Fly Fishing Ineptitude

I have not been catching many fish and I have not caught any really big ones.  It is not easy down here.  I did not really expect it to be easy, but I did expect to be doing better than I have. New Zealand has a reputation as an experts’ destination.  So it is fair to conclude that I am not an expert at least for this type of fishing.  I have caught a grand total of about six trout.  I am not going to calculate my per fish cost!

Here is the list of my fishing spots:

Lake Rotorua (my only fishing on the North Island) – first ever night time fly fishing outing for me and first ever New Zealand trout.    I was graciously invited to fish with my co-worker Barbara Dusicka’s brother-in-law, Carl, while we stayed with Barbara’s family in Tauranga for a few days.  We fished from dusk until midnight.  It was a cool experience.

Mararoa River – a couple hour outing on a windy afternoon for Walter and me.

Clinton River – a beautiful river along the Milford Track.  We saw some beautiful, big rainbow trout in the Clinton.  I fished for them a little bit, but not too seriously.

Waiau River – massive, but very clear river flowing out of Lake Te Anau.  I thought I had a good chance in an afternoon and early evening.  I saw several big fish and a few risers, but no takers.

Oreti River – a brief afternoon outing for the whole family for some casting practice and a little fishing.  No fish, but we did lose a flip flop, which we retrieved the next day.  So, instead of catch and release, this was an instance of release and then catch.

Matauro River – This is a very famous river purportedly with lots of brown trout.  I caught one and saw some other big ones.  I really enjoyed my late day fishing here.  I would love to return to that river some day.

Ahiriri River (twice) – I caught some smallish rainbows on this river.  I saw a couple of huge trout who clearly saw me as well. 

Some of the contributing factors in my less than impressive haul thus far:

·         Not knowing where you are going.  This will hold you back no what country you are from or what country you are fishing in.   I bought a book on trout fishing on the South Island and that has helped me identify some of the more reputable rivers.  However, once I get to said reputable river, I feel like I am going to either obvious or unproven places.  Like parts of the US (but thankfully not most of the US), most of the rivers run through private land.  Here, there are lots of "stations" which are huge (20,000 acre huge) sheep and cattle ranches.  It seems that many of these stations allow fishing access, but usually at just certain locations.  Those locations are where you tend to start and they tend to be fished hard leading to sparse and wary trout.

·         Inexperience at sight fishing.  New Zealand has a reputation for having relatively low populations of trout, but lots of big ones.  It also has a lot of gin clear water.  With super clear water and a few big fish, the idea is to see the fish first and then cast to it as opposed to blindly chucking it out there.  I, on the other hand, am a proud member of the “chucking it out there” school which I do in water with more fish and less clarity.  I have spotted quite a few fish, but I suspect that they spot me a little earlier than I spot them.

·         Purportedly, tough late season conditions in a low water year.  I met a couple of serious fly fishermen from Scotland while fishing on the Matauro.  They had been coming to New Zealand for a decade and this was the toughest fishing that they had experienced.

·         Wind at times and rain at times that lead to less than stellar casting or visibility.

·         Minimal aquatic bug life and lack of dry fly hatches.  I think that is the norm for most New Zealand rivers.  The thing that I can't figure out is how these fish get so big with seemingly so  little to eat.

·         Mixing family time with fishing time.  For fishing success, you kind of have to be hardcore about it.  This trip has not been that hardcore, although Margaret and the boys have been very supportive of me getting some fishing in.

·         I hate to admit it, but I think I am losing some of the much needed “fire in the belly”.  It pains me to write that sentence, but there is some truth to it.

 

No photos.  I would be catching even less trout if I were taking photos!