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EARLY
SEASON (SPRING) REPORTS FROM NEW ZEALAND
By Chuck & Polly
Longsworth
There are two primary advantages to a spring (Oct, Nov, and
early Dec) trip to New Zealand over the summer
season favored by many. First, there’s not many
fisherman in NZ at that time and reserving time with
the top lodges and independent guides does not
require booking 10 or 12 (or more) months in
advance. Second, those big fish are “fresh” as they
haven’t felt the pressure they will see later in the
season. The disadvantage is the weather can be more
unstable.
The October/November reports below should not create an
exaggerated expectancy – the typical NZ day consists
of stalking 12 to 20 fish, getting four or five to
eat, and releasing one or two – albeit, maybe the
brown or rainbow trout of a lifetime. When you “hit
it right” in NZ, the results truly are the stuff of
fly fishing fantasies and some of these reports are
just that – “fantasy days.”
The “godfather” of all the North Island guides, Dennis Ward,
reports a day last week on his “farm” (a 15,000+
acres expanse owned by Dennis and a partner) when
the fish were aggressive and on the surface.
Result: over 20 fish averaging 5+ pounds taken on
drys!
A recent in-trip e-mail report of a “fantasy NZ day” with one
of our favorite independent South Island NZ guides
captures the essence of the upside and downside of
the early season: “…weather had been good (until
today) with a lot of fish on the surface at times.
We just had two consecutive days of big spinner
falls that had fish sipping casually in the foam
lines. Yesterday, we took 12 browns between 3 and 6
pounds on drys and lost another dozen or so. Today,
it snowed about 2 inches….”
Jerry Okikawa just returned from a combination NZ
touring/fishing trip with this report:
“My partner and I
just returned from fishing the south island of New
Zealand for 4 days with a local guide. I have never
hired a guide before to fish, but I can honestly
state that I enjoyed this experience, spotting fish,
and landing 20 - 25 fish, all 3 - 5 lbs. I'm sure
that you are aware of the terrain’s natural beauty.
The experience of just seeing the country in
addition to fishing made it a great trip.”
(note on booking New
Zealand – I just tried to finish off an itinerary
for two couples traveling to NZ in February of 2008,
fourteen months from now. We had to adjust their
scheduled plan because one of the lodges we wanted
to book was full for two of the nights we needed and
one of our favorite independent guides was also
taken for the dates we wanted. If you want to go to
NZ in February, plan very, very early to have all
the best options open.)
TRIP REPORT
Fly Fishing Adventures
888-347-4896
flyfish@napanet.net
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