Cut to the Chase!

As a guide here in New Zealand, I see a lot of stuff. Some good, and some not so good. I want to give a little insight into fly fishing New Zealand and some helpful tips to help out the new comer to our waters. 

I know some of you are going to think, “What a cocky son of a bitch,” and, “who the fuck does he think he is?” But those of you who’ve been here before will think just the opposite and say, “Yeah, this sounds about right.” 

The first thing you should do is get a guide. And again, I know what you’re thinking—“Of course he’s going to say that! What a tossa, I don’t need a guide!” For those of you still reading, you’re going to spend all that money to come halfway around the world, rent a car, and then spend a big part of your time trying to work shit out. We see good fishermen and women come here, get skunked and waste time. A day or two spent with a local guide will help you hit the ground running. 

The fishing here is just different. Most rivers are not stocked, fish are spooky and the weather can be frustrating. You pick your guide’s brain, ask about places to go, plot a route, places to stay, camp sites, etcetera, and of course, flies. 

I suggest you keep in mind that we fish long leaders here and many people find it hard to roll out an 18^ft leader into the wind. Short leaders just won’t cut it. I’m not saying go from 9ft to 18 ft in one go, but before you come over, start tying on a few extra feet from time to time and see how you go at 16 feet. That will help a shit load. 

I see this all the time: people in the car park trying to impress others by casting into their backing, double hauling and all that shit. Let me tell you, I’d rather take the guy who can put it on a saucer every time at 35ft than someone who is all over the show at 80 feet. Accuracy will win over distance on an NZ river nearly every time, but you’re still going to have to chuck it against the wind. Learn to get accurate. 

And when you get a guide, listen to your guide. Think about it as learning to catch fish and not just catching fish. You’ll learn things that will count for a lot when you’re out on your own, and that’s the whole purpose of it. 

Don’t call your guide and tell him the receptionist said the weather doesn’t look good. A lot of the time the weather doesn’t look good here. This will annoy the fuck out of him. The guide is the man on the ground doing what he does best, and he’s probably running a few game plans in his head. 

On the water, when the guide is pointing out a fish, if you can’t see it, don’t tell him you can. After a client made a few casts at a fish the other day I asked him if he could still see the fish. “Yeah, yeah,” he said, but the fish was gone. He had spooked it on the first cast! The guide and client work as a team and we have to be honest with each other. 

Later he was struggling at casting in front of a fish and kept blaming it on the wind. I told him we would blame it on the wind when it is the wind and I hadn’t felt any all day. He turned and gave me a very humble look and said, “Okay, I’m ready to listen now.” He did, and we started getting fish on the bank. 

People always say to me, “It’s just nice being here.” Well, I like to catch fish and to me it’s a whole lot better if you’ve caught a few. Don’t fall into the trap! I see it all the time—peoples’ holiday just coming together at the end of the trip. New Zealand may be a little country on the map but down here on the ground, it’s a big country and a little time spent at the start with the right people can make all the difference. We get overseas guides coming to us, and they are in the know! They want to cut through the shit, see what it takes to catch fish, and where they should head. And after a day or two, they’re keyed in and off to a flying start. 

Gordon Watson is a fly fishing guide based in Glenorchy on the South Island of New Zealand. You may visit his website at www.trout-stalkers.co.nz

”It’s not my job to judge people-I leave that up to the fish. I just know what they are going to judge you on”.