In 2020, I wrote an article for Fishwest about my experiences planning DIY fly fishing trips in New Zealand. Recently, I had the opportunity to return to New Zealand’s South Island for another DIY adventure. While North Island may be the most underrated fly fishing experience out there, South Island might simply be the best. Big mountains, pristine rivers, rainforest landscapes, and large intelligent brown trout that will rise to a dry fly if presented expertly. This posts focus is on the key features for planning and executing a successful trip to New Zealand’s South Island.
Make a plan or 30
One of the most appealing features of fly fishing in New Zealand is the number of rivers that remain publicly accessible. Thanks to the “Queen’s Chain” law established in the 19th Century, most rivers accessible from a public road are open to fishermen approximately 20 feet from the river’s edge. Permission to fish private rivers can often be obtained through a phone call to the landowner, whose number is sometimes posted on signs outside the property. These public access rules and conventions truly make New Zealand a DIY fly fishing paradise.
The highways in the South Island cross fishable waterways every few miles. While long hikes and helicopters allow access to some truly special backcountry rivers, such efforts are not necessary to find many incredible fisheries. There are literally hundreds of awesome rivers that run underneath or parallel to the highways of the South Island. Intense study of the rivers is a key part of the preparation for a trip to the South Island.
Before my latest trip, I studied over 30 rivers in detail, and downloaded corresponding maps off of Gaia for areas where I would not get cell service. This type of preparation allowed us to pivot to the best options based on weather, flows, and whatever other factors came into play in our decision making. For better or worse, the internet is your friend when preparing for a DIY trip to the South Island. Fortunately, few sources provide specific details about individual fisheries, but it’s fairly easy to get an idea of fish populations, average size, and river accessibility.
Be ready to sight fish
Several features of the South Island make it a verifiable sight fishing wonderland. The prodigious size of the average trout causes them to be more easily seen. The crystal clear water of most rivers also facilitates sight fishing. The fact that the general population of fish is quite low makes blind fishing completely ineffective. The fish are wise, they can see the angler and the angler can see them. The fish will not tolerate a bunch of random casts put into the water.
Instead of blind casting, a slow and deliberate approach to sight fishing is the way to go. I like to slowly creep up the river, utilizing boulders and high banks to gain vantage points. Despite the large size of the fish and the fantastically clear water, they can still blend into their surroundings in an uncanny way. However, sight fishing is a skill that can improve with reps, and after some time on the water I felt like I could spot most of the fish before spooking them. Not only is sight fishing massively enjoyable in the South Island, it is really the only way to effectively fish many of the rivers.
Good eyewear may therefore constitute the most important piece of gear for a South Island angler. As a universal option, I opt for the Smith Guides Choice with Chromapop with a brown lens. An angler with a larger budget might benefit from a low-light lens as well to use on cloudy days.
Tie on a long leader
Long leaders are an absolute must when fishing the South Island. I construct most of my leaders between 18-22 feet in length. For example, I’ll start with a 9-foot 2x polyleader, to which I’ll tie six feet of 4x followed by five feet of 5x. A lot of people use a tippet ring between the polyleader and the tippet to prevent unrecognized shortening of the entire system. 5x may seem light for the massive brown trout of the South Island, and it is. But I find that I can land surprisingly large fish on 5x as long as I take care to set the hook firmly but gently.
I also have to chase the occasional fish, although the browns of the South Island often prefer to play the fight out in their home pool rather than running downstream. Bigger flies, such as cicadas, may be fished on 4x without any real drawback. Larger tippet than 4x will often cause the fish to refuse and spook.
Spooked
I don’t find casting a 20-foot leader to be as challenging as I thought it would be. I do, however, find casting a 20-foot leader accurately to be quite difficult. Throw in some wind and all bets are off! When I started fishing with long leaders, I found myself overshooting fish by significant margins. Nothing spooks a South Island brown trout like the sound of a fly line plopping on their heads. These fish actually tolerate it fairly well when lined by the leader during the cast, and that is indeed the entire point of the long leader. But if the actual fly line lands near them, it’s usually game over.
Before a trip to the South Island, I’d recommend practicing with a long leader in advance. However, don’t allow casting on a lawn or driveway to give you an inflated sense of confidence. Take the long leader to your local stream and apply it in the real world as you prepare for a trip to the South Island.
Prepare for the wind and weather
The South Island sits at over 40 degrees of southern latitude, with thousands of miles of rough seas lying to its west. These features often produce fierce storms and wind, which pummel into the South Island without obstruction. Therefore, an angler needs to prepare for a variety of conditions when planning a trip to New Zealand. Obviously, we all hope for sunny skies and tranquil winds when sight fishing, but that’s not the reality for most weather windows.
This harkens back to the idea that it’s important to have a plan, or thirty. When preparing for the South Island. If the weather in one area is terrible, it’s likely that the weather a couple hours drive away is much better. The weather during New Zealand’s summer in January and February is generally more stable, but offset by the crowds and lower, warmer water during that time.
Wind direction in relation to the direction of upstream fishing is a very important factor when considering where to fish within the South Island. Casting a 20-foot leader with a tailwind really isn’t too bad, and even a fairly stiff crosswind can be mitigated. However, casting that rig into a headwind is nearly impossible for most anglers, including myself.
For the inevitable cloudy or rainy day, I usually opt for a section of river hemmed in by a gorge or overhanging rainforest. With a green backdrop, the refraction of light off the surface of the water is much less intense. In these settings, the sight fishing can remain quite good despite grey skies.
Diversify your fly box
The strategy required to catch the browns of the South Island requires the angler to have a number of options in their fly box. While the fish will often smash the first offering that floats by, sometimes they display annoying pickiness. I change my fly if a fish rejects it on a good, accurate cast. Immediately re-presenting the fly will often spook the fish, which will recognize the unnatural situation of the rejected fly floating by twice in a row. Therefore, a rejection prompts an immediate fly change. I sometimes work a fish for 15-20 minutes before succeeding or giving up.
I generally prefer a dry-dropper set-up when fishing the South Island. The dry, often a larger mayfly, stonefly, or cicada pattern. Which can both entice a fish and act as a stable strike indicator for the subsurface offering. During my recent trip to the South Island it was high summer. So a variety of smaller mayfly nymphs between size 18-20 were the most successful droppers. Although slightly larger caddis pupae also took some fish. Big stonefly nymphs and even worm patterns have their place during higher or dirtier water conditions. Having breadth and depth of options in the fly box is an important part of a successful South Island trip.
Hire a guide
Seeing a professional in action can be huge for the success of your otherwise DIY trip. The best guides on the South Island have an uncanny ability to spot nearly every fish in the river. They can explain the nuances of catching these tricky fish. Stories abound of competent anglers getting skunked while fishing the South Island. A brief experience with a guide at the front end of a trip will prevent you from getting skunked. I used Southern Latitude Guides (www.southernatitudeguides.com), and I had a very impressive experience with my guide, Cory Scott.
Prepare in advance
Preparation of your gear and body is an important part of a successful trip to the South Island. Aside from eyewear, the most important piece of gear is the rod. The perfect South Island rod contains a mix of backbone and a bit of pliability. One helps battle the wind, the other to protect the light tippet during a battle with a big fish. 6-weight rods are ideal, 5 and 7-weight rods have their place. The rod in my quiver that best exemplifies these attributes is the Sage R8 9’6” 6-weight. The extra inches provide a bit better line management in the tricky micro-currents of these rivers, as opposed to the standard 9-foot rod.
Footwear
Felt bottom boots are banned in New Zealand. I took the Simms G4 Powerlock boots on my most recent trip. The Vibram soles held surprisingly well on the treacherously slippery freestone rivers. I have some questions about the durability of these boots, but any boot could have durability issues after what I put them through. This is not the trip to skimp on improper footwear, as doing so will lead to falls and general misery on the slick streams of the South Island.
Finally, let the New Zealand adventure motivate you to improve your fitness! During my recent trip I did eight straight days of walking 6-12 miles per day, over uneven and slippery river beds. I greatly improved my cardio workouts leading up to the trip, which was a good side-benefit to the adventure.
There are hundreds of rivers I haven’t fished, and I will refrain from answering questions about specific river systems. That said, I’m more than happy to help with your preparations in any other way I can. Feel free to get in touch on Instagram, @chadagy.
