The Queenstown Fly fishing season is underway with great conditions both weather and water wise since the opening on the 1st of October.
I managed to get out for a couple of days fishing with a good friend and look around and have a bit of an explore. I always try to look at a new bit of water come the opening of the Queenstown Fly fishing season. It always amazes me that after many seasons of fishing and guiding you can still find some little gems to excite you. The one we hit on day two was one of those streams I have been saying I have to fish that and just not got around to it but this season after a nice tiki tour around Southland we did hit it and we had a very relaxing day with approximately 30 fish hooked, landed or lost.
Queenstown Fly Fishing
The company was pleasant and the walking very easy which was just what the doc ordered after our first day which had involved a long walk to inspect a little fished piece of water that gave us some good results on big fish. In fact I lost a hog that may have gone near 10lbs and a landed a fantastic small 3.5lb silver fish (amongst a few others) in superb condition, possibly a fresh run fish into the system full of whitebait.
Queenstown Fly Fishing
Speaking of which, the whitebait season has been one of the best in many years down this way and there are very good reports coming in form all over New Zealand and I expect to see this translate into some very well conditioned trout moving up the rivers after they have finished gorging themselves on this NZ delicacy.
Queenstown Fly Fishing
The Queenstown Fly Fishing rivers are clear and full ish with some getting snow melt in the afternoon, the mayfly have been out on each of the different streams I fished or guided on over the last week and generally speaking the fishing has been productive on both nymphs and dries. The predominate method we have been using has been sight fishing but blinding in the right areas has also produced good results. Getting down deep in the right water and being in tight control of your line seems to help.
Queenstown Fly Fishing
Early season tip: Relax, enjoy the environment, appreciate the company, slow down, the fish are bonus but will come if you get the basic stuff right.
Queenstown Fly Fishing
Don’t forget that until November the back country waters remain closed but when they do open on the 1st Nov they provide some amazing options. Read the regulations and make sure you know what has changed since last season.
Queenstown Fly Fishing
Book your Queenstown Fly Fishing Expedition now and remember that early season can be some of the best fishing during the whole year with hungry trout that haven’t seen a much pressure from anglers.
Posted in Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Reports, Tips and Tricks.
Tagged with fly fishing, new zealand, new zealand fly fishing, nz, Queenstown.
By Simon
– October 10, 2011
Fly Fishing Queenstown has one month to go before the 2011-2012 new season opens. Ye haa!
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
Like fishing anywhere to be successful fly fishing Queenstown it pays to get your gear ready prior to the start of the season.
I find it is a good idea to check through all your fly fishing equipment in the month or two before the fishing season starts.
There’s nothing worse than turning up for your first day’s fly fishing to find that something is missing, the floating line is sinking, the flies are mixed up or the wrong size, the reel has jammed up and x number of other things that make you look and feel like a complete muppet!
I am sure these and many more problems have happened to us all at some time or another so let’s see what we can do to make to our fly fishing Queenstown and other waters go smoothly throughout the coming year.
RODS
- Check guides and be sure there’s no damage.
REELS
- Clean the cage and remove any grit or dirt
- Check the mechanisms and oil only as advised by the manufacturer
LINES
- Wind the lines and backing off the reel onto a line winder.
- Once you have the line and the backing, you can re-wind, checking the backing for rot or damage as you go.
- Now check the connection to the line. If in doubt re-do the connection.
- Before you start to wind the line onto the reel clean the line; a soft cloth, soap and water is all you need. Use ordinary soap! Do not use detergents like washing up liquid as these tend to damage the line. Run the line through the soft, soapy cloth to the end and rinse through the cloth in clean water by winding it back again.
- Treat your floating line with silicone to improve its performance.
- Check the braided leader loop for wear (if you use one) and check that the line has not cracked where it joins it. If in doubt, replace the loop.
- Check your shooting head lines for wear where it joins the running line.
LEADERS
- Replace all the leaders with new ones. I like to use tapered leaders and add tippets to suit the length I want to fish.
- Check out your leader wallet and re- stock with new leaders.
FLY BOXES
- Remove used and rusty flies
- Tie up flies or buy in replacements
FISHING BAG
- Empty out and check tools, priest, temperature gauge, scales, de-barb pliers and any other bits and pieces you take with you.
FISHING VEST
- Empty all pockets and remove dross
- Check: zingers, nippers, scissors and knot tying tools if you have them
- Replace flies in fly boxes
- Check sunglasses for damage and clean
LANDING NET
- Check for holes and repair or replace
- Check the net release if you use one
WADERS & BOOTS
- Check for waders for leaks and repair or replace as necessary
- Check boot soles and heels are not loose – replace if necessary
WET WEATHER GEAR
- Make sure it is waterproof and check for holes or tears – repair or replace if necessary.
WADING STAFF
- Check the lanyard attachment and the rubber shoe at the base.
FISHING LICENSE
- Fly Fishing Queenstown and any fresh water in New Zealand requires a fishing license. These can be purchased online. F&G NZ have made it easier than ever before (apparently) to do this see this excerpt from a recent email from them:
“We would like to take this opportunity to invite you to beat the rush and renew your Fishing licence online through the Fish & Game online ordering system. We are confident you will find this a simple and convenient way to purchase your 2011/2012 Fishing licence.
Step 1- Follow the link below
Step 2- Accept the terms and conditions when you arrive at the online ordering site.
Step 3- Enter your 2010/2011 licence number and your date of birth into ‘Previous Customer Details’. This will bring up your details for renewing your licence. Licences purchased online will be supplied as an attractive, durable plastic card. Plastic licences will be mailed within 5 working days of being ordered. Best of luck for the Fishing season ahead – you can order your licence now at: https://fishandgame.eyede.com/public/get_page.php”
Fly Fishing Queenstown
This should give you something to do over the next month before the Queenstown fly fishing season opens and you are fly fishing Queenstown waters for trout that have not seen an angler for 5 months or so!
Check out the Fly Fishing Queenstown Expeditions I offer and get in touch if you want to customize anything to make your fishing vacation even more memorable
Make sure to book your2011-12 fly fishing Queenstown expedition with me now.
Posted in Fly Fishing, Tips and Tricks.
Tagged with anglers, expeditions, fly fishing, new zealand, new zealand fly fishing, nz, Queenstown, rods, south island, Southland, trout.
By Simon
– August 31, 2011
Fly fishing rugby. What a mix! it doesn’t get much better. Are you an ardent rugby fan? A keen fly fishing angler? Will you be in New Zealand to see some games? Why don’t you consider doing some fly fishing while you are here? Fly fishing not your thing, then there is some great spin fishing for trout in our area, Queenstown. On the 1st of October 2011 the fishing season opens up for the new season. There’s a lot to be excited about this coming fishing season. Hmm….. I wonder if you could make fly fishing rugby into a new sport somehow. Maybe it could involve tackling the angler at a most inappropriate moment during the course of battle on a big New Zealand trout ….. it could sure making for some funny video footage. Let me know if you have any ideas?
To make the most of your time between rugby matches I have some excellent fishing trips for you to enjoy. For anglers who prefer to spin fish rather than fly fishing I can offer some awesome opportunities to hook into big NZ trout especially during the early season period which is often the most productive time of the season for the spin angler. Here’s a picture from a client I guided who hooked a mighty 10lb trout on light spinning tackle
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
….. wets the appetite some?
You will of course require a NZ fishing license which you can get online or from a local sports store or outdoors store. If you are coming out to NZ and are planning some fishing while you are here make sure you check out my pre trip info which will give you some handy info. Feel free to drop me a line if you need any help or would like to make a booking so you can really enjoy your time fishing and watching rugby.
Posted in Fly Fishing.
By Simon
– August 25, 2011
The Queenstown fly fishing season has ended. Gear cleaned, tidied and packed away ready for next season ….. well almost but more about that in a while. Maybe a quick round up first.
Looking back to when the Queenstown fly fishing season opened back in Oct 2010 the weather was brilliant all the way thru to pretty much Xmas. Lots of blue bird days, little wind, lots of mayfly and then brown beetle and the fishing was hot. All the fish were in great condition and we manged to get some early season crackers to the bank, including the one pictured below which was the fish of the season ….13lbs of New Zealand trophy brown trout.
Queenstown Fly Fishing
In fact the weather was so good that many rivers were starting to get to levels you would usually see in late March/Arpil. This was as good a spring as I can remember. The farmers were not happy with what appeared to be a bad drought about to slap them round the chops. I was worried too and actually ended up getting some Airflo Ridge Clear floaters to have more stealth on presenting to fish as the rivers continued to get lower and lower.
Then the heavens opened and the Queenstown fly fishing changed abruptly. Right around Xmas mother nature decided to make up for the lack of rain over the last 3 months and we got slapped by a series of big floods. A big chunk of the South Island got hammered and all of a sudden the fly fishing became a bit more tricky. Summer, what summer! Spring was our summer. We got some ok weather but most of the time it was a battle against the weather to get good fishing in and we had to be prepared to change tactics and fish a variety of techniques you would not regularly deploy over our mid summer terrestrial months. It worked, we continued to bank some seriously great fish.
Queenstown Fly Fishing
One of the great things aside from the really big trout we caught this season was the food on expeditions. A new cooking device this year added to my arsenal allowing for roasts in the back country.
Queenstown Fly Fishing
It’s pretty awesome to be able to catch fish like this and then sit down to a meal of roast pork (lamb, beef or chicken), wicked crackling with home grown corn, potatoes, carrots and beans in a back country hut or in a few cases right beside the river!
Queenstown Fly Fishing
Autumn, is a time a lot of local anglers really look forward to. Big mayfly hatches and fat brown trout. It certainly seemed this years late season hatches were very hit and miss with not many days of really decent action on the dry fly. Maybe it was the floods over Xmas New Year that destroyed a great deal of the habitat where the mayfly lay the eggs. There was still some bloody good end of season fishing but again you needed to think a little outside the box to be successful.
I was lucky enough to get a late season trip in with a good buddy and very fine angler which was a great deal of fun. Actually getting to do some real fishing for myself … a rare thing these days it seems.
Queenstown Fly Fishing
The fishing right up to the end of the season remained great particularly in some of the back country resident rainbow water.
Queenstown Fly Fishing
The weather has continued to be most pleasant with temps about 3 deg above norm in May around New Zealand. I have tidied up most of my gear and have things ready for next season start (Oct 1st 2011), but not all of it has been put way by any means. There are some great winter options around the Southern Lakes. Queenstown fly fishing does not stop over the winter. Yes a great deal of our normal water is closed for spawning and the focus on most peoples minds is fun in the snow. For those like myself who seem to have a deep passion to fish, fish and fish ….. keep those rods handy and get amongst some of the many Queenstown fly fishing opportunities we have over the winter.
If winter fishing isn’t your thing, fair enough but make sure to book your expedition for next season early.
Posted in Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Reports.
Tagged with fish, fishing, fly, fly fishing, new zealand, new zealand fly fishing, nz, nz fly fishing, Queenstown.
By Simon
– June 2, 2011
Fly fishing Queenstown New Zealand in May the temps have dropped. All the lowland streams are closed for spawning but we still have our high country water open until the end of the month. The fly fishing is pretty bloody good! Make sure you come and get some before the season closes!
Here’s a wee video from a recent trip:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0HNOPsYIJo[/youtube]
It look s much better in HD which you can see by going to my You Tube Channel and then selecting 720p HD
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
A quick tip. Wise choices can get you away from fishing at those tricky browns that are in spawning mode at this late stage of the season. A recent foray saw us go past a tributary that sees quite high numbers of browns. Getting high up on the main stem where the resident rainbows were all go, chomping on anything we threw at them.
Posted in Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Reports, Fly Fishing Video, Tips and Tricks.
Tagged with fish, fishing, fly, fly fishing, new zealand, new zealand fly fishing, nz, Queenstown.
By Simon
– May 9, 2011
It’s mid April and there are only 2 weeks to go until the low country rivers close for the season but the high country water stays open until the end of May down this way so there is still plenty of fly fishing left near Queenstown.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
It’s a great time to be out on the water right now with some good late season mayfly hatches occurring with the brown trout really wanting to fatten up prior to spawning. I find the best time to be out on the waters to get the hatch is anytime between 11oo and 1600 when the trout are feeding on hatching mayfly. Working the riffle water with a medium weighted nymph trailed by a emerging nymph is also producing good results prior to the hatch actually beginning.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions - late season high country 'bow on the mayfly
We have still been catching trout in some of the back country water on terrestrial patterns but again there is certainly mayfly around there too. In some of these systems runs of browns have been moving thru on spawning runs and the fish are starting to pair up. Just recently we fished a small stream where normally you are finding individual fish but this time there were many cases of 2 or more fish dancing around a pool in a most definite pairing up mode. Sometimes offering these fish a standard nymph or dry just won’t cut it – giving them a steamer to chase and chomp often does the trick.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions - late season terrestrial action
I have some more guided trips over the next 2 weeks and then in early May I am off for a boys fishing trip deep into some rugged jungle country in Fiordland with a good mate and excellent angler so that should be a lot of fun.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions - somewhere in Fiordland
The days are certainly cooling as winter is approaching but it really is a great time to be on New Zealands stunning waters hooking into big fat trout and enjoying the peace and tranquility that the sound of running water flowing past spectacular scenery can and does offer.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions - Stunning scenery
If you cant make it now for some great fly fishing make sure to start the process of organizing your trip for next season……don’t be disappointed………book in now to secure your time for next summer!
Posted in Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Reports, Tips and Tricks.
Tagged with brown trout, emerger's, Fiordland, fish, fishing, fly fishing, mayfly, new zealand, nymph, nz, Queenstown, streamers, trip.
By Simon
– April 16, 2011
I meet fly fisherman from all over the world and I have found over the years that almost without exception they are wonderful people. Maybe it’s just one of those pastimes or passions that people with certain attitudes gravitate towards. After all they are out for a good time on the water for one reason or another.
There seems to be a progression of development in a fly fishermans life, it’s a bit like Maslows hierarchy of needs in a fishy way. Certain requirements need to be fulfilled before the angler can gain the next level. Here’s my theory:
Level 1: I just want to catch a fish, anything will do.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
Level 2: I want to catch a lot of fish.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
Level 3: I want to catch a big fish.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions - 13lbs of NZ trophy brown trout
Level 4: I just want to be out on the water, catching a fish is a nice bonus.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
Level 5: I am a dumb arse guide!
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
Now the interesting thing about this theory is that many anglers make it to level 4 bypassing level 3 but I don’t think many make it to level 4 without first obtaining levels 1 and 2. Most that make it to level 5 at some point want to be back at level 4 and almost always level 3 comes into play no matter where you are at in the progression.
Did I miss any levels? Where do you fit into this progression? Use the comments and let me know.
My father (who is a great fly angler) has a saying: ” Man with hands in pocket feels cocky all day and man with fly in water catches fish”. As a guide I have my hands in my pocket all day (usually to stop being bitten by sandflies) so I don’t often have my fly in the water. Maybe he’s just telling me in his wise old way that I am a cocky prick and it’s time to go fishing with him soon!
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
Posted in Fly Fishing.
Tagged with anglers, fish, fishermen, fly fishing, guide.
By Simon
– March 22, 2011
Just back from a weeks guiding south of Queenstown with a couple of fly fisherman from the USA. The weather did not make things too easy for us with 2 really nice days out of 7 and the rest were a combo of hurricane like winds, heavy rain, chubby rain (sleet) and generally below average weather for March. We did get on to plenty of fish and even managed to fool a fair few of them. One of my clients got to realize a 50 year dream of hooking and landing a true New Zealand Trophy brown trout.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions Trophy Brown Trout
Hooking this fish took quite a lot of perseverance as it was spending about half of its time chasing two other pretty large fish out of its feeding area before making the big boiling rise of a fish zoned into a certain food source. Each time the other fish were chased off it would chomp of the surface hard out for a couple of minutes and then the other fish would reappear and compete for the food source before again being chased off.
Finally this awesome 12lb fish was in just the right place, the fly was drifting thru the feeding zone and with absolutely no hesitation it charged up like a ballistic submarine engulfing our cicada pattern before a doggard fight eventually saw it to the bank. The area it was caught in favored the angler during battle as there was nowhere for the hog to run for cover (and it knew it), it just used it size and weight component until the angler finally got it to the net.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCSn3-GWrgo[/youtube]
The fish was carefully weighed at 12lbs with a length of 27 inches and a girth of 16.5 inches. These measurements along with some photos will be given to a good taxidermist and the mounted replica will take its place of pride on the mantle piece along with the fly that caught it while the fish gets to live on to provide sport for another lucky angler down the line.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
Some other bloody good fish were also landed including two of 8lbs which certainly went along way to make up for a rough week of weather and some fairly tough fishing.
So cicadas are still on the menu but things are changing and there are mayfly nymphs developing nicely in many streams and as we near the beginning of April these will come to the forefront of the trouts dietary patterns. The trout below was caught using an emerging mayfly pattern.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
Another flood occurred a couple of days ago with most of Southland seeing muddy water and rising rivers but they are dropping and clearing again fast now. As we move further into autumn we should start to see more stable weather patterns although the temps are dropping quite a bit overnight but on the fine days the daytime temps are warming up nicely. Although 2 days ago I was forced to wear waders, damn glad I did because guiding in chubby rain and very cold southerly winds would have been unpleasant…….just goes to show you need to be prepared for all sorts of weather down here.
Don’t forget to book in for some great fishing during April and May
Posted in Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Reports, Tips and Tricks.
Tagged with brown trout, cicadas, emerger's, expeditions, fish, fishermen, fishing, fly fishing, new zealand, new zealand fly fishing, nz, Queenstown, rivers, streams, trip, trout.
By Simon
– March 17, 2011
Fishing Queenstown and the surrounding areas sometimes you just have to do something different to get a fish to hit. It’s the time of year when trout are really zoned into chomping cicada’s but sometimes you have to thrown something bigger and uglier. On my last Safari trip guiding a father/son combo we stayed on a high country station (ranch) for 3 nights to access some of the back country rivers nearby. We did get to present cicadas to plenty fish with some good results but on one particular occasion I put the young fella on to a trout feeding happily on the surface to cicadas. Due to the nature of the position we could not get a decent drag free drift and the fish went deep but continued to feed. I shortened the leader up and put on a big black double bunny and got the angler to lob it upstream like a nymph, letting it sink on the way back downstream before stripping to swing it past the trouts nose. On the 3rd swing the double bunny was in the right place and the fish could not resist – man trout fight hard with a big arse streamer hanging out their mouths.
Fishing Queenstown
This technique really comes into its own at certain times and recognizing these can give opportunities that many anglers would probably give up on. In this case it was a nice 3.5lb rainbow but the big brown trout love to chomp on a big juicy morsel too. A few days later the wind was blowing into our faces making life fairly tough to turn a dry over. I had found a big brown feeding right on the seam edge and again chose to offer a streamer this time fished as a dead drift – bingo first cast and the result was a great 8lb brown trout to the bank about 10mins later.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
Needless to say Dad is very proud but did mention that I had now ruined his son for life —- better than crack tho!
We did get quite a few fish on the cicada and here is Dad with a great rainbow, again on the first cast. Make those first casts count and your hook up rate will be higher.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
We ate very well on Safari each night— roast pork, beef, lamb with vege’s from our garden, what a great option to refuel the body after some serious back country fishing and hiking.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
I think a teenage boy really appreciated the big kai, they seem to have appetites of horses.
Fishing Queenstown
I have a busy few weeks guiding ahead thru until the end of March so keep reading the blog for updates as I get the chance.
Anyone still looking for some great fly fishing should seriously think about booking in for April and May – it is one of the best times to go fishing Queenstown and the surrounding regions, the browns are putting on plenty of weight in preparation for spawning runs, there is some great mayfly match the hatch fishing, the rainbows are beefing up too and the back country rivers really fire up over the last 2 months of the season.
Get in touch with me to make your late season booking with NZ Fly Fishing Expeditions.
Posted in Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Reports, Tips and Tricks.
Tagged with brown trout, cicadas, expeditions, fish, fishing, fly, fly fishing, guiding, new zealand, new zealand fly fishing, Queenstown, rainbow trout, rivers, streamers, trip, trout.
By Simon
– February 28, 2011
The month of Feb has been a little better weather wise with at least one week that was stable and hot with heaps of terrestrial action and the rest of the time so far has be a bit variable with a disturbed SW system. Even so the trout have been fairly willing to hit a cicada or other big terrestrial dry fly so the fishing has been pretty exciting.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
One of my regular clients maximised the really nice week of weather and we got on to some great water and some super fish. One particular fish did not want a bar of coming to the surface and continued to feed very deep. I selected one of Simon Uglies (a great mate a excellent fly tier and angler) – a pink and green double tungsten bomb and even though it’s super heavy and pretty streamlined the trout still had to lift about half way up the water column to chomp it. It was a no indicator, me calling the strike with the angler fishing a tight line so as to be super quick and bingo we are into what we quickly realized was a double figure “HOG”. After about 10mins of a very doggard battle my client landed a 11.25 lb big bad brown trout. This blew his personal best of 7lbs from the previous day out the door and needless to say made him extremely happy.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
Being the absolute gentleman angler after this fantastic fish was brought to the net I was offered a chance to have a fish and managed to get a couple as well but not so big of course. Just being able to have a cast in such a great environment makes me happy.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
We have been eating pretty well while out on Safari as my last few clients have found out. It’s pretty wild to be able to do a roast in a back country hut accompanied my some vino of course – sorry about the timing of the shot HB.
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
Getting the timing right with the dry fly set on these big back country beauts is super important and as you can see we managed to get it right on more than one occasion – although a few trout are wondering what on earth was that thing they chomped that suddenly flew right out of the gaping open mouth. Having the patience to wait until the mouth has closed can be quite hard!
New Zealand Fly Fishing Expeditions
Posted in Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing Equipment, Fly Fishing Reports, Tips and Tricks.
By Simon
– February 25, 2011
