The top photo is a prize for you all to win :). All you have to do is write the word, Macho at the bottom you're orders in the information box at the check out to go into the prize draw. There is only one prize and one size fits all, so be quick! If no one claims it look out for me on the river this year guiding with my new Macho singlet on!

I also visited a few places where in the past I had designed some certain flies. It was not until,I reached one place where there are no fish, but a very inspirational place to design flies, that I realised it's just over 15000ft. That was a hike and freezing. That's where I originally found some Yak hair, vulture feather or golden eagle and using what basic materials I had with me constructed the first ever May fly Bomb nymph. All my fly design's have stories behind them some more interesting than others.

Also for the first time in my life I bought a trout to eat. It was a bright orange one that was done in an old fashioned Indian Tandoori Oven and tasted bloody good!.

When I was a young and involved in fishing competitions, killed every fish, that was of the size limit that fitted on my trout stick. My grandfather had made for me which was 9 inches in length. I had not seen another trout measuring sick for years until this one. Which was far more sexy than my old trout stick, notice min size for this river is ten inches.

There was only one place and one room left in the village I arrived at. Already on the trip I had woken up with bedbugs/ticks attached to me sucking my blood. I was taking no more chances, hence the sleeping bag. After a bit of a debate and and an extra 50 cents, so thank you all for your support this winter.:) I managed to get a nearly new pillowslip, only after the staff asked the owner!

Here are two great books that I have just finished reading, that you may enjoy. The Bill Bryson book was an easy fun read and he did get me laughing quite a few times. Interesting that hes got a few books out and this is the first one after all the years that i have read. Walking the Nile is an amazing guys journey in Africa and its a hard book to put down once you start,The fly lines are to hold the covers down, yes I have a pink one.:)

Lets just say when someone steals your hiking shoes from you and you are in a small town where everybody has small feet.

No one is going to stock shoes that will fit you if you have biggish western feet. I found these day glow sandals which are two sizes too small for me, though much better than bare feet. Lucky I had just finished my big trek. I was looking out for a guy with big feet for a while or small feet and big shoes on! my ones. :)

Queenstown fly fishing guide Chris Dore, is back in the Southland fly fishing news and NZ news yet again! not for the best things!

The other year, unbeknown to me and other guides, fish and game Southland, F&G rangers and some very concerned land owners/farmers. Launched a sting on the abuse of the use of public fishing access in Southland. Guide Chris Dore was the main offender in Southland and got the gold medal. He was easily caught (by records of his vehicle reg parked up). He was caught visiting the same public fishing access three times in five days another two Wanaka guides were a close second and third. Which you just don't do if your a guide in NZ or member of the public fishing, Its just not good. Doing so, showed he had no respect for the farmers, ethics, public and concern for others. No locals or local guides from Southland were involved in the sting, the only abusers were outside the area guides.

Last year he was asked to send out letters of apology to some very concerned Southland farmers and was the talk of the locals and Southland fishing guides and others. Luckily locals,F&G and some great guides managed to help calm the situation down and the public never lost any access due to mainly his abuse of the public system over the years. Losing some great public access was nearly going to happen.

So why is he back in the news ?Chris Dore for years has always bought my fly designs from me and always gave me great feedback, that he and his clients had caught many fish using them. Especially my Deadly nymphs, Deadly cicadas and willow grub flies. Even last year he was at my house, smooth talking and buying some as usual.

Every year he tells me how much money Manic are making and what fly patterns they have basically taken(stolen) from others over the years, without doing any wor designing any..Every year I always tell him(ask) just leave me and my designs alone, for some reason I never trusted him!. A few years ago he got a job(I actually gave him some good words to the boss(Rene Vaz) in an email to help him get the job & years ago signed him into the pro guides!) He got the job with Manic tackle and gets good commission from all their fly and fly fishing sales! Whats happened is that he and Rene Vaz have decided that he will start to copy some of my fly designs without asking or letting me know, even though I know them both!? When I found out, that my fly designs had been blatantly copied. I asked Chris what the hell is going on as could not believe It, thought he was a friend ,nice guy! his reply was " we Manic tackle are not stealing your designs ,we are only replicating them?"(what the!!!) This shows me again, he has no respect, ethic or concern. His only concern is that he fills his bank account up with cash! and Rene's.I then sent Rene Vaz, (now millionaire boss from fly fishing sales) an email, He replied after some time and said they will stop copying any of my designs, and cheekily, shockingly said they will just make adjustments to my designs and release them.

Again very disrespectful for my hard work.( maybe even I should use more stronger words.) They own around maybe 80% of fly sales in NZ and Australia and nearly every fly you buy from a shop in NZ , a few in Australia and online,As well as all the fly tackle they sell. You are rewarding and supporting people that only care about money behind the scenes no one else.

Sorry to go on ,I have been stewing for months about this and like many of you said name the culprits.One more to come TBC.

"Cast like a pro"

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Just recently, I decided to eat something for a fishing book project, I have been working on and broke a tooth. The first city I got too, I asked where a dentists was. I was directed to their shop front. For some reason I was not game enough to trust the old guy inside. I must be getting too old in the mind, to risk things, anymore.

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GOOD ROCK N ROLL

GREAT TO HEAR SPARKY, WITH HIS UNIQUE VOICE AND STYLE AND THE HILLBILLY MOON EXPLOSION, RELEASING SOME OF THERE RECORDED SESSIONS