Red Tag: People

MEMBER PROFILE: IAN MITCHELL NEIL VINCETT

Meet Fellow Red Tagger – Ian Mitchell

I said to Andrew Rodda that I was going to interviewIan,for the newsletter andIanvery kindly offered to go fishing with me afterwards Andrew replied with "Half your luck!"(Ed: and meant it!)

So off I went to Buxton and the beautiful Steavenson to meet Ian at his lovely property . (I've got to say this writing gig is a damb sight better than many others I have had over the years).

Ian is an electrical engineer and his day job is as a Project manager in the IT Industry He has been at it for about 34 years. He does a lot of work doing computer upgrades for companies and in this day and age I guess he would never be short of work.

I was aware that he does some flyfishing guiding work in his spare time and it baffles me a bit how he finds the time He said he was very keen to help people enjoy their flyfishing and after perfecting his craft over about 28years it’s no wonder that he has a lot of knowledge to impart.

I must confess that I have a soft because, like me he was an origin turning up in Victoria with his fa a about 4 years old

After university and getting m go bait and lure fishing with his his father in law’s mate who was a thought that flyfishing caper look effective way to catch fish. He wa he was about 30 when he was given kit to give it a crack.

In 1995, one year into his flyfi was lucky enough to go to New Heandhiswifepackedupandwen

In the first few days before his wi living in a motel and spent his e the Hutt river which flows from t Upper Hutt down towards We some success, he told me, on the an Adams. During the summer months the Hutt river is usually the domain of dogs and kayakers and he seemed to be the only fly fisherman targeting the rising brown trout Whilst most of them were smallbyNZstandardshewasveryhappyfishingaway

Over the next three years he was to discover that the Hutt river had some large trout up to 7lbs, including sea run browns in the lower reaches. During his time there he was introduced to nymph fishing, particularly sight fishing with a nymph as well as a dry dropper approach. He said he was very lucky to be able to fish the rivers and lakes in both the North and South Islands At that time he met up with a work colleague of his wife who became one of his best friends. He now lives in Rotorua, and he and Ian like to catch up for a week’s fishing each year. Ian and his wife returned to Australia in 1998 so she could complete her University degrees.