NZ 2013: Day 22 – 30 Craig Week 1
I picked Craig up at the airport, dropped him off at the car hire place to sort out our fishing wagon (read as a cheap Nissan saloon) for the month and then we attempted to get a hold of Alex who had been fishing around the North end of the South Island. Craig had a plan to gish for around 10 days around the top and I was all for it until Alex finally phoned in and advised us it was not worth it. He said the area had been too badly affected by the new year floods and that a lot of the fish were very skinny. During the conversation a quick plan was mashed together and we arranged to meet the...
Read MoreNZ 2013: Day 17 – 21 Catchup
I’ve finally managed to find an internet connection after over 10 days of having nothing but mobile internet and even that was only on the odd occasion. It’s easy to forget just how largely rural and undeveloped most of New Zealand’s South Island is! The title says week one but this is really a recap of the last 10 days or so. It’s been a mix of chill out days, good days and frustrating days but that’s fly fishing for you! After the last Fiordland trip I spent the next two days away from fishing rather just chilling out and having a bit of general banter with the...
Read MoreNZ 2013: Day 6 – 16 Fiordland Fish Raging Part 2
I came out from the previous river and rested for a day as a rain storm passed through. In my mind I was completely undecided on where to fish next. On the one hand I had a river that I had fished before and knew it was good fishing and on the other I had new options to explore. The familiar choice won and what I witnessed was one of the best fishing trips I’ve ever had out here. There was a 4 or 5 day weather window where winds were sensible and blue stuff overhead was forecast. For all the remote Fiordland rivers it is compulsory to get your gear cleaned at DOC and pick up a clean...
Read MoreNZ 2013: Day 6 – 16 – Fiordland Fish Raging Part 1
If there’s one place I have a soft spot for, more than any other in New Zealand, it’s got to be Fiordland. The Fiordland National Park area in the South West corner of the South Island is one of those places that just intrigues you more and more the further you explore it. It rains a lot, 6 or 7m annually or thereabouts, the sandflies are absolutely vicious, the bush is incredibly dense and there are huge mountains everywhere to make the going pretty hard. Sounds great, eh? Aside from these slight downsides, it has absolutely pristine water and a huge number of rivers where many...
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