| Monday: | Paul Arden |
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| Tuesday: | Graeme Christie |
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| Wednesday: | Tracy&James |
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| Thursday: | Martyn White |
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| Friday: | Mika Lappalainen |
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| Saturday: | Rickard Gustafsson |
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| Sunday: | David Siskind |
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The swimming starts now!
Monday, 9 November 2026
It’s less than two weeks to the Malaysian Ironman so it’s probably time to start swimming!! Everything else is pretty good. Running well. Cycling well. Have my nutrition planned. Now I just have to remember how to swim.
So I’ve placed the Battleship over some deep water, with few stumps, where I’m less likely to swim into a set of Snakehead babies… or snakes. And this week I will dedicate myself to getting the feel back.
A Knot in the Backing
Tuesday, 10 November 2026
Auckland, North Island, NZ
Weather first. Saturday's forecast was thunderstorms most of the day, then the sun out in the evening and the sea going flat. After two weeks of writing about not fishing, I decided to strongly believe in the second half of that forecast and ignored the first.
The harbour is still warming, 17.4 degrees now, and warm water might mean the big migratory ones are back. Or might not. I hadn't had the boat out for a while. That was reason enough.
Choking
Wednesday, 11 November 2026
I missed last week's FP because I wasn't feeling too good after returning from France. I think that maybe some insect bites became infected and I ended up with an angry rash on my back, where I knew some River Dordogne inhabitant had nibbled me, along with a suspicious swelling in my groin area – according to Google the nearest lymph nodes to an infection can swell when called into defensive action. I'm almost back to normal now however, I'm just left with a slightly itchy patch of skin with some redness.
Othering
Thursday, 12 November 2026
This week's pattern is one of my own: The Other. I'm still on my flats fly kick, but this is one pattern you're less likely to know or have fished.
Addiction
Friday, 13 November 2026
It has had its up and downs. Sometimes it holds stronger and then you get over and kind of sober. Yet it never lets you live normally. If you fall once it will truly grab your balls and keep you there.
It is like devil sitting on your shoulder and whispering things. Do it one more time, it doesn't harm you. You can leave it tomorrow, give one more kiss today.
Freezing cold and a case for shorter lines
Saturday, 14 November 2026
So I went on the trip. I realised I was there a bit earlier in the year last time. It was successful in some parts and less successful in some parts.
The trip wasn’t very far north, it was a two hour drive that took us up and inwards of the country. But it got noticeable colder on the way there. When we stopped to shop some food we almost broke our legs as it was quite slippery on the ground as it had started to freeze. We didn’t fall but it still felt like it could’ve happened. We got kind of lucky and found something fun in the fish counter. Not a guarantee when you leave Gothenburg. I think I mentioned this cooking adventure in the last FP. It turned out great. Perfect fish and chips.
Feeding Dorado
Sunday, 15 November 2026
My Scandinavian pals in Argentina were fine fishermen - all three of them (not to disparage the yankee docs - just didn’t fish with them). The guides would whisper “professionals.” watching them fish their streamers, mice and cicadas. I marveled at the control they’d manage. The conditions highlighted tracking flaws, retrieving delays, overpowered wavelets, and poor turnover. I was placing my flies well enough, but not swimming them consistently. We fished our flies almost exclusively upstream. The currents were most often brisk. I can only judge by what I saw and the outcomes. Any slack at all upon landing was exacerbated as currents took hold. Few fish nodded, followed or ate and those that did more often weren’t stuck unless the connection was direct and robust . Our guides told us to swim our flies smoothly - streamers looked right at least 20% faster than the current - mice and cicadas much slower but still ahead of the flow with an added jiggle. Any of these looks were difficult to achieve unless the fly-line and leader described a straight line from rod-tip to the fly and the retrieve was begun without delay and was smooth enough and fast enough. Some lifting of the rod-tip to take up slack was allowed but always at the risk of running out of room to set the hook. For some reason the guides instructed trout sets. Not sure why. They surely know.
