Matthew Howell Fly Fishing | Fishing shop

Matthew Howell Fly Fishing

Phone: +61 438 323 252

Address: 111 merriang south road 3737 Merriang South, VIC, Australia

Website: http://www.matthewhowellflyfishing.com.au

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25.01.2022 Bushfires , a ruptured bicep and The Rona , 2020 has been frustrating for this fisherman but how lucky we are

25.01.2022 Gearing up for round 2 next couple of days . Casting sprinklers onto the roof is not as much fun as casting the rod . Stay safe everyone

23.01.2022 Well the North East has been on fire literally. The weather has been all over the place with my truck full of winter gear as well as summer gear. There are a number of fires burning in the hills started from lightning strikes and not likely to be out any time soon. The fishing has been terrific as have the adventures I have had with clients. We have had a river go from clean to dirty in ten minutes, then to drive upstream and have it gin clear again.... My guess is a gold prospector or a river bank collapse. There have been snakes swimming across rivers that have stopped my client from concentrating on the fish that was just about to eat the fly. Never loose focus grasshopper. I have practiced my hook removing techniques on a client that managed to drive a nymph with barb into his finger whilst it was in the little hook holder on his rod. It is hard to manoeuvre a six foot four gentlemen whilst his finger is stuck to the rod by a little size fourteen fly. Lucky i have been trained in hook removal techniques that I first had to use on my wife a number of years ago. She still brings that little procedure up when I am tying flys. It has been a great start to the season and I hope everyone stays safe whilst the country is on fire. Not many sleeps and Santa will be arriving. I had better write my list. Tight lines, Merry Xmas, and keep on fishing. See more

22.01.2022 For those of you wondering how we are travelling up here , here’s today’s update .

21.01.2022 First fish of today look how fat these fish are.

21.01.2022 Spot the Flyfisherman The smoke has cleared and the rain has fallen , come visit our wonderful little town with #emptyeskies

19.01.2022 Myles and Ted have been on quite a few adventures with me this season and we have had some fantastic trips. Myles and Ted had spent some time with my coach Peter Hayes in Tasmania. Whilst there they got to cast a cane rod that Haysie has, that was built by Nick Taransky. I am not sure how long ago I met Nick, but it was definitely a few moons ago. Quite a few years back I gave Nick a Hardy Princess reel that was my first ever fly reel, it had had the frame damaged, but I h...ad a spare spool and he reckoned he could repair it. Myles had heard on the grapevine that Nick was moving his operation overseas for family reasons and had asked me what I thought of him purchasing a rod that could be handed down from father to son. Mate a Taransky rod built by the best cane rod maker I know, would have any dry fly trout fisherman frothing at the mouth. Myles managed to purchase one for himself and one for young Ted, after making a sixteen hour round trip to meet the man himself in person. Nick also gave them my old Hardy Princess reel loaded with a fly line and after a very quick discussion we decided to put my old reel on Myles rod so he could catch his first Trout on cane with my old reel. I had bought this reel from the Complete Flyfisher thirty years ago sold to me by Marty Rogers. A country boy driving in the city for the first time being introduced to a hook turn in the center of Melbourne is another story for another time. But let’s say that people struggle to get over your bonnet when you are parked across the pedestrian crossing. I am not sure how many people these days have gotten to use a cane fly rod. I am sure a lot of the senior gentleman would have experienced cane whilst being educated at school. I think I was very lucky that they removed the cane from the education system before I was let loose on it. Well straight from Nick Taransky’s workshop to the North East into the black pearl and off to the Mountains so reminded me off my first adventures with a Flyrod. So how did the cane go? Dry fly, small stream, a rod built by a man with more passion then me in my teenage years at a blue light disco. Cool water, fish eating drys, a father and son making memories, and one super excited guide to be part of all this. Yes Myles and Ted , we did take the scenic route on the way down the river. I didn’t know those cliffs were going to be that steep. A small bit of backtracking and we managed to get home. Happy Day See more

18.01.2022 Well what a bloody disaster this fishing season has been, a hernia repair at the start of the season, then full steam ahead until the country decided to turn into a bloody inferno. Once the bushfire threat was over, a slight injury to my left arm saw me having to get a tendon reattached to my elbow, which I am happy to say is on the mend. Then we are grounded due to the Coronavirus. It is horrific to see what this virus has done around the world and I tip my hat off to all t...he health care workers and first responders that are dealing with this virus. Also I can’t imagine how sad it must be for family’s around the world loosing loved ones to this virus. My wife happens to be a nurse in a local emergency department and fingers crossed people will do the right thing and stay home. Anyway I got out my old movie camera of past fishing trips and found some footage of myself and the recon man Spike Jagoe fishing in the snowy mountains. We happened to come across a mob of pigs and I decided to crawl in and give a little one a pat, until the big one spotted me. Sometimes it is not only the fish that make a trip memorable. My old video camera takes tapes so I have put this footage on my tv and filmed it with my iPhone so I hope the quality isn’t to bad. Stay safe everyone and I can only hope the people being affected by this virus make a full recovery. See more

18.01.2022 Click on the link to sponsor Mrs Howell

17.01.2022 Trout safely in hand a classic catch

17.01.2022 One hundred mls of rain fell at my house on the day before I had the pleasure of guiding Mike and Chris. Ten or twenty mls of rain isn’t an issue but one hundred can be. So laying in bed I hatched a plan to get these two some fish, in some clean water, at least I hoped the water would be clean. There was a lot of hollering in the black pearl when we arrived to finally see a slightly tanin stained river. It was going to be alright, I assured the boys.... Mike and I have had many discussions on the royal wulff and I assured him this should be his fly of choice for this water. He usually produces a cdc Marc Petitjean inspired creation, then covers the fly with the tears from the man himself, contained in a container that is placed under his pillow at night. Chris and I were on our first trip together and I was trying to use my best manners so as not to make him feel uneasy about spending the day with me. I learnt a lot from Chris about all types of subjects and I was fascinated to hear of natural horsemanship and pleasure riding. Something I had never even heard off or tried. We discussed all manner of topics during the day, and both left with a better understanding of the world. The last trip Mike and I had done saw him, place a fly just under my left buttock in the hamstring region. I know he was quite concerned with my health for at least ten seconds after the fly was removed. Well the royal wulff I had tied on, had six takes on the fly without a hook up. Upon inspection we discovered that the hook point had broken off resulting in all the missed strikes. I said to Mike at least the guide was safe and he gave me a look that you see when the kiwis perform the Hakka. So I quickly tied on another fly before the Flying Dutchman declared war. The next bizarre thing that happened was a leader becoming detached from a fly Line, something I had never seen happen before. Thank god I hadn’t tied the knot that attached the leader to the Flyline. But after all these mishaps including a stonker taking the fly and busting us off. The team hit there straps and kicked into top gear and we had a very pleasurable day. Mike and Chris it was a pleasure to spend the day with you both, Slinging the string in the mountains and streams of North East Victoria. Happy Days See more

16.01.2022 A little bit more of the North East fishing adventures on a guides day off. Brilliant weather, cool clear water, chasing beautiful trout in the mountains. Happy days

14.01.2022 Maybe your husband is trying to say something Helen. Looks like he is in need of a bit of me time. A session on the vice smashing out some replacement troops for the next adventure. Keep on fishing.

11.01.2022 Well this 2020 has been beyond words. I still managed to fit a couple of trips in before the close of the season, in beautiful North East Victoria. Spent the few trips I did with great people in beautiful surrounds. The covid virus is running rampant again and I am so thankful of where I live. Look after your families everyone and I hope you enjoy a few shots of my beloved North East Victoria.

11.01.2022 Another great fish from lockdown creek, these trout do live in beautiful places. How many more places like this are on the map? A lot more miles to walk and a lot more exploring to do. Perhaps a lifetimes worth. Keep on fishing... Happy Days See more

10.01.2022 Well the North East is really starting to heat up with our first forty degree day about to arrive. I have had a few firsts this fishing season and I got to spend a great four days with Jack and his extended family. Jack is the first person that I have guided that was born 80 years ago. A retired carpenter, well I don’t know if a carpenter is ever really retired. I am sure every building he walks in he is checking the workmanship.... Jack has also provided a home to lots of young people that need a bit of a start in life. At 80 years of age he is still giving a home and hope to those in need. Guiding always comes with pressure to get clients fish, but when you have a man that has given so much you have to go the extra mile. We being his son in-law Mark and the rest of the family managed to get Jack hooked up to fish every day. It was probably one of most rewarding guiding jobs I have been involved in. Although I am sure I have a few more grey hairs. Great job Jack you bloody ripper. Now if ever a family should take up Fly Fishing this is one of them. I can see the sickness that is fly fishing in there eyes, and yes Mark, we will fish till dark. A lot of great memories made in the beautiful North East of Victoria. Mark , Shannon , Adam and Jack it was great to be part of your families memories on the water. Mark I hope you have given your Karen your Xmas list for Santa, I can see you need some gear. Merry Xmas and keep on fishing. See more

08.01.2022 And today we have this ..... how quickly it can change for better and for worst . Matthew exhausted but ok , our home is safe for now and we are counting our lucky stars . Thanks for all the messages and thanks so much to our firefighting heroes

07.01.2022 Just up the road from home , good to see fisheries around here

07.01.2022 The last fish in the last pool of the day happened to be 3lb and fought like a freight train. I had thought the fishy shape was nothing more then a log until it moved to eat the nymph. A sharp hook set and the fish was on and so was the battle. All it wanted to do was dive into a gum tree that had fallen into the river but side tension and positioning your tongue the right way stopped it from ending in a disaster. What a great way to end an epic day.

06.01.2022 Well life has been indeed busy in the North East. A phone call from none other then the Rain man, who happened to be on a major exploratory expedition in the Remote Reaches of the North East. After a failed attempt of a rendezvous between myself and himself due to the covid statewide lockdown that had occurred in February. The stars aligned due to a last minute cancellation of a client that couldn’t make it.... We both agreed on a place to fish that had seen us fish together a few years earlier, although we decided to fish another section of that stream. The Rain man has certainly up skilled since the first time we ever met, and it was great to see him sling the string in such a beautiful place and be rewarded with some stunning North East trout. A big climb out of the valley at the end of the day a nice cold beer. Was the perfect end to his post lockdown expedition. Great to see you again Michael keep on fishing. See more

06.01.2022 It’s hot, damn hot in the North East,but the fish are on the go.

05.01.2022 Well a guides day off today and a mission was on the cards. Today was one of those days, with beautifull sunshine, cool water and fish willing to feed. I had often looked at this river on the map but hadn’t spent hardly any time on it. Tomorrow will be tired legs and sore knees but who cares. Two fish in the 3lb range and another at 2lb and numerous small rainbows.... Happy days. See more

05.01.2022 First fish of the 2020/ 21 season

05.01.2022 Well this morning I met up with the recon man Spike Jagoe. A quick chat and yours truly trying his compound bow. The first shot was not even close to the bullseye. The other issue was pulling the string back looks easy but there is a bit of technique involved. Second shot saw the arrow straight into the bullseye and I thought quit whilst your ahead.... The Trucks were fueled up and into the hills we went. Spike had an appointment with a lawn mowing job and I had a bad case of what’s around the corner. We parted company in the middle of the Aussie bush with myself under strict instructions to report back to him once I got out. The morning session saw Spike catch fish after fish on the dry fly and any he missed I got with the nymph which wasn’t many. After we parted company I rigged up my dry fly rod and what a day it turned out to be. With all the rain we have had in the North East the fish are in great condition and on a feeding frenzy. I have always told my wife if I don’t make it home send Spike he will find me. Anyway made it home safe and sound. I have lived in these hills for 48 years and I am yet to fish all the water but this year I have fished a lot of new territory. Happy Days Now where are my maps. See more

04.01.2022 Well I know there are a lot of people suffering from Cabin Fever with the fishing ban on in Victoria at the moment. So here is one from the vault off my old video camera with none other then Spike Jagoe. Again I have to apologise for the quality but I have to play it on my TV then film my Tv with my iPhone. Anyway a classic catch it was

04.01.2022 With a lot of cancellations due to covid 19, it has allowed me to do some exploring of rivers that had been affected by the bush fires. I spent four hours fishing a fire affected river for zero, only to change spots and land a beauty for my neck of the woods. Being allowed to hunt and fish during this covid pandemic has reinforced how important this lifestyle is for me. I can’t imagine how cranky I would be not being able to get out into the bush and enjoy the outdoor lifestyle. Hopefully this pandemic will finish sooner then later, look after your families and stay safe.

02.01.2022 A last minute cancellation, a phone call from the Rainman five minutes later, saw the Black Pearl headed to the Rainmans lodgings. We hadn’t fished together for 18 months, we both had a place that needed some investigation. We managed to tangle with a dozen fish, and I think the Rainman might be feeling some lactic acid in the legs after the climb out. It was great to spend the day with Michael , I have to say he has definitely up skilled since we first met. Tight lines and keep on fishing.

01.01.2022 Yours truly with another classic catch. I have had to get rid off the sound on this piece of footage, as there was quite a bit of profanity used from the camera man Spike. There was also some profanity used by the angler myself.

01.01.2022 Matthew is safe for now , fire will possibly impact our property today , he’s well prepared , thanks for all the messages , kids and I are safe xMatthew is safe for now , fire will possibly impact our property today , he’s well prepared , thanks for all the messages , kids and I are safe x

01.01.2022 Well fish caught it all went to plan not as big as I thought but great fight with very light Tippett. Great condition and still more river to explore.

01.01.2022 Previous post was kindly written byJonathan Myers after our recent trip together

01.01.2022 There is nothing better then the release how big will he get and will we meet again. Keep on fishing