Fly Fishing New Zealand

[Jereme Thaxton]

I have a film shoot scheduled on the South Island of New Zealand for a couple weeks in March and would love to do some fly fishing when not working. Has anyone fished there and could you offer any insight to fishing this far off land filled with mountains and hobbits? We will be shooting mostly around Kaikoura and I imagine will fly there via Christchurch. I have heard of phenomenal brown trout fishing and so was planning on leaving a week early to devote to the mission. Any advice is certainly appreciated.

Thanks!

-Jereme

www.jeremethaxton.com
www.freestoneentertainment.com

[Paul Moinester]

I have never fished New Zealand, so I don't have any recommendations for spots to hit.  However, I do have a reading recommendation for you - THE TROUT DIARIES, A Year of Fly Fishing in New Zealand.  I read it this year and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It's a great book and will definitely get you excited about fishing in New Zealand.  While the book is much more a fly fishing story than a guidebook, the author does a good job of dissecting different regions and seasons, which can provide some guidance as to where to focus your research.  You can hear a long interview with the author Derek Grzelewski on this Fish Schtick podcast - http://mauromedia.com/podcast/fish-schtick-episode-97-derek-grzelewski/. 

Safe travels and tight lines,

Paul

[Braden Halter]

Jereme, I am so jealous......

On Wednesday, January 30, 2013 5:18:19 PM UTC-5, Jereme Thaxton wrote:

[Fred]

Make sure to say " god save the queen"

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[Jereme Thaxton]

Hey Paul, 

Thanks for the heads up on the book, I will definitely check it out!  Really enjoyed the podcast as well.  I did some preliminary internet research and up until now most of the resources I found are travel agencies that sell fly fishing trips alongside whale watching excursions, but I will keep digging.  I might just book a trip out of Christchurch.  This place has been on my bucket list for so long, I absolutely have to wet a line while I am there one way or another.

God save the queen,

Jereme

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[Don Rose]

Jereme

I am envious of you. I was in New Zealand in 95. It was the best fishing trip of my life. Every fish I caught was the biggest I ever caught. 

I fished the South Island. We were based in Nelson (northern end of the South Island) for 3 days. We stayed at a bed and breakfast and had a guide pick us up every day to fish around Nelson. Nelson is a fun town. We spent another 4 days at Lake Rotoroa Lodge. The Lodge sent someone to Nelson to transport us to the lodge. When we were at the lodge we traveled 10 to 20 miles each day to the various rivers in the area. In all that time we saw one other angler. At the Lodge, the measure of a great visit was a 10 pound or bigger fish! I didn't get one that big, but about half of the guests did. If you have the time and the money for a stay at a lodge like that, I highly recommend it. If not at least go for a guide.

One of the things I found interesting about fishing  in NZ was the way the guides spotted fish. The guides would walk ahead of us searching for fish. Once they spotted one, my buddy and I would take turns working the fish. The fish were so much bigger than what i was use to, spotting them was not as big a problem as one might think. We rarely worked fishy looking water. Almost exclusively we fished at a specific fish. Normally these fish did not seem to be feeding, but generally would take a fly. Almost all of them took drys. 

The remoteness of the area was wonderful. One day we fished a river near a village, and the guide was very concerned, because he saw a set of foot prints along the river. He was concerned because someone had recently fish the area that it might spoil the fishing. It turned out to be a great day. 

The people in NZ were the nicest people I have ever met. They were extremely helpful and welcoming. 

Have a great trip and post some pics.

Don

[Steve F]

If I may add something to Don's note... I highly recommend you take a sherpa.  And fyi, I can carry an underwhelming amount of camera gear over exceedingly short distances with minimal complaints.  I work two hours a day (non daylight hours of course) and my only required compensation is airfare, helicopter fly-ins, and four-star streamside accommodations and cuisine.   When do we leave?

[Jereme Thaxton]

Hahaha, will definitely check to see if the budget allows for a sherpa!  

And thanks Don for your advice and pointing me in the right direction, Nelson looks like it has a lot to offer a hungry fly fisherman.  10 pounds a measure of success?  That sounds awesome!!  And I will definitely post some pics on my return.

Thanks again guys,

Jereme

[Jones]

Jereme,

 

My wife and I traveller to NZ back in March of 2004 and we used "Best of New Zealand Fly Fishing", an outfitter in California.  They can accomodate different budgets and can offer a lot of friendly advice.  They booked a rental car and hooked us up with accomodations and a guide near Queenstown.  We stayed on a sheep ranch called Nokami Station (http://www.bestofnzflyfishing.com/accommodation/nokomai.html) about an hour south of Queenstown and fished the Mataura river that runs through their property.  Its a great location since the river is right at your doorstep and you can open paddock gates and access parts of the river that the public would not be able to reach (short of a very long hike).  They also offer helo-fishing trips right from the farm, or if the weather is bad you can try and drive to a number of nearby rivers that might be experiencing better weather.  The lodging is nice - they have self contained cottages with laundry, Sky TV and kitchenettes.  You can stock up on supplies in Queenstown (there is a New World grocery store in Queenstown on the way - great view of the Remarkables from their parking lot) and cook your own meals to save money, or pay the host to cook for you in their communal dining room (or do a combo of both as we did).  The owners are fantastic hosts and eager to help out in any way they can.

 

Definitely hire a guide, if just for a day, so they can point out fish lies and how best to approach them and what flies are working.  We fished the Mataura with Nigel Black and he was fantastic. We didn't catch any trophies (6+ lbs by NZ standards), but we got a number of 4 pounders (my wife, who had never fly fished before, caught the biggest fish). 

 

Another useful tool they sell at sporting goods stores are maps of each region's major fishing streams and the public access points.  If you access a stream by the public access points, you can walk up or down it (a lot like the Yellowstone in MT) without trespassing.

 

Also, depending on how comfortable you are with wet wading, you may want to leave your waders at home and just pack quick drying pants, thermals and your wading boots.  You do walk a lot outside the stream stalking fish and when you find one on its lie, you backtrack downstream and then wade in. Just a suggestion if luggage size/weight is a concern.  I don't recommend this if you're going to the North Island (the rivers up there were COLD and deep), but the rivers in the South Island seemed warmer/shallower and we did more dry fly fishing than in the North.  Make sure whatever fishing equipment (boots/waders) you bring is either VERY clean or brand new out of the box.  Customs takes invasive species very seriously.

 

New Zealand is by far the best place in the world I have travelled.  Have fun and drink a DB Draught for me!

 

 

On Wednesday, January 30, 2013 5:18:19 PM UTC-5, Jereme Thaxton wrote:

[Jereme Thaxton]

Great advice Jones, hiring a guide for the first half day in New Zealand was worth its weight in gold, and thanks to everyone else (Parker, Don, etc) who also helped me plan out my trip!  I got back recently and wanted to share the experience and a couple photos.  I really hope others will get out and experience this awesome landscape for themselves.  

When it was all said and done I ended up with 6 days of play time before the work trip began, I was hoping for more but I figured this was still a good amount to scratch the surface.  After landing and renting a car, I started off on the Hope River a couple hours north of Christchurch but found the water rather silty so I moved northwest a couple more hours to Murchison, which had a number of well known rivers.  I didn't line anything up before hand as it has been my experience in the past that great opportunities tend to 'happen' rather than if I were to plan out every minute, so I pretty much showed up with a bunch of camping gear and fly rods and left everything up to chance.  It was more of a personal discovery than anything, and even on the first day I knew I wanted to come back when I had an entire month to devote to exploring this amazing country in more detail.  In Murchison, I did happen to take advantage of a last minute cancellation with a well known guide and we soon found out we had several of the same friends back in the States in the outdoor film industry.  Scott 'The Trout' Murray was his name, and it was scary how many of the same friends we had.

I was amazed at how he approached the different holes with stealth but also knew what he could get away with when we were getting into a casting position on trout that were just under the surface.  I was also amazed at how many times we changed flies if something didn't work, the way a fish would respond to the fly informed him of what his next move would be.  If the fish totally ignored it, if he looked at it, if he bumped it with his nose…they all meant something different and Scott would react appropriately.  On a couple fish we changed flies 20 times or more, and only rarely did we throw dries (contrary to my belief) and had better success with bead headed nymphs.  I like to DIY as much as anyone, but I really did value the knowledge I gained working with an awesome guide.  To put it into perspective, I hooked 9 and landed 5 with him on that half day, and then hooked only 11 more and landed 5 over the next 4 days on my own.  So I learned pretty quick that NZ is definitely more about quality than quantity.  

After fishing the Matakitaki River with Scott I fished Mangles Creek for a couple days and fought a HUGE brown for at least 10 minutes before he broke my 5x.  I moved on to the Ohikanui River near the West Coast for a couple days of backcountry camping and fishing, supposedly this is the one stream you aren't allowed to helicopter in on, so I was relieved that I could put in the effort on foot to find unpressured fish.  After about 7 miles in I setup base camp and fished up a few miles each day from there.  Definitely saw some nice browns and landed a couple smaller ones, but probably the biggest thing that amazed me was the 6 foot long eel that swam by my legs while casting to a fish.  The sand flies weren't very nice to me either and I definitely want to come at a different time of year the next time around.  

After that I spent a couple days on the Maruia River and I found a huge brown, at least 8-10 pounds and stayed with him for a couple days.  One thing that I learned from Scott was to treat every fish you saw as if it were your last, so when it got dark not long after I spotted the fish, I rolled out my sleeping bag and spent the night a few hundred feet away.  The next morning, he was still there and I nearly sealed the deal with a cicada but jerked the rod just a little too soon on and the fish never looked at anything else I threw at him.  All in all, a really awesome trip and I highly recommend it!

-Jereme

www.jeremethaxton.com

www.freestoneentertainment.com 

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[John Bilotta]

Great piece.

Thanks,

John

Sent from my iPad

On Mar 26, 2013, at 1:30 AM, Jereme Thaxton <jereme...@gmail.com> wrote:

Great advice Jones, hiring a guide for the first half day in New Zealand was worth its weight in gold, and thanks to everyone else (Parker, Don, etc) who also helped me plan out my trip!  I got back recently and wanted to share the experience and a couple photos.  I really hope others will get out and experience this awesome landscape for themselves.  

When it was all said and done I ended up with 6 days of play time before the work trip began, I was hoping for more but I figured this was still a good amount to scratch the surface.  After landing and renting a car, I started off on the Hope River a couple hours north of Christchurch but found the water rather silty so I moved northwest a couple more hours to Murchison, which had a number of well known rivers.  I didn't line anything up before hand as it has been my experience in the past that great opportunities tend to 'happen' rather than if I were to plan out every minute, so I pretty much showed up with a bunch of camping gear and fly rods and left everything up to chance.  It was more of a personal discovery than anything, and even on the first day I knew I wanted to come back when I had an entire month to devote to exploring this amazing country in more detail.  In Murchison, I did happen to take advantage of a last minute cancellation with a well known guide and we soon found out we had several of the same friends back in the States in the outdoor film industry.  Scott 'The Trout' Murray was his name, and it was scary how many of the same friends we had.

I was amazed at how he approached the different holes with stealth but also knew what he could get away with when we were getting into a casting position on trout that were just under the surface.  I was also amazed at how many times we changed flies if something didn't work, the way a fish would respond to the fly informed him of what his next move would be.  If the fish totally ignored it, if he looked at it, if he bumped it with his nose…they all meant something different and Scott would react appropriately.  On a couple fish we changed flies 20 times or more, and only rarely did we throw dries (contrary to my belief) and had better success with bead headed nymphs.  I like to DIY as much as anyone, but I really did value the knowledge I gained working with an awesome guide.  To put it into perspective, I hooked 9 and landed 5 with him on that half day, and then hooked only 11 more and landed 5 over the next 4 days on my own.  So I learned pretty quick that NZ is definitely more about quality than quantity.  

After fishing the Matakitaki River with Scott I fished Mangles Creek for a couple days and fought a HUGE brown for at least 10 minutes before he broke my 5x.  I moved on to the Ohikanui River near the West Coast for a couple days of backcountry camping and fishing, supposedly this is the one stream you aren't allowed to helicopter in on, so I was relieved that I could put in the effort on foot to find unpressured fish.  After about 7 miles in I setup base camp and fished up a few miles each day from there.  Definitely saw some nice browns and landed a couple smaller ones, but probably the biggest thing that amazed me was the 6 foot long eel that swam by my legs while casting to a fish.  The sand flies weren't very nice to me either and I definitely want to come at a different time of year the next time around.  

After that I spent a couple days on the Maruia River and I found a huge brown, at least 8-10 pounds and stayed with him for a couple days.  One thing that I learned from Scott was to treat every fish you saw as if it were your last, so when it got dark not long after I spotted the fish, I rolled out my sleeping bag and spent the night a few hundred feet away.  The next morning, he was still there and I nearly sealed the deal with a cicada but jerked the rod just a little too soon on and the fish never looked at anything else I threw at him.  All in all, a really awesome trip and I highly recommend it!

-Jereme

www.jeremethaxton.com

www.freestoneentertainment.com 

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[peter odell]

i spent a week on the north island fishing around Lake Taupo, and stayed at Tongararo Lodge.  It was fantastic - both lake and river fishing yielded big rainbows and huge browns (one person at the lodge caught a 13 lb brown on a dry fly).  Fishing the rivers requied 15-18 foot leaders, which was not easy, and reportedly, the South Island demands even better technique and delivery.  Even if you don't chatch a fish (highly unlikely), the country is fantastic and the people were great.  Hope you enjoy it.

[Richard Lin]

Wow! After read and saw the pictures, I felt like I was there!! Surly I would photoshop to replace your head with my head! ;-)

Thanks for sharing!

Richard

[Don Rose]

Jereme

Glad you had such a wonderful trip. Great fish, Great photos, thanks for sharing!

Don
Sent from my iPad

On Mar 26, 2013, at 1:30 AM, Jereme Thaxton <jereme...@gmail.com> wrote:

Great advice Jones, hiring a guide for the first half day in New Zealand was worth its weight in gold, and thanks to everyone else (Parker, Don, etc) who also helped me plan out my trip!  I got back recently and wanted to share the experience and a couple photos.  I really hope others will get out and experience this awesome landscape for themselves.  

When it was all said and done I ended up with 6 days of play time before the work trip began, I was hoping for more but I figured this was still a good amount to scratch the surface.  After landing and renting a car, I started off on the Hope River a couple hours north of Christchurch but found the water rather silty so I moved northwest a couple more hours to Murchison, which had a number of well known rivers.  I didn't line anything up before hand as it has been my experience in the past that great opportunities tend to 'happen' rather than if I were to plan out every minute, so I pretty much showed up with a bunch of camping gear and fly rods and left everything up to chance.  It was more of a personal discovery than anything, and even on the first day I knew I wanted to come back when I had an entire month to devote to exploring this amazing country in more detail.  In Murchison, I did happen to take advantage of a last minute cancellation with a well known guide and we soon found out we had several of the same friends back in the States in the outdoor film industry.  Scott 'The Trout' Murray was his name, and it was scary how many of the same friends we had.

I was amazed at how he approached the different holes with stealth but also knew what he could get away with when we were getting into a casting position on trout that were just under the surface.  I was also amazed at how many times we changed flies if something didn't work, the way a fish would respond to the fly informed him of what his next move would be.  If the fish totally ignored it, if he looked at it, if he bumped it with his nose…they all meant something different and Scott would react appropriately.  On a couple fish we changed flies 20 times or more, and only rarely did we throw dries (contrary to my belief) and had better success with bead headed nymphs.  I like to DIY as much as anyone, but I really did value the knowledge I gained working with an awesome guide.  To put it into perspective, I hooked 9 and landed 5 with him on that half day, and then hooked only 11 more and landed 5 over the next 4 days on my own.  So I learned pretty quick that NZ is definitely more about quality than quantity.  

After fishing the Matakitaki River with Scott I fished Mangles Creek for a couple days and fought a HUGE brown for at least 10 minutes before he broke my 5x.  I moved on to the Ohikanui River near the West Coast for a couple days of backcountry camping and fishing, supposedly this is the one stream you aren't allowed to helicopter in on, so I was relieved that I could put in the effort on foot to find unpressured fish.  After about 7 miles in I setup base camp and fished up a few miles each day from there.  Definitely saw some nice browns and landed a couple smaller ones, but probably the biggest thing that amazed me was the 6 foot long eel that swam by my legs while casting to a fish.  The sand flies weren't very nice to me either and I definitely want to come at a different time of year the next time around.  

After that I spent a couple days on the Maruia River and I found a huge brown, at least 8-10 pounds and stayed with him for a couple days.  One thing that I learned from Scott was to treat every fish you saw as if it were your last, so when it got dark not long after I spotted the fish, I rolled out my sleeping bag and spent the night a few hundred feet away.  The next morning, he was still there and I nearly sealed the deal with a cicada but jerked the rod just a little too soon on and the fish never looked at anything else I threw at him.  All in all, a really awesome trip and I highly recommend it!

-Jereme

www.jeremethaxton.com

www.freestoneentertainment.com 

<Thaxton_130307_4375.jpg>

<Thaxton_130227_4061-2.jpg>

<Thaxton_130303_4212.jpg>

<Thaxton_130305_4219.jpg>

<Thaxton_130301_0050280.jpg>

<Thaxton_130227_4088-2.jpg>

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