Ed Blank's Adventures Main Page
Seasons
| The river fly fishing season begins on the 1st of October and ends on the 30th of April, thus the session starts in spring, moves to summer and ends in autumn. The variation in seasons/weather and trout diet/ behavior means that there are 3 distinct “seasons” within the fishing year. |
||||||
| Early Season – October & November Early season fishing in New Zealand has some advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, the fish haven’t seen an angler for 5 months. |
||||||
| Due to snow melt and rain, the rivers are running high – making crossing the larger ones challenging (or downright out of the question!) At this time of the year the weather is changeable, make sure you bring your dull-colored rain coat. |
 |
|||||
| It’s early in the season that trout seem to love big nymphs - the stone fly is a classic early season fly. Typically 75% of your catch will be using a nymph under an indicator. | ||||||
| Mid Season - December, January & February This is the time for classic dry fly fishing at its best. The rivers have dropped a little, the weather is warmer and more stable, insect life has increased. Mid season should see you catch 80% of your fish using a dry. |
||||||
 |
The Parachute Adams is the classic NZ dry. This time of year will also see terrestrials like cicadas making guest appearances on the water. “Stubborn” fish may need to be encouraged with a small tungsten nymph under a dry or indicator. With all this dry fly action, it will come as no surprise to you that the fishing pressure increases. | |||||
| Late Season - March & April Dry fly, terrestrials & small nymph time! There’s a good chance of mayfly activity on some waters. The weather is less stable than mid season, though river heights should still be comfortable. It’s starting to cool, however truly icy weather is a rarity in the Nelson Lakes district at this time of year. The changing weather conditions means you need to adapt to the conditions of the day. The good news is that most of the overseas anglers have departed, so the angling pressure is lessened. |
||||||
 |
||||||
 |
||||||
Ed Blank's Adventures Main Page
PO BOX 180446 BOSTON MA 02118
Phone: 888-857-6700
Fax: 617-427-7890
ed@flyfishingheaven.com