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New Zealand Troutfishing FAQ's
Over the years of promoting my trout fishing books, I have been asked thousands of questions about trout fishing in New Zealand. I have finally figured out (yes, I'm a bit slow these days!) that I should load the questions and answers as FAQ's. Having suggested that device to hundreds of website owners, it is about time I took my own advice - so here goes ................
Subject: Fishing advice
Hi Ron, I have bought read and enjoyed Catch that Trout and 101 Trout fishing tips.As tip 102, can you advise me how you fish "elbow pools", especially when fishing from the concave rather than convex side as the convex side is often overgown. I have been fishing these on the Aparima recently with upstream dry fly or nymph without any success on elbows but success on other sections. Any ideas of yours would be appreciated.
Thanks
Ian Breeze
Ian,
Good to hear from you - glad you enjoyed my books. It is a bit hard to visualise the pool you are fishing but I imagine you have faster current on the far side with the fish lying under the vegetation. The near side has a slower current and it is the difference in current speed that is causing you problems. The belly of the line is travelling slowly but the tip, in the faster water, is whipping around and coming through the pool too swiftly. A few options spring to mind.
Downstream mending (see chapter in Hooked on Trout - Manganui-a-o-teao River) and tip in 101. As you cast upstream, with the river, flowing to your right, use a Reach Cast to lay out slack line on water. This will give you some time for the tip to swing through the lie before tightening and speeding up. You can further extend this dead drift time by mending the line downstream. Leave the tip in place and flip the belly of the line on the water downstream. Keep mending downstream as the fly travels through the lie. There is a diagram on the web telly on the 101 Tips page on www.babyboomersguide.co.nz
Another option is a downstream slack line cast, usually best with a dry fly. Get above the lie and cast down to the lie, shaking the rod from side to side at the end of the cast (see chapter in CTT - Gowan River). That creates s'ss in your line on the water. As the faster current bears the fly to the lie, the current will straighten the s'ss and the line will be direct in line with the fish as the fly goes through the lie. Once through the lie, the line will be dragging again. You vary the width of the s'ss to get the right amount of slack line. There is a good photo in the book.
If the water is deep or rough enough and you can get within a few metres of your lie (won't work in shallow, slow water) you can try a no indicator nymphing (Polish or Czech nymphing technique). Fish with no indicator but you can use coloured nylon 3 m up the trace i.e. at the top of the tapered leader. You don't want anything to stop the leader sinking down into the depths. Use a heavy sinker nymph with a 14/16 tied Tongariro style to the bend. You can even add a lead shot or two if you have to.
Steer the rod tip through the lie, leading the fly with the rod tip by half a metre. Stretch out your arm horizontally trapping the line with forefinger on the grip and keeping the line taut with your line hand. Keep all the line off the water so that you are in direct contact with the nymph. If there is any, and I mean any, nearly imperceptible hesitation in the drift of the line downstream - STRIKE!
But there is a new technique to learn first ....... you have to learn to strike downstream. Let go the line from the forefingers, move the rod firmly and quickly downstream parallel with the water, i.e. keeping the rod horizontal. This will pull the fly into the mouth of the trout. If you strike up as you would normally, you will pull the nymph out of its mouth. It takes a bit of practice but it is hugely effective in hooking fish. Even works well for normal nymphing, especially for long line strikes. Again there is a photo of me using the technique on www.babyboomersguide.co.nz in the Web Telly on 101 page.
The only other thought would be dapping - poke a rod with a dry fly out through the vegetation and dap the fly (best a dry one) on the water. I have no idea how you would then land the fish - that's your problem!
Hope that helps.
Regards,
Ron
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 1:24 PM
Subject: New Zealand
Hi Ron,
Hope u r well.
I am planning another business trip to North Island this year, hopefully sometime between March and May. I bought Peter Scott's book on favorite trout flies last year so I now have 2 good books; yours and his.
Which is the best month to come and what streams would you recommend. I will be driving from Auckland and staying 3 days in the fishing area.
I do not mind walking.
Best rgds,
Ed Pysa
Hi Ed,
I would head for Lake Aniwhenua. I presume you mean you bought Catch That Trout North Island. If so, there is a chapter on both Aniwhenua and the Whirinaki River. You can stay at the motels at Graeme Ryder's place and fish any of the local rivers. Graeme is a great guide if you need one. If not, just get him talking and you will get plenty of free info! We often used to go there in April and had some great fishing . I think there is an article on the area on one of my websites - called April fishing.
Horomanga, Whaeo, Flaxy Lakes, Rangitaiki, Whirinaki are just a few of the possibilities.
Hope that helps,
Regards,
Ron
- Original Message -----
From: George Matheson
Sent: Thursday, 1 November 2001 14:00
Subject: Fishing.net.nz report - Canterbury Report by Ron Giles 29/11/00 - dated: 29. November 2000
Hi Ron
I am a keen trout/salmon fisherman from Dunedin whose favourite fishing spots are Lake Hawea/Lake Wanaka/Taieri River/Waitaki River and I am coming to Hamner for five days next Friday. Can you give me any info on Lake Tennyson and Lake Sumner - ie - trawling (have a jet boat & 4 wheel drive) fly fishing - what is the access like
Can you suggest any rivers or lakes around the area that would be worthwhile having a look at -
quite happy to travel the miles to get there
Any info gratefully received
Regards
Athol Matheson
Athol,
Nice to hear from you. Both lakes are reasonably accessible although it is a fair haul to both. You would need a serious 4 wd but as long as weather was good, should be no problem. Flyfishing is good on both lakes but can't help from a boat basis as have never tried it. The outlets of both lakes fish well from the shore and I would concentrate on those areas. The Hurunui River down from the outlet should be great at this time of year and I had a ball in the Sisters Stream area this time last year (see the Hurunui chapter in my book and for best techniques). You can fish the river anywhere from the gorge up to the outlet - that would take you a week!
The Clarence fishes well from Jack's Pass Road up to the outlet; again a week's fishing. I do best in the area around Jack's Pass Rd. It is a chapter in my next book but that doesn't help you for next week as it is not out till 2002! Fish the riffles with weighted nymphs at this time of year. You can get into the top sections of the Waiau from Tennyson and that offers great fishing. I don't know what condition the track is in - you would have to ask the locals or the Station owner.
Worth looking at the Boyle River in case there has been a run of sea-run browns. Again the chapter on the Boyle tells you how to fish for them. These are big fish and huge fun. Weighted nymphs on the bottom are the story.
Other rivers worth considering would be Hope, Lewis and Nina but that would be more than you could manage in 5 days.
Good luck and let me know how you get on.
Regards,
Ron
----- Original Message -----
From: JB Collings
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 2:02 AM
Subject: Trout Fishing
Going to be in Queenstown in about a month and will be in that area for about 30 days. What can I expect for fishing in that area and time? I want to fish with my fly rods and hit the streams as much as possible.
JB,
Sounds a nice place to be for a month but not great for stream fishing so hope you have transport. There is zero stream fishing near Q/T. Nearest fishing of any sort (apart from the lake itself) is Moke Lake about 10 km out of town. Good fishing there in both of the lakes. If you keep going for an hour up that Glenorchy Rd, you reach Diamond Stream and Diamond Lake. You will see plenty of fish in the stream but catching them is another matter - especially in Feb. On the way, you will pass over the Dart River. It is worth a flick in the evenings but is thrashed by jet boats all through the day and a waste of time, I find. Better down by the delta at the lake but again you will be cursing the jetboats. Further round, maybe 1.5 hours from Q/T is the Greenstone River. There is good fishing up to the junction with the Caples which is about as far as you will get in a day (see chapter in Hooked on Trout).
Heading the other way, there are some streams that feed into the lake past the Remarkables skifield but they are only fishable where they enter the lake. At the bottom of the lake is the fabled Mataura River and that is worth the one hour drive. Best, in Feb, down in the Nokomai Gorge as water levels get a bit thin up around Garston. The other rivers around Five Rivers will likely to be too low in Feb.
Further on there is great fishing:
Oreti in the no fly/no kill area. I find it best around Centre Hill. See chapter in Catch That Trout for details. Other good fishing in that immediate vicinity includes:
Mavora Lakes (see chapter in Catch That Trout)
Whitestone River
Mararora River
Upukerora River (see chapter in Hooked on Trout)
Eglington River
Hollyford River (see chapter in Catch ThatTrout)
However all the above are quite a haul from Q/T - maybe 2 hours each way so you would need to overnight in most cases.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Ron
- Original Message -----
From: Brian Beamiss
Sent: Sunday, 8 July 2001 15:13
Subject: New convert
Hi Ron,
My name is Brian and it has taken me 54 years to discover the joy of fly fishing. I only took it up last October and haven't been able to get enough of it since (roll on retirement!). Most of my fishing to date has been on lakes (Aniwhenua more than anywhere). In May, a friend introduced me to the Himemaiaia River and this was my first taste of fishing the rivers. What a blast ! I still love the lakes but there was something special about hooking up in the river. Now that I've got a taste of it I want more. I am booked in for a weekend at Aniwhenua starting Friday 13th July and if I understand it correctly, parts of the Rangiteiki are still open for fishing(?). I will still take the boat incase I am wrong and need to fish the lake. Are you able to tell me if the Rangiteiki can still be fished and if so where? I don't seem to be able to find any information on the Internet but maybe I am showing lack of experience in this as well as in fly fishing.
Hope you can help.
Regards
Brian Beamiss.
Hi Brian,
From memory, the Rangitaiki is open for fishing up to around the Te Awa camp area. Call in on Graeme Ryder at Aniwhenua Lodge, buy a few flies and ask Joan or Graeme for advice on what rivers are open. You should buy some of Joan's Silver Foil Caddis (tell her Ron Giles sent you) for use at the Flaxy Lakes. You have your best chance of catching a ten pounder as a novice angler from the inlet canal. If you have read the chapter on the Flaxy in my book ' Hooked on Trout' , you will know how to fish there. Also open is the Whaeo canal, the Whaeo River below the power house and the Whirinaki below the main road bridge. Check this with Graeme but I am pretty sure those open waters have not changed. So there is plenty of river fishing and there won't be too much competition midweek. You will need a permit from the Forestry to fish the waters in the Kaingaroa Forest. Use flies with a bit of a flash as most of the fishing will be to spawning trout and you want to annoy them a bit. Hope this helps.
Let me know how you go.
Regards,
Ron
----- Original Message -----
From: Frank Dober
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 4:56 AM
Subject: Info on some spots
Hi Ron
This is Frank Dober. We meet at the TU meeting that you gave a presentation about NZ fishing. The meeting place was in Jamesville, NY in November. Anyway, I was wondering if you had any info regarding the following rivers on the South Island. They are the Waitaki and the Mataura. I would be looking for what flies to try and any hot spots to check out. I will be arriving there in early February and staying in Dunedin. Also, I would be interested in any other spots on that island that you would recommend. Also, what fly shops are in that area that I could visit. Thanks very much for any advice.
Frank
Hi Frank,
Nice to hear from you.
Waitaki - it is a braided river so it changes with every flood and you need to know where the lies are. Be warned that that area is suffering a massive drought at present so water levels may be low when you get here. It has been necessary in past years to carry out fish rescues on the Waitaki in mid summer. I have often fished the major tributary, the Hakataramea River but that will likely be too affected by low flows in Feb, as it often dries up in some stretches. If so, try near the confluence where it joins the Waitaki.
Mataura - should be no such problems there. You can fish the lower sections around Gore but I prefer the fishing above the gorge from Nokomai up to Garston. Best up to midday and then at dusk (which is late there in summer around 9-10 pm.) There is usually an evening hatch and it is famous for its spinner fall later. The usual fly is a Red Spinner which you will get at any of the local fly shops although it pays to ask what has been hatching as there are some seasonal differences - rather more like you get in USA.
Other rivers - if you are in that area, you have to fish the Oreti in the no fly/no kill area. I find it best around Centre Hill. See chapter in Catch That Trout for details. Other good fishing in that immediate vicinity includes:
Mavora Lakes (see chapter in Catch That Trout)
Whitestone River
Mararora River
Upukerora River (see chapter in Hooked on Trout)
Eglington River
Hollyford River (see chapter in Catch ThatTrout)
That lot would keep you going for a month and those rivers will not be affected by the current drought as they receive regular rainfall (raining there right now in fact).
There are good fly shops in Gore, Five Rivers, Lumsden and Te Anau but I don't know any names. Also a great trout book shop in Gore - see my links.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Ron
www.trout-fishing-new-zealand.com
Hi Ron,
This weekend we are fishing the upper Whirinaki, when I questioned you on this river to you in the past you mention that there may be good fish about an hour walk above the road end on the whirinaki track. Were you meaning above the waterfall or just below it? Is there a resident population above the falls?
Catch you later
Cheers Bevan.
Bevan,
I know Graeme Ryder had a client that got a 14 lb fish way up the Whirinaki headwaters so that would indicate there are indeed fish above the waterfall. You could also try above the main road bridge. Drive through the farm paddock and follow track to park near river. Walk up track taking left branch after stream. Push through blackberry and cross river. You will have to crisscross your way up but you can do so for many miles - probably right through to next access point on Waikaremoana Road. Other good spot is 3-4 km back from Minganui. There is a track on right that goes right to river. Up and down from there is good but fish the riffles. Let me know how you go.
Regards,
Ron
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, 11 January 2001 20:22
Subject: Re: Hooked
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2008 5:19 PM
Subject: RE:
what spinning lures should I use
from toby
Toby,
Sorry, I can't help much on that score - I have never used a spinner for trout! I'll tell you what - let me know your postal address and I'll send you a trout spinning lure. I bought a few to sell on TradeMe but never got round to selling them all. That will make up for my lack of help re spinning.
Best regards,
Ron
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