Hi,

Well, had another go at Parkinson's Lake just outside of Auckland near Waiuku. It's a small pond really, but it's stocked with some good sized rainbows. The edges are all oxygen weed, but a short cast gets you out into deep water. The fish cruise the edges feeding on adult damsel flys (red ones) and other top water insects. I hooked into an estimated 2.5-3.0lbs rainbow with a size 10 olive dun. It took a massive run to the middle of the lake, jumped, started another move then that sickening feeling of the fly zinging back towards you, sans fish. Still, that's the biggest fish I've had hooked up on my 3wgt and it was good fun for all of 10 seconds! I fished two other days as well (we were staying out in Waiuku, so it was just a hop over to the lake) and had some good slashing strikes at a small red damsel fly dry I made up (red pheasant tail fibres for a long tail, red thread for the body, a few turns of red pheasant fibres for a small thorax (just use the tail waste ends) and a furnace dry fly hackle. The first strike I had was on a few "practice casts" to see how it floated and as soon as it touched down, bang, this fish grabbed at it. I struck too soon out of surprise and ended up with a fly well tossed behind me in the bushes.

So, although some grabs and some hookups, no fish came to hand. Was a good time though.

- Jeff