At that time of the year pretty much just the lakes of the South Island, with some exceptions. Parts of the Upper Clutha will still be open, and parts of the main stems in North Canterbury, but realistically, the best fishing will be closed for winter. Check out the regs here, and focus in the Waitaki Lakes, as they do offer good fishing in May:https://fishandgame.org.nz/assets/Fishi ... V5-WEB.pdf Statistics: Posted by Andy W — Mon Apr 08, 2024 3:13 am ..read more

I've learned a lot since this post. There are so many variables depending on what make your flyrod is and I have found charts that give a general matchup between rod and line. On my 11' 7/8wt med action switch rod I've found that line grain weights in the 300's, load and cast well, both overhead and single hand/double hand spey. I have a couple of single hand spey lines in that 300gr range and they go out fine. My 6wt med action trout rod is fitted with a 230gr single hand spey line and is a honey to cast in both overhand and spey type casting. I do lean towards the scandi style casting, which ..read more

Hey all, My brother and I will be making our first trip to the South Island in May and would appreciate any advice on where we should fish. We are both very experienced anglers. Cheers. Statistics: Posted by Flyfisherjim — Thu Mar 28, 2024 3:02 am ..read more

The closing date for public submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill is 19 April. Anglers, if you want to keep your sport at its present high quality, make your voices heard. See https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/how- ... ubmission/ Statistics: Posted by Shingalia — Mon Mar 11, 2024 12:33 am ..read more

The Fast-track Approvals Bill has been introduced to Parliament. It will place huge discretionary power in the hands of government ministers to approve environmentally damaging projects. Environmental safeguards and restrictions in legislation such as the Conservation Act will be overridden. The way is open for the loss of your favourite trout stream to a dam or irrigation scheme. The Environmental Defence Society has commented on this lunacy in some detail: https://eds.org.nz/resources/documents/ ... rack-bill/ EDS says in part: The Bill also applies to legislation other than the RMA, incl ..read more

Thanks for that comment. I guess it's best to use as strong a tippet as possible, get the fish in quickly and release it with minimal handling. Statistics: Posted by Shingalia — Sun Mar 10, 2024 7:51 pm ..read more

My thoughts are that it is a combination of your idea, "the shock of being caught" plus trying to rebalance the oxygen levels in the blood/remove lactic acid and their natural instinct to hide when threatened. In waters with weed growth they often disappear into the weed mat when released (sometimes they do that before they can be landed!!) If there's only boulders or undercut banks that's where they'll hide while they equilibrate. Statistics: Posted by Maniototoflyfisher — Sun Mar 10, 2024 3:48 am ..read more

Maybe contact a fishing club in the region you are visiting. A member might give you some advice on local waters. Southland Fishing Club has a website: https://www.southlandflyfishingclub.org.nz/ Please also check, clean and dry all tackle when changing to new rivers. The invasive algae didymo is present in South Island rivers: https://fishandgame.org.nz/environment/ ... ys/didymo/ Because of this algae, wading boots with felt soles can not be used In New Zealand. Statistics: Posted by Shingalia — Fri Mar 08, 2024 10:34 pm ..read more

Anyone had this experience? A trout is landed and released. It swims off then jams its head under a boulder and stays there quite still. I have seen this happen several times. On one occasion an eel stalked the trout 10 minutes later. (A friend reports the same thing occurring on the Mohaka). Maybe this behaviour is reaction to the shock of being caught? Statistics: Posted by Shingalia — Fri Mar 08, 2024 8:33 pm ..read more

If I was to buy a 11' #8 switch rod (spey #5 equivalent) what skagit head weight would be a good starting point? With a lot of charts they don't state whether they're referring to a spey or single hand rod. I'm guessing for this rod a head with a grain weight of 350gr "may" be about right. If there are spey users on this forum I would appreciate your thoughts. Statistics: Posted by Southshore — Sat Mar 02, 2024 8:27 pm ..read more