Fly Fishing New Zealand-An early season report 2015/16.

Well where are 10 weeks into the 2015/16 fishing season and what a start it's been ! The weather has been pretty topsy- turvy with lots of strong winds and cooler temps which has seen us ducking and diving for cover and clear water most weeks.

The fish in general have been in great condition ,with most in the 3-6lb plus category making it to the net each week. Several clients have opted for a multi-day fly fishing adventure which has seen us heading into the Southland and Mckenzie regions both of which offer plenty of variety with their fly fishing rivers and streams.

Above are some of the better fish from the past couple of months. Heavier doublebeaded tungsten nymph's in the #10-12 size range trailing a small darker unweighted #16-18 nymph have been working well recently, the same also working well with a bit of "flash" or "bling" to catch the trouts eye during the higher colored river flows we've been encountering in the first couple of months of the season. The dry fly fishing has been slow to start with only a couple of days guiding that saw fish lifting to eat our dry flies. Green beetles and blowflies have about for a few weeks now with fish keying in on them on the odd warmer day that we have encountered, cicadas can now be heard chirping away in the South Island back country valleys most days which is exciting !

We are a week out from Xmas day and town is beginning to slowly fill up with Kiwi holiday makers and the buzz of the festive season is upon us !

Have a safe and fun Xmas people.

Cheers Paul