NZ trip a success, but...

[MrFishingToughGuy]

...I have two regrets:

1> Not meeting the guys who gave me so much helpful and USEFUL advice (Mike, Jack and Jeff) due to a last-minute change of plans --- incompetence of our online booking agency that cut an entire day off our trip, and

2> Coming back to the US.

OK, maybe 3. Getting married. Too much time spent doing things other than fishing. Definitely the most I've recalled the freedom of bachelorhood since taking the plunge!

Suffice it to say that I will be returning, hopefully sooner rather than later; it's the most stunning place I've ever seen; the fishing was nothing short of outstanding; the people kind and accommodating; and the place I'd like to spend the rest of my days ASAP. I've now had some time to reflect on all those statements since returning to the US and feel they're all still quite accurate.

As soon as I have time I'll post a few pictures, but for the time being I'm trying not to let my recent memories haunt me too much. I am certainly blessed to have been privileged enough to enjoy New Zealand for almost 2 weeks, though I'll be feeling the financial sting for a good long time to come!

Thanks again to the guys who helped me so much...good on ya mates.

Marty

[MontanaMoose]

Congrats all the way around MFTG, I'd like to venture New Zealand way sometime in the not too awfully distant future. Since college and a geology class and pics from the professor that had been a 'bush pilot' in NZ for a while, plus pics and reports of the trout he and his son caught, well you know the rest. Great post, thank you.

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

[Mike Thomas]

Hey Marty, I did wonder what happened. Glad to hear you had a good time. Did you fish the Tongariro, and how did you go?
So many questions, you will have to do a full report!
All the best.
Mike.

[MrFishingToughGuy]

Mike,

As it turned out, I did fish the Tongariro, right behind our B&B in Turangi. It was LOADED with fat rainbows. Must have hooked at least 5 in a couple hours very late that night (cool that you can fish it til midnight!) and landed two respectable fish. I didn't get pictures since I was fumbling around in the dark in a river I had just fished for an hour...just tried to keep myself and my accoutrements dry! Fish went around 3 and 5 lbs apiece and I felt a little undergunned even with my 7wt. Both came on infected PT nymphs (chartreuse thorax). In fact, the next morning we did the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, and on the way to the bus I stopped on the main bridge there and counted well over 30 fish all in the seam of that main pool. What a beautiful river! Well deserving of its legendary status

Wish we'd had a free moment in Auckland to contact you. Since our first day of vacation was totally lost (we left here the 9th instead of the 8th), we had to change a few things to accommodate our most critical arragements. In fact, we had to rearrange our plans for our last day, so instead of arriving in Auckland at 8:20 AM from Christchurch, we ended up arriving closer to 11 AM and having just enough time to get down to the Maritime Museum (very, very cool), late lunch, and back to the airport a couple hours before check-in.

Our very first day there I fished the small stream you and Chris (Gringo) will be fishing shortly outside Rotorua. It was incredible. I had less than 2 hours to fish there after procuring a license (wife was busy walking around Rotorua proper). Hooked 3, landed two. All rainbows. One close to 7 or 8 lbs, the other around 3. I do have pictures of those and will post them in the full report.

We headed to the SI after only 2 days in your neighbo(u)rhood (Auckland-Turangi day 1, then Turangi to Wanganui day 2 and finally to Blenheim via Interislander day 3). SI was very impressive. Saw but couldn't catch some large browns our 2nd day in Blenheim (I won't say where here, but it was a small stream close to Tuamarina), but managed a few smallish (35-40 cm) browns in the Wairau. Incidentally, I read that just recently Didymo was discovered there...which may be bad news since the Blenheim area is the last major stop for NI-bound anglers.

Didn't get to do much fishing after that. Did Kaikoura, then Hanmer Springs and Fox Glacier, and finally did get to wet a line not far from Te Anau, but a front came through and the wind was unbearable. Tried fishing a stream mouth for a few minutes but the chop was too much. Spent some time walking the Eglinton looking for risers the next day but only encountered more anglers. Tried the Waiau between lakes Te Anau and Manapouri but was waderless and had very little time once again.

My last stop was the upper Mataura and it was gorgeous. Hooked 2 browns on blow flies, one broke off but the other I "landed", which is to say I was perched atop a steep bank, got the fish out of a few brush piles and to water's edge but wasn't willing to risk it sliding down the bank into meter-deep water (or deeper) to release him. Handsome buck brown of near 60 cm. I was fortunate enough to slip the fly out of his jaw using the rod tip, though uponrelease the fish slapped my rod and thus placed the fly into a tangle on the bank. Lost dry and dropper....but well worth it. Wife took some photos of me releasing fish from opposite bank but you can't see the fish and you can barely see me....so again, only a few photos but did get several fish in beautiful condition.

I'll be back for a fish-only trip perhaps around June next year, so we'll certainly have to flick a fly together then. Again I wish we were not so pressed for time due to circumstances outside our control. With any luck in the near future we might actually make your beautiful country our home...very seriously.

Take care, and many thanks again.

Marty

[JeffHamm]

Hi Marty,

Glad to hear the trip was a success! I too was wondering when you might be around. The important thing is that all went well and you enjoyed your time here. Make sure you contact us next time round though!

- Jeff

[Mike Thomas]

Thats Great Marty, I am glad you had a good time, if you make it back next year around June the fishing should be good, the small streams will be full of big fish up from the lake to spawn and I can organize some cheap beds in Turangi for a few days fishing the Tongariro if you would like to get together.
Look forward to seeing the pics!
Gringo arives on Sunday and we are going to spend 4 days on the Tongariro and 3 in Rotorua, I can hardly wait!
All the best.
Mike.

[pspaint]

Jeez Marty, you go to NZ and now you're talking in metric. lol.
Man, that sounds awesome! Three to seven pound fish? Yes, please! lol. Deb didn't get to upset, did she? She didn't make you fly back in her luggage? lol. Maybe, we should forego Alaska and go there, instead?

[MrFishingToughGuy]

Phil,

I'm not kidding when I say it's THE trip to do. Alaska? What's that? We need to hatch some sort of plan so we can live the dream! Maybe not a bad idea to start planning now - I've done some of the recon; only bad part is the 12hr flight across the pond. Er...well...lemme rephrase. Just long, but Air New Zealand does it right with little TV's on the back of every headrest, and you can choose from a zillion different movies. I caught up on cinema over the 2 flights (No Country for Old Men, Into the Wild, Heartbreak Kid, etc) there and back!

Definitely going back soon. With all that silly sight-seeing out of the way, there's no excuse NOT to fish every single day!!! If you're serious about going, we ought to start saving a few pennies...

Of course, March seemed like a good enough time for the fishing...and it's a few months earlier than June... Plus it seems like some of the mountain passes that cut off a lot of driving time will be closed in June!

Campervans with showers, that's what it's all about. Rental cars? Pish.

Kiwi crew, we'll be alerting you to our presence so we can have a proper fish!

[Jax]

No Sweat Marty; Just let us know when and where and it will all be sweet.

Sorry you had to change your plans last time, but you seem to have had a great time and it seems the trout were happy to play with you. Good One!! Just Keep on having fun. Jack

[MrFishingToughGuy]

Jeez Marty, you go to NZ and now you're talking in metric. lol.
Man, that sounds awesome! Three to seven pound fish? Yes, please! lol. Deb didn't get to upset, did she? She didn't make you fly back in her luggage? lol. Maybe, we should forego Alaska and go there, instead?

Hey, at least I didn't spell it "metre." !!!

Jack,

For sure, we'll actually make some PLANS next time! Plans that don't revolve around seals, whales, glaciers, or any of that "bycatch"...

Marty