Over the last 10 years or so the South Island of New Zealand has done a great job at promoting itself and while there is some spectacular scenery down there and some very big fish the big ones are very few and far between with the fish numbers really low compared to the North Island as well as the weather having a big impact on the rivers.
Troutbeck Fishing Lodge is located near Turangi right next to Lake Taupo in the middle of the North Island of New Zealand, this region has some world famous rivers with prolific fish numbers and trophy brown and rainbow trout to be caught. Each year our clients catch trout over the magic 10lb mark.
We hear a lot from our clients that they struggle to get three fish a day down in the south island, where as the same clients are getting around 15 a day up here in the Central North Island. A typical example would be a group of Australians that had been fishing the south Island every year for 8yrs with guides, came to stay with us here at TroutBeck Fishing Lodge for 5 days and everyone of them caught their biggest and best ever fish.
Another example was last February a guide from the USA fished the South Island for two days didn't even hook a fish and we guided him in the back country of the Central North Island he landed 25 fish a mix of rainbow and brown trout and 90% caught on dry fly and the biggest was an 8lb beauty.
The North has such an array of back country rivers that are forgotten about that often we are fishing water that hasn't seen a fisherman for weeks and weeks. Let's not forget the amazing local rivers right here running into Lake Taupo that boast huge numbers of fish and unlike other rivers in the south are actually pumping in winter and spring when the rivers in the south are closed. I need to tell you about the local Lakes especially Lake Otamangakau which is an amazing piece of water never affected by rain that just keeps on producing huge fish with most days our clients will hook into and land brown and rainbow trout between 7 and 13lb.
There are plenty of beautiful gin clear sight fishing rivers that will just blow your mind, but like the south they have to be fished in the summer months. So if sight fishing is what you love and many people do then you can do that in the north island too. Let's not forget the Cicada season which can be so good here that all you can hear at certain times of year is the cicada sound and splash of trout clumsily throwing themselves at them.
Don't take this article the wrong way, I believe that all of New Zealand is a great place to fish but I just want to make you aware of HOW AMAZING the Central North Island is for fly fishing.
Tight Lines
