Welcome to Southflyfisher

Exploration Angling | Gear Reviews | Global Fly Fishing Destinations

For over forty years, your editor at Southflyfisher has been chasing trout in New Zealand’s remote backcountry rivers and more recently, exploring saltwater and international fly fishing destinations. Those decades of success, failure and riverside experience are reflected on this destination angling platform – Southflyfisher.com.

We recently launched this new look website and are progressively updating our old content from the last decade, refreshing the links and trip information, and adding helpful travel advice for destination anglers. Whether you’re gearing up for your first flats trip or planning a multiday hike-in mission in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, we're hopeful there's something in here for you.

Expect more honest advice, fresh articles, detailed packing lists, in-depth gear reviews, and updates on new and emerging destinations.

If you're keen to support this work, or contribute an editorial, or conversely, would like us to write something for your publication, please give us a shout. Also we're always looking for new great gear to review – so discuss this with us too.

In 2024 we launched a subscriber-only site on Substack. Exploration Angling offers exclusive free content including free weekly updates (we call them The Weekly Five), plus free and paid subscriber only articles on secret saltwater atolls and freshwater destination intel. There are lodge trip reports, and field-tested gear lists. It’s the deeper dive for anglers planning serious trips – or just dreaming of destinations. Get into it.

For those I haven’t met on the river, or wading across tropical flats – welcome. I hope this site helps fuel your next adventure. Feel free to drop us a line – unlike troublesome triggerfish, we don't bite.

Tight lines,
Michael (Southflyfisher)

Southflyfisher Hosted Trips for 2025/2026

Southflyfisher has partnered with Isolation Outfitters to host a series of freshwater & saltwater fly fishing adventures over the next year. These are a chance for individual anglers or a small group to join an expedition and explore some incredible bucket list destinations.

NEW ZEALAND

We're hosting three South Island trips chasing trophy brown trout.

THE SEA-RUN SESSIONS

THE SALTWATER SERIES

We're hosting at four amazing locations in 2026. This is bucket-list stuff!

If you would like to know more about any of these hosted adventures, please contact the team at Isolation Outfitters directly.

If you’re in the fly fishing industry and would like to work in with Southflyfisher in any way, just drop us a line. Thanks!