Hi Guys, sorry for the lack of reports, but I have not fished since November. Finaly got out on Monday, with Jimsnarocks and Jeff Ham. We picked Jim up from the Farmstay and of course Met Debbie as well, it was an absolute pleasure to meet them both.
We took Jim to the Waiomu River, and despite the long hot summer we have had the river was slightly up and quite coloured.
We all managed a few fish, I think Jim landed 4, 3 browns and 1 Rainbow, not big, but his first NZ trout.
Jeff took a few pics, so I hope he can post a few here if he gets the chance. We dropped Jim back at the farmstay to finish packing for his onward journey and Jeff guided me to a stretch of the Waihau river that I have not fished before, it was the exact opposite of the Waiomu, being crystal clear with a sand and gravel bottom and lots of weed. It was full of trout, some rising, but all spooky, one bungled cast and they were gone.
We did both manage to catch a few, mostly on small PT nymphs or wee wets, Thanks for showing me this area Jeff, I will be back!
I will try to post some pics in the next couple of days.
All the best.
Mike
That’s fantastic! I truly hope I have the privilege of visting New Zealand sometime to do some fishing. Can’t wait to see the pics!
TT.
Will post the photos here after work today. Uhh, no, I’m not checking while at work. Of course not! 
- Jeff
Hi,
At 6:00 am Monday Mike picked me up outside my apartment in Auckland. The two of us headed off towards Matamata, which you might know as Hobbiton in the Lord of the Rings movies and in the two upcoming Hobbit movies (yes, shameless local plug there). Jim and Debbie were staying at a Bed and Breakfast just outside of town. We arrived a couple hours later and had a nice morning chin wag. Jim and Debbie had a birthday card for me (as it was coincidentally my birthday, which made the card quite appropriate), which I thought was unnecessary since their arrival gave me the perfect excuse to use a days leave from work to go fishing; more than enough of a birthday gift in my view!
Anyway, after a short visit, the boys headed off to go fishing while Debbie was going to take a hike up to see the nearby waterfall. The Waiomou stream was our selected fishing ground. We had some rain recently, so the water turned out to be a bit coloured and higher than usual. Still, it holds both rainbows and browns, so it was bound to provide.
Here’s Mike and Jim, ready to tackle the river.
Although there were a few rather thorny raspberry bushes to negotiate our way through, once we got to the water it’s a fairly easy river to fish but that doesn’t stop me from losing a few flies to trees and underwater foul nonetheless. Just enough challenges in that department to keep you honest. The current can be quite strong, and it is surprisingly deep in places as well. Here’s Jim casting at the first pool.
Mike, however, was the first to get a fish on. And I think it turned out to be the biggest of the day as well. The Waiomou has some good sized fish in it, but today, this was the upper end. Most of the fish that came to hand were quite a bit smaller, but still, a lot of fun.
Anyway, did I mention the deep water and strong currents? Well, apparently Jim didn’t quite catch it when Mike pointed out to him that the water in front of him was quite deep, but it was safe to cross upstream a ways. What Jim heard was it was safe to cross in front of him. He took a few steps, the bottom dropped away, and shortly thereafter I was wading out to grab Jim’s hand as he bobbed down the river towards me. Yes, Jim went for a bit of a swim.
It was funny afterwards, but of course, it’s never a good feeling to be going down when wearing your waders. It’s a very disconcerting feeling. Fortunately, though, Jim’s camera is waterproof, and his phone was in a ziplock plastic bag (Mike had a spare in the car and gave it to him; experience is a wise teacher). The day was warm, and Jim drained himself, and then we got back to the business of fishing.
Jim’s first NZ trout was not the biggest fish, but a fish nonetheless. I didn’t quite get the camera out quick enough and just had a picture of Jim’s empty hands after it jumped free.
However, it swam up to the shore, where I snapped it’s picture before it reoriented itself and took off (yes, it’s much more alive than it appears here).
Now, just before any of you think that Jim won the honours of the smallest fish of the day, well, here’s my contribution!
This is an adult Whitebait, and I would like to point out that I took it on a dry fly! The juvenile whitebait are captured in nets as the come up the rivers and sold at quite a high price, so this is a real delicacy. Honest!
Anyway, the day was a lot of fun. Mike brought to hand somewhere between 6 and 8 or so rainbows, I landed 4 rainbows, and Jim landed 3 browns and a rainbow. We all had a lot of fun, and it was a shame that we only had a short time to show him around. It was great to meet you Jim and Debbie. I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.
[FONT=Calibri]- [/FONT]Jeff
Most Excellent! Almost as good as being there. Thanks for the pictures!
TT.
Here are a couple more pics,
Jim and Jeff at the first pool.
and a couple from the second stream, the Waihou.
Now you know why I am so pleased that Jeff introduced me to this water!
I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay Jim and Debbie.
All the best.
Mike
What better place to be baptised and in front of two witnesses no less. 
Looks like fun was had by all. Thanks for sharing.
Looks like you fellows had a great time! Kudos to Jim for selecting the perfect moment to “cool off”.
I too had a friend who took a swim. He had bought his first pair of waders and did not listen to me when I told him to buy a belt. I also told him to ensure one foot was solidly planted before picking up his other foot. We were fishing for smallmouth in a rocky area. One minute he was there, the next he wasn’t. I helped him up waders full to capacity, cursing. Great that your story brought this back to memory. Thank you
Great report and photos. C’mon now, you guys just wanted to see Jim get wet didn’t you? That Waihou looks spectacular. Now I’m really jealous. I’d take a dunking to fish there.
REE
Anytime you can make it REE, I will happily take some time off work to show you around!
All the best.
Mike
Kia Ora. We arrived back in California today after an awesome stay in NZ. I have not downloaded pictures yet. Barely have the car unloaded. Just wanted to check in with FAOL for a minute.
After my baptism in the absolutely beautiful stream the fellas took me to, I was paranoid and unwilling to cross unobserved. Mike was very helpful in getting me across a couple of times and when I settled in I caught some nice little trout. The weather was gorgeous and I should have just wore sandles and saved myself the hassle of having wet clothes under my waders. It’s a good thing Jeff took another track back to the car. As Mike and I were making our way back we went through a very sticky mud bog. Mike made it through ok but I got stuck and went down good. I had to be pulled out again. Fortunately Mike didn’t photograph that mishap. Jim
That looked like a great time and trip…
Hey Hey guys , I just saw this report, thank you very much for sharing your trip with us! It went good with my morning coffee…
Glad to see you made it back in one piece! Hope you had good weather for the rest of your trip. Was great to share some of our part of the world with you!
- Jeff
I’ll second that. Jim, Please post some pics from your travels if you can, I would love to see them.
It was a pleasure to meet you and Debbie, I hope we will see you both again in the future.
All the best.
Mike
Me with Mike and Jeff. This was taken in our front yard at our farmstay near Matamata. The pictures that Mike and Jeff posted of the fishing tells the story.
Great thread everybody!
Love the spring creek pics!
Jim,
Is that an AuSable River hat trick shirt that you’re wearing?
Ed
Nope, It’s a World wide Sportsman from Bass Pro shop. The perfect shirt for a dunking in New Zealand water.