Fly fishing New Zealand report by UK brown trout journalist Paul Procter on his recent 7 week stay on the South island of New Zealand…..
2016 marked my seventh visit to New Zealand in association with Fly Odyssey. Over the years these hosted weeks have grown in demand and this season was no different as we catered for our largest group yet of no less than eight anglers. Thankfully, such is the vastness of New Zealand, even a single river system will easily gobble up a party of this size where you rarely see a soul from dawn until dusk.
As with any form of fishing, weather plays a significant role, especially on overseas trips. Prime stalking conditions demand clear skies to detect those telltale shapes down under, so imagine our disappointment then when a week of cloud and rain had been forecast! However, as the old saying goes “every cloud has a silver lining” and we found ours in the way of upwinged hatches. After all, regardless of whether it’s the northern, or southern hemisphere, ephemerids much prefer those damp, murky conditions when emerging as it tends to obscure them from avian predators, namely swifts and swallows.
A bit of careful planning then put us on rivers known to produce good flurries of fly. I for one don’t need to tell you how exciting it can be targeting rising trout, which in my book is just as good as sight fishing. Of course, our beloved cicada patterns took a back seat in favour of more delicate CdC dressings. All that said, even in the high country, it was still possible to locate one or two fish by sight where Jimmy Laverty and I put in some leg work to find some hefty trout.
In contrast, week two saw sunny skies and climbing temperatures, taking us off the beaten track into some stunning valleys. Here, we experienced sight fishing second to none and with the cicadas on the wing, plenty of big trout were in the offing. On most days, a strong Nor’wester blew up in the afternoon. Obviously this affects accurate casting a wee bit. However, such breezy weather often makes the trout more confident, allowing you to approach them that bit closer.
The highlight for me was being able to take off and overnight under canvas. Not only does this give you a true taste of wilderness fishing, but often puts you amongst better trout. Alan Swann and myself did a few forays and were duly rewarded with pristine rivers and free rising trout. Granted this isn’t everyone’s idea of paradise, but it just shows how flexible these hosted weeks as we’re able cater for all tastes to provide travelling anglers with a memorable experience.
