THE FISHING

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We visited three great fishing lodges in New Zealand.  Angler’s Retreat  is located on the North Island.  Lake Brunner Lodge and Cedars are located on the South Island.  We had a wonderful time at each of the lodges, enjoying some challenging and rewarding fly fishing for rainbow trout and brown trout.  Rainbows and browns were brought to New Zealand from the U.S. in the late 1800’s (~1880) and they thrived in the crystal clear waters.

Fly fishing in New Zealand is like no other place we’ve ever been.  The primary method of fishing is to “stalk” the trout.  That is, your guide walks a river bank or the edge of a lake and tries to locate a trout.  The water is gin-clear so it can be done.  Once a fish is spotted, it’s the fisherman’s job to cast to the fish.  It sounds fairly easy but these trout can spook quickly if the fly isn’t presented in a natural manner or the fly line goes over the fish.  Also, with the water so incredibly clear, if the trout sees either the guide or you, it typically swims away and a new search must begin.  In other words, it’s incredibly demanding!  Your approach and casting must be precise.

The trout in New Zealand are not plentiful (in most places, fish are not stocked).  That is, in many places in the U.S. or Canada, a river might hold 1,000+ fish in a mile.  In New Zealand, it’s more likely to be 100 fish in a mile.  However, the trout that are in New Zealand grow quite large.  An average trout is 3lb. – 4lb.; fish of 5lb.’s are not uncommon.  In other fishing locations outside New Zealand, that size fish might be a record trout.  In New Zealand, it’s kind of a “ho, hum… it’s just one of the little fellows.”  However, New Zealand’s fishing treasure is the trout that dreams are made of  - “double digit” beauties – those trout exceeding 10lbs.  Catching one of those on a 5wt. fly rod with a 4lb. tippet is a thrill of a lifetime!  Ed can attest to it since he caught a 12lb. brown in this outstanding setting!

At Angler’s Retreat, we had the pleasure of being hosted by Ron & Edith Burgin.  Ron is a nationally recognized angler in New Zealand and has been guiding for some 20 years.  His son, Michael, acted as our primary guide for fishing at Angler’s.  We had outstanding results, including Ed’s 12lb. brown followed by a 9lb. brown on his next cast!  Lindy caught her 1^st New Zealand rainbow with Michael.  After fishing, we enjoyed excellent cuisine prepared each evening by Edith.  Terrific!  We then enjoyed relaxing on the outside decks.

At Lake Brunner Lodge, with fished with Russell Hansen, the Lodge’s fishing manager.  Russell showed us some great fishing despite rainy weather which made conditions a bit more difficult.  With Russell, Ed had the thrill of catching an 8lb. brown in a spring-fed creek.  Lindy caught her first brown trout and one in the 5lb.+ range too. 

Our last fishing was at Cedars.  Here we went out each day via helicopter to fish waters not otherwise accessible.  Not only was the fishing great, but the ride each morning and afternoon was a thrill too!  We fished with Jason and Rob and had great results with each of them.  We caught both rainbows and browns with the smallest being some 4lb.’s and most in the 5lb.+ range.

In summary, it was a great fishing experience.  We enjoyed it so much, we’re planning to go back!!  Just check out the photographs below and you can tell from both the smiles on our faces and the size of the beautiful trout, that a good time was enjoyed (and remember, we always “catch & release” so all fish photographed are ready to be caught again).

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ANGLER'S RETREAT 
(www.anglersretreat.co.nz)

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LAKE BRUNNER LODGE
(www.lakebrunner.com)

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CEDARS 
 (www.cedarslodge.net)

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