Welcome to Wild Angler!
Fly Fishing Guides for
New Zealand's South Island
Searching for the world’s finest fly fishing for wild brown and rainbow trout? Dreaming of the trip of a lifetime? Considering visiting Queenstown, Wanaka or Dunedin? Then come and experience New Zealand’s South Island with Wild Angler.
Wild Angler is a quality guiding service specializing in one- to ten-day trips to rivers like the legendary Mataura, whose lush Deleatidium hatches and wild free-rising browns make the river a dry-fly mecca; intimate Otago and Southland tributaries with big fish in small water; and classic backcountry rivers of the Southern Alps where trophy rainbows and browns sway in pools as clear as mountain air.
Fly fishing the South Island's remote rivers in Fiordland and Mt Aspiring national parks, the wild West Coast and the Queenstown-Wanaka region can be an angling dream come true. This is the landscape that made New Zealand famous for its sight-fishing techniques, where anglers stalk large fish and pray their first cast is true. It's a deliberate pursuit more like hunting than fishing practiced elsewhere.
New Zealand's South Island is also blessed with a wealth of lesser known pastoral streams with excellent brown-trout and match-the-hatch fishing waiting to be discovered. The variety of water is astounding. There is challenge to match all tastes and abilities. New Zealand fly fishing isn't easy, however. Some of our wily South Island browns live to be over fifteen years old. So If you want to become a better fly angler, make the pilgrimage. Life is short. But be warned. The country, its rivers and friendly people may charm you into staying longer than you planned, or dreaming of your next trip and rearranging your priorities. It can become a way of life. There are worse fates.
Many of my clients find it a wise use of their limited time to begin their trip in one area and leave from another. Why double back? Take a road trip. See new country every day. Queenstown and Dunedin are logical arrival and departure destinations because of their airports. And you can add Gore—or Te Anau, Wanaka or the Central South Island—as part of a lower South Island Trout Triangle.
The lower South Island offers some of the finest fly fishing in the country. I specialize in custom itineraries linking Queenstown and Dunedin—or vice versa. Dunedin has outstanding, little utilized water less than an hour from town. Many find its laid-back charm, museums, scenic drives and walks, rare wildlife, music and dining a great way to begin a New Zealand trip. The Lonely Planet guide called Dunedin "the South Island's coolest city" for its hip vibe and unique combination of cultural and natural riches. A civilised university town, Dunedin is also full of parks and greenbelts. And the Otago harbour and peninsula are on its doorstep. The peninsula is home to some of the world's rarest wildlife: yellow-eyed and blue penguins, albatross and marine mammals. International visitors find Dunedin a good arrival point to get over jet lag, take in the sites, or a day trip to the peninsula's hilly vistas, pristine beaches and headlands before departing for more rigorous South Island fly fishing expeditions.
Also important to note is the rivers of eastern Otago are among the last to blow out when a wave of rain sweeps the South Island from the southwest. When rain pummels Southland and Western Otago, Fiordland and the Southern Alps, the last fishable rivers are closer to Dunedin. Weather dictates so much here when planning a fishing trip. And it's difficult to predict it more than a week in advance.
Gore, just two hours to the east, is located on the banks of the Mataura River. Stu Apte, field host of ABC's American Sportsman, called the Mataura "the world's greatest brown trout dry fly stream" in Field and Stream magazine. An hour and a half south of Gore is Te Anau, gateway to Fiordland and Milford Sound. And two hours north of Gore is Queenstown--just far away enough to ensure the rivers around the mountain get far less pressure than the dedicated tourism destination. In the vicinity of Dunedin, Gore and Lumsden we also have rivers where we can hike in for trophy fish, without the need of helicopter.
Queenstown and Wanaka or Te Anau are often great places to cap off your New Zealand experience. Not only do they offer fine lodges and restaurants, but the option of overnight wilderness trips by boat, float plane, fixed wing planes or helicopter. I skip the more easily accessed water near these towns and guide expeditions to the backcountry to sight fish for trophy trout after tuning up casting skills on more prolific rivers like the Mataura, whose middle reach has one of the densest trout and insect populations in the country.
Queenstown has a wealth of activities for adrenaline junkies—like bungy jumping or jet boating —as well as more relaxed activities like golfing at the Millbrook Resort.
I can also highly recommend tours of the Central Otago vineyards, which produce some of the world's finest pinot noirs.
For clients with longer timeframes and more flexible schedules, I can create itineraries that include the remote West Coast of Westland, as well as great rivers on the North Island. Road trips are a great way to sample the best of New Zealand fly fishing options.
Whatever your preference, I can fine-tune your itinerary to suit all tastes and budgets and level of challenge, as well as the needs of non-angling members of your traveling party, which is always an important consideration.
Large wild trout, gorgeous South Island landscapes, custom flies, gourmet lunch and a professional Nikon photo service make this the trip of a lifetime.
I hope I can help you explore this beautiful country. I truly believe that every time a new visitor experiences fly fishing New Zealand's incomparable rivers, the world becomes a slightly better place. Join our tribe.
Casey
New Zealand's South Island is also blessed with a wealth of lesser known pastoral streams with excellent brown-trout and match-the-hatch fishing waiting to be discovered. The variety of water is astounding. There is challenge to match all tastes and abilities. New Zealand fly fishing isn't easy, however. Some of our wily South Island browns live to be over fifteen years old. So If you want to become a better fly angler, make the pilgrimage. Life is short. But be warned. The country, its rivers and friendly people may charm you into staying longer than you planned, or dreaming of your next trip and rearranging your priorities. It can become a way of life. There are worse fates.
Many of my clients find it a wise use of their limited time to begin their trip in one area and leave from another. Why double back? Take a road trip. See new country every day. Queenstown and Dunedin are logical arrival and departure destinations because of their airports. And you can add Gore—or Te Anau, Wanaka or the Central South Island—as part of a lower South Island Trout Triangle.
The lower South Island offers some of the finest fly fishing in the country. I specialize in custom itineraries linking Queenstown and Dunedin—or vice versa. Dunedin has outstanding, little utilized water less than an hour from town. Many find its laid-back charm, museums, scenic drives and walks, rare wildlife, music and dining a great way to begin a New Zealand trip. The Lonely Planet guide called Dunedin "the South Island's coolest city" for its hip vibe and unique combination of cultural and natural riches. A civilised university town, Dunedin is also full of parks and greenbelts. And the Otago harbour and peninsula are on its doorstep. The peninsula is home to some of the world's rarest wildlife: yellow-eyed and blue penguins, albatross and marine mammals. International visitors find Dunedin a good arrival point to get over jet lag, take in the sites, or a day trip to the peninsula's hilly vistas, pristine beaches and headlands before departing for more rigorous South Island fly fishing expeditions.
Also important to note is the rivers of eastern Otago are among the last to blow out when a wave of rain sweeps the South Island from the southwest. When rain pummels Southland and Western Otago, Fiordland and the Southern Alps, the last fishable rivers are closer to Dunedin. Weather dictates so much here when planning a fishing trip. And it's difficult to predict it more than a week in advance.
Gore, just two hours to the east, is located on the banks of the Mataura River. Stu Apte, field host of ABC's American Sportsman, called the Mataura "the world's greatest brown trout dry fly stream" in Field and Stream magazine. An hour and a half south of Gore is Te Anau, gateway to Fiordland and Milford Sound. And two hours north of Gore is Queenstown--just far away enough to ensure the rivers around the mountain get far less pressure than the dedicated tourism destination. In the vicinity of Dunedin, Gore and Lumsden we also have rivers where we can hike in for trophy fish, without the need of helicopter.
Queenstown and Wanaka or Te Anau are often great places to cap off your New Zealand experience. Not only do they offer fine lodges and restaurants, but the option of overnight wilderness trips by boat, float plane, fixed wing planes or helicopter. I skip the more easily accessed water near these towns and guide expeditions to the backcountry to sight fish for trophy trout after tuning up casting skills on more prolific rivers like the Mataura, whose middle reach has one of the densest trout and insect populations in the country.
Queenstown has a wealth of activities for adrenaline junkies—like bungy jumping or jet boating —as well as more relaxed activities like golfing at the Millbrook Resort.
I can also highly recommend tours of the Central Otago vineyards, which produce some of the world's finest pinot noirs.
For clients with longer timeframes and more flexible schedules, I can create itineraries that include the remote West Coast of Westland, as well as great rivers on the North Island. Road trips are a great way to sample the best of New Zealand fly fishing options.
Whatever your preference, I can fine-tune your itinerary to suit all tastes and budgets and level of challenge, as well as the needs of non-angling members of your traveling party, which is always an important consideration.
Large wild trout, gorgeous South Island landscapes, custom flies, gourmet lunch and a professional Nikon photo service make this the trip of a lifetime.
I hope I can help you explore this beautiful country. I truly believe that every time a new visitor experiences fly fishing New Zealand's incomparable rivers, the world becomes a slightly better place. Join our tribe.
Casey