New Zealand – Trout Fishing in Christchurch
After five days of rain on the north island I decided to fly south to visit my friend Chris Bell who guides out of the Christchurch area. Felt very fortunate that Chris had an open day and was able to guide us. Christchurch is a really nice town with a great vibe to it and with Chris available for a day, the prospect of a couple of rain free nights in Christchurch, or so I thought, was all I needed to jump on a plane south.
Flying into Christchurch, all the rivers we flew over looked high and it was clear that most of the rivers in the area were fairly coloured. We met Chris the next morning and he had a plan to take us to a spring creek that would still be clear, where we could site cast to our fish and so we packed up the truck and drove 60 minutes inland, towards thew west coast. The day was heavy with low brooding clouds and temps seemed to be dropping by the hour. An hour into fishing and it was officially cold out!
This particular creek has Rainbows and after an hour of casting dries, it was evident that they were not going to feed on the surface. We reluctantly went to a nymph with a New Zealand style indicator and within 15 minutes had our first hook up. A smart old fish that knew the game, humoured us for about 2 minutes in his home pool, before busting off my friend Kevin, on an undercut ledge.
The valley that this spring creek is in was so hauntingly beautiful and despite the poor weather all day, I just felt so damn grateful to be there. We only saw about eight fish for the day and it was a tough slog dealing with poor visibility and cool temps. But, if you put in the time, something good will usually come. And part way through the afternoon, I hooked up and managed to land this lovely fish. Our only fish of the day.
This one fish felt like a huge victory and the drive home was warm and went quickly. We all agreed that a large steak dinner was in the cards and Jabba’s Restaurant did not disappoint!
In tough conditions, one fish can be more rewarding than a 20 trout day in optimal conditions.
