I changed tactics and planned on hitting a small stream that I saw off on of the main roads very close to town to see if there were any fish there. This stream flowed through all private property which consisted of cattle, alpaca, and, as you may have guessed - sheep. I stopped by 3 places before I found someone at home whom I could ask for permission to fish. The nice older lady told me to “respect the property and don’t touch the fence… it’s electric”. I thanked her, hopped the gate, and spooked a ~4 pound trout right off the bat. This stream was 25’ across, 5’ deep, and a little off-color due to some rain the night before. After spooking another fish just as I saw it, I changed tactics and literally crawled to the edge of a dropoff to keep them from seeing me. It worked. I could not get a single fish to eat, but I am confident that most did not see me. In a 1/4 mile long section of this stream I saw easily a dozen 3-5 pound trout, and one that had to have been about 8lbs. Stupid fish never even looked at anything I offered, even with 15’ of leader and 6x.
Later that day I stopped in a local flyshop and asked about those fish. They directed me towards a small whitebait imitaion, a streamer. I hope to be able to pull one of those out before I leave NZ.
Another stream I took a look at on the way back to the hotel was even smaller - 10-12’ across, ~4’ deep, with steep sides. This water was gin clear and I could see numerous (5 or 6 in 50yds) trout in the 2-3lb range. I wasn’t sure if this particular water was open right now or not so I only took a look and did not fish it.
Yesterday afternoon I headed south out of town to another close river. Steady 20mph winds with gusts that had to be pushing 30-35mph made casting impossible except for in this one bend which is blocked from it, which is where I hooked a monster on a sz16 pheasant tail. He wrapped me around some brush and the fly came out of his lip. Oh well, maybe we won’t get the rain that’s been forecast and the water will remain fishable.
[IM
