The trip of a lifetime - kingfish on fly in New Zealand

It took me four trips to New Zealand to finally discover the true gem of the country. I’ve fished a combined period of more than 6 months in the fresh in New Zealand and only 5 days in the salt. But my best memories and fly fishing experiences are definitely from my last trip in March 2007. I had the privileged to fish with my fellow Dane Nik Mathiesen who operates a successful guiding business out of Tauranga on the East coast of the North Island.
 
I was in New Zealand for 5 months with my family and in November 2007 we meet up with Nik and had 2 and a half days on the water just outside his new home in Tauranga. Nik showed me his local playground and I had the chance to play with his “toys” – that’s his collection of  #10-14 weight rods. Big guns that I only had seen in magazines previously. Nik did a brilliant job finding fish for me. It was a bit too early in the season for catching kingies but instead Nik put me on endless numbers of well fighting kahawai. A fish you just have to admire for the pure strength and stamina. Much faster and stronger than you would ever expect from a fish of that size – and on top of that – they are very beautiful too.
 
In March I had another shot and this time we were spot on for 3 full days. We still caught a good number of kahawai but this time the kingies showed up feasting on the poor kahawai. We landed fish up to 12 kg and was reefed a number of times with fish more than twice that size. It took me a few fish to get the hang of it. But once I’d put away my good manners and instead turned on the mean fighting machine in me  - then the kingies finally started to surface more frequently. Kingfish fight hard and dirty and if you want to bring them up you have to do the same and show them who the boss is. In my process of learning how to fight kingfish I had to suffer a broken #12 rod a couple of flylines lost and more than a few flies. But it was worth it all.  
 
Apart from all the kingfish and kahawai we also caught snapper, silver trevally and believe it or not a mako shark on fly - but thats another story...I have tons of  photo's on my lap top from the trip and I frequently look at them and they all remind me of the trip of my lifetime.
 
Am I going back for my fifth NZ-trip? You bet I am…and next time I'll leave my trout rods at home. I’m totally hooked on kahawai and kingfish on fly. Just bring’em on as the kiwis likes to say…
 
Claus Arnfeldt Andersen



For more information on saltwater fly fishing opportunities in New Zealand please email us at Fly Odyssey.