My partner wanted to do the Alps to Ocean cycle trail and I was drafted in as ‘ground crew’ to sherpa her various bits & bobs around in my 1975 Series III Land Rover ‘Gertie’. The good news is the Mackenzie country is an awesome place to fly fish & one of my favourite areas of the South Island.
We crashed in Tekapo the first night with my fishing plan kicking off with a stint on the Tekapo River the next day – a regular haunt over the years but it has been a wee while since I had thrashed its waters. To say I had forgotten how rough & bouncy the Tekapo River road was would be an understatement – so bouncy that my spare tyre was jostled off the bonnet!
Unfortunately the Tekapo was not in great form…not much water being let out of the lake itself as it was very low and the tributaries of the Fork, the Mary Burn and the Grays were not adding much of a serous flow….
We spent Sunday night in Twizel & I managed to bump into Chris Dore, a super fly fishing guide out of Queenstown who was most generous with his tips & info which made for an awesome day on the Ahuriri River.
But Monday was destined to be a recon day up the Dobson River valley – misty drizzle with gusting winds so fishing not really an option. Dropped in on the Glen Lyon Station folks & got the skinny on what I need to do when I want to fish the Dobson. And I did stop to investigate the spring creek below that flows into the Dobson & Lake Ohau….
We spent the night at the wonderful Lake Ohau Lodge – it ticks all the boxes, accommodating everyone from backpackers & campers to high end folks with a warm & generous spirit…plate of tacos for 2 $15 and Three Boys IPA $8.50 a pint!
I set out that morning for a wander up the southern side of the lake to have a look at the Hopkins River, maybe have a crack at Temple Stream and a bit of recon on Larch Stream for next season.
Dropped in at Huxley Station to get permission to fish & cross the paddocks and for directions to Larch Stream. What a cracker of a spring creek – cannot wait for next season…
I checked out Temple Stream above the gorge as it flows through a DoC campsite and it looked a bit thin, so retreated to the start of the gorge for a fish. Gorges are not my favourite places to fish as I often get stymied by shear rock walls & a 5-10 foot deep pool in front of me which requires a retreat or a scramble to get to the next fishable section.
The gorge only had about 8-10 fishable pools and my last pool was very productive – one 4 pound & one 6 pound rainbow to the net.
I decided to stop off at Lake Ohau and have an hour or two working the lake water…not any big boys to report but a lot of fun with about a dozen whipper snappers hooked & released.
We put our heads to rest that night in a wee cabin at the Omarama Top 10 Holiday Park. I have stayed here many times over the years as it is perfectly positioned for access to some stunning fishing. And by that I am generally referring to the Ahuriri River, but for an hour or two of fun you might have a go @ the Omarama Stream which flows right behind the campground. No one fishes it so the fish are almost imbecilic – you could toss a ball of fluff at them & they’d gladly take it.
I was given some great location intelligence by guide Chris Dore and he was dead right – super quality water…I’d say ‘guide quality’ as it would have been a smashing day with a bit of help (spotting eyes) from Chris. As it was, I spotted and/or spooked a good dozen fish but managed to hook 5 and land 2 – a 6 pound rainbow (on a PT) and a 7 pound brown (stimulator dry).
The night’s accommodation was at the pretty swish (for us) Otematata Lakeside Apartments – all the mod cons and it was St. Patrick’s Day to boot so the pub was alive with folks.
The next day’s fishing plan was to have a go @ the Ahuriri Delta where it flows into Lake Benmore. According to 2 fishing guide books there was supposed to be a F&G angler access sign a wee ways south of Omarama but I could not find it. I dropped into the motel fly shop in Omarama & was told yes, there used to be a sign but it had disappeared some years ago. I would have to drive into the farm & track down the farm manager to get permission to park up & cross the paddocks. That’s too much wasted fishing time so with the advice of the fly shop owner I made a bee line for the Ahuriri again as it flows under the main highway bridge just out of Omarama.
Walked downstream for 45 minutes or so & began working my way back up river. It was what I would call a quantity over quality day — 20-25 fish to the net with one 4 pounder, 5-6 two to three pounders and a bundle of 1+ pounders. Fun.
The night’s rest stop was the very sweet Kurow Holiday Park in the Big Smoke of Kurow. And I just managed to get to the Ostler Cellar door before they closed for a wee wine tasting – nice end to the day of fishing. Bought a bottle of the Waitaki Estate Pinot Noir – it was yum.
Final day’s fishing plan was to have a crack @ the Hakataramea – it can be a tough fish as you head towards the season end & so it was. Water levels seemed a bit low and though I spotted dozens of very decent (4-7+ pound) fish, they were holed up in shallow, glassy pools and they were easily spooked. I did not come close to touching a fish even though I was rigged up with a 20+ foot leader with very fine tippet and a #18 parachute adams. Trout would not have a bar of it…
Along the way I did have a few periodic peeks at the Waitaki River and managed to find some fishable sections, but it is a truly scary river that warrants some respect & a good fishing mate by your side….
A smashing trip & I hope to make it back to the Mackenzie / Waitaki area soon…
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Most beautiful places! Wow… what a great romp