sparsehackle
03-15-2015, 12:23 PM
Just home from a great NZ trip and had to shout out to my fishing friends about this. Had the amazing good fortune to meet up with Matt von Sturmer who, along with his other talents, has set up a guiding service on Waiheke Island. For those not acquainted, Waiheke is an island in the Hauraki gulf, a short 30 minute ferry ride from downtown Auckland. A beautiful spot, with some great inshore fishing. But what Matt has done is pretty unique - his service is strictly flyfishing. He has a custom fitted boat perfect suited to the local conditions, and he is one of those amazing people who has keenly observed and learned the lifestyles and habits of his target fish species. The primo sport here is the "kingfish" - what is known to those who fish in southern california or mexico as a yellowtail. But think bigger. New Zealand holds virtually every IGFA record for the species. Less heralded is the kahawai, a speeding bullet of a fish unique to australia and new zealand. It's a perfect fish for the fly angler. aggressive, fast, strikes on the surface, and gives some aerial action.
We launched from the very same beach where the ferry comes in, and truly within 5 minutes were in a gorgeous bay, surrounded by sailboats and vast schools of baitfish. The water was alive with 'boils' - kahawai, kingfish, and who knows what else leaping and thrashing in their chase of the bait fish. The highlight for me was sight casting a popper into such a boil, a couple fast strips, and bang - you're on. If you're familiar with kahawai, these ones are monsters. typically 6 to 8 pounds, but with the fight of a fish twice that size.
Matt carries a wide range of the latest Sage gear - from 6 weight to 13; floating, sinking and shooting head lines - and all are suited to the varied fish and conditions out there. But hooking and landing a big kahawai on the 6 weight is the best. Kudos to Sage for some seriously tough gear - the 6 weight handled even the deep dives no sweat.
To top it off, kahawai makes for a delicious dinner. We grilled up some fish and had fish tacos that night, while swapping fish stories.
NZ is rightly on most folk's list for trout fishing. But if you're going through it's likely that you will fly in and out of Auckland. And if you have a day layover there, I can think of no better way to spend it than to grab the ferry downtown, head out to Waiheke, and spend that day with Matt doing some world class fishing right there in the gulf. Check him out at saltflyfish.co.nz, or his FB page "saltflyfish".
10511
We launched from the very same beach where the ferry comes in, and truly within 5 minutes were in a gorgeous bay, surrounded by sailboats and vast schools of baitfish. The water was alive with 'boils' - kahawai, kingfish, and who knows what else leaping and thrashing in their chase of the bait fish. The highlight for me was sight casting a popper into such a boil, a couple fast strips, and bang - you're on. If you're familiar with kahawai, these ones are monsters. typically 6 to 8 pounds, but with the fight of a fish twice that size.
Matt carries a wide range of the latest Sage gear - from 6 weight to 13; floating, sinking and shooting head lines - and all are suited to the varied fish and conditions out there. But hooking and landing a big kahawai on the 6 weight is the best. Kudos to Sage for some seriously tough gear - the 6 weight handled even the deep dives no sweat.
To top it off, kahawai makes for a delicious dinner. We grilled up some fish and had fish tacos that night, while swapping fish stories.
NZ is rightly on most folk's list for trout fishing. But if you're going through it's likely that you will fly in and out of Auckland. And if you have a day layover there, I can think of no better way to spend it than to grab the ferry downtown, head out to Waiheke, and spend that day with Matt doing some world class fishing right there in the gulf. Check him out at saltflyfish.co.nz, or his FB page "saltflyfish".
10511