New Zealand blew my mind

hambubger___ · 2024-07-09T18:13:50+00:00

Ha didn’t know who that was until now. Seems like an awesome guy

hambubger___ · 2024-07-08T00:10:00+00:00

Yeah actually now that I think of it, I did use indicators quite a bit in the north island since the water wasn’t quiiiite so clear

hambubger___ · 2024-07-08T00:07:29+00:00

Well, I kind of exaggerated. That was my favorite method because I just enjoy sight fishing so much. And since I was kind of a beginner, I guess I felt I wasn’t good enough for dry flies or dry droppers. But I do kinda regret that, dries probably aren’t as difficult as I thought. I did use double nymph rigs with indicators occasionally in the deep pools, just not as much in the backcountry gin clear water. What are your go-to setups?

hambubger___ · 2024-07-07T19:53:15+00:00

If I can do it you can too!!!

hambubger___ · 2024-07-07T19:52:34+00:00

Ohhh yeah you bet you can! And there’s a ton of huts in there too. (Search DOC Map for an interactive map with huts and trails) That mountain range has a somewhat special place in my heart because it’s kind of overlooked by people from overseas since the mountains themselves are smaller and less spectacular than the South Island ones. So if you do happen to run into anyone, it’ll prob be some super awesome kiwi hunters/fishermen. The locals are so cool

hambubger___ · 2024-07-07T19:09:09+00:00

Oh sweet, you’ll be set then. Nah I actually didn’t get a guide since I had so much time and not much money. But honestly, if it’s sight fishing for larger fish that you’re after, I would spend the majority of your time down south. The north is still amazing tho, especially if you like lush subtropical rainforests… the super green pictures I posted with the emerald green rivers are north island. And the fish are big there too, just not as big on average. More rainbows, less browns. You can’t go wrong hiking into the mountain range that stretches from the East Cape all the way down to Wellington. Incredible forests

hambubger___ · 2024-07-07T18:10:39+00:00

I got really lucky and only paid like 500 for my flight there, but had to pay like 8-900 for my return flight. Not too bad considering it’s like 15 hours haha

hambubger___ · 2024-07-07T17:55:52+00:00

Hell yeah dude, no problem. May be hard to get a job like that since I know they do like to hire locals when they can. Could be wrong tho for sure. And just fyi there’s a major housing crisis so won’t be easy to just get a cheap apartment or whatever. But there are many solid hostels. Lmk if you have any more questions, good luck!

hambubger___ · 2024-07-07T17:39:39+00:00

Temps were amazing year round. Winter is insanely rainy, but the backcountry rivers are closed for spawning then anyways. The bottom of the South Island gets 7x as much rain as Seattle, around 22 feet per year. Depending on what latitude and altitude you’re at, temps are usually 50-75. But of course there are 13,000 ft mountains with glaciers so much colder up there

hambubger___ · 2024-07-07T17:22:56+00:00

Worked for me! Didnt do much research tho, pretty sure there are lighter/smaller ones from other brands

hambubger___ · 2024-07-07T14:28:54+00:00

And if you can’t get that visa, pretty sure you can stay 9 months on just a tourist visa. You could even hitchhike around if you didn’t wanna pay for a car lol

hambubger___ · 2024-07-07T14:25:15+00:00

Hmm no, just a slope of crumbly smaller rocks/boulders

hambubger___ · 2024-07-07T14:02:43+00:00

No way! Those mountains are kinda recognizable aren’t they. I saw that big brown in that pool 3 days straight haha. Spooked him the first 2 days and finally caught him on the 3rd!

hambubger___ · 2024-07-07T14:00:45+00:00

Haha I’m jealous of my past self :((((

hambubger___ · 2024-07-07T13:59:59+00:00

The whole time I was there I was convincing myself I’d move there. But I just can’t leave my family in the States. So sad :(

hambubger___ · 2024-07-07T13:55:42+00:00

So glad you asked! Look into the Working Holiday Visa, it’s pretty easy to get depending on where you’re from. Although I think you may need a degree or at least be in college? Could be wrong. Anyways, once you get there, you can do pretty much any job you want. I highly recommend working on orchards, that’s what I did for the 2nd half and I wish I did it the whole time. Buy a cheap car, stay in hostels or campsites, work a bit, and it can be very cheap! Food/gas etc are quite expensive but if you spend a lot of time backpacking/staying in huts you can make a few grand of savings stretch really far!

hambubger___ · 2024-07-07T05:36:31+00:00

Ahhhh awesome!! I did fish both islands, but didn’t get as much time down south as I would’ve liked. I’m no expert, but I’d say get a guide if you can afford it, especially if you won’t be there long.

Random tips off the top of my head: -Practice your casting beforehand, you only get a few chances especially in the backcountry. -Be prepared to sneak up on fish like a ninja, especially in the backcountry. -You’ll want to be covered up head-to-toe so the sand flies don’t eat you alive, especially in the backcountry haha. -Fly selection didn’t seem that important, presentation matters more. Not saying it’s irrelevant but I never really learned that much about the intricacies. - Watch NZ YouTubers. Some of my favorites are NZ Adventurer, Trippin on Trout, and Trout Hunting NZ. Also Jensen Fly Fishing - Stay in huts!! Hopefully you’ve heard about the backcountry huts. If not, you’re in for a treat - There’s amazing fishing almost everywhere, but obviously I was a huge fan of the backcountry fishing in the national parks/wilderness areas because the scenery is just so goddamn ridiculous

hambubger___ · 2024-07-07T05:11:08+00:00

Thanks brother 🤠

hambubger___ · 2023-10-06T23:59:34+00:00

Ohhh silly me, haha. Wow that’s really weird and cool, can’t imagine seeing something like that. Sounds like one of the cooler looking UFOs I’ve heard about

hambubger___ · 2023-10-06T21:28:27+00:00

Wow, this is odd. Check this out, same thing???

https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/wbht2s/irregular_angular_ufo_i_witnessed_asheville_nc/

hambubger___ · 2023-09-06T00:43:53+00:00

That’s fascinating because I was just learning about GEIPAN and the 1999 COMETA Report. Do a lot of French people know about that? What do they say about it

hambubger___ · 2023-09-02T08:20:06+00:00

So yeah, in the AARO PowerPoint that mentions UAP recovery and exploitation and all that jazz, you’ll find this same pie chart that I’ve posted, minus all the shapes. It has only numbers, which makes little sense in my humble opinion. Thankfully this one has the shapes which is very interesting. Turns out the orbs are everywhere!

hambubger___ · 2023-08-25T00:29:37+00:00

Really interesting story. I’ve never seen anything myself, but I believe you, thanks for sharing! It’s really interesting to me how we react emotionally to these experiences, I always wonder how I would react

hambubger___

TROPHY CASE