Mike's Big Day Out

For those who don't already know; I fish. I fly fish to be exact. And also for those of you who don't know, New Zealand has some of the best fly fishing available on the planet. With a population of just over 4 million and a perfect climate for clear, cool trout waters, the country has a gluttony of fishing riches. Trout were introduced from Tasmania in the 1800's and they have flourished. There are no real predators for the fish to worry about and the waters are very clean. So this past weekend, thanks to my very indulging and understanding wife (who also fly fishes), I was able to get a full day out on one of the local Canterbury rivers and was into fish all morning and afternoon. Usually fishing is done by sight, meaning you spot a fish and then fish to that particular critter. This river was turbulent so it demanded lots of blind fishing which is the norm back in the states. Any likely looking water was met with a strike. Did I mention that the fish here are huge? As in nothing under 20" long. They don't even measure fish here in length but rather by the kilogram. I was into consistently 2 kilogram fish. That's big by my standards. As I was by myself, I was of course unable to get photos of any of these beautiful rainbows, but the scenery was not so bad either......