Owen River Lodge, pt 2 - Matakitaki, Maruia and Hope Rivers

Georgina Swan with a beautiful Matakitaki River brown trout  

Continuing their journeys in search of New Zealand's finest trout, MIKE GEE and GEORGINA SWAN spent seven days at the near legendary Owen River Lodge on South Island. Part two of our special report begins with days on the Matakitaki River and Maruia River.

• GALLERY: Flyfishing the Matakitaki, Maruia and Hope Rivers (29 photos)

So occasionally my casting sucks. Well, often enough to piss off a seasoned guide like Paul van de Loo, one of Owen River Lodge’s tribe of the-men-who-find-you-trout. That is why, on the second of three guided days during our seven-day stay at Owen River Lodge, when I opened proceedings with a bunch of rather ugly looking attempts, I was banished to a large and rather lovely pool on the Maruia River to practice for 20 minutes.

In the meantime Paul and my wife, Georgina,  took off in search of trout. Moral to this story: NZ guides are mean buggers. And they’ll steal your wife without a moment’s hesitation.

The Maruia is a splendid river with so much trout-ness. Long runs, lovely pools, broad reaches with enticing edges. Some rock and chop. It runs almost parallel to the Shenandoah Highway (route 65) from just south-west of Murchison on New Zealand’s South Island for a good 30 kilometres or so. It is a major tributary of the fabled trout river, the Buller – which now, it seems, has seen better days but remains a fish highway as many of the regions other streams and rivers end up in it. The fish simply lob in The Buller, find it has didymo problems, and opt out up another unaffected river. Or so the story goes.

Georgina hooked into a nice Maruia River brown

The Maruia runs for 80 km before joining the Buller about eight kilometres to the west of Murchison. It's rise in the Spenser Mountains, from whence it travels southwest before turning north for the last 50 km of its length. In its upper reaches, the river's valley forms the western approach to the Lewis Pass, the northernmost of the three main mountain passes across the Southern Alps.

It is easily accessible in quite a few areas and for lengthy stretches. We were lucky enough to fish a part of its journey through private land but I’m assured the fishing is just as impressive in most areas of the river.

This is a river we want to come back to. Just recovering from a sweeping flood months earlier, the shape, pools and lies had been substantially changed in some areas according to Paul.

First trout of the day for Georgina

It didn’t matter. Georgina, who regular readers of this tome will know is a fine caster and prolific catcher of trout, managed to hook four this day – two of which ended up in the net – a nice 3.75lb fish and a splendid gentlemen of 5.25lb. I hooked into two and lost both. Ah well, such is a flyfisherman’s life.

There is a lovely depth of character about the Maruia and its banks run green with finery and frills that sweep the edges of the boulders that populate parts of its shore.

Casting is not as demanding as we would find on the magnificent Owen River, a couple of day’s later.  But that story has already been told. The Maruia is a good warm up. And it fishes both dry and wet depending on where you are casting.

And here's her second ready to go back

Talking about warm ups and rivers affected by flooding two days earlier we spent a day fishing the Matakitaki which runs right through Murchison and into the Buller. Here it is a broad, slightly angry river and upstream it doesn’t thin out too much.

This is a river that you need to get to know. A guide is a big help here. The fish, from our limited experience, lie close to the edge in riffles, runs between rocks, around corners. Rarely did we venture out to middle of the river to fish in the current or a drop off. Here they require, as always in this region, keen eyes and the knowledge of traditional lies.

Once again, Paul showed us how the flood had changed both the surrounding landscape and the river.  Tiny creeks and rivulets ran down broad smashed-tree filled dry watercourses, the legacy of the flood carving and scything the surrounding forest and vegetation out of the way.

Such might and power also affects the trout population. When thousands and millions of litres of water storm down previously relatively still waters  bringing with it a barrage of rocks, boulders, timber and who knows what else, many of the trout are hit and those that survive either find their natural habitat completely destroyed or are swept kilometres away downstream. Whole populations are shifted and take time to return to their traditional waters. Those more devastated can take several years to rebuild.

Playing a brown trout on the Matakitaki

So it is with the Matakitaki. The fish have been slowly repopulating upstream but in some spots there are two, three, four within 20 metres of one another.

Georgina caught two, both around 4.5lb; I snared a 1.5lb junior who snaffled the fly from under the nose of a much bigger fish. Minutes later I hooked and lost a good fish around the 4lb mark.

The second of George’s fish was one to remember. High up on the bank, Paul spotted a fish feeding in no more than a few centimetres of water where a tiny rivulet ran into the Matakitaki. The area it occupied was a little  sandy flat, virtually no broader than its own length.

Paul – some five metres above - positioned George behind a bush that pushed out in front of the pool and got her to flick her fly no more than 10 or 12 metres up to where the fish fed. When she got the angle right on her second or third cast it nailed the fly instantly.

It then leapt into the air virtually propelling itself backwards into deeper water, bounced and boogied up and down for three or four minutes, tail walked and flipped and flopped before resigning itself to capture.

A good brown brown trout

All in all a good day – three fish caught, four hooked and another five either spooked or missed.

There was better to come. Again I mention the Owen River. But if that was good and personal highlight for me came a day later. Our seven days finished at Owen River Lodge, we got some tips from our excellent host, Felix Borenstein, on where to fish on the way back to Christchurch. One of the rivers he mentioned was the Hope River.

First off though we dropped in on the Boyle River – oh what a lovely stream it is. We didn’t have time to work more than 300 metre section but the number of lies, runs and pools, the structure and the general feel of the river were fantastic and we could see if you walked further upstream into the forested area it only got better. Tick for a return visit.

Georgina's second brown on the Matakitaki River

The Hope River is entirely different, coursing through open country with broad rocky banks and blue waters coloured with glacial silt. It has plenty of friends in the region. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing the wrong way for us, so as we walked upstream the wind howled into our faces.

However, we were determined to at least give it a go. Paul had taught me that when casting into the wind stop your back cast early – at 11am maximum. This helps push the line into the wind. I had that in mind as I wandered up the bank staring at the water. To be honest I wasn’t expecting to see much. And when a brown trout popped up, feeding up and own in a water column no more than 6 to eight metres from shore and about five in front of me I almost did a double take.

It went down quite quickly but I could just see it and visually marked the area I knew it was likely to be working. The first cast was hurried and a flop. The line barely missed being blown back on my boots. But the second cast – the second cast, I concentrated. I stopped at 11am, I paused and I delivered a cast had enough momentum despite the strong wind to go about 10 metres forwards and the drift in the air about eight metres out. The double nymphs disappeared nicely and the indicator was clearly visible. Quickly mending once and again, I had a lovely drift for once in my life and as the line was virtually parallel with body, the trout hit. As Paul had drilled into us I struck not up but downstream. It was on and off. I yelled for Georgina who had the net but was some 25 metres away downstream. She didn’t hear me for a couple of minutes before finally picking up my by then screams. She hurtled up river just in time to net a beautiful 2.5lb brown on the second attempt.

Mike's Hope River brown trout in the net

We hi-fived, danced up and down like kids. Georgina still says it was the best moment of the trip. Even better than her PB 7.25lb brown, one of the three fish she plucked from the Owen River the previous day.

This one we caught on our own, taking the things we’d learned from Paul and all the New Zealand guides who have helped us before him and putting them into practice. We are learning and it is paying off. Now we can think of tackling rivers on our own and having real hope of catching one or two fish as good as those that our guides have put us on to. We have fished the Tongariro, Aitutaki, Mataura, Eglington, Hope, and more alone and caught fish. We are earning our stripes. Just one now. But it is a good start.

But we will also always return to the lodges that have given us flyfishing days that belong in dreams. And in the balance of the two, hopefully lies the perfect expression of the wet and the dry.

Mike Gee with his Hope River brown trout

The lodge that Felix built

Owen River Lodge

Part 1 – the Owen River

Continuing their journeys in search of New Zealand's finest trout, MIKE GEE and GEORGINA SWAN spent seven days at the near legendary Owen River Lodge on South Island. Our special three-part report begins with a day on the Owen River.

• GALLERY 1: Flyfishing the Owen River (38 photos)
• GALLERY 2: Owen River Lodge (16 photos)

Owen River Lodge lies a mere two kilometres of dusty road (if it hasn’t rained) off State Highway 6 as it curls down to the town of Murchison, some 20 kilometres distant on New Zealand’s South Island. It lives in a valley with its namesake a literal breathe away. In the close distance the peaks and ranges that fill the Kahurangi National Park press down, at times almost to the river’s verdant banks.

This is the lodge that Felix built. And it’s one of the big four New Zealand luxury flyfishing lodges – Stonefly, nearby south of Nelson, and Tongariro and Poronui on the North Island are its main competitors.

Felix Borenstein (left) and Mike Gee

Felix Borenstein is one of us – more than one of us, in fact. He’s a flyfishing trailblazer, starting in Australia 18 years ago in his native Victoria.  When he bought Owen River Lodge some 10 years ago, it wasn’t the lodge it is today. No chalets, no spa, no lush gardens, no killer chef named Ryan (his food is seriously good). Since then Felix has put a lot money, time and effort into making Owen River Lodge a mecca for the sport’s tragics and not-so-tragics worldwide, and perhaps, a little curiously, a destination for honeymooners.

The majority of its patrons come from the US and Australia with about 10 per cent trickling in from the rest of the globe.

Felix’s big drawcard is, of course, the region’s brown trout. This is big browns country – and I do mean big. Double-figure fish are plucked out each year and 6lb-plus trout are plentiful – but you have to be good enough to catch them. These are wild, canny, trout; trout with years of experience in driving flyfishers slightly mad.

It is a challenge and that is part of the attraction. These browns don’t commit suicide as readily as do the rambunctious rainbows that dominate many North Island rivers.

What Felix offers is sight fishing for some of the finest salmonids you will ever cast a fly to.  And he has the guides to back him up. He needs them. These are men with the eyes of a hawk, knotted muscular loins, skinny as a rake, with thousands of kilometres in their legs, capable of walking up and down dale, all day, lugging a large pack full of food, drinks, supplies, on their back.

It is outlandishly hard work and on top of that they have to sort out the errant casting techniques of many their clientele. Deal with their moods. And try and ensure they do actually catch a trout. Not catching many fish – or even a fish – sometimes does not go down well.

And don’t forget: the weather is about as variable as it gets; the trout are moody buggers prone to not giving a sip for at least half the time you are fishing; finding the right fly can be a needle in a haystack job. And even if the guide does, the client actually gets the cast in and the fish cooperates and engorges the fly, then the fish has to be landed. The conversion rate is around 33 per cent.

Mike Gee with our guide, Paul van de Loo, and Mike's
 third trout of the day, a 3.75lb 'old man' brown

Who would be a guide? Well, Paul van de Loo, for one. For 23 years, in fact. He’s pretty damn good at what he does. It is no secret – in fact, on these trips it’s declared well in advance, that while my wife, Georgina Swan (George to her friends and you, the reader), can cast a fly line with admirable adeptness, I have a cast that has a mind of its own. The good, the band and the ugly – and that’s only the first three casts.

Paul inherited this ongoing, oft disaster, and made it his business to get it – if not right – a lot better. So, on one day when the casting yips set in, I was banished to a “practice pool” on the Maruia River while George and Paul set off upstream to hunt browns. I was only allowed to follow them 20 minutes later.

After three days, Paul had beaten enough knowledge and technique into me that I caught a PB brown in the Owen River, challenged George for the most hook ups and could bang a cast into the teeth of a gale blowing down the Hope River the day after we left the lodge, drift it over a brown I spotted sitting in the water column, hook and land.

So Mr van de Loo knows his stuff. He managed to do what at least three other top guides have failed to do: get my cast into reasonable shape.

He can also see trout where these ageing eyeballs could only see, well to be honest, bugger all.

Flyfishing the Owen River

In three days of fishing the Matakitaki, Maruia, and Owen Rivers, George and I hooked 18 fish and landed 11 – George also notching a PB brown in the Owen River.

So let’s start with that day on the Owen River. Felix and Paul say the average catch per couple for a good day on the Owen is three fish. Georgina and I hooked eight browns and landed six.  They weighed, in descending order: 7.25lb, 6.75lb, 5.75lb, 5.25lb, 3.75lb, 2.25lb.

In terms of quality fishing it’s hard to beat. This is, for us, the perfect river, the perfect fishery. The Owen never really sprawls like so many South Island rivers do – a few kilometres away, often parallel to State Highway 6, the Buller River runs, a broad silver swathe, scything through the countryside; sometimes braided sometimes not.

The Buller is the trout highway for the region; virtually every river runs into it and the trout use it to move around. It used to be a mighty river to fish but they say that didymo, that scourge of trout waters, has so affected it that fish stocks have dwindled significantly and it is the feeder rivers that hold the best – and most - trout.

But the Owen – it’s a flyfisher’s dream stream. Unlike many South Island rivers it isn’t braided and, as the photos on this page and in the slideshow indicate, it can sometimes be just three or four metres from bank to bank.

It is a mighty test of skill. The water is gin clear; the cast needs to be all the things that make up a good cast: accurate, straight, turns the fly over, and as a simple as possible – false casts need to be kept to a minimum.  Distance is not generally a problem.

Like the best trout streams, it mixes runs and riffles with pools and deepwater edges; fast water, slow water, flat and chop, it has the lot. Over it all, preside sheep dotted hills and pastures, willows line its edges, blackberry bushes usually appear least when you least want them too, constantly foiling an over-exuberant attempt to plop the fly two metres in front of the trout’s nose.

George plays out her third trout of the day - the Owen
 is a mere three metres wide here

You don’t wade much: sometimes to cross over to get a better angle to a lie; others a few metres in from shore to a trout virtually dead ahead. As George found out you may need to cast around a bush; at other times with blackberries blossoming behind you.

At the beginning of the day, the tall grass - it is chest high in places -  ensnared my back cast as I stopped it way too late. It is such technicalities that, on the Owen, will see you spend more time unwrapping and untangling your fly than using it to fish with.

The first fish of the day should have been mine. However, George having cast to a couple of seriously spooky trout in the first pool was lagging behind as Paul called me up to tackle a fine specimen in the next pool up, 40 metres or so from where Georgina had drifted a nymph over a brown’s nose, had it look at it and declare it was fine piece of fly tying. Just as we settled to cast, the trout decided feeding downstream was in order and swum off in Georgina’s direction.

She paused, Paul moved down, they hatched a plan, her cast went out once, twice, and it struck. So did George – using a technique Paul had imparted. Rather than striking straight up when nymphing, strike downstream, keeping the rod down; if the trout is past you then strike upstream, rod down. It works.

Ten minutes later, Paul netted a beautiful 7.25lb brown trout – a PB for Georgina. It is fish like this that drag us back to New Zealand time and time again. It is an honour to be able to chase and catch such foe in these green clad ranges, redolent of hobbits and magic. The spell is such it is hard to want to go anywhere else.

Georgina with her PB 7.25lb brown trout  

Hold a big trout in your hands, as the cold clear water runs down its mottled flanks and the sublety of its colours play in the sun; look it in the eyes – its stare won’t waver; feel it glide gently and serenely away at the point of release. Do these things and you feel life’s bright emotion well and surge.

George’s second trout was only another 20 metres away. The great thing about flyfishing with your partner is that their success is as fulfilling as your own. And they can bail you out when you have a ‘moment’. I had a ‘moment’ (five bad casts in a row), called George in. Two casts later she was on to a 5.75lb fish, that threw itself around with such abandon the rainbows in the Whanganui River would have been applauding.

Top to bottom: Georgina's 5.75lb trout;
 Mike's first fish - 2.25lb brown;
George casting in an awkward situation

At this stage I felt like spitting the dummy, packing up my fly rod and taking it home. I’m sure many of you know the feeling – when it all seems too hard. “It should be fun,” Paul said to me, then. “So just stop your backcast early, relax and enjoy yourself.” So I did. And had a 2.25lb trout flapping at my feet within 20 minutes.  The little blighter actually knocked off the nymph from under the nose of a much bigger fellow we were chasing.

This kind of trout play didn’t help George when she ended up casting to three trout with a blackberry bush behind her, the wind beginning to blow from her left to right. Three times a fish came for the fly, then baulked. But still they fed and still George persevered. A lovely 40 metre cast, drifted perfectly downstream, over a big fellow’s nose, surely he would strike! No. Paul cursed.

Then, a fourth, smaller trout, just three or four pounds came rushing into our group, spilling the beans about the folk downstream and telling all sorts of nasty lies. The adults became suspicious and didn’t like this spritely newcomer. We moved on.

A perfect little lie contained my next target. The river rushed down from the right, dropping 30cm or so over rocks before cornering into a more tranquil, deeper stretch. On that corner, tucked behind a rock, sat a large feeding trout. My job? Cast 20 metres or so, landing the nymph just to the right of the trout and let it drift past/over him.

It was virtually a straight cast. The first cast was too long, the second too left, the third too right, the fourth too short by a whisper, the fifth and sixth, left and right of the target, the seventh was perfect: the indicator sank like a stone, I saw a flash of flank as the trout moved, and I struck – downstream. It was on!

It fought with all the strength that legend has these South Island browns possess. My arms began to hurt as it peeled off line, once, twice, three times. It hurled itself skywards – to no avail. I’d lost a trout that shook the hook free with that trick the day before and knew to drop the rod tip. Slowly it tired. One last surge and, after what seemed like an eternity but was more like 12 minutes, it was done. Paul got the net around its splendid flanks and lifted it from the water, eyed the measure, and looked at me.  He paused. He always pauses.  Bastard. Then smiled, “6.75 pounds.” We hugged. A personal best brown.

Mike with his PB 6.75lb brown trout

All those moments of self-doubt, the casting phobias, were washed away with the adrenalin of accomplishment. A surge of pride. The beginning of self belief. And if that all sounds a little too heady, so be it. Every sportsperson experiences such highs should they reach their goal. I run half marathons sometimes and the sense of accomplishment on finishing is similar; but for me this was even greater. I know I can run. I didn’t know if I could ever begin to master the mysteries of the fly – at least, well enough to catch such a fish in one of the toughest, most technical rivers in New Zealand. This fish was five years in the making.

It is something that lives with me and makes me itch to get back there.

George and Paul celebrate her final trout of the day - 5.25lb

George, who really did get the thin end of the casting stick, was next up and found that Paul had spotted a fish midstream, only 30 metres away, where the Owen is no more than four metres wide, if that. Only problem was she would have to cast to her left from behind a bush - with a gale blowing for her right to left. For 20 minutes she flipped that fly around that bush and that fish. The conditions were difficult;  tall grass danced in the wind behind her. I don’t know how many casts she made but she eventually made the right cast and had a 5.25lb brown running hard downstream. She and Paul celebrated righteously when it made the net.

The final fish of the day turned out to be an old man trout – on his last legs but with enough spirit to take the nymph I floated over his head as he lay no more than a few centimetres from the shore, tucked behind a rock in the riffles. He fought with all the strength he could muster and, in his heyday, would have been a monster. Now, at 3.75lb, his body scarred from the floods a few months earlier, his head so much larger than the rest of him, he was waiting for his time to come. Perhaps, this was his last battle. If it was, it was honourable. We returned him to the water rapidly, hoping he would see out a few more weeks in these timeless waters where the big fish lie.

As the clouds flew by, the wind gusted, rain sped bullet-like parallel to the ground, not hard but thin and temporary, Paul offered one last pool. George and I looked at each other. No. This was perfect.  Three fish each. A personal best each. In conditions we might normally dismiss as too difficult. The Owen had thrown down its challenge and, with the help of Paul, we’d found a way to not only answer, but to feel like victors.

And when we returned to the Lodge, got out of our gear, and went to join Felix and Paul for the traditional afternoon beer, only to find them looking at Paul’s photos of our fish, and videos of their return to the wild, with Felix grinning from ear-to-ear and offering the heartiest of congratulations and explaining how much we had accomplished, we felt like we had just climbed New Zealand’s mightiest peak, Mt Cook. Perhaps we had.

The view from our cottage at Owen River Lodge

Aitutaki - Land of the giant bonefish

Felix Borenstein with an 11lb Cocos Island's bonefish caught on fly

The Wet & The Dry is proud to be a small - but vibrant - part of the global flyfishing community so we are delighted to welcome our first international guest writer - FELIX BORENSTEIN, general manager and owner of New Zealand's legendary Owen River Lodge on South Island. When Felix emailed us a couple of photos of bonefish he caught on 12-day trip to the Cocos Islands with his "long-suffering" girlfriend, Nikki, we just had to see and read more. Felix kindly sent us the who, where and why of Aitutaki Island - the home of some massive 'bones'.


Getting there

Aitutaki is a small island some 45 minutes (by twin turbo prop) from the main island of Rarotonga. Air New Zealand have daily direct flights to Rarotonga from Australia and New Zealand.

Interestingly, for people flying to New Zealand from the US, Air New Zealand offers a free stop over in the Cook Islands on their Sunday service from LA, with daily connecting flights to Auckland. Or if you wish to stop over on the way home to the US, the Saturday flight from Auckland to LA stops over in Rarotonga on its way to LA.

Where to stay

Nikki and I have stayed at the Aitutaki Lagoon Resort & Spa on all four visits to the Cooks. The resort is the only major resort facing the beautiful Aitutaki lagoon and has recently undergone a major update of its facilities. The resort is in excellent condition, the rooms and public facilities are kept spotlessly clean and now have Wi-Fi (at extra cost) in all their guest rooms and public spaces.

The staff are friendly in typical Cook Island fashion. The service is good (one has to remember Island time is a little slower than Sydney or New York) but is always friendly and accommodating. I'd rate the food as good, but its not on the bleeding edge of international cuisine. Nikki has developed allergies to wheat and dairy, the Head Chef and restaurant managers went out of their way to accommodate her strict dietary requirements.

Accommodation options/room types

The Aitutaki Lagoon Resort offers 4 different room types. Three of these face the lagoon whilst the entry level rooms face a canal which looks onto other properties. It's for this reason I would recommend you book a room that face the lagoon - it's a stunning view!

The Overwater, Premium or Deluxe bungalows all face the lagoon. Nikki and I have always spoilt ourselves and opted for the Overwater Bungalow option. These rooms offer the most privacy and are the quietest located a little further from the restaurants than the other room types. They also offer guests the opportunity to literally snorkel right from their rooms.

The Fishing!
The lagoon offers anglers fly or spin fishing for Bonefish and  Giant Trevally. The guide I recommend is Itu Davey (or one of his brothers). Itu comes from a family of bonefish netters. A few years ago they decided to give up on netting bone fish and focus on creating a sustainable guided fishing operation. It's a wonderful story of a family that moved from subsistence fishing to create a truely sustainable guided fishing operation. Itu now employs his 2 brothers and 2 cousins in his guided fishing operation. They operate well maintained boats, equipped with new outboard motors and safety equipment.

Now I'm here to tell you that I'm just an average fresh water angler. When it comes to waving a 9 weight rod chasing bonefish - I'm a babe in the woods. My total experience salt water fishing is some 20 days - all of them on the stunning Aitutaki lagoon. And yet, I've managed to land several "double digit" bonefish - how is this possible?  It all comes down to the guide, in my case Itu Davey.

Aitutaki is not like Christmas Island; your clients are very unlikely to land 30 or 40 bonefish a day. But there is a very strong likelihood of catching 4 or 5 good bonefish, and maybe just maybe, catching a bonefish of a lifetime!

The gear

I used a Sage Xi3 9 weight rod, with a Sage 6080 Reel (in champagne – very nice) 250 metres of backing (I saw almost all of it!) and a RIO Tropical semi sink line, as a lot of the time your fishing in 3-4 feet of water.