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.

The warmer summer months are upon us now and fish are beginning to look up to the surface.Time to do away with the wool indicators and tie on a well hackled dry fly from which to suspend your nymphs

The 1st of November sees the opening of the New Zealand backcountry rivers and streams.My regular client Bassam and his 2 sons Simon and JP contacted me earlier this year and were keen to fish the first 3 days of the new season.We decided to head to a new region and spend a couple of days chasing some fit rainbows in a few smaller streams and then spend the final day on Mataura river, a river that has fast become a favorite of theirs !

I was lucky enough to have a window of 4 free days in early October to head away and explore some new water.

After an hour of walking we decided to stop and begin fishing. We took it in turns casting to sighted fish and fishing riffles and runs blind. We didn't see many fish in the first hour and had a limited amount of shots, the day was overcast with the odd blue patch of sky appearing every now and then making spotting in the tea colored water a little easier at times. Dirk was the first to hook up , he was blind fishing through a likely run when his bright colored indicator took a dive, opening day rustiness and a slight glare off the water resulted in him not seeing or being quick enough to get a good hook set on the fish, a quick head shake and it was off, Fish1   Anglers 0

There are many bully species to be found in New Zealand waterways .The common bully is more often seen than the other species and can be found in a large range of habitats ranging from estuaries and rivers near the coast, and in many of our South Island lakes where they are an important food source for trout . In rivers, they mainly inhabit still or slow-flowing waters and thus are probably one of the most likely bullies to be seen.They live along the shallow stony edges of our rivers and lakes hiding among the rocks and weed beds.Trout can often be seen darting around in the shallows pursuing them.

Mention stillwater fly fishing to most anglers and more often than not you get the big eye roll !
In the Wanaka region we are lucky enough to have 3 fantastic Lakes within 30mins of each other and all of which hold good numbers of wild brown and rainbow trout.

New Zealand is world renowned for it's rivers/streams and fly fishing, in most cases to be successful when fly fishing here wading is required to get to the best sections of water.

A couple of "hot spots" to target sea run trout are directly at the out-flow where the river flows into the ocean ,aswell as the hundred or so metres along the shore either side of the main mouth.As the tide drops the main river channel becomes more obvious ,the slower pieces of water just off the main flow are areas to focus your attention, fish move into these areas looking for crabs,smelt as well as mullet that are sheltering in the shallows

Lakes Wanaka,Wakatipu,Hawea and Dunstan are open all year round and provide some fantastic lake edge and river mouth fly fishing oppurtunities. For those anglers brave enough to don all the necessary warm layers the rewards can be well worth it ! The areas to fish over the winter months (June-August)are the inflowing rivers mouths ,fish congregate around these areas waiting for the right conditions to head upstream to begin spawning.

I have had great success with brown stone fly patterns the past couple of seasons in our more boisterous back country rivers and streams and carry them in sizes 8-14 some heavily weighted with Tungsten beads and lead to get down in deeper faster water and others no weight at all.

Tom is regular client whom I have guided each season for the past 6 years and usually for a duration of 5 days.He is a fairly competent angler and enjoys sight fishing in the lower South Island region's smaller rivers and streams.He relishes the challenge and technical skills required to catch it's wily brown trout.

Every river or stream is different,but they all share similiar characteristics.Spotting trout is one of the most, if not the most important skill an angler can posess if he or she is going to consistently catch trout so knowing where to look for trout is very important.Trout are the masters of disguise and can at times be found in any part of a river or stream,but some sections of water are far more productive than others and anglers should focus more time searching out these areas of river.

A distinctive looking insect with its bright green body and,long darkish head and pincer like fore arms ..a must have fly pattern for any visiting fly fisherman to New Zealand!

The South Island of New Zealand has numerous spring fed creeks that can be found in most regions,from our lowland pastoral land to the wide open tussock lined river valleys.

A large Brown trout that was lying along side a submerged log at the side of a deep pool,Bryan cast his cicada pattern well ahead and once spied by the trout drifting down the feed lane was quickly engulfed.

Today was probably my most rewarding day as a professional guide, my client was 75yr old Chuck Pierson from the US who had dreamt about coming to NZ to fly fish for years and to hopefully land a brown trout on a dry fly.

A must have pattern for any travelling anglers visiting our shores over the summer months!

New Zealand has some of the most pristine rivers and lakes in the world.  Please help us keep it that way.