I booked the salmon fishing day trip – mainly for my husband….I did not expect to that I would love it so much too! We had an amazing day and Ben was so knowledgeable and friendly. I was worried as we hadn’t done this kind of fishing before but Ben was patient and a very good teacher! We would do it all again i a heartbeat!
We met in the dark hours of the morning with a good drive ahead of us. Ben’s an easy guy to get on with, but talk soon turned to the Salmon with some great background information discussed on our way to the Rakaia Gorge.As we were setting up the fish began to jump and my casting was soon fairly accurate due to the help of some great gear.I also made a few “random” quality casts but Ben encouraged me to make the best use of the lure in the water and we were soon rewarded with my first catch of the day – a 5.8lb 2 year old in lovely condition! I’ve had a bit of luck on my own fly rod, but it might have been a bit delicate for this guy, so I was grateful for a bit of heavier duty spinning gear to play the fish onto the sandy beach. We took some photos and set up the gear to try again.Next cast I hooked up again, initially thinking I had another snag due to fishing the lure close to the gravel bottom, but then came that reassuring thumping vibration through the braid and rod tip which promised another round of the sport we had travelled for. Five minutes later we had a 9.3lb 3 year old jack hanging from the scales and some more photos to boot.It was great just to be out in the scenic wilds with a chatty like-minded bloke. If no salmon or trout had been caught on the trip, it would still have been a good day out for me, the catch was a bonus.
I chose to fish with Ben because of his specialisation in salmon fishing. He knows the Rakaia River very well, having scouted the best spots in advance and making sure we were in position at first light. I had a nice sea run Brown Trout in the ice box before breakfast. It was a very enjoyable day.
Wow, we made the trip over to New Zealand hoping to catch a salmon each for the wall. I had mine by the first day and my mate by the second day. The trout fishing was just a bonus and was the best fishing we have had on some very large rainbows on tight skinny water. By far the most professional guide money can buy.