Trout Hunting New Zealand
By Brian Gies
F
or a number of reasons I consider the New Zealand angling experience the most distilled and rewarding trout fishing in the world. Over the years I have primarily seen it described as challenging and technical…a game for advanced anglers, but I see it differently. My take is that this is a fishery where short accurate casts matter most, as does a desire to truly hunt fish. New Zealand is rarely a numbers game, but rather a place where walking, stalking, teamwork and exciting visuals come together to produce what I feel is the most exciting trout fishing imaginable.
TROUT HUNTING NEW ZEALAND
Even though New Zealand has
grown-over logging roads.
a relatively small land mass it has
Typically days play out like this:
a seemingly infinite number of riv-
Anglers and their Kiwi guide (most
ers. Depending on the source and
often a hearty affable fellow dressed
what is defined as a “river,” New
like a bow hunter) don their back-
Zealand has well over 10,000 that
packs that are loaded with the day’s
run 100,000 to 200,000 river miles.
supplies, hoist a 5 or 6-wt rod and
Given the sheer number of systems
walk upstream attempting to spot
it is hard to generalize about the
the country’s abnormally large rain-
character of these waterways but
bow and brown trout. Once the
from an angler’s viewpoint a vast
quarry is spotted, a plan is hatched
number of them would be classi-
as to how the angler will set up for
fied as smallish freestones that are
the cast and the guide will describe
short in length, gin clear and are
where the fish is lying and where
easily covered by a moderate cast.
he wants the cast to land. Once the
They run through every imaginable
angler is in position the guide will
landscape from rough and tumble
give the signal and the angler will
mountains, to open highlands, to
attempt to do as instructed. Typically
pastoral valleys, to braided coastal
this will entail casting the fly 30 to
plains. A good number of these riv-
50 feet and landing it somewhere
ers run along lightly traveled coun-
in a three foot diameter. Despite
try roads and even more of them lie
the long leader, it is a reasonable
hidden in the mountains, behind
enough request. The problem is not
ranchers’ properties, or down long
so much the actual task as it is the
TROUT HUNTING NEW ZEALAND
fact that the angler has just gotten
drifted downstream. When the fly
a glimpse at one of the largest trout
was six inches from the target, the
in his or her life and is having
fish slowly moved up to sip it in and
trouble walking let alone delivering
then, just when its nose was creat-
the fly to the appointed target.
ing a bulge and slight dimple in
Ultimately the most challenging
the water, the fish slid back down
element boils down to keeping a
to the bottom of the river. As I re-
grip on your emotions so your body
leased the breath I had apparently
can perform the relatively easy task
been holding for some time, my
at hand.
fly continued to drift and I started
For me the act of hiking these
to relax. Then quite suddenly the
streams, spotting fish and watch-
fish turned again and swam directly
ing a trout move to the fly is one of
at me with its substantial mouth
the most visually and emotionally
agape, fully out of the water. In a
enriching angling experiences in
moment the fly was engulfed and
the sport. I have had the opportu-
I was so out of breath and charged
nity to participate in this hundreds
with emotion that I let out a terri-
of times and have yet to tire of it.
fied scream, stumbled into the river
On my last trip I was able to cast
and was barely able to keep control
to a particularly large fish from a
of the fish, which was now firmly
bird’s-eye position that allowed me
attached to the end of my line. For
a better than normal view of the
me, these types of visuals are what
scene: My fly landed four feet up-
both define and exalt the New
stream of the fish and immediately
Zealand angling experience.
TROUT HUNTING NEW ZEALAND
“The act of hiking these streams, spotting fish and watching a trout move to the fly is one of the most visually and emotionally enriching angling experiences in the sport”
“I consider the New Zealand angling experience the most distilled and rewarding trout fishing in the world.�
New Zealand trout are abnormally large.
Even though New Zealand has a relatively small land mass it has a seemingly infinite number of rivers.