New Zealand stillwaters offer some of the best trout fishing in the world. These bodies of water range from small farm ponds to enormous lakes. The biggest is Lake Taupo with a surface area of over 600km2. Many of the Southern Lakes dive to well over 300m while the deepest is 463m. The lakes are widespread and numerous with all sorts of trout habitat. There are a range of tactics I use to target trout where ever they swim in these lakes. Both sight fishing and blind. I’ll start in with shallow water tactics and work my way out to deep water.
Lake Edge Cruisers
One of the most exciting forms of still-water fishing In NZ is walking a shoreline in search of lake edge cruisers. My approach is to carefully walk the shore, usually out of the water – at least to begin with. Many fish cruise very tight to the bank, often with only enough water to cover their backs. It can be fast a furious! If you sight a fish coming towards you, you need to be able to unhitch your fly and put it on the water in seconds before he gets too close and see’s you. I usually execute this fast-cast while getting into a crouching position using cover if possible. This is very close quarters fishing, often catching trout with only tippet out of the rod.
My favorite set-up is a dry with a small nymph hanging under it at trout cruising depth – usually 8 to 12 inches for these lake edge cruisers. The aim is to lead the trout by about 2 feet and let him find the fly as it’s naturally settling in suspension under the dry. They will take this about 4 times out of 5 if its well presented. The fly itself doesn’t matter much. I like my claret nymph in a 16, which has a little tungsten bead to get to depth quickly or an unweighted PT nymph depending on the scenario.
If you find a fish cruising away from you then the approach is a bit more relaxed. Make haste slowly kinda thing! You have a little more time to make your cast but not heaps. A trout is always likely to turn and go out into deeper water and out of sight so you need to make the shot. There is one adjustment to the tactic I use for a fish cruising away. I do not try to lead the fish. If I do, I’ll put tippet over his head and possibly spook it. Best approach is to cast level with the trout and about 2 feet to his left or right. The trout will hear the plop of the nymph and go to investigate. As he does he finds my nymph settling naturally.
Depending on the time of year, a single dry can also work very well. Little or no wind and sunshine is best for lake edge cruisers. Many lake edges have good sighting on cloudy days due to trees or high banks on the edges cutting out glare.

Trout Flats
Trout flats are large expanses of shallow water where trout cruise in search of food. The bottom can be made up of pretty much anything but as anglers were looking for the lighter colored bottom so the trout are easier to see. Sand and fine gravel are best because they not only offer good sighting, they are also safe to wade on. Silt is also great to sight fish over but wading can be very difficult and sometimes dangerous.
Tactics are very similar to the lake edge cruisers approach. The main difference is that we don’t generally walk the shore and and we’re usually sighting slightly deeper water – 1 to 3 feet. The approach is to walk slowly across the flat. We’re no longer looking along a shoreline, now we’re sighting in all directions – including behind us! When conditions are ideal fish can often be sighted at a reasonable distance giving the angler some time to make the shot count.
Similar to the lake edge fish, a trout cruising towards you needs to be cast to quickly. When a trout is cruising away we can often throw tippet over the trout if the water is a little deeper. That said, I generally still opt for the left or right of the fish approach – especially in 1 to 2 feet of water. A fish cruising left or right can be lead. About 2 feet is optimum. For trout flats, blue sky days with little or no wind is best.
Windy Days
Once the wind gets up a bit, sight fishing becomes more difficult or impossible. The fish are still there and still feeding so we need to use a method to cover a lot of water quickly to find them. This is also a good opportunity to fish water where sight fishing is difficult, even in perfect sighting conditions – over weed beds for example. I usually look for a varied lakeshore when the wind blows. Generally 2 to 8 foot of water is ideal. Points, bays, drop-offs, weed beds, structure, and trout flats are all good. I then get into machine mode and methodically cover water. Moving constantly, I cover different water with every cast.
I generally fish a single possum and marabou streamer (soon to be available on Fulling Mill) or a bugger. I generally fish it on a floating line just in case a sight fishing opportunity presents or the wind drops – I can change flies quickly without having to change the line. An intermediate line can also be excellent. It is certainly better in over 3 foot of water but less versatile if conditions change (and they often do!).
Lately I’ve been experimenting with blind fishing the dry / dropper in these windy conditions. It’s deadly. Maybe just as good as the streamer, or even better on some days. Usually an Indicator Klink dry with my brown nymph or similar about 2 to 3 foot under it. I recast it every 15 to 20 seconds and try to cover water as efficiently as possible. In general, I think it’s fair to say that with the dry / dropper you’ll cover fewer fish than with the streamer, but catch a higher percentage of them. And visa versa, you’ll cover more with the streamer but catch a smaller percentage of them. For a bit more on this method, check this out.
Windy days on lakes in the height of summer can be a different kettle of fish. It’s cicada time! These big terrestrials hatch out of the ground on hot days and a gust of wind will put these awkward fliers into the lake. The trout go mad for them and the fishing can be superb. Casting to rising trout, blind casting and sight fishing will all account for trout when the cicadas are on the water. It’s some of the most enjoyable dry fly fishing of the season.
The other conditions don’t matter much when fishing on a windy day. Sun will help you read the lake but generally you can see enough in the cloud or rain. It’s just a matter of covering as much fishy water as you can and the results will come.
Double Nymph Rig
I fish the double nymph rig on a medium to long leader. About 12 – 14 foot to a 3 to 4 inch dropper and then another 3 to 6 foot to the point. Usually 4x. It is primarily a blind fishing tactic suitable for fishing in flat calm or windy conditions, but it’s also okay for sight fishing when the opportunity presents. The speed and style of the retrieve can be varied to suit the conditions or choice of flies. This makes the rig very versatile. Changing the weight of the fly or flies means you can effectively cover shallow to deep water with a simple fly change.
This is my dad’s favorite method on NZ lakes. For years I watched him fish it with absolute confidence and it pretty much always worked for him. The method requires discipline. You need to have belief in it because at times you might be working the water for a long time without a touch. In the early years fishing with dad in NZ, I didn’t have the discipline. Figure of 8 for hours on end just didn’t fit with my impatience. I’d prefer to use a bugger and cover water fast.
Over 15 years later and I’m learning the discipline required for this method. Slow down. Work the water at the speed the technique allows. Have confidence because it will work. One thing I remember is that my fish count on the bugger was rarely any more than dad’s fishing the double nymph rig. Dad almost always used 2 Hare’s Ears. He didn’t use a dropper. The point fly was tied direct to the bend of the first nymph.
Recently, while fishing a large oxbow lake with my friend Wesley, we sight fished the edges until we were no longer seeing fish. Before we left, I put on the double nymph rig with a buzzer on the dropper and a lightly weighted damsel on the tail. There was a deep section that must have had a few trout in it! I took my time and worked it carefully. I met 4 trout before hooking and landing the 5th. A superb moment and a brilliant fish – all down to changing over to this simple tactic before we moved to the next location. This is certainly a great method to use on NZ still waters. Simple, versatile and deadly.
Buzzer Fishing
Fishing the epoxy buzzer is a tactic that’s not heavily practiced here on New Zealand stillwaters. There are times when it’s lethal. I remember a days fishing Lake Benmore years ago. I was sight fishing a shore, completely engrossed in it but I noticed birds feeding over 50 foot diameter circle out in the lake all day. It occurred to me that they must be on midge. Thankfully it clouded over and I could no longer sight fish, so I got a chance to find out.
There was nothing rising. The birds were working well off shore. I waded out to my limit and then cast to my limit and I was just reaching the edge of the circle. I had 3 of my dad’s buzzers on. The same as we’d use on Corrib back home. Leader about 20′. 12′ to the first dropper, 16′ to the next and 20′ to the point. I let them sink and then very slowly started the figure of 8 retrieve. I landed 6 trout in about an hour. Vindication that I was right and it was indeed a great lesson. I always have a few teams of buzzers in my lake boxes and they’ve saved me a number of times. They can also be very good fished under a dry, both blind and sighting.

River Mouths
River mouths are a good location to find trout at any time of year on New Zealand stillwaters. They fish best over the winter months as fish congregate there before moving upstream to spawn. There are 2 main types of mouth here in NZ. One is the shallow mouth, where the river has deposited huge amounts of silt, sand and / or gravel into the lake over millennia thus creating a shallow flat. This type of mouth usually offers more scope for the angler the next one I’ll talk about. When the lake is low, the river cuts channels through the deposited sand, silt or gravel. In normal or high water these channels become submerged and are superb trout feeding grounds. It’s where we focus our angling attention.
The best method is a sinking line with a streamer or bugger. The sink rate depends on the depth of the gutters. Anything from an intermediate to a di7. It pays to move around and cover as many gutters as possible to maximize your chances. These shallow mouths are very often river deltas which can have many gutters to keep an angler amused for a whole day. Sunny days are best to illuminate the hotspots. A little wind is also helpful but any conditions should fish well.
The other type of mouth is the deep drop-off mouth where the river enters the lake at a drop-off and plunges into deep water. There’s generally less scope to move around here. Best bet is to get to the drop-off and sling the the fastest sinking line you own over it. Fish the surface water first, then count down each subsequent cast until your getting as deep as you can. If the fish are there you’ll usually meet them right away. Conditions don’t really matter as long as the wind allows casting!
Lough Style
As an Irish angler, I had to experiment with lough style in the rolling wave in NZ. Sadly, at least in my experience, it’s rarely, if ever the best method. At first I used a very traditional rig. A bob fly like a Dabbler, middle fly such as a Bibio and a Peter Ross or Pennell on the tail. It worked pretty well but I quickly realized I only caught about 1 in 10 on the middle fly, so I deleted it and increased the distance between the bob and point. Then, with the bob and point, the bob fly would take the majority of fish – probably 70%. Rather than delete the tail fly, I changed it to a bugger with some weight. Now both flies were catching fish. About 50/50 but something was telling me that the bob fly was now unnecessary.
My thinking was, if the bob fly wasn’t there, the trout would take the bugger anyway. So I deleted the bob fly. Quite quickly Irish Lough Style in the wave evolved into a single bugger (or small streamer)! This is something I want to revisit in the future. I think it warrants further investigation. It’s a long time since I fished it and I think it could have it’s place!
Using a Boat
There are many advantages to using a boat on the lakes on our New Zealand stillwaters. The main one has to be access. Using the boat to get to parts of lakes that are otherwise difficult to get to, then jumping out to fish the shore or stay fishing from the boat. Sight fishing from a boat can be very tough. The approach needs to be ultra careful. Fish are very wary of the boat and as we elevate ourselves to try to see them, they see us!
An electric motor helps maneuvering into fishy locations. Dropping anchor and waiting for fish to come to us is also a good approach. Drifting and blind fishing from the boat is excellent whether its with dries, nymphs or streamers (or lough style!). I recently picked up a small boat (16 foot) with a little cabin and a 15HP engine. The big advantage with this boat for me is all of the above and I can sleep in it so multi day boating / camping trips are now an option. Unfortunately, I can’t use the boat as part of my guiding business.

New Zealand Stillwaters: A Wrap Up
I think I have covered the basics of all my main approaches and tactics for NZ lakes in this piece. I didn’t go into much detail about the different types of lakes and still-waters because with regards to tactics, it’s the depth thats important. All the different types of water? Thats a huge part of the enjoyment. Farm ponds, backwaters, oxbow lakes, coastal lagoons, backcountry tarns, small lakes, large lakes, dams, estuaries. These’s so much still-water to explore…
If you’d like to get in touch about guided fly fishing in New Zealand then feel free to contact me. You can do so via emailronan@sexyloops.com or visit my website. Hopefully NZ will open up to the rest of the world in the not too distant future.
Tight Lines, Ronan.
If you’d like to read more from Ronan, check out his other articles on the blog!