Those wonderful willows

If you fly fish in New Zealand, undoubtedly you'll fish a water lined with willows. New Zealand's #1 invasive species, willows have taken over some streams, yet provide some structure to other waters, and provide overhead cover, shelter, and cooling to many waters. While an introduced weed, willows certainly provide some excellent brown trout habitat. If you fish east of the divide on New Zealand's south island, you'll find willows.

Willows provide the most intimate moments with trout. The dense foliage and branching obscures you from the fish and they can literally swim right under foot if your approach is good. It's what attracts us to these waters, as we seek out exactly that kind of fly fishing - intimate moments to video and photograph. Regardless if the trout is 10" or 8 pounds, it's exciting stuff.

During low water, over hanging willows provide some of the few pockets of fish holding habitat on a stream. Below, I fruitlessly change a fly, stalling myself in order to let the fish settle out. In long, prolonged drought on this stream, 1/2 miles fish population condensed into 30m of stream. Spook one or two in order to work the only active fish and they'll infringe on its space and territorially charge them out of his feeding lie.

 In small to tiny waters, in side channels or back waters, willows can really choke thins out. But, get under that canopy and some of the best micro-niche cycling can occur. We can get in tight, find trout, and watch it swim cycles in a kitchen sized pocket of water in a pocket. And, if you wait 5 or 10 minutes for it to cycle into the only spot you can bow & arrow or dap a cast to have a controlled cast, you might have a chance. That is, unless the fish sways to the left instead of to the right where you put your fly - and now have to wait another 5 to 10 minutes for another chance. Sometimes it takes an hour to get a take from that 2 pound fish!

Once you do hook up, it's a game of keeping them out and up on the surface, turning their heads asap. Sometimes it's best to risk losing a fish up and out of the willows rather than leave them to disapear into the deep matt of willows. Better to dance with the devil you know...

Below, AJ outlasts a brown that was cycle feeding. Home base was tucked head into a willow and it would drop out to follow - feed. Every 5 minutes it dropped far enough to get a cast and drift to its nose, if th efish didn't sway oppostite to what she cast she'd have a chance before returning to home base, nose tucked in the willows. After 50 minutes of the game with an eventual refusal to one pattern, she got the take on a caddis.

Right after Amelia pulled her fish out of the willows, we spotted another brown just stream, weaving between willows as it cycle fed 20 yards of shoreline. It kept disapearing way back to the bank before apearing at the next. It finally settled in at the top of a willow branch and a left hand cast knocked in the run.

Amelia lined up on the shoreline. Across from us a 20" brown held in a seam. Upstream, a 5.5lb brown held mid river, on a classic white rock. The far shore lined with thick willow, overhanging to mid river. She couldn't get into the water for fear of spooking the opposite holding trout to the larger. Hence, she couldn't get into proper postion to cast side arm and a straight up cast wouldn't flip under the over hang. Eventually, she ignored the smaller trout, which only moved to nose into the willow on shore. Her first side arm cast under the over hang turned over and came immediately onto the fish. 

This next willowy moment came as we walked past an almost dry backwater. We walked back up the muddy flat to explore it a little. Sure enough, a deeper trough existed. Sure enough, a nice brown was cycling. I moved into position but there was only one slot in the overhanging willows to bow and arrow a dap cast. And the fish cycled 5 to 10 minutes between surfing into my zone, and it didn't always come to my direction to look at my fly. After an hour I finally had the fish to my left, 1/2 rod length away. I poked my rod tip in through the willows to my left and dapped my fly. The brown came and took my caddis but t was coming right at me and the only hook set was a pull set - and I pulled it right out of its mouth.

This nice brown was popping to the left of the down willow branch at the left in the background. Off right there was nothing but gravel. With an open back cast, it was easy to line up downstream with a left handed cast. Lay it out and up came the brown.

Exit Strategy? Great, hook it up and get the take. But... what happens next? Need to land every trout? Don't fish under a willow canopy. You know how this one turned out. In reality I almost pulled it out. A 6+ lb brown that cycled along the downed willow knew it was going right back home to snap me off.

The narrow trough upstream saw this fish doing 3 x 10 foot cycles. The hook up was going to be easy enough as the back cast was open, but the landing would prove more issues. The hook up brought on a high stick to keep the head up and the net scooped up. A nice brown just under 5lb.

A dark day and a cycling fish. The dark, oily look of the water made it essential to wait for subsurface disturbance or rises. The grand over hanging canopy allowed for casting. There would be no sighting into the water. Wait for the movement to station and make the cast.

This brown would cycle into the lower pocket then back to the pool. In between a willow obscured the sighting of the cruising trout. Hence, timing and patience would set the table. Wait it out and get a chance. Rush it and force a cast to an unseen fish around the corner and you`ll see it spook off. AJ waited it out.

Back to the dark, cloudy day and a trout popping along a downed willow opposite me. The branch hid my presence but I had to go back downstream in order to get a cast. By moving down the glare hid the fish and the rises. I had to wait to hear a popping take near me in the seam to make the cast.

A set of over hanging willow branches allowed 3 straight up casting seams to the pocket on the opposite wide. No hooks, reaches. Just a cast. AJ worked the cast in and the timing of the casts and cruiser finally lined up. Landing it in the open pool - much easier.

Waiting for the dap. Just when you think the fish will cycle, it goes above the willow. When it stations above, you move to make that cast. As you move, it moves back down - should have waited. You get above, it stays below. Now you`re upstream of the cycle and have to tip to to not be seen nor heard in slow waters. Then figure out the cast to make. Oh, and the color shirt you wear has no bearing on the outcome - we`re not believers in color spooking trout when your approach is good.

All New Zealand trout worthy of catching are 8+ lbs, right... NO!  Tiny little creeks with tough casts and approaches open the door to in your face fish and tight casts. Optics are amazing, even on wee 18 to 22 inchers.

And then there`s the ones that you simply wave good-bye to. You think you have the cycles boundaries established and take the 5 minutes to slink into position on the edges. You commit to the process. And as you stand there, the fish then decides to drop further down than it did in the 15 minutes you were watching, and swims past you. Now, it`s feeding almost in your eddy and you watch without moving - any motion will send it scurrying. And then your nose itches or your foot slides, or the fish looks at your pant leg waving in the current - ``hey, that wasn`t there 10 minutes ago - see you!``

And then you walk into an open canopy - fish away!

Open canopy + open cast + feeding trout in a pocket 20 feet upstream:

Another really fun willow creek monster.