Fisheries
October 1st – April 30th is the main fishing season. However, there are a few options all year round.
October 1st – April 30th is the main fishing season. However there are a few options all year round
Mainly Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout, but also Brook Char, Searun Brown Trout, Chinook Salmon. We specialise in sight fishing.
Canterbury, North Canterbury, Central South Island, North Otago, West Coast, Day trips out of Christchurch
“The opaque oblongs in the pool are trout. That is when you learn, if you have any sense at all, that fishing in New Zealand demands adaptation. You realize that you have never seen clear water. Never seen trout this big or this wild” - Klinkenberg, 1988
Best time to Fish?
Any month has its benefit. Due to the changeable weather patterns and water conditions, partly due to New Zealand’s location, every season is different. As an experienced guide, Martin can give you the best possible fishing available. There are plenty of weather- proof options during drought, floods or high winds.
Areas we Fish
Heralded the world over, New Zealand's scenery is majestic, diverse, dramatic and beautiful, hence areas we fish are used in world acclaimed movies such as the “Lord of the Rings”. We are lucky to have these special places available whilst we fish.
River fishing is our focus
River fishing is Troutlands main focus, this includes wilderness backcountry rivers, spring creeks, small streams, forest creeks, meadow creeks, limestone rivers, remote headwaters, and lowland streams. Additionally scenic high country lakes, tarns and coastal lagoons can produce exceptional angling.
We take great pride in choosing from a vast range of South Island waters to best suit conditions and your preferences and abilities. Client customisation is the key.
My son-in-law and I spent two days fishing in the Canterbury region in spring 2015 with zero results then the following two days with Martin guiding and great results. At the beginning he asked if we wanted to just catch fish or learn as much as we could. We chose the later- phew he pushed us, but we are both still buzzing nearly a year later and I had just ticked off a successful “Bucket list” item with a great result.” Michael Murphy, Otaki
"I have fly fished New Zealand usually for a week or so per trip for over a decade. Having fished in many other places, I consider it to be the best trout fishing in the world. But even for an experienced angler like me, it is challenging, often difficult weather, savvy, huge trout and gin clear waters. To meet these challenges, I have had the honor and pleasure of working with ace New Zealand guide Martin Langlands. Martin is a master at his craft. From long experience, he knows weather, waters, strategies, big trout, battling big trout, and what flies big trout eat (like me, you may be surprised). Given my years with Martin, I could tell you many stories about his expert guidance in catching life time memory big browns, but you might not believe them. I encourage you to live your own stories with Martin. You may be amazed! In addition to his fishing expertise, Martin is an accomplished artist and naturalist. For a long time, Martin has been not only my NZ fishing guide, but also a trusted friend. Meet the challenge with the best. Matt Campbell, Deputy Attorney General, California
"If you were to single out Martin’s main passion as a guide, it’s the pursuit of New Zealand’s largest Brown Trout! The adventure involved in hooking and landing a “Once in a lifetime fish” in magnificent wilderness head waters and sharing the excitement with a client is fantastic! … but this is far too limiting really as every experience is fantastic.
Specializing in sight fishing to Brown and Rainbow Trout and using a mix of dry flies and nymphs forms the most part of our fishing adventures. Martin uses his own specialist original patterns and tested approaches that he has pioneered. These are skills you can carry forward and apply to any place in the world so aside from the adventure, you should acquire some new angling skills.
Over recent years very productive Streamer fishing methods have produced some very satisfying experiences . This has had some remarkable results, especially for Sea run Browns. Sight fishing Streamers can be amazing.
Latest from our Fly Fishing Blog
Warm greetings from the midst of a New Zealand winter after a massive guiding season
Kia ora, warm greetings in the midst of winter. I’ve finally gotten around to writing this blog after one of the most massive seasons of my 31-year career, which was so welcomed after those Covid years and closed borders. Starting guiding in October 2022 felt so good—guiding most days right up until Christmas. Aside from…
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A fantastic start to the new fishing season
I am writing this newsletter on one of my few days off. Its been, and continues to be, a very busy and productive time guiding. During October, I guided 27 days and what a fantastic start to the new season – welcoming back international anglers and many repeat Kiwi clients. It has been a diverse…
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Welcome Back to International Anglers
Kai ora from the South Island of New Zealand We have experienced a very cold winter that has given superb flows for all waterways, great snow for the ski season, and, of course, that snow replenishes the vast aquifer networks that run throughout Canterbury, all good news for the future health of the rivers and…
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Kia ora from a deep and golden autumn April
April turned into another busy period with a perfect blend of work comprised of fly tying, fly fishing tuition, and of course, guiding coming back strongly into focus, with my first international client for 2 years. During the late days of April, I guided Dave from the USA into some quality Brown Trout. These fish…
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A very long overdue update and a big thank you
Kai Ora, a warm welcome to this long overdue update. As with many, these past two years with Covid 19 have been remarkably challenging but am very pleased to inform you that I have remained full time in the fly fishing industry, unlike many who have gone on to other things and feel humbled to…
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Another Superb Fishing Season
As another superb season finished it’s time to let you know more about it in this blog. Firstly a huge thanks to the Kiwi supporters that turned a most difficult time into a wonderful time as you keep me busy and well engaged in aspects of guiding tuition fly casting lessons and many many 1000s…
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2020 Fly Fishing Season, Helping Kiwi Anglers have a Fly Fishing Adventure
Well here we are and it’s December already. It’s been a busy period with a blend of fly fishing tuition, fly fishing guiding and many hours commercial fly tying. The season has offered superb angling amidst very changeable weather patterns and the trout are in superb condition and numerous so there has been a lot…
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Fly fishing and fly casting lessons in Canterbury
Learn to fly fish, or improve your angling skills with a professional fly fishing guide. All lessons are based in Canterbury. The fly fishing lessons are very practical, taking pace on stream or on the lake. We deal a lot with reading the river, stream craft, the approach and all manner of aspects of fly…
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Trout fly showcase from Martin Langlands
Showcasing Martin’s highly original, innovative and performance-based Trout Flies all crafted and designed by Martin Langlands in New Zealand. Martin has been fully involved in this since 1985 and continues to grow and develop. Flies can be purchased directly from Martin. Flies can be customised to your requirements as well. You can see Martin’s flies…
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Winter Fishing – Fly Tying – and thoughts about the upcoming season
Covid-19 Update – 20 days with no new cases! Warm greetings from early winter in the South Island of New Zealand. New Zealand’s big news is that as of today, we have been 20 days with no new Covid19 cases reported and and the last active case has recovered. What a great effort by the…
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