New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions Streamers, big fish love them

The West Coast whitebaiting season is now underway and and there will be sea run trout and kawhai to hit in the estuary’s and mouths over the next while,  a perfect time to get some of those streamers in action. Word has it the upper Clutha is fishing very well with rainbows being the sport. Time to leave the skiing in Queenstown for a couple of days and head over to South Westland via a session or two on the Clutha. A good time to get some kaimoana!

Make sure to hit my bookings page to secure your New Zealand  fly fishing expedition for this coming season.

I have a 15% discount (GST free)  on my guided Southland Homstay fly fishing trips during October 2010.

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Supplies to Stock

• Whenever you’re out in sunny weather for extended periods of time, it’s important to keep a reasonable supply of water. You might take a small cooler with a few bottles that you can attach to your belt with a carabiner, a large canteen, depending on personal preference, a hydration pack is an excellent option.
• Even if you apply sunscreen before you embark on your fly fishing trip, you should keep a bottle of it handy for re-application to the areas of your skin that receive the most sun exposure. Although many fly fishers are out in the sun consistently, it’s important to stay protected against UV rays and potential skin cancer.
• Keep some insect repellent within reach and use it before you start fly fishing. This will help keep your experience more enjoyable while reducing the risk of disease carried by mosquitoes or other biting bugs. Some repellents can cause plastics to break down, so be sure to check the label for a “fishing-friendly” designation.
• Grab some power bars to stash in your waders so you can stay energized and alert all day.
• Bring along a first-aid kit. It doesn’t have to take up a lot of space, but gauze, bandages, and some type of antiseptic should be included.
• Make sure you have a cell phone on hand. You can turn it off, but in case of emergency, it might be necessary to contact paramedics.

Mental Checklist

• Have you dressed in UPF-rated clothing? An ultraviolet protection factor woven into your shirt can provide a helpful shield against harsh solar rays.
• Are you wearing a wading belt? Remember that if your waders are waist-high or more, a belt can keep them from filling with water and weighing you down if you fall below the surface.
• Did you remember to wear eye protection? Sunglasses can improve your vision and response time while helping to prevent stray hooks or sinkers from blinding you. A hat can also prevent excessive brightness from distorting your vision.
• If fishing with others, have you pinched the barbs on your hooks? When you do this, you make it easier to remove these hooks in case they become accidentally embedded in anyone’s skin.

New Zeland Fly Fishing Expeditions - When casting goes wrong

• If fishing alone, have you informed someone about where you’ll be and when you plan to return?
• If you’re about to go fly fishing in unfamiliar waters, do you have a wading staff? This can help you navigate new underwater territory by providing extra stability to keep you from falling and sliding beneath the surface.

Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She spends much of her days blogging about Education and CollegeScholarships. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

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Carl is going to be releasing a new DVD (in Nov) of fly fishing casting technique and this is part of the series – well worth watching! It will certainly up your fly fishing game massively by being able to master these casts and the end result will be more trout to the bank.

Anglers – get stuck into it, now is the time to practice before you come on your fly fishing trip to NZ.

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Carl McNeil has a great clip below that shows some of these casts that will really up your chances of catching more fish while in NZ (or anywhere).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Carl is also one of the makers of the fly fishing film “Once in a Blue Moon” which is filmed in Fiordland and Southland, New Zealand where I do a great deal of my guiding. This is a great film and one certainly worth purchasing.

Make sure you check out the guided fly fishing trips and expeditions that I offer and be sure to get your time booked by making your inquiry now.

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The gear to bring with you should be right at the top of the list now.

New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions, Carlin Bamboo

If you are into a bit of comfort with a roof overhead, hot running water, a real bed etc during your fly fishing trip  follow this link for some good ideas of what to bring, make sure to scroll to the gear lists.

If you are looking at the more adventurous options of camp out style fly fishing or multi day hiking fly fishing try this on for size for some good ideas.

One thing about gear however is that especially when it comes down using the rod I see many an angler that can have a very frustrating time fishing in New Zealand and this usually stems from poor presentation in adverse conditions. We fish into a lot of wind particularly in the South Island. If you want to maximize your chances make sure you get some serious practice in before you come. Learn how to cast accurately into the wind, make sure you have a good variety of different casts up your sleeve. Roll casts, reach casts, the wiggle cast, curve casts, double hauling can all be very handy. These will allow you to maximize your chances and get more NZ trout to the bank. When you are out on the water fishing and particularly in an environment such as New Zealand it is not really the time to be practicing these things. Get out on the grass and do the hard yards before you come fishing in New Zealand (or anywhere for that matter).

New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions, preparing for battle

Choosing a guide can also be a very important aspect for many when coming fly fishing in New Zealand. A top notch guide will be able to help you with many aspects of your trip to NZ prior to your arrival into the country.  Guides often specialize in different things so be sure that you ask them the right questions to solicit whether or not they will be the most suitable guide for you.

For example I specialize more with multi day fly fishing trips with either homestay or camp out options into the remote back country of New Zealand. I have a sports teaching background as a internationally recognized ski instructor which offers a good transfer of skills when it comes to fly fishing casting tips and instruction but there are other guides who have actual fly fishing teaching certification and really specialize in the teaching arena and there are many other types of guide who offer a variety of different skills in different locations.

Make sure to ask if  your prospective guide is a member of the New Zealand Professional Guides Association,the first place to go when choosing a guide in New Zealand.

Check out the guides testimonials page and ask to get in contact with one of the people who have written the testimonials – it shouldn’t be a problem.

You and the guide will be working as a team on the water and good communication right from the outset should be expected and enjoyed.

New zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions, on the job

Check out this post for some handy gear to get for your trip or when you get to NZ, comfort is key.

Make sure to SUBSCRIBE and get the latest posts from www.flyfishingexpeditions.co.nz coming to you.

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NZ Fly Fishing Expeditions New Zealand is a post from: Fly Fishing Expeditions New Zealand

There are many things to think about when planning your trip and the obvious starting point is figuring out your budget and length of time you can be here to fly fish. One of the important factors in this is understanding that New Zealand is made up of 2 different islands that both offer very good fly fishing yet are extremely different in nature.

New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions NZ satellite image

In general terms the North Island is primarily a rainbow trout fishery and has by far the best saltwater fly fishing where the South Island is  primarily a brown trout fishery with options to chase Chinnook salmon although both islands do have both species of trout. Again staying quite general the North Island has higher fish numbers than the South Island but it also has a higher human population. Approximately 3/4 of the population of New Zealand live in the North Island. New Zealand is quite a small country about the same size of California with about 4 million people in it.

If you have ample time (lets say 2 to 4 weeks) you may be able to split the time half and half fishing both islands but if your time is more limited (10 days or less) you will be better suited to spending all your time fishing in one island – maybe save the other island for your next trip because once you have been here you will want to come back!

Each fishing region (state) of New Zealand offers quite different experiences and each has many different sorts of water ways ranging from the true back country experience to fishing estuary’s for sea runners with everything in between.

New Zealand is not a expensive country to fly fish in but nor is it cheap. Travel to New Zealand is the first thing you want to look at and a good site to check out is One Travel where you can check out your different options on how to get here.

A NZ season fishing license is around NZD 105.00 and allows you to fish everywhere with the exception of the Taupo fishery where a specific additional license is required.

Once here you will require a vehicle to get around in the fishing areas in. Renting a vehicle is probably the best way forward and a great starting place to look at especially if you are fishing in the South Island is Overland 4WD Rentals. Not all rentals are equal with many rental companies not allowing you to take their vehicles over certain roads in NZ – you will lose your insurance cover if you do! Overland have a great variety of fishing vehicles that do not have rules of where you can and can not go (within reason of course) and can also supply camping equipment. Our roads are in good nick but it usually takes longer to get somewhere than you may think – bear this in mind with your time constraints.

New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions - 4wd drives are the way forward

New Zealand has many accommodation options to take care of all fishing budgets. Using backpacking type hostels and also our many designated camping areas around New Zealand can keep the price down considerably. Of course there is everything else from farm stays, bed and breakfasts, self contained units motels, hotels and of course the luxury lodges.

This article is a part one of a series so be sure to subscribe so you can get the next ones that come out.

If you want help with organizing the New Zealand Fly fishing trip of a lifetime please get in touch with me.

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New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions Saltwater Fly

I was using a switch rod with a skagit head with about 11ft of fast sinking leader and then my very bright green and white kawhai fly. It wasn’t long until I had a hit which gave me some hope. A short while later I felt a good solid tug and I tugged back  – yehaa fish on. A few more fish have succumbed to this set up so I figure yes you can catch New Zealand trout on saltwater flies.

New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions Brown trout caught on saltwater fly

At the end of the day if you put an offering in front of a hungry trout that is fished appropriately chances are it will have a crack at eating it. There are a few variables with water colour,  light conditions, moon phase etc but really if the trout is eating and you present to it correctly yehaa fish on!

What do you think? Leave a comment.

If you like this article and want to read more be sure to subscribe.

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When you do a hundred plus days guiding fly fishers in New Zealand, a great deal of time is spent walking over bouldery terrain, fighting with horrendously spiky native plants, dealing with amazing extremes of weather and climate all the while  trying to find fish for your client to hook into, not to mention the time spent in quite precarious positions with your hands and knees bearing the brunt of the load – torn knees and ripped hands can be the norm. Guiding fly fishing in the back country of NZ is not for pussies!

A few bits of clothing that work very well for me and have been well tested are Salomon hiking boots, Cactus climbing pants and hiking packs, Ice breaker thermals, Stony Creek hunting jacket, Black Diamond hiking pole, William Joseph Exodus vest/pack system, Black Wolf Bivvy Tents.

The reason for this is as follows:

Salomon Hiking Boots – Very comfortable,  super light and don’t need to broken in. Can cover any ground day in day out no problem and great used in conjunction with hiking pole. Beat any wading boots I have tried so far.

Black Diamond Hiking Poles – lighter than a wading stick (tip – take off the basket and take one only), great telescoping system, awesome for getting up or down banks and wading  across rivers full of slippery stones, you can lend it to a client (friend) for the same,  makes for a great pointing device  (see the fish), handing out beatings when it all goes pear shaped (just kidding) and as a excellent splint should the proverbial hit the fan.

Cactus Climbing Pants - semi water proof, prickle proof for forays into that nasty Matagouri or Gorse patch, very hard wearing, easy cleaning and bloody comfortable.

Ice Breaker Thermals – very comfortable, doesn’t get really smelly for over a week, super warm (I go for the 260 grain) hard wearing especially if you use in conjunction with Cactus pants and feels great against the skin.

Stony Creek Hunting Jacket – really water proof, doesn’t rustle (great for sneaking up on 10lbs+ trout), camouflaged so even if they do hear you they wont see you, heaps of good pockets, very hard wearing and fits like a glove.

Cactus hiking packs -  well thought out packs for multi day missions, hard wearing, super comfy, makes light work of big trips in tough NZ terrain.

William Joesph Exodus pack – great one day mission vest pack system, well thought out design, hard wearing, can remove vest from pack easily and use pack or vest separately,  hydration pocket, blends in well with other a fore mentioned garments and is generally something that I hate going without.

Black Wolf Bivvy Tents – spacious for a bivvy, keeps bag off you and minimizes condensation, light weight, very water proof, easy to set up (even I can do it with out referring to the destructions).

Everybody who spends serious time in the outdoors has their way of doing it but that is some of the kit I really couldn’t do with out.  If you are looking back at your season of fishing and thinking what could I do to have more enjoyment in my pursuit of big elusive NZ trout in hard core terrain, have a really good look at this stuff. Sometimes a pair of stubbies worn over some polyprops and a really old shower proof (if you are lucky) jacket, a pair of boots that really have seen better days while a carrying a serious load in an f*#king poorly fitted pack really does not make life much fun.

TTWWADI – That’s the way we’ve always done it. Bollocks – there are countless ways to improve your fishing experiences . By no means just gearing up in certain areas is the be all and end all but it is worth consideration.

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New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions Browns, browns and more browns

Our recent guided expedition saw us hooking into trout after trout, both rainbows and browns. Many of the brown trout were well into spawning mode and at times were hard to hook as they were interested in other things but using a streamer fished up stream and ripped  back past them got some good responses as well as my special pattern X. Many of these fish were holding in very small, shallow areas of the river and you could find groups of 10 fish together looking at pairing up.

The rainbow trout were generally holding in deep long rocky runs and employing Czech nymphing tactics worked well – get deep fast and stay in contact – wham, bam, thank you mam.

New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions great late season back country rainbow

It just goes to show that May is an awesome time to fly fish near Queenstown, New Zealand.  Most NZ anglers have switched to other recreational pursuits and the foreign anglers just really are not here and there is tons of very good fly fishing to be had if you are prepared to do the yards  to get to these incredible back country waters. Yes, the days are shorter and colder, dry fly isn’t so much a part of the game but getting to fish as my last client said for trout that average over 22 inches  and many going into the 24 – 26 inch range (or as we kiwis like to measure our trout not in length but pounds 4 – 8 lbs) and with shots at fish well into double digits (lbs) it blows all other trout fisheries in the world out of the water. Add to that, over the two days he fished with me he landed about 20 fish, lost another 10 (including one trophy) and blew good chances on another 20 or so.

Tight Lines!

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