Flyslingers

New Zealand 2018 – South Island – Beach holiday

The starlings were the first to start their morning chatter, then followed by the unmistakable song of a tui. The oystercatchers could also be heard as they headed out towards the exposed sand flats, and the elderly snoring shag that slept in the tree right next to my tent was also up and decided to…

New Zealand 2018 – North Island – Grand finale

The Interislander ferry would take me across the Cook Strait and down to the South Island a week or so later, and there was just enough time to squeeze in a few more days of fishing with my friends. Cicada season should have been over by now, but as I had discovered, the fish were…

New Zealand 2018 – North Island – Backcountry mountain valleys

My stay at the North Island of New Zealand was nearing its end, and so was the summer season. But between the storms and downpours, there was still warm days and good fishing to be had. My recent experiences with cicada fly-fishing had been a revelation for me and I wanted more. There are many…

New Zealand 2018 – North Island – Cidada school

I had been lingering around in one area for almost two weeks, exploring various small rivers and hoping the rain would stay away. But as I was slowly coming to understand, this area receives its fair share of steady downpours, gathered up by the surrounding landscape and prevailing winds. With large parts of the North…

New Zealand 2018 – North Island – After the sun comes the rain

It has been some weeks since my last update on the blog. After a January with fantastic weather, in fact the warmest in NZ history, February has been rather grey and wet. I have still had some great fishing, but the ever-changing weather inspired me to move around and explore for me new areas on…

New Zealand 2018 – North Island – Rumble in the jungle

This January has been the hottest ever recorded in New Zealand and many of the rivers have recently been running low on water. Therefore, I set out on a journey of discovery, with the intent of finding those areas and rivers with watersheds not so affected by the scorching heatwave. This is something I often…

Jealous, grumpy old men. And how not to become one

I am writing this to my older self, so that in the future I might be able to handle the possible frustrations an aging fly-fisherman can experience, with as much grace as possible. And yes, I also write this to some individuals who have already become jealous and grumpy old men, possibly the worst kind…

New Zealand 2018 – North Island – Tiny jungle creek

I had been fishing some of the magnificent central plateau lakes for a couple of weeks, and had caught plenty of stunning fish, with impressive average sizes. Mostly rainbows, but also some big brownies had ended up in my net. These fisheries are primarily focused on the plentiful damsel nymphs, although I had started to…

New Zealand 2017-18 – North Island stillwaters – Part 2

There had been little in the way of rain coming down on New Zealand for quite some time, but now a lot of it was on its way, accompanied by very strong winds. I thought it might be a good idea to hunker down for some days, but my friend Andrew, who had just escaped…

New Zealand 2017-18 – North Island stillwaters – Part 1

After a great year of fly fishing both home and abroad I decided to take a bit of a break after the fall season up north in Norway. After dealing with more mundane issues at home and spending the Christmas holidays with my family, I decided to leave for New Zealand on December 27th. I…