Fly Fishing In New Zealand
Frequently Asked Questions

Many fishermen favour camouflage gear with broken contours to further reduce the chance of spooking fish. For the same reasons it is recommended to use subtly coloured fly lines – where possible avoid white/orange lines (I doubt you could even buy one in New Zealand!! We don’t use them here.) Pale greens and tans are best suited to our challenging conditions. Always wear a cap/hat as this also improves visibility into the water. Polaroids are essential on the river or lake…you won’t see the fish unless you are wearing them. Bolle have an excellent range at your local stockist. I personally find the amber or orange toned lenses ideal for fresh water, with the blue and grey lenses better suited to salt water.

The rod weights most commonly used are 5, 6 and 7 here in the South Island (with 6’s and 7’s being favoured). With 8’s and 9’s being more common in the North Island systems over winter months for the rainbow spawning. Personally I carry and use Sage rods. I have several on hand that you may use as part of your day/trip. We predominantly fish dry flies, and nymphs. The local fishing retailers will happily share with you the more successful patterns for each area.

When I leave a camp, be it from a day-trip or overnighter, I always aim to leave just our footprints behind. Keeping NZ ‘clean and green’ is something I’m committed to. Its good to respect the back country environment and wildlife…some of the flora and fauna here are delicate – and they are part of what makes it such a vibrant yet especially tranquil place.

Some anglers still enjoy wet fly fishing at river mouths and in the evenings. We have a native insect called the ‘sandfly’…a pesky brute with a nasty bite. Do carry insect repellent for your fishing comfort especially when in high country areas and when lake fishing in the South Island. In extreme back country areas, you may find a ‘head-net’ a great accessory as the sandflies can be prolific in these areas.

New Zealand is fortunate to have no dangerous animals such as snakes and only two mildly poisonous spiders – the domestic ‘whitetail’ (usually found in curtains, will give you a small swelling) or the Katipo (I personally have never seen one). Apart from the sandfly, about the most noxious pest you are likely to run into is the odd Australian tourist spouting off about the rugby and cricket! New Zealand is a very safe and healthy place but I do suggest drinking bottled water unless advised it is cleared to drink from the wild. Please make sure you tell me if you have a medical condition….I’d rather know now, than when we are 200 kilometres from the nearest town!

New Zealand appears quite small on the maps. Don’t be deceived though… it can take a lot of travel time to get to some of the better/more remote rivers and lakes. Even what appears to be a short 100 kilometre trip can take a couple of hours dependent on the roads.

Much of our fishing is accessed by 4-wheel drive vehicle. Overnight stays are commonplace for many, eliminating the need for daily travel to-and-from the river. Tents or cabins are the most common sleeping arrangement. Of course there are hotels and lodges…but these are not always near the river!! The cabin pictures below are typical of the Canterbury region. Talk to me about any accommodation requirements or preferences that you may have. Helicopter adventures can further optimise your experience if you have the money to invest.

I am always happy to carry a rifle or two along on a trip if you so desire. New Zealand has many animals to hunt: rabbits abound, ducks, geese, pheasant, quail, possums (a pest here in NZ), wild pig, deer…these are all part of the natural habitat if you wish to go looking for them. I do not charge extra to include this as I am not a ‘hunting guide’, (although am a keen hunter myself) but am happy to help you have a go. It’s all part of YOUR adventure – you just have to let me know what YOU want to do. I can even throw in a clay-bird thrower and shotguns – there is a small charge for the clays ($40 a box) and the shotgun rounds for claybird days. This is a lot of fun for corporate days and parties of several people and makes a great alternative to live hunting.

Fishing our New Zealand rivers is VERY different to fishing elsewhere in the world. Most fishing here is sight fishing… we don’t do much blind fishing AT ALL. I am not being critical…but it is my experience that most visiting anglers just do not ‘see’ the fish in the rivers here, and so they don’t catch them!!

I know anglers that have visited NZ for many seasons that will walk past fish because they just can’t see them! It takes time and practice to read our rivers – 99% of visiting anglers will spook many fish and never know it. The fish are big…but they are found in different habitats over the river. It is not uncommon to walk 500-600 yards/metres between fish. There will not be a fish in between!!! I see anglers who don’t understand this waste valuable time and effort thrashing water that I can ‘see’ has no fish in it. As a rule, you will not find multiple fish in a pool or run…there will be one big fish, maybe two if you are very lucky. We then walk upstream to the next fish, which we ‘spot’. This is why it is not uncommon to walk 5 miles in a day (8 kilometres) or more.

It helps YES, but if you don’t, then at least practice before you arrive. I cannot emphasise enough the need for you to be able to cast… I can get you to the fish… but you have to be able to cast to it. The time to learn is not when you are about to cast into the wind to a nine pound trout… PRACTICE before you get here… or invest a few dollars in a casting clinic. Often you get ONE shot.

These fish spook easily, and once spooked, will be ‘down’ for the rest of the day (at least) and very reluctant to play for a couple of days. This is why it is important we are on water that has no other anglers. If there is another angler on the water in front of us that water is now ‘dead’ to us. It will not fish well for a few days. We would be wasting our time (and your money) to follow in someones footsteps…remember this, whether you use a guide or not – you MUST be fishing ‘untouched’ water to have a good chance of catching fish. (Untouched water to me is anything that has not been fished for at least 3 days before our arrival…preferably a week or more!) I have had many anglers express great surprise at this fact so am posting it here on the front page of my site so you know that it doesn’t matter who guides you, you need unfished water to do well when fishing for big trout in back country rivers in New Zealand. The exceptions to this rule are rivers like the Mataura in Southland that has a prolific evening rise, this can handle multiple anglers over several days running.