2010-2012 Newsletters

Previous Newsletters (back to September 2010)

Guides are only as good as their last trip.  Scroll back in time to check out our previous successes.

 

 

October 2011 Fishing Newsletter

Dear Angler,

Greetings from Strike Adventure Country….

We had a great winter here in the northern South Island with mild sunny weather and only a few cold blasts along the way. Spring is here now and river conditions are looking really good. Thanks to all our anglers who have already booked their fishing trip(s) for 2011-2012 with Zane, Tony and the Strike Adventure Guide Team.



Happiness is a Honeymoon with Trout: Janie Howe and Paul Dickson Jr, from southern USA, enjoy Janie's first ever trout on the fly. Lower Motueka River, September 21st 2011


The general fishing season opened on October 1st, right as the rain came down so the trout have had a little protection for the first few days but fine weather is predicted this week…so watch out trout! We’ll be sure to keep you updated on how the fishing is going and what opportunities are on offer over the next few months.

We’ve been out and about over the winter, with a few successful fishing and hunting trips under our belts.

Late Season Ducks: Gerald Beattie, NZ, after a successful day. Read ZM Wildside Newspaper Column: Nature saves her best for late season hunters.	Mid-Winter Trout: Rod Duke catches his first Motueka brown trout on August 1st 2011, while Lloyd McGlew looks on.  Read ZM Wildside Newspaper Column: Fishing for hardy souls.

Rugby Cup fever is full-on here in New Zealand at present with some magnificent world class rugby played so far. We’ve had 3 games here in Nelson (Italy vs Russia / USA vs Italy / Australia vs Russia) which were a great success and a lot of fun. The big games are still ahead as we move forward into the quarter and semi-finals of this huge international event. 

We've been out enjoying the rugby and having some great recreational saltwater fishing, ahead of another trout season.

Your Country Needs You: The Mirfin Family (and Uncle Sam clones) enroute to Trafalgar Park, Nelson to support the USA Eagles Rugby Team vs Italy, 27th September 2011	Recycled Metal: Zane caught this Sea Perch on a recent recreational fishing trip to D'Urville Island, with a special lure recycled from a plate that had been in his ankle for the past three years. Read ZM Wildside Column - Fish lured with aid of spare parts

We’ll have plenty of great trout photos to show you soon.  The general fishing season is now open and the world is your oyster. Are you coming fishing with us this year?

There are still plenty of opportunities for anglers considering coming fishing over the 2011-2012 season and we’d love to hear from you. 

Kind Regards & Good Fishing

Zane & Aimee

PS Anyone who books a trip with us by the end of October receives a FREE copy of Zane's book "Brown Trout Heaven - Fly Fishing New Zealand's South Island" This book is now out of print and a collector's item. 

April 2011 Fishing Newsletter

Dear Angler,

Greetings from Strike Adventure Fishing Country! We’ve been busy and the fishing has been great.

Magic Time: Steve Lennard, Brisbane, Australia, March 2011	Wilderness Adventurers: Christian Wurzinger and Christa Wuethrich, Geneva, Switzerland, March 2011

You may have heard of the February 22nd Christchurch Earthquake. While it was a real tragedy with significant loss of life, we’ve been very fortunate that our family and friends down South are all OK.  Ours thoughts are with all of those whose lives, properties and businesses have been affected.  It's probably fair to say that the two Christchurch earthquakes (September and February) didn't help South Island tourism this season. 
 
But life here goes on and nothing has changed in the northern South Island. We never felt the quake, there is no damage or disruption to our lives and it’s business as usual.  Virtually all our anglers fly into Nelson airport direct from Wellington and Auckland, and those who have come through Christchurch have experienced no disruption.  In fact, Christchurch friends tell us you wouldn't even know anything had happened out on that side of town.

The dry fly fishing here has been great in the northern South Island, with low, clear rivers and not many other anglers around. The trout have been taking terrestrial bugs with gusto over recent months. Cicada fishing has been good on wilderness streams and on local waters trout have been keying on willow grubs and passion vine hoppers.

Big Dries:  Late Summer trout can be suckers for big terrestrial dry flies.	Golden Brown: Another speckled beauty on its way home.
Local Dry Fly Action:  Kathy Wilkins hooks up on a shallow water Brownie, husband Mark enjoys the moment.	Wedded Bliss: Heidi Schambra and Adam Griesemer enjoying their honeymoon with a spot of fishing.

We’ve included a few photos of recent success and invite you to join us for some great late season fishing or to book your dates for the 2011-2012 fishing season starting October 1st. Don’t be put off by media coverage showcasing the Christchurch CBD because the trout don’t watch TV!  Please feel free to forward this email on to your fishing friends.

The A Team: Old friends Graham McDermid (L) of Christchurch and Graeme Kennerley (R) of Wellington with Graham's boys Cam and Matt, enjoy a special moment.	Quality Time:  The McDermids enjoy some father / son bonding. Cam (with fish) was only 10years old when he appeared in Zane's book Brown Trout Heaven - Fly Fishing New Zealand's South Island in 2000.
Star Angler: Patti Moore tames another wilderness beast.	Team Effort: Tony Entwistle films Patti and Dave Moore 25 years after being filmed by Dave and Patti's father Bus Entsminger.  Patti on rod, Dave on net.
Beauty...: Christa Wuethrich with a small stream prize.	...and the Beasts!: Christian Wurzinger has always enjoyed hunting and has enjoyed many fishing trips in the back country with Zane.

Drive-to-River: K.C. Bishop and Mark Nordheim experienced an 'Epic Roadtrip' catching some nice trout along the way.	Wilderness-Heli-Stream:  Mark and K.C. took the opportunity to fly into a remote stream for a day trip with Zane. The fish were on! Mark with a backcountry beauty.
Aussie Mates: Matt Wheadon and Nathan Dickens had a great 'Brown Trout Heaven' experience.  Strike Adventure has a base at St Arnaud, Nelson Lakes, with full access concessions to maximise your fishing opportunities.	Molesworth Tarns: Not many people realise we have legal guiding access to Molesworth Station, an area of approx. 600,000 acres.  We are one of only two fishing companies with a special DOC access concession.  As well as rivers, there is some first rate stillwater fishing for cruising browns in shallow water.  Nathan Dickens enjoys the alpine waters.
Pot of Gold:  Our local river, the Motueka, is a nationally significant year-round fishery.  With great riffles, runs and pools, it holds one of the greatest densities of fish of any NZ river. In Fall - Autumn, we get some great mayfly hatches.  September fishing is good too.	Stairway to Heaven:  Back country fishing is a great way to experience the best of NZ fishing.  We are experts at organising these adventures, with hundreds of awesome trips over the past 25 years.

You can read more at our website: www.strikeadventure.com

We have the latest fishing adventures on offer, comprehensive articles and newspaper columns written by Zane and Tony, new fishing photos and information about planning your next trip.  We will be working to improve and update our website over the winter so check us out from time to time.

A successful trip is not just fishing.  Here are a few non-fishing moments from the past summer:

Days End: Our accommodation options offer privacy from the madding crowd, off the main tourist routes.  We have a wide variety of options to suit the best fishing at the time.  Best of all the price is right.	Praise: Nathan reflects on a great adventure while Matt ejoys the ride home.  Sometimes getting to and from the rivers can be half the fun.
Pub Time:  Explore fun local character where you'll be the only one with an accent.  The locals are friendly and you'll have a true Kiwi experience.	First Light: Reefton was the first town in New Zealand to get electricity - and not much has changed since... Our road trips take you to unique areas without breaking the bank.
Fine Dining: Richmond and nearby Nelson City have many fine restaurants and cafes, including Richmond's Bouterey's Restaurant, Winner of Cuisine magazine's NZ Restaurant of the Year 2010 -Best Smart Dining.  Sharon and Tony Entwistle dine with Patti and Dave Moore at Bouterey's.	While...:  Aimee catches up with valued Strike Adventure anglers, Linda and David Richards, at Bouterey's, who always fish with guide Cameron Reid.

We've been doing some late season recreational fishing ourselves.  The kids have been guiding Dad lately...

Triple Success: Ike Mirfin,9, with his friends Hannah and Greta Clark of Richmond.	Crack of Dawn: You don't have to be up so early to see the sun rise in late season.
Teamwork: Rosie, Ike and Jake catch another rainbow on a recent family trip to the Cobb Reservoir, Kahurangi National Park, April 2011	Rainbow Connection: Jake Mirfin,10, with his first ever rainbow trout, assisted by Uncle Scott Mirfin, and sister Rosie,7.

Fishing is all go here at Strike Adventure Fishing and we just wanted to make sure our anglers know we're all fired up about next season and looking forward to talking to you, #Customer.FirstName#, about your next fishing trip with us.



All the Best & Tightlines #Customer.FirstName#

Zane & Aimee
www.strikeadventure.com

PS  Special Offers: 

Early Bird Special:

Thanks to those anglers who have already booked their slot for the coming season.
Book your prime-time Oct 2011- Apr 2012 fishing adventure with Strike before the end of May 2011 and pay last seasons daily guide rate (NZ$795.00 or NZ$830.00 if you wish to specify the guide).  Secure the best dates and moon phases now.  Booking Code: SANEWSEASON11

Hot Fall-Autumn Fishing Special:

Late season fishing 'til the end of May on the Motueka, Pelorus and Wairau - NZ$650.00 per day. Includes 15% GST, lunch and refreshments, all equipment, excludes fishing licence. Choose any guide you prefer.
Booking Code: SAMAY11

---

January 2011 Fishing Newsletter

Dear Angler,

HAPPY NEW YEAR from www.strikeadventure.com ! It's hard to believe 2011 is here already.  We've been busy fishing and we'd like to share our fishing success with you.

First Double Digit Brownie of 2011
 

Happy New Year: Jon Pepper, UK 28"long, 18" girth, 10 1/4 lb brown 4th January 2011

Jon struck major snow and ice at Heathrow Airport and encountered rain and big water early in his NZ fishing sojourn but didn't let it stop him.  Skill and luck came together when he landed his biggest trout in multiple trips to NZ over the years - Well done Jon!

Blue Sky Fishing: Jon got to fish some totally new rivers this trip	Nice Brown: Jon caught trout in the 6-8lb range as well.

The Cicadas are Popping

It's official, the trout are on the cicadas!  there's just nothing like large brown trout slurping down big terrestrial dry flies to get your heart pumping.  Fishing in February, March & April should be HOT!

Cicada Time: Jon took this great photo of a typical brownie with a ZM cicada still intact.	Hot New Dry Fly: NZ's Manic Tackle markets some great trout flies.  this Mirfz BLT (Black Little Thing) #16 worked well on East Coast waters.  There are other ZM patterns in the Manic Tackle range that you can buy from us here at Strike Adventure.

Fishing Before Christmas

We've had some great fishing trips since the last newsletter...Here's an adventure selection:

Dale is one of the most experienced anglers to visit NZ waters annually.  We had some great heli-wilderness fishing on both sides of the Southern Alps, fishing the dry fly.

Exciting Heli-Pickup: Landing on boulders is all part of the fun.	Magic Kahurangi: Kahurangi National Park has some great rivers running through it.
Awesome West Coast Day: Blue Sky, clear waters, large trout!	Awesome West Coast Brownie: See...Large Trout
Guides-eye View: A little morning fog obscures our river. Dale's in the front seat of the helicopter.	Nice One Dale: Another big West Coast brown is tamed.

Murray is a New Zealander who lives in the North Island - This was Murray's second trip with us this season.  We fished the western rivers on an epic road trip including a great overnight heli-campout on a remote river.

Leopard Spotted Browns: West coast fish can be beautifully coloured trout.  Murray holds a representative specimen.	Gunsight Pass: Murray navigates a few boulders and catches trout en route to our campsite.
Fish-eye View: Trout are beautiful creatures that live in pristine waters.	Tent camp: Nice soft moss made for s great camping spot.
Roadside Trout: Murray with a more accessible trout.	Staring at the Embers: Murray contemplates the day of fishing with a cup of red wine.

 

Bill Classon of the Australian fishing Network, publisher of Freshwater Fishing, Sportfishing Australia, Yak Fisher, Flyfisher, Fishing Gear Guide and Sportfish DVD Magazine is a great guy to spend time with.  We rafted big rivers, fished a lake, and made a DVD magazine clip with cameraman and top-angler, Chris Parkinson

Raft time: Zane Mirfin and Bill Classon at Lake Haupiri.  Thanks for the photo Chris.	Christmas Venison: Steve Young and friend.

Blenheim GP Steve Young is a busy man.  We had a drive-to overnight campout on a wilderness river.  Steve caught some nice trout and obtained some Christmas venison.

Walt & Paul were fishing the length of the South Island with our guide buddy Otago's Selwyn Shanks, but had time for a few days fishing St James & Molesworth Stations with Strike Adventure.

Magnificent: The East Coast has some fabulous trout water.	East Coast Success: Walt with another brownie.

Ted treated himself to some fishing after a tour of NZ Academia.  We fished the rivers of Nelson Lakes at Brown Trout Heaven during some inclement weather.  Ted's best trout was an 8lb'er from the Owen River.

Molesworth Magic: Paul hooks up on the Acheron River.	Ted's Most Excellent trout: Ted enjoys an Owen moment.

February, March & April 2011 Fishing?

It's not too late to plan your February, March or April fishing trip to NZ!  If you're still thinking of fishing NZ in 2011 -we still have availability over the coming months and can advise the best trip options based on the latest river intelligence.

There is no need to stay at expensive accommodation when we can take you to the best places for the best trout in the northern half of the South Island.  Our fishing trips are a unique offering.  Give us a call and we'll guarantee you a great adventure.

Please feel free to email this newsletter to your friends or get them to subscribe on our website for future newsletters.  All our contact details are on our website
www.strikeadventure.com

Good Fishing Always

Kind regards,
Zane and Aimee

PS Our fly selection offer was very popular and is still valid, so any new bookings before the end of February also receive our special Silver Anniversary selection of Zane Mirfin's & Tony Entwistle's favourite dozen flies.

---

November 2010 Fishing Newsletter

Dear Angler,
Fishing Season opened on 1st October to high rivers from recent rains.  Joe Roberson from Northern California was our first fishing customer starting his week's fishing on 4th October.

North Canterbury Brown	West Coast Gold

Big Water Magic	Restaurant Empty: Joe & Zane toast a great fishing trip

Read about Joe's adventure.

Since then we've had some great days out. November and December fishing booking have picked up nicely and there are some excellent trout around.  This bodes well for fishing January-April.  If you're thinking of coming over fishing this year, we still have availability and can advise the best trip options based on the latest river intelligence.  Give us a call and we'll guarantee a great adventure.

First Fish: Murray Creighton's season opener.	Every Angler's Dream: Murray in action again.

At this stage of the season we've guided our anglers on Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast, and North Canterbury trout streams and rivers.  We've landed fish to 9 1/2 lb but are expecting bigger as the season progresses.  Our local rivers like the Motueka are fishing well and there are exciting roadside fishing opportunities if anglers are looking to keep the cost down and by-pass heli-fishing.  Best of all, we've had the run of the rivers having hardly seen another angler!

Fish On: Murray Creighton hooks up yet again.	Emerald Pool: Joe Roberson in action.

As it's Zane's and Tony's birthday month, and Zane's 25th Anniversary of guiding anglers in the Northern South Island, we have a special offer. For all new bookings before 30th November 2010 there will be no charge for hire equipment required by anglers. 

Our fly selection offer was popular last time too, so any new booking of three of more days before the end of November also receives our special silver anniversary selection of Zane Mirfin's & Tony Entwistle's favourite dozen trout flies.

All the Best,
Kind Regards,

Zane & Aimee

---

September 2010 Newsletter

Are You Fly Fishing New Zealand’s South Island in 2010-2011?

Hi Angler,

Greetings from Zane, Aimee, Tony & the Strike Adventure Guide Team.

Thanks to all of you who emailed to see if we were OK after the Earthquake on Saturday 4th September.  We're all fine and the earthquake fortunately didn't affect our area.  We wish our customers and friends in Canterbury all the best in getting back to normal and are glad that everyone is safe.

Talking Fishing...we thought you’d be really interested to see what our fishing customers were catching last season…

2009-2010 Fishing Highlights

Last season was fabulous – we caught more large trout than ever before. Mouse-fed trout put exciting bends in rods and pulled scales down to maximum weights. We caught plenty of normal NZ fish too!

Jim Stievater, USA – Great bloke with a great attitude who caught great fish up to 13 ½ lb.	Bill Jeans & Mark Parker, Australia – Bill broke his rod in half fighting his big 12 ½ lb trout in heavy water, but we landed it anyway.
Mary & Keith Crane, Australia, have been fishing NZ for decades but Tony Entwistle guided them both onto their record NZ trout.	As Mary told Zane in her email "Just a couple of small ones - half an hour and 2O metres apart, both exactly 11.75lbs and both on our last cast of the day".

New Look Website

Aimee has been working hard on our new look website at www.strikeadventure.com Our 'Articles & Videos' section is full of fun and educational fishing articles written by Zane Mirfin & Tony Entwistle over the past decade, with more being added every week for your reading enjoyment.

Read about Tony 'the Red baron' (remember Zane wrote this story before Tony guided the Cranes to their big trout)

Guide Tony Entwistle: The 'Red Baron' of New Zealand Fly Fishing	Guide Cameron Reid: A busy day at the office.
Strike Adventure Award for Excellence 2010: Zane presents guide Bill McKenzie with his trophy.	Last Cast: Brian Chambers, Australia, and guide Martin de Ruyter with an 11lb friend.

Our guide team had many highlights too, Cameron Reid won most of the trophies at the Nelson Trout Fishing Club annual awards, Bill McKenzie won the Strike Adventure Award for Excellence 2010 and Martin de Ruyter’s highlight – last cast of the trip and first double-figure trout as a guide!

Spring News

It’s been all go here at Strike Adventure! We’ve been training, tying flies, renewing commercial access concessions,permits & insurances; updating first aid certificates and a thousand other essential tasks to make your fishing trip look easy. We’re ready for the start of the fishing season come October 1st.

Fishing Prospects 2010-2011

It’s been the mildest winter for years with a light snowpack meaning rivers will be low and clear right from the start of the season. Mouse populations should have over-wintered well and we’re expecting more big trout again this season. We still have availability on a first-come basis so give us a call now to check out available dates and best 2010-2011 moon-phases.

New Tony Entwistle Videos

Tony has transformed himself into a master fly fishing cinematographer and we are pleased to have four of his latest video clips on the Strike Adventure website. Check out Tony's latest 'Trout Max' video.

'Famous' Zane Mirfin Road Trips are Back

Zane can't wait to get back on the road again in search of the best fishing and the best adventure. Join him again this season in search of the holy grail of New Zealand fly fishing. Limited availability so you'll need to book your dates soon.
Read about Road Trips here.



Locally Produced: Zane with an 11lb Brown Trout, January 2010


We'd love to take you fishing in 2010-2011 and welcome you back to our beautiful New Zealand rivers. We're only a phone-call or an email away and always keen to talk fishing and advise on options and opportunities for the upcoming season.

All the Best!
Zane & Aimee
www.strikeadventure.com

P.S. Zane celebrates 25 years of guiding in November 2010.

So, as a special offer, all bookings of three or more days with Strike Adventure, made before 1st October, will get a special Zane Mirfin & Tony Entwistle "Best Dozen" fly selection that has their favourite & best known patterns. All bookings of six days or more will also receive a copy of Zane's latest book"The Last Best Place".