Fishing at Taupo... and arriving at Queenstown.

The fishing in New Zealand is amazing! My dad and I went with a guide named Paddy Clark for 3 days in a row fishing the back streams of the north island in the lake Taupo area. The rivers are surrounded by lush green jungles and are usually at the base of a 300 foot cliff. Even though it looks like Fiji the weather is strangely cool and the water even more so. The techniques used to catch these monster trout are not far off from the ones used in Montana. Their is just one small difference, these fish are VERY spooky. Meaning, if they see you at all, they will hide under a rock and not feed for several hours. The only was to catch them is to be very stealthy and fish from directly down stream from them. Wading up the center of the river and making long casts into slow moving pools. Before long, we had hooked into some of the larges trout Í've ever played on a fly rod in my life. These giant rainbow and brown trout ranged anywhere from 18-24 inches long and weighed in at 3-7 lbs! My dad and I each landed about 6-8 a day, we probably hooked about 12 a day, but they are just so big and strong that even the best anglor is bound to lose some in the sharp rocks and snags. For those of you who speak fishing... we were using 4x leader because the visibility was so clear, and double nymph rigs with one or no split shot, depending on the speed. I was using a 5 wt. 9 foot pack rod with a 5 wt. line. My dad had a 5 wt. 9 foot rod with a 4 wt. line. The fishing was great! I highly recommend it to anyone coming to New Zealand (Trevor... you could make your dad VERY JEALOUS!)

We just arrived today Dec. 1st, in Queenstown on the South Island. I have never seen anything quite like this place. The view is amazing... the town sits right on the edge of the lake, with beautiful mountains rising straight up off the shore, streching out toward the sky with snow capped peaks. It really is an amazing site. Our Motel stairs at a garden, the wrong direction, but it's alright because the price is right and a better view is only a quick walk down town through the small stone paved streets past the touristy yet cute cafes and gift shops. Paraglyders drift off of a small peak off of the back side of the town. A Gondolla takes tourists to the top to either bike, hike, or float down in a tandem paraglyde experience. Here are a few pictures from the last few days. Enjoy.

p.s. The picture of my dad holding the Rainbow trout, he's actually holding my trout. =) (True story)