Ed Blank's Adventures Main Page
Tackle & Gear
Tackle
New Zealand requires some specialized gear to aid in the staling of these wild trout in clear water. Leave home all bright colors of everything, your guide will not let you wear it.
FLY RODS:
5, 6 & 7 weight - 8'6" - 9' foot rods is best for most of the waters,
3-4 weight may be nice if you are fishing smaller waters
REELS:
Standard, mid or large arbor reels - with excellent drag
Don' t skimp on the reel, you will spend a lot of money to get to New Zealand , pay a lot for a guide, finally you are on the water, the guide puts you on a 10 pound brownie , you hook up and your reel screws up and you break off.
Be prepared with equipment suitable for these fish.
FLY LINES:
Floating lines are used for 99% of the fishing. The choice of Weight Forward or Double Taper is a matter of personal preference. Line Color is however of significant importance. For daytime fishing green, olive, earth-tone or gray colored lines are recommended. While bright colored lines such as yellow or white have a place on very dull days or evening fishing, they can be definitely counter-productive most of the time.
Leaders:
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 colors …( beware blues and yellows as you will become a focus of interest for bees.)
* Good quality lightweight waders and felt soled wading shoes are recommended in the cooler waters of our rocky streams. The latest breathable waders such as the Simms Gore-Tex are excellent.
* Through the height of summer (Jan - mid March) you may choose to wet wade. Polypropylene long underwear under cotton wading trousers or shorts are a good combination for wading wet.
Packing List
Your waders and wading shoes should be sterilized or batter yet buy new ones for this trip. They will confiscate any dirty waders or shoes to prevent new parasites from entering New Zealand.
| Airline Tickets | Prescription Medicines | ||
| Photo Id/Passport | Cash | ||
| 1 Gortex waders & repair kit - neoprene is not advised | Traveler's Checks | ||
| 1 Wading Shoes – felt bottom | Boat Bag | ||
| 1 Wet Wading Shoes – felt bottom | Bug Spray | ||
| 1 Rain jacket w/hood (top quality breathable ) | Bug head net | ||
| 1 Medium weight fleece top | Camera / film/ batteries | ||
| 1 Lightweight fleece or Polypropylene top or turtleneck | Reading & writing materials | ||
| 2 long sleeve lightweight fishing shirt (dull colors) | Bandana/ face sun protector | ||
| 3-7 pair underwear ( synthetic is better than cotton) | Toiletry Kit | ||
| 4 pair wool/ blend insulating socks for under waders | Zip lock bags | ||
| 1 light wool or fleece hat (ski type)- | Fly Rods | ||
| 1 cap with brim | Fly vest, or chest pack | ||
| 2 - nylon supplex quick dry shorts(dull colors)) | Reels | ||
| 1 - nylon supplex quick dry Pants( dull colors) | Flies/Fly box | ||
| 2 pair Polypropylene long underwear bottoms | Fly Lines | ||
| 1 pair fishing gloves - fingered or fingerless | Tippets / leaders | ||
| 1 polarized sunglass - as good as you can get! | Clippers | ||
| 1 spare pair polarized sunglasses ( cheap is OK) | Hemostat | ||
| Flashlight or headlamp with batteries | Reel Lube | ||
| Prescription glasses | Spare prescription glasses | ||
Flies
Feel free to bring along any of your favorite patterns from the US many if not all of them will work here. The following is an example of a well stocked fly box for a week's outing in New Zealand.
New Zealand Fly Box
| Type | Color | Size | QTY |
| Elk Hair Caddis | Tan, Gray | 12-14 -16 | 12 |
| Royal Wulff | 12-14-16 | 12 | |
| Adams | 12-14-16-18 | 12 | |
| Parachute Adams | 12-14-16 -18 | 12 | |
| Humpy | yellow, red, green, black | 12-14-16 | 12 |
| Hoppers (Dec - Feb) | 6-10 | 6 | |
| Quigley's Cripple | 12-14 | 6 | |
| spent spinner patterns | various | 14-16-18 | 6 |
| No-Hackle, CDC | various | 14-16-18 | 6 |
| Klinkhamer Special | 10-14 | 6 | |
| Pheasant Tail Nymph | 10-12-14-16 | 6 | |
| Whitlock's Red Fox Squirrel | 10-12-14 | 6 | |
| Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear | 10-12-14 | 6 | |
| Zug Bug | 10-12-14 | 6 | |
| Prince Nymph | 10-12-14 | 12 | |
| Borger's Red Brown Nymph | 10-12-14 | 6 | |
| La Fontaine's Deep Sparkle Pupa | 10-12-14 | 6 | |
| bead head versions of above | 10-12-14 | 36 | |
| all nymphs should be weighted with lead wire while tying | |||
Ed Blank's Adventures Main Page
PO BOX 180446 BOSTON MA 02118
Phone: 888-857-6700
Fax: 617-427-7890
ed@flyfishingheaven.com