Monthly Highlights
Below are photos and a story from the recent month's guided fly fishing trips in New Zealand's Central South Island.
November 2025
Max kicked off my guiding season 2025/'26. Max and Sylvie, a charming French couple, had chosen New Zealand for their holiday destination with a couple of day's fly fishing a bonus for Max. I could sense his excitement as we headed out on the first of our two days together. Max hadn't fly fished for some time but once on the water he was soon at home with his borrowed rod and reel.
His guide, on the other hand, struggled through the day after braking a vertebra back in September and lacking fitness. However apart from this physical issue, the mind and eyes were still functioning correctly!
Bad luck was the story of the day with most of the wily browns managing to either throw the hook or undo us in the weed beds and branches but we still managed to land a decent trout.
A nice Twizel river brown trout for Max
Our luck improved the following day with some nice rainbows coming to the net.
Happy angler with a pretty rainbow
Poor Max must have flash backs about the 2 brown trout rising to mayfly emergers in a run. We were right beside them but, although being nice and close, nearby willow branches made good presentation difficult and a reverse current made it nearly impossible to achieve a drag free drift.
Lucky trout. They have to win sometimes!
Lots of rain in October left most rivers high and discoloured earlier in the season. Here is Fraser Stream near Twizel
When trout have had a bit of pressure this is my go to 'neutral' fly - not too much bling but still very visible. We used this nymph where trout were likely to have been fished to recently. Perhaps an SBN 010, my usual go to fly, would have worked but it still is bright and may have frightened a wary fish
[click image to enlarge]
