Brown Trout Fishing

Fishing Season

The open season for all rivers in the West Coast Fish & Game District is from October 1st - April 30th. Prime dry fly fishing usually occurs from mid-November to mid-March, although opportunities for dry fly fishing exist all season. The best catch rates are generally achieved early season, prior to Christmas.

Angling Opportunities with Bryan

Trout fishing on the West Coast can be a daunting prospect for newcomers to the region. The rugged environment requires significant local knowledge of locations, safe travel in the dense native forest and safe river-crossing techniques.

Bryan Wilson is the consummate bushman and his background and experience of this natural wonderland is your guarantee of the best prospects of success.

To help you in your search for the best trout fishing the West Coast has to offer, Bryan provides a range of angling opportunities to cater to all levels of fitness, sense of adventure and budget.

Fishing Licences

Every person who wants to go fresh water sport fishing in New Zealand must first purchase a licence.
For details on Licence Categories or to purchase a Fishing Licence Online, Fish and Game New Zealand

Click on the image

Fishing Techniques and Equipment

• Most fishing is with nymph and dry fly. Small dries and tiny nymphs are used on the smaller creeks while larger dries and weighted nymphs are successful on the larger rivers.
• Anglers should bring rod / line combinations in the #5 - #7 range, in lengths 8'6" - 9'6".
• Floating lines in weight forward or double taper are used for almost all of the fishing.
• Line colour is very important. For daytime fishing, green, olive, earth-tone or grey coloured lines are recommended.
• Leaders fished are generally 12' - 15'. Bring leaders that are at least 9' tapering to a minimum of 3X. Tippet sizes range from 3X - 5X depending upon river flow and water clarity.
• Fishing clothes and hats should also be in subdued colours.
• Good quality breathable waders and felt soled wading shoes are recommended in the cooler waters of our rocky streams. Through the height of summer (Jan - mid March) you may choose to wet wade.
• Polarised fishing glasses are essential.
• A wide brimmed hat is useful for protection against our sun and as an aid in reducing glare to assist in spotting trout.
• Sunblock is important in New Zealand.
• Ensure too, that you have a top quality, waterproof, windproof rain jacket.

Recommended Trout Flies

You will find the following flies useful in your quest.
Dry Flies:
Bring a reasonable supply of dry flies with good quality hackle, in sizes 10 - 18.
Good general purpose patterns are:
Royal Wulff, all sizes … Adams and Parachute Adams sizes 12 – 18 … Humpy sizes 10 - 16 in body colours yellow, red, green, black … Elk Hair Caddis sizes 12 - 16 … Hoppers (Dec - Feb), sizes 6 - 10.

Nymphs:
Patterns that work well here include:

Pheasant Tail … sizes 10 - 18. Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear … sizes 10 - 16. Zug Bug … sizes 10 - 14. Hare & Copper … sizes 10 -14. Prince Nymph … sizes 10 - 14.
Bead Head nymphs also work well. Beads in Gold, Copper and Black in either brass or tungsten are very effective. Caddis patterns in tan, green, brown and yellow, sizes 10 - 16 are very useful, as are Stonefly patterns in green, brown and black sizes 8 - 12.

NB. All nymph patterns should be weighted with lead wire during construction to assist sinking in our faster waters.

Weather
Over very short periods of time, NZ weather may range from very warm to quite cold or from dry to very wet and sometimes windy. Come equipped and prepared for change. Click here for a West Coast Weather update.

We will be fishing as much as we can … we don’t give up in the rain!