Jereme,
My wife and I traveller to NZ back in March of 2004 and we used "Best of New Zealand Fly Fishing", an outfitter in California. They can accomodate different budgets and can offer a lot of friendly advice. They booked a rental car and hooked us up with accomodations and a guide near Queenstown. We stayed on a sheep ranch called Nokami Station (http://www.bestofnzflyfishing.com/accommodation/nokomai.html) about an hour south of Queenstown and fished the Mataura river that runs through their property. Its a great location since the river is right at your doorstep and you can open paddock gates and access parts of the river that the public would not be able to reach (short of a very long hike). They also offer helo-fishing trips right from the farm, or if the weather is bad you can try and drive to a number of nearby rivers that might be experiencing better weather. The lodging is nice - they have self contained cottages with laundry, Sky TV and kitchenettes. You can stock up on supplies in Queenstown (there is a New World grocery store in Queenstown on the way - great view of the Remarkables from their parking lot) and cook your own meals to save money, or pay the host to cook for you in their communal dining room (or do a combo of both as we did). The owners are fantastic hosts and eager to help out in any way they can.
Definitely hire a guide, if just for a day, so they can point out fish lies and how best to approach them and what flies are working. We fished the Mataura with Nigel Black and he was fantastic. We didn't catch any trophies (6+ lbs by NZ standards), but we got a number of 4 pounders (my wife, who had never fly fished before, caught the biggest fish).
Another useful tool they sell at sporting goods stores are maps of each region's major fishing streams and the public access points. If you access a stream by the public access points, you can walk up or down it (a lot like the Yellowstone in MT) without trespassing.
Also, depending on how comfortable you are with wet wading, you may want to leave your waders at home and just pack quick drying pants, thermals and your wading boots. You do walk a lot outside the stream stalking fish and when you find one on its lie, you backtrack downstream and then wade in. Just a suggestion if luggage size/weight is a concern. I don't recommend this if you're going to the North Island (the rivers up there were COLD and deep), but the rivers in the South Island seemed warmer/shallower and we did more dry fly fishing than in the North. Make sure whatever fishing equipment (boots/waders) you bring is either VERY clean or brand new out of the box. Customs takes invasive species very seriously.
New Zealand is by far the best place in the world I have travelled. Have fun and drink a DB Draught for me!
On Wednesday, January 30, 2013 5:18:19 PM UTC-5, Jereme Thaxton wrote:
I have a film shoot scheduled on the South Island of New Zealand for a couple weeks in March and would love to do some fly fishing when not working. Has anyone fished there and could you offer any insight to fishing this far off land filled with mountains and hobbits? We will be shooting mostly around Kaikoura and I imagine will fly there via Christchurch. I have heard of phenomenal brown trout fishing and so was planning on leaving a week early to devote to the mission. Any advice is certainly appreciated.--
Thanks!
-Jereme
www.jeremethaxton.com
www.freestoneentertainment.com
http://www.tpfr.org
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