The flight from Perth to Auckland was to be as expected………sleepless. Armed with a ton of clothes and fishing gear I had landed on New Zealand soil in one piece and was greeted by the NZ Immigration and Customs officers with a big smile and a welcome. Soon I was on my way to Dunedin, a short flight of 90 minutes covering some of the most stunning scenery you could imagine. Braided rivers coursing through lands of green and snow capped mountains piercing fairy-floss cloud. Simon Hartley, a Dunedin journalist and avid fly fisherman, kindly greeted me at the airport and took me into town to pick up a fishing license and our hire car. My mission was to get the car, pick up a fellow called Aaron at 3PM from the airport and drive to Lumsden.
Aaron Patrick traveled from Townsville to join this fishing trip and the two of us got along like a house on fire. After a casual 2 hour drive, we unpacked our gear inside “Trout Cottage”, our home for the next week owned by our host Simon Chu. Less than an hour later, we were fishing the Oreti River. Score: Fish 1, Whackers 0
Ian Cole greeted us early the next day. He had traveled from Wanaka to be our guide for the next two days. The ice broke pretty quickly and the three of us had some great laughs. That first day we fished the mystical upper Matuara with indicators and nymphs. The day was bright, warm and windless. The fish were everywhere and we had a wonderful day catching fish in the 2-3 lb range. The next day we fished the Waikaia River, which is a tributary of the Matuara. The water is slightly tan in color and as a consequence, the fish have beautiful markings. Again, the gods smiled and we caught some nice fish up to 3lb. At the end of the day, we bid Ian a fond farewell and thanked him for giving us a fabulous two days fishing.
That night we watched a video entitled “Foam Odyssey”, created by Stu Tripney, an expatiate guide from Glasgow, Scotland. Stu was the architect of some pretty odd looking flies made from rubber. You might also get the impression that he was a little eccentric. However, you might also get the impression that he may know what he is talking about! Anyway, this gentleman was to be our guide for the next two days.
Knock knock. Stu walks in with a grin from ear to ear. We pleasantly discover he is actually a really great chap…..Stu decides to take us to back-country areas of the Oreti River. We are informed that we will need to fish against the wind with long leaders and he asked us show him how well we could cast. We both make a balls up! Stu gives us some pointers and off we go.
The weather is cold and windy. Later, the sun comes out. It’s roasting and we we all forget to put the sunscreen on…… This is something we would later regret! The Oreti River meanders through some lovely country. It’s a braided river built on stones and the water is crystal clear. We walk and spot good fish. It’s pretty obvious that our guide has got x-ray vision. We cast to a few, even hooked a few, but always lose the buggers. The term “Whackers” is born. It seems that we are not too subtle when it comes to big fish.
We repeat the performance the next day on the Apirima River! Stu proved to be a very patient teacher and we just cackled at each others stuff ups. Anyway, Aaron and I decided to extend our time with Stu and were rewarded with a trip to the Nevis River.
The Nevis is not easy to get at. It runs in high country and requires that a 4WD be used. On our way in we came across a German couple who just targeted big fish and bought a Uni-mog for just that purpose. The owner came shuffling towards us with a plastic bag and a toilet seat from behind the protection of a small hill. Apparently, he had caught a 9 lb fish the day before. I’m not sure whether I was amazed more at the comfort of a toilet seat on legs or the story of the big fish. We fished the river with Stu’s “Blow Fly” imitation and started to improve our act. The water was alive with small fish that attacked the dry fly on the surface with relish. The trick was to get rid of the drag and learn to use just enough force to hook up. Any micro- drag was punished by the fly being ignored. We didn’t even say “God save the Queen”.
On this day I caught my best Brown Trout, a 7.5lb beauty. It came from the last pool of the day and I surprised Stu by not stuffing it up! That fish and I had a contract and I wasn’t about to let either of us default. A wonderful fish to end a marvelous day. The next day we fished the upper Matuara above Athol. The weather was cold and overcast and although we could get to cast to some fish, we blanked. We arrived back at the cottage feeling quite “stuffed” when suddenly Simon Chu bounds in looking incredibly energetic. “OK guys, how’s it going, ready to go fishing?” I looked at Aaron and said, “Come on Aaron, we have to go, it’s your last day!” ……..I think I detected a bit of a sigh.
Simon drove at 100MPH towards Lake Te Anau, with the idea of being on the water as the sun came down. We were actually to fish the Waihi River for Rainbows, which apparently, were going off just after dark but for only half an hour! We got there a bit late but early enough to see the start of the rise that later went ballistic. Simon got a few fish with a small dry sedge pattern and a nymph on the dropper. Aaron hooked one and was taken into the backing before the fish came off. All this was going on in the dark. I wasted a load of time trying to tie a fly on with fogged glasses and a headlight with flat batteries. However, it was all good fun and quite exciting to witness the madness of it all.
Aaron and I had a ball and still dream about walking up and down those wonderful rivers and can’t wait to get back.
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