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NEW
ZEALAND TOUR - ANNE AND ANDY BAXTER
Dear Don
First off, I don't
think I have ever taken a trip that was organized
for me, that was as exactly what it was billed as,
as this one. Pretty much every detail was right on
the money. And the fishing was not only great, it
was exactly as you said it would be.
We had a ball with
Frank & Pam. Turned out that the one couple there
with us, on their 8th visit, were originally from
Cleveland, where Anne & I grew up, and we knew each
other. A highlight was the very first (half) day -
Anne caught a huge brown sight fishing with a nymph
& no indicator. I caught some fish, so we thought,
well, we can do this. Then 3 great days with Tony,
lots of fish, conditions not too great, but we had a
ball. Mainly, lots of laughs with Frank.
Poronui Ranch is
Poronui. Eve has the drill down about as well as it
could be, and is as nice as they make them. Couldn't
fly out as I had a congestion problem. Saw some
beautiful water, fishing less productive than
Murphy's, but we had a great time. Hooked up with
the French's and that was great.
Incidentally,
Greenhill was extremely nice. Very high end,
probably more than we needed, but it was excellent.
Very attentive, and we could easily have stayed
there longer.
We waved off the
flight to Christ Church as I still couldn't fly,
drove to Wellington, took the ferry, and drove down
the northeast coast of South Island which was
magnificant. I would recommend that to anybody.
Then to Four Peaks
and fishing with Paul. Four Peaks was very nice, not
busy while we were there, and they took very good
care of us. The place is a bit " precious ", again,
we could easily have downscaled a bit, but it was
excellent. The big event was Paul. Don, this young
man has to be on my very short list as the best
guide I have ever had, and I've had a bunch. Now, at
the end of the day, it's all about the fish, and I
know that. And we had as good a 4 days as one can
have. But this guy is the best. Every category.
Personality, knowledge, access to water,
hard-working, great coach, high energy, and
flexible. Just sensational. Incidentally, he was
clear about the fact that he would not show you some
of the water that he took us to because of your role
as an outfitter and that the word would spread. Why
he elected to take us where he did is beyond me. We
did have a good first day, and we delivered the
goods, but still, it seemed like he gave us the best
he had in his arsenal. The rainbow attached was
10-11 pounds and took about 20 minutes and 300-400
yards of downstream racing. Paul gave us textbook NZ
fishing and we will never forget it. It was the
centerpiece of the whole trip.
Had a nice drive to
Grasmere and a fine night there where we hooked up
again with the French's. Fabulous lodge, could
easily be a place to stay for a few nights. Then on
to Rotoroa Lodge. We had an excellent stay here,
worked our butts off boulder hopping and doing the
streams. Now my ears were fine and we flew each of
the 3 days. The last day particularly was
sensational. Largely because the weather cooperated,
good visibility and the fish were up. Caught some
beauties. It was fine for us, but very hard work.
All worthwhile for the last day, which was super. My
skills had faded a bit, so my performance was below
par, but Annie shot the lights out. Did very little
wrong, caught loads of nice fish, caught the last
fish, as the chopper was coming in -- he dropped
in behind the guide & hovered, giving us a Rotoroa
marketing pic of guide, fish, and hovering chopper
behind.
You could not have
done more for us, and we were thrilled. Your name
will be passed around and you could get a call using
my name. One little bit I loved -- very few people
will ferret out Frankie -- I have one friend who
will choke when I tell him that we started off with
the President of the NZ Guides
Association......................
Andy Baxter
TRIP REPORT
Fly Fishing Adventures
888-347-4896
flyfish@napanet.net
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