers frustratingly do! I tie these in a range of colours for different scenarios. I’ve caught various species around the world on this fly from Atlantic salmon in Ireland to large mouth bass in the US to kahawai and trout in NZ. Certainly a must-have!

The Bruiser

The most tried and trusted in this family of 3 flies. Originally designed for winter fishing on large local rivers, this fly has become my most essential streamer. It’s been immortalized in the well known Pure Fly NZ tv series where it caught all the fish for Jeff and myself on day 2 of our season 4 episode. This fly has accounted for trout up to 25lbs.

The Killer Smelt

This streamer was designed to represent cockabullies or smelt and it has been very effective in doing this. It’s a great general salt fly pattern too. Another place this pattern shines is in low clear rivers when darker streamers just get follows, this one can get an eat!

The Green Machine

The all rounder. Lighter than the Bruiser and darker than the smelt. Even colour tones and clean profile. This one ticks all the boxes as a general pattern. It’s been great fly this season.

All the dries, nymphs and streamers mentioned are tied on Fulling Mill Competition Heavyweight hooks. These are incredibly strong hooks – essential for large, powerful NZ trout.

To Wrap Up!

I’ve been an ambassador for Fulling Mill for a couple of years now and I’m really enjoying being a part of the team. It’s been a great way for me to share my knowledge on this blog and to share some of my fly patterns in the online shop. I’m currently refining about 10 more of my patterns for the 2023 catalog so hopefully a few of those will make the cut. While simplicity is certainly key to my tying, there are times when very specific fly choice is vital – Cicadas, willow grubs or buzzers for example. In the future I hope to be able to share some of these flies with you. Ultimately I’d love to have a full range of my flies available on Fulling Mill to cover an angler for the NZ season.

Trout are trout wherever they swim, so I’m confident that the current fly selection will catch trout all over the world. To anybody out there using them, I’d love to see a few pics of them in action in different parts of the globe! Those streamers, while designed for trout will catch just about any predatory species. I’d love to see some pics of those in action too.

Until next time, tight lines.

Ronan.

For guiding enquiries on the lower South Island of New Zealand you can visit my website or email me on ronan@sexyloops.com You can check out my own blog here.

If you want to read more from Ronan on the FM Blog, check his articles out here!

Ronan Creane

Ronan is an angler and guide who lives in New Zealand.

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