New Zealand Update

[Glenbow]

I got out with the guide today, a really good guy named Craig Farrar. He took me to a little stream for a crack at some big boys. He told me that there's not a ton of fish in there but they are all a really good size - both browns & rainbows. We drove for about an hour & had a good chat about fishing & finally got there & suited up. After about a 20 minute bush-whack we snuck up the the river & promptly see a rainbow & a brown about 24" each take off because they spotted us. A good sign I thought! We crossed the stream & waded our way up a ways & then bushwhacked for a bit more until we got to a really amazing pool & spotted 2 rainbows milling about, feeding leisurely. We were peeking out behind some giant plants that look like huge yucca ( I forget the name ).

 

We watched for about 15 minutes, waiting for an opportune moment to move me into position for a roll-cast - the only cast that there was room for. I finally got into position, & had to wait another 5 minutes for a chance to cast with less fear of spooking just by moving the rod. The tension was incredible! There 2 fish were both over 26", and he estimated them at 6.5-7 lbs. I got my cast away with almost perfect placement (a dry & a dropper) and before I knew it he yelled "strike!" - and I did.

 

I hooked the bigger of the 2 fish, and the fight was on! I played him for a good 5 minutes on my 5wt, and he was tearing all around the pool trying like hell to get under a rock ledge. With one fail tail-flick, he was gone! I was crushed! At least he was filming with my vid, so I have a bunch of it on video, but I wanted to land that fish so bad! When you see the pics below, you can see how amazing that size of fish is in a river that size. In all, I hooked 6, landed one and the rest busted-off the 4x tippet. Some of the fish I played for almost 7 minutes before they busted off. The pics of the one I landed are of the smallest fish I saw all day. The browns were so spooky I cannot believe it. Even my guide said he didn't quite know what was up with the browns, they were ridiculous. We would see a big brown come ripping downstream from a pool that we were not even at yet - they knew we were coming. They would blow by right near our feet & rocket on by. Amazing. It is hard to impart how very cool this experience is, the huge trout in tiny, skinny water & the amazing scenery. We walked a fair way between fish, but every foot-step was a great experience & a lasting memory. I caught one big rainbow on the dry that went completely out of the water 5 times before he broke off, and kept going aerial 6 more times after that! I have a bit of that one on vid too. You only got 1 cast to each fish, and my hook-up rate was apparently very good for that river. It breaks your heart to make a cast to a nice, big rainbow & see him rocket away as soon as the fly hits the water. Saw about 20 fish in all, and like I said before, the one I landed was the smallest. Not the way I wanted it to turn out, but an awesome day all the way. All of you would love to do this - there really is nothing like it. Enjoy the pics - too bad there aren't more of fish!

 

Here's the river (which shall remain un-named at the guide's request)

 

 

 

Bushwhackin'

 

 

 

Spot the Guide

 

 

The BIG Rainbow I hooked - I took this while waiting for the right time to get into position from in the trees. This is zoomed way in.

 

 

Hunting. He spotted fish that 60% of the time I never did see until he yelled 'Strike!'

 

 

 

See part 2

[birchy]

Man.. that looks so amazing!!

[cheeler]

Cool pics, would like to see some full size ones when you get back.

[bigbowtrout]

SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm loving the posts Glen

[maxwell]

sick report dude!

[lonefisher]

Wow man...... that places looks awesome. Great pics

[hydropsyche]

Sounds and looks like a blast.

[Hawgstoppah]

Nice pics man! Looks like fun!

[kungfool]

Keep these reports coming Glen! The place looks magical.

[esleech]

Good job bud!