At Poronui we are blessed with the opportunity of fishing gin clear wilderness streams. Not only can we see our fish clearly but we are fortunate to also see their reaction to the fly presented to them.

The closed season is the perfect time to put in some hours at the fly tying bench tinkering with the old proven patterns looking for subtle improvements. As a passionate fly tier, I have been designing a lot of new creations this winter to entice even the wariest of trout in the coming season and am looking forward to putting them to the test

We all have our favorite patterns that we know will work but there is a lot of pleasure to be had in trying to create something that will work better !

Poronui Guide Sean- Roadkill variation FlyThis pattern is a variation of the original Roadkill designed by the great American fly tier John Foust. It was first shown to me by long time client of Poronui Craig Barrett. With a foam and deer hair body it floats well enough to hang a nymph under without it sinking. Over the last few years whilst fishing with Craig I have seen how effective it can be on New Zealand trout and now carry a good supply of them in various colours and sizes.

Poronui Guide Sean’s Orange Polychute FlyAnother fly from the Foust stable is the Orange Polychute. Like most parachute flies it works well on selective fish, especially those in the quieter water. I am not sure why bright orange works so well, but like most things in the fly fishing world, if we had the answer to everything we wouldn’t keep doing it !

Poronui Guide Sean’s Nameless FlyLast season I played around with some prototypes of this yet-to-be-named pattern. It has proved itself well enough to take a slot in the fly box. A general emerger, with most of the fly hanging under the surface, fish have little hesitation in taking it for a natural. As a guide tying all my flies, not only do I design and copy patterns for their fish catching abilities, they also need to be simple enough to be tied at a reasonable rate. This pattern certainly covers all those bases and now is just in need of a name !