Donna Saslove And Simon Lugassy - JO LEE Magazine

L’OCCHIO / THE EYE
Fishing In Paradise
By Ray Scotty Morris
San Francisco – California
When you fish in New Zealand,
not only can you catch gigantic fish,
but you also have the added bonus
of fantastic sunsets and sunrises,
breathtaking scenery, and the most
friendly people on the planet. I spent
two fabulous weeks fishing in the
Lake Rotura area, which is situated
two and a half hours by car from
Auckland. I had meant to fish all
over this lovely country, and my first
stop was Lake Rotura. I loved it so
much I refused to move on.
My hosts were Brian and Val Blewett,
at the Waiteti Lakeside Lodge, top
luxury and very reasonable. I could
fish from the garden or walk to
other fishing spots or drive to other
popular fishing spots within five
minutes. My guide for part of the
time was the “Troutman” Harvey
Clark, an ex-sportswriter now retired
and an expert trout catching, fly
fishing teacher and guide. When
the fish left the lake and went up
the rivers for cooler water he – in a
12-hour period – caught and released
seventy fish. These were not small
fish. The rainbows can go to 10 lbs.
and the browns to 30 lbs.
My other guide was Murray
Cunningham, only 21 years old, but
who had been fishing since he was
four. His best catch a 16 lb. brown.
To sum up the joy of fishing in New
Zealand, one of my new friends who
had walked by me on the Waiteti
Stream was muttering to himself
and carrying a very broken rod. He
said in anger, “I borrowed this cheap
rod from a friend and tied into this
huge brown – must have been over
20 lbs. He broke the rod into four
pieces!” That sums up fishing in
New Zealand.
Best time to fish the Rotura Region
is the end of January, which is
summertime in New Zealand. The
lake heats up and the fish head
upstream to the cooler water to
spawn; using nymphs, wet flies, dry
flies and even lures, you can catch
your limit of eight fish, but most
fishermen practice catch and release.
The other great treat is that you can
fish from dawn to midnight. My
best fishing was one evening in total
darkness. I was fishing with a wet fly,
very gentle casts of only a few yards,
and getting strikes every few casts.
Just before midnight, I tied into a
large brown. I played him for 10
minutes before he broke my leader
and got away. That’s fishing in New
Zealand at the very best.
JL
Jo Lee Power 2011 87