I was told by my guide Pete, that modest returns of large fish was what I could expect. Modest, means 3-5 fish about 6lb is considered a good days fishing. I had three guided fishing days and was very excited. We fished the Wairou river on day 1. We lucked out with the weather and had the first sunny , windless day of the season. Pete tells me to go down and cast to the fish that he's spotted. I can't see it and ask for an exact position. He explains its lying behind the large rock about 2 metres out from the bank. I look closely and ask him where it is in relation to the large rock at the end of the shaley sand. He looks again and says to me " that's the bloody fish you donkey, cast at it" i cast a small fly, size 14 Para adams, the fish rises and I strike. What happens next was unbelievable. The fish rips up the river and takes about 30 metres of line. I can hardly hang on and after a long 10 minute fight i manage to get him in. A couple of quick snaps and I'm on the board with my first fish and plenty of photos. That fish was a modest 6 lb. We fish all day and managed 10 trout , a remarkable effort, for day 1. I missed plenty due to poor casting but over the next 2 days managed to land 18 trout. The two largest were 7lb and the remainder ranged between 3-6 lb. A combination of dry and wet flies were used . Lots of fly changes, thanks to Pete and Adam. They must have changed flies about 100 times each day. No more than 2 casts over any fish before a change of fly. The windy conditions were challenging on the morning of day 2 and I was only average to say the least. Need more practice at home before I fish in the wind again. It was an amazing experience, I'll never forget nearly being spooled by a fish. That big brown trout took my dry fly, charged upstream 50 metres, came charging back downstream with me following as fast as I could. Once the fish got below me, I had to run across the rocks and get below him. After a few leaps from the water, a couple of rapids and many attempts to bust me off I finally landed him 110 metres from where he was hooked, what a fish.
Sight fishing in NZ is fantastic but you need a guide to ensure success. Pete was sensational and found fish each day. I couldn't see them but he was great. Fishing a nymph blindly along those rivers could mean you might get a couple but the guides are worth their money and should be used if possible.
