California Fly Fishing Talks

Southern California Fly Fishing Talks - July 2008

In July 2008 Aimee & Zane Mirfin travelled to Southern California to talk to 7 Fly Fishing Clubs.  The speaking tour was organised by Jeff Pill, an accomplished fly fishing film producer, and member of Wilderness Fly Fishers, Santa Monica.  Other clubs included Sierra Pacific Flyfishers, Pasadena Casting Club, Sespe Flyfishers etc.  The following article appeared in Sespe Flyfishers newsletter July 2008 prior to the talks.

American Dream: Zane & Aimee, almost midnight, with Disneyland's Mickey Mouse. Photo: Lance Severson

From Sespe Flyfishers Newsletter July 2008...
Guest Speaker - Zane Mirfin

“Trout Heaven” or Fly Fishing New Zealand

 

We've all heard about fishing in New Zealand – that it‟s hard, that it‟s not hard, that it‟s magnificent, that it‟s frustrating, that it‟s like a glorious dream, that it‟s like a teeth-grinding dream. And we have all seen pictures – pictures of some of the world‟s most beautiful, giant trout caught in truly breathtaking water. And those pictures make us yearn. Well, during our July meeting , we‟re all going to discover the true facts about New Zealand from Zane Mirfin, someone who, as well
as anyone alive, knows fly fishing throughout this gorgeous island nation.

Trout had been introduced and flourished in NZ long before 1926 when the western novelist and famous American angler, Zane Grey, was invited by the New Zealand Government to fish the North Island‟s Tongariro River, but Grey‟s book An Angler’s Eldorado lit an angling fire that has burnt brightly ever since.

Zane will lead us on a virtual tour of New Zealand, concentrating on the South Island, his area of expertise. He will show us the unique and diverse water types, fishy inhabitants and the challenges which lure anglers back year after year. Zane‟s aim is to broaden club members‟ knowledge of the New Zealand fishery and equip everyone with the information, techniques and strategies to be successful when fly fishing there.

Being the chief photographer of Fish & Game New Zealand magazine, which is NZ‟s largest circulation freshwater fishing magazine (+250,000), Zane is bringing us wonderful images that showcase the fishery, the rivers and streams, the equipment and clothing, entomology and fly patterns. We will also learn about stalking trout, fly fishing methods and strategies. We will experience, creek, stream, river, lake and stillwater fishing . . . and how to access the water by helicopter, 4WD vehicle, jetboat, powerboat, rafting, mountain bike and/or hiking. We will also be shown and told about New Zealand fishing etiquette, expectations, conservation and general information for visiting anglers.

Zane‟s first trout were rainbows caught on live bait under the supervision of his father Stuart (an avid boyhood reader of Zane Grey), and, at 10-years-old, Zane started his fly fishing odyssey with experience that has included guiding for 23 years (with friend and mentor, guru New Zealand guide Tony Entwistle) and fishing around the world, including numerous western US States for trout, British Columbia for steelhead, Xmas Island for bonefish, and Sweden for grayling and arctic char.

Significantly, Zane has fished in California near Mammoth and Tahoe as well as further north under the shadow of Mt. Lassen in the Pitt & Fall Rivers, Hat Creek, and Lake Manzanita. One of Zane‟s most treasured US fishing memories was sight fishing for Californian high country native rainbows in a pristine mountain stream. On this 2008 visit to California, Zane will be accompanied by his wife, Aimee, who herself knows a lot about New Zealand fishing and is a much better driver than Zane in the big traffic flows of California! Zane and Aimee are both excited about their upcoming trip to meet our club members and talk about fishing. Also, the couple is looking forward to a short trip already scheduled for a few days in the high Sierra in pursuit of golden trout, which is one of the few major freshwater species Zane hasn‟t caught in the US.

Zane has always been sort of a trout bum and this dates back to his University days when his Masters Thesis was “Trout Fishing in Nelson – Management of a Recreational Resource.” Zane has had numerous articles published in NZ fishing magazines (his first published article in Rod & Rifle in 1981 describes harvesting his first deer at 13), and he was a columnist for NZ Troutfisher magazine between 1997-2001. Headhunted in 2001 by Fish & Game NZ magazine, he has been a prolific contributor of articles and images, culminating in his winning the SPARC Award for Recreation / Adventure / Lifestyle Reporting at the 2004 Sir T.P. McLean National Sports Journalism Awards. Zane has contributed to a number of books including Brown Trout Heaven – Fly Fishing New Zealand’s South Island, New Zealand’s Best Trout Flies, In Pursuit of Trout, and Bird Hunting, with his images appearing in national and international magazines, books, book covers, billboards, calendars, websites and instructional fishing guides. His next fishing picture book – The Last Best Place, with Fish & Game NZ Editor, Bob South, is due out for the start of the new fishing season back home in October of this year.

Zane has always been involved in conservation initiatives, even co-founding a political party called „Outdoor Recreation New Zealand‟ with his father Stuart which championed the rights, resources and opportunities of outdoor recreationalists. The Outdoor Party won 1.3% of the vote in the 2002 General Elections with Zane as media spokesperson. The party contributed to the current outdoor political landscape that exists in New Zealand today.
These days, Zane and Aimee concentrate on running their fly fishing guiding company „Strike Adventure®‟ (www.strikeadventure.com) and taking their 4 young children fishing as often as they can.

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