We're here for the Trout - NZ Flyfisher – Southflyfisher

First ... fly fishing. Should it have a hyphen? Is it one word – flyfishing? Fly angling. There; that solved it.

Anyway, we're here for the trout.

You see, fly fishing had explosive growth over the pandemic times. The wealthy and the able relocated from New York to Bozeman; from America to New Zealand. They all purchased shiny new fly rods, downloaded the location apps and procured a fishing licence. Or so it seems.

The result. More anglers walking up the same historied rivers, casting into the same pools. Chasing the same few panicked trout.

Our master plan is to divert an angling subset to experience the nervous thrills of saltwater bonefishing. Another cohort can drift boat down the expansive wilderness rivers of Chile. A further squadron will be directed to the magnificent sea-run monsters of Iceland. This collective annual migration greatly reducing the angling pressure on my local stream. The trout can thank me later.

All these new anglers are going to need the right gear.

Self-confessed Gear Junkies

At NZ Flyfisher (publishers of Southflyfisher.com and ExplorationAngling.com) we get to go fishing with fun people in exotic places. It's here we can test all sorts of fly fishing paraphernalia, apparel and tramping kit and get others to help with the photos.

Then we write it up and share it online. Of course it’s packed with opinions that many (those unaware of conscious bias) might not agree with.

With any luck, a few fish are caught and carefully released along the way too.

Our collective hope is that we can inform & inspire anglers to travel further, armed with the right gear and a great attitude. That's our mission anyway.

Feel free to ask us for some tips and advice if you’re planning a bucket list trip to New Zealand. We're pleased to help - it’s in our kiwi genes.