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NEWSLETTER
#45A - NEW ZEALAND SPECIAL 2006
Hi Everyone With An Interest In New
Zealand,
This e-mail includes some updated
information for New Zealand “fly rod touring” for
’07. Also, some of our recent trip highlights.
We recently returned from our annual
New Zealand trek (with another stop in Fiji) -some
things stay the same and some new things are
uncovered.
BEST RESULTS – MOST “FANTASY DAYS”
A “fantasy fly fishing day” in NZ is
unlike anything in the world. Our February
newsletter detailed Jim Taylor’s terrific day – in
fact, you could almost count Jim’s entire trip as a
fantasy. On the day referenced, Jim had with 13
fish from 4 to 7.5 pounds, all on DRY flies, and was
on a copter fly out from Lake Rotoroa Lodge. For
five years, we have been tracking carefully where
our clients (and myself) have had “fantasy days” and
Lake Rotoroa Lodge leads our accounting with six of
the top 10 days (Independent guide, Kevin Payne, has
three of the top 10 and Lake Brunner Lodge the 10th).
While Lake Rotoroa Lodge is a
wonderful “high end” stay with great food, top
guides, and a very detailed approach to planning
each fishing day, the downsides are the sand flies
can be a nuisance and the copter fly outs are
expensive.
THE DOUBLE DIGIT FISH
The 10+ pound trout is a rare
commodity; however, in New Zealand the odds of
getting a monster, maybe even on a DRY fly, are
better than anywhere on the globe. There is a strong
rumor floating that David Sheldon (who is still in
Kiwi-land on his first New Zealand trip) has
recorded this rare feat. I haven’t spoken to David
so don’t have the details. I do know it came from
the early part of his itinerary so my best guess is
out of the Motu River, Murphy’s Lodge. I fished
the Motu for the first time from Murphy’s on this
years trip and there are certainly lots of big fish
in the Motu.
Although not common, the ten pound
trout caught sight fishing in New Zealand’s crystal
clear waters is the ultimate prize for a fresh water
fly caster. Our five years of assembling New
Zealand itineraries has produced one or two such
fish per year. Places like Poronui Ranch, Lake
Rotoroa Lodge, Guide Nigel Birt, and Guide Kevin
Payne have been involved in those big fish being
taken.
KEVIN PAYNE EXCLUSIVE
We think Independent Guide Kevin
Payne and the waters he accesses represent some of
New Zealand’s best fishing without using a
helicopter. Also, Kevin brings a work ethic and
energy to the day that is special. Those feelings
are supported by the experiences of a lot of fishing
days by a lot of different fisherman over the last
five years. In 2006, we sent Kevin the greatest
number of his clients. Virtually all of those
clients are returning in 2007 along with some
repeaters from 2005. Because of that, Kevin’s
booking coordinator (his wife Jodi) has given us the
“first rights” on the key prime time dates of late
January, February, and March. Those “first rights”
expire in March. Currently, we are trying to
allocate days with Kevin to include everyone with an
interest. We may need a lottery!!
WINERY TOURS, FLY FISH COMBO DAY
IN HAWKES BAY, NAPIER AREA
My wife and I combined some unique
elements into one day during our visit to the Hawkes
Bay, Napier area of the North Island on our recent
trip. The day started with a visit to a coastal
river that is stronger on numbers of fish than size
where we took 20+ fish in the morning. Lunkers
these weren’t (12 to 20 inch fish with two 20
inchers the top fish), but they were plentiful and
the action fast. We had lunch streamside then
changed into the casual clothes we had brought along
and spent the afternoon visiting wineries in the
area, one of NZ’s finest wine producing regions.
For unique experiences unrelated to
fly fishing, we also made a stop in New Zealand’s
capital city of Wellington to attend the final day
of the International Rugby Seven’s Tournament. We
don’t know much about rugby, but we both agreed this
was the greatest sporting spectacle we had ever
witnessed. We had watched the finals of this
special event on TV during two of our previous NZ
trips and had decided we had to be there – we
weren’t disappointed.
New Zealand itineraries have become
one of our major specialties. Personally, I enjoy
matching the many options of New Zealand with the
personal interests and objectives of clients. New
Zealand is unique in all the world for these
reasons:
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Sight fishing
for trout in crystalline streams and rivers
where the fish can average a legitimate three to
four pounds or even bigger in some waters.
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Quality and
industriousness of the Kiwi people overall, and
specifically, the globe’s most outstanding group
of guides.
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The wonderful
variety of inns, lodges, and country stays; from
farm stays to some of the top properties my wife
and I have ever visited in all our world wide
travels.
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The country
itself from the dramatic alps of the South
Island to the spectacular coastlines, rich
farmlands and vineyards, and the spectacular
waters of it’s rivers and streams.
We have a New Zealand slide tour
available where we take a map of the two islands and
start on the North Island moving south viewing the
many different waters, guides, lodges, and options.
If you are located in the San Francisco Bay Area and
would like to get together and view this “tour,”
just let me know.
If you have traveled to New Zealand
for a “fly rod tour,” you know the importance of
early planning to have the best options available to
you. Both the top independent guides and best
lodges book up very early for the prime late January
through March dates.
An enthusiastic
traveling fly fisher,
Don Muelrath
Leland Fly Fishing
Adventures
888-347-4896
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