After many years of saying “we must go to the South Island one day”,  it finally arrived - Gavin Platz and I were on our way. The opportunity had presented itself when Mel Fowler, currently living on the Sunshine Coast, invited us to a weeks fishing on his home turf.

We had planned to be well prepared and not be rushing around at the last minute. An hour and a half before flight time, I got the following phone call from Gavin. “Just arriving in Brisbane, be at your place in 10 minutes, we’ll have plenty of time - ahh! by the way do I need a passport to go to New Zealand?” Needless to say that after a trip back to the Sunshine Coast we arrived at the airport in time to check in, run through security and board the flight to Christchurch.

A few stiff drinks after takeoff had the desired calming effect and our thoughts soon turned with anticipation to the next seven days.

The plan was to stay in Christchurch overnight, hire a car and drive to the Waitaki River where Mel Fowler’s in-laws own a crib (fishing shack) and meet up with the rest of the guys for a spot a salmon fishing and jet boating before heading south “down the road a bit” to the Gore area. Our base was to be Rob Templeton’s farm which has frontage to the Pomehaka River and the world renowned brown trout fishery on the Matura River was only a short drive away.

Christchurch airport at midnight is not the most bustling part of the city. We finally located a cab driven by a guy from Somalia who told us that the ride from the airport to a motel would be about $8.00 - in reality, the ride cost $28.

In the morning, we picked up a small hire car and, before departing Christchurch, located a tackle shop to get some flies, glean some information about local hotspots and directions on the best way out of town.

• Mistake #1 - not buying a map or writing down directions.

• Mistake #2 - listening to Captain Platz saying how hard can it be finding your way out of town - as you are driving just keep the sun on your left and you must be going south. Eventually you must find the main road to Dunedin.

Needless to say that after a hour of sightseeing around Christchurch we bought a map and finally found our way onto the main highway heading south to the Waitaki River.

In the main, the area south of Christchurch is surprisingly flat and relatively featureless. The stand out features are the immaculately trimmed pine tree windbreaks that are testament as to how cold it can get. Even wool covered sheep need something to hide behind to keep warm.

At one of the only points where the highway was located close to the ocean shore, we were surprised to see how small the swell was. With virtually nothing between there and South America you would expect huge rollers. There was barely a ripple in the water and there were masses of kelp - a health food fanatics heaven.

After 3 hours drive, we arrived at the Waitaki River and found out that the only public phone in the area was located in the local pub - what dreadful luck. After ringing the owner of the crib to meet us with the keys we settled down to soak up the atmosphere and extract some information from the locals.

Adorning the walls of this small country pub was a virtual history of salmon fishing for the last fifty years. From rangoon cane rods, wooden centrepin reels and lures to mounted fish (ranging from15 to 20 kg) - it was all there. They even keep current capture records so you can see who is catching what and where on a daily basis. The story though, is the same as it is everywhere. Fish are not as plentiful or as big as they were a few years ago. The reason expounded for the decline is that the fish come into the river to spawn and the commercial netters are catching them before they enter the rivers.

Anxious to get part of the action and spurred on by the vision of 10 kg salmon on the end of a flyrod, we dropped our gear at the crib which turned out to be a well appointed two bedroom hut with all the modern conveniences, suited up in cold weather gear (as usual it was blowing a gale) and headed off to the mouth of the river.

The salmon come into the river and rest in the calmer water in the eddies before moving upstream. During this phase of their life they do not feed however, out of sheer aggression, they will attack an object encroaching on “their space”. Because of the volume of freshwater flowing out of the river there is no tidal movement in the river itself. With the current flow at about 10 to 15 knots, the only lines to use are wet tip express or fast sink heads teamed with a fly that will sink and not plane to the surface.

Much to our dismay, the salmon ignored our offerings. However, Gavin did manage to con a couple of small sea run trout with a bonefish fly pattern. With daylight saving it doesn’t get dark until 9 o’clock at night - great for getting in extra bit of fishing but boy, it gets cold.

After a nights rest warmed by a few rums, the guys (Rob Templeton and )with the jet boats arrived. Before putting the boats in the water, we stopped off at some irrigation ponds that have a healthy population of trout. These provided some great fun and challenges for a couple of hours.

We were then introduced to the finer points of the sport of jet boating. The first warning sign of what was to come was when they started using pinch bars to extract rocks the size of your fist from the intake grills. The second warning sign was when the first boat was launched and did a couple of laps around the bridge pylons to “warm up. The third warning was when we said “We’re glad we’re not getting into that boat with that hoon!!” the reply was “you’re in for a shock - that driver is actually the slow one”

Jet boats are unbelievable machines with exceptional maneuverability at speed. Consequently, being basically kids at heart, the fishing took a back seat and we had a hoot of an afternoon traversing the channels that made up the river flow. The downside was that it took about two days for the wind burn to heal.

An amusing antidote was related about a recent incident involving a man, a woman, a dog and the hydro dam wall in the photo. The story goes that they were “boating” above the dam wall and were so engrossed in their activities that the boat hit the wall and all occupants and the boat came straight over the wall. The police collected the two naked boaters and the dog with no apparent injuries but with very red faces. There was apparently much discussion as to what the dog was doing in the boat. Shortly afterwards, an internet cartoon appeared that depicted a dog driving a boat and looking over its shoulder with a lewd grin on its face.

After the days activities, it was decided to up stumps and travel to Pete Templeton’s farm that was “just down the road”. In reality it was in the Gore area, just north of Invercargill, a four hour drive. The convoy of four vehicles with two boats set off and all I can say about the trip is that natives all drive like the late “Possum” Vaughan , the rally car driver.

The area south of Dunedin, receives a higher rainfall than around Christchurch and is very picturesque. A number of rivers and their tributaries flow through the Gore region and these are stocked with a plentiful supply of brown trout. It is world renowned for its dry fly fishery and the crystal clear waters make it close to utopia for lovers of sight fishing. 

Stream size can vary from meandering “wee“ brooks to full blown rivers with such a volume of water flow that you virtually need to be nailed to the bottom to keep erect. There are some places that can be fished from the bank however many of the prime locations can only be accessed by wading due to the steepness of the banks and the undergrowth covering them.

Apart from a few exceptions, all rivers have unrestricted angler access without the need for permission from the land holders. Fish and Game New Zealand provide comprehensive maps that detail the points of access as well as any local restrictions that may apply. These are available over the internet or from any tackle shop.

Because of the water speed, it is useful to spend a little time prior to a trip brushing up on accuracy and casting techniques such as right and left reach casts, on-water mending and, in particular, roll casting. Being able to roll out 50 to 60 feet of line is very useful in tight or windy situations.

Although lighter gear can be used, in the sometimes windy conditions, 5 or 6 weight rods are best. The majority of fishing is done with floating lines. Be sure they are designed for colder weather - lines with stiff cores will retain memory and will be virtually impossible to straighten making a good presentation difficult. Lee Wulf Triangle Tapers or any of Scientific Angler’s speciality Trout tapers will do the job. Many of the guides will tell you that you need dark coloured lines to avoid spooking the fish. Light or bright colours make it easier to see the line and to make any necessary corrections with the drift. For all intents and purposes when you are using a 12 to 14 foot leader, the line is far enough away from the fly not to cause any problem.

The Matura River is renowned for its mayfly hatches so fly selection can be critical for success. One afternoon, I encountered a thirty metre square patch of trout feeding in a large eddy in the bend of a river. After trying every fly and changing the leader a multitude of times, I gave up in disgust. One of the other guys came down, tied on a size 20 mayfly emerger imitation and landed a healthy brown within 3 or 4 casts. The flies I was using were just too large. Sizes 16 to 20 are the norm. The moral of this is to buy flies tied in the local area for local conditions.

The tippet size used is in the 3 to 5 lb range on leaders from 10 to 14ft. You can make your own but all the knots required to achieve a good taper to turn the fly over are a pain in the neck clearing through the rod runners. A far better option is a commercial tapered type designed for cold water. You can rig a dry fly only or attach a nymph to the dry. The use of a strike indicator is beneficial when using the extremely small flies.

Our trip was in early March. The weather was cool without being unpleasantly cold. It was possible, during the middle of the day, to wade in a pair of shorts and felt soled boots. Many of the locals wear hip length waders in preference to the full length type. If you can beg, borrow or steal a set of breathables they are the best option for comfort, lightness and effectiveness.

Some Kiwi interpretations as I see them:

“Wee” is used to refer to us or can also refer to volume, distance, size etc. For example a “wee scotch” could mean either a nip or enough to fuel the space shuttle.

“Just down the road” could mean any where between half an hour to five hours drive. This also has a direct relationship to speed limit.

“Speed limit 100kph” roughly means get behind a car with a radar detector and drive at 140 kph. This has the advantage of making “just down the road” a lot closer. It’s the Gaelic decent you know.

“Jet boating” - what can I say - a V8 engine in a 5 metre tinny, add a lunatic behind the wheel with scant regard for life and limb, find a river with 2 inches of water over the rocks and drive like you do on the road where there is a 100kph speed limit. The trick is to ignore the perfectly good deep water channels - normal boaters drive there.

If you plan going, brush up on your knowledge on cricket and in particular rugby - the normal trans-Tasman banter on sport can at times become quite intense. By the way, south of the Waitaki River don’t mention the word Canterbury - they will quickly remind you that they are in Otago.

What a great place to go fishing - the hospitality that is extended is similar to that given to a long lost relation, the scenery is spectacular and the fishing fantastic. A trip to NZ is something you should treat yourself to at least once in your lifetime.
Nial Logan

As close as you can get to utopia for a dry fly fisherman

 Some of the meritorious captures are mounted on the walls of the country pub

  Mouth of the Waitaki River

  Hydro dam on the Waitaki River

  Streams vary greatly in size but all hold fish.

  Matura River - hard to better as a brown trout fishery

Pomehaka River - a tranquil place to fish