Has anyone ever done any fly fishing in New Zealand? I've always read that it is the place to go. My wife and I are going to spend two weeks there in December and I would like to get out and fish one day. Any recommendations? Most of our time will be on the south island. Thanks in advance!

I had a friend who went with Yellow Dog Adventures, it's pricey but they take really good care of you.

He had fun, but said it was VERY challenging. Don't go expecting to catch a lot of fish. The water is crystal clear and requires long and accurate casts. He practiced a lot and still said it wasn't enough - you would probably need to land your fly softly on a dinner plate at 45-50 feet...

It's on my bucket list, and even if the fishing is tough the scenery can't be beat. I'll be very interested to hear the details of your trip when you get back!

The south island is one of the best trout destinations in the world. stealthy presentations are required no doubt..

The terrain and fishing is quite diverse.. What area are you staying in?

I fished with Bill Allison billstroutntrophy@gmail.com some time ago. I highly recommend him! My first fish in New Zealand was a 27" brown on a big dry fly.

The water IS gin clear, and the fish are eager to take a fly. As I said, it has been too many years since I was there, but I'm sure the fishing is still as good or possibly improved.

If you do choose Bill to be your guide, be sure he takes you to his special spring creek! There are rainbows in there with shoulders as wide as an axe head!!

I emailed Bill when I read your post, and as of this minute, I haven't heard back. I'll post again if he replies.

JR

I fished South Island near Tekapo north to Mount Cook, its a great fishery, no guide just pulled off and used Google earth. Remember seasons are reversed down there. Try to stay 2 weeks. I stayed at Tekapo Lodge great food, centered in middle of alot of streams, rivers and lakes Good luck

Thanks for the recommendations. We will be in New Zealand for 14 days, but I'll probably only fish 1 or 2 of those days. We're just working on planning the details of the trip now, so I have some flexibility to stay near where I need to be for the fishing days.

I fished in the lake by Queenstown and fly fished the river coming into that lake. I had a guide, for fly's we didn't use insects mostly minnows flies the Guide said there are not any insects in New Zealand??? Well I didn't see any bugs. We caught Salmon and Brown trout on spoons or minnow type cranks (trolling) lures. We were there in October spring time. I should have spent more time researching a guide and locations, but that was one I could easily fish because we stayed in Queenstown.

I did get a reply from Bill Allison. He retired from guiding a couple years ago. His place was near Greymouth on lake Brunner in the community of Moana. I fished the Arnold river and several of the tributaries that fed it.

If you've done any research, you've found that the 'Queen's Chain' law allows access to rivers and streams across private property. Knowing this, and asking permission, will get you into areas you'd normally pass by. Bill took me to a spring creek that had rainbow trout surfacing that looked like Orcas breaching! The only one I hooked broke me off right away in all the vegetation, and that shut down the whole spring from feeding.

I caught several nice rainbows downstream from there, but it was not much consolation!

JR