As most of this is land based I prefer to use a nine foot eight weight rod. Obviously in my case I use Sage rods as I truly believe they are the finest production rod in the world today and with a wide range of price points there should be something for everyone... I can't give my endorsement strongly enough to this product! You want a fairly crisp actioned rod as the days with a breeze, lead eyed flies etc are common and you will want to try and cast a reasonable distance. Most fishing in this style in New Zealand centers on catching Kahawai… a dynamic native fish, nearly all species will be obtainable with just two lines... a deep, fast sinker and an intermediate... You may well choose to add other lines to your arsenal at a later date but if you start with a Rio Outbound Intermediate and a Rio T-8 shooting head and Rio slickshooter backing or an Outbound Type 8 sinker you will be well prepared for most situations...

Kahawai are not usually hard to find and I like to look to areas of strong current on an outgoing tide at harbor entrances and estuary mouths... For most Kahawai fishing the faster you can retrieve the better and they are a fantastic species to practice and hone your "roly-poly" retrieve on.... Any good rock ledge with deep water nearby and plenty of current will also always turn up a lot of Kahawai and these are the same places we would target Yellowtail Kingfish from the shore... Kahawai are always fun to fish to while awaiting Kingie's and in fact the struggles of a Kahawai being fought on a fly rod is often the attractor needed to bring a big Kingie in close and to fire him up, but I digress... Once you have your bait fish schooling on your burley Kahawai will not be far away so be ready.They tend to power into the bait in lightening raids so having a fly ready to cast and put in front of the fish quickly will nearly always result in an aggressive strike. The fight is then dynamic and often aerial. In most cases Kahawai can be caught on streamers and standards such as clouser's, big eye minnows. They are also suckers for poppers and my favorite way to target them is with small (#2) Crease flies on an intermediate line....

In rock situations I prefer a faster sinker, usually, than the intermediate and while I still wouldn't venture to these spots without an intermediate, a Rio T-8 head backed by Rio's Slickshooter is a great choice...

Kahawai are rarely fussy to pattern but if they do get fussy go smaller and imitate juvenile bait fish such as Whitebait, baby pilchards etc... Justin Duggan of Sydney Fly Fishing Tours has a wonderful article in Issue One of FlyAngler magazine on targeting fussy Kahawai (The Aussie's call them Australian Salmon even though they are not a salmonid). His information on the rolling nature of fish feeding on juvenile bait fish is well worth reading!

Snapper are always a favorite with New Zealand fishermen, primarily because of their exceptional eating qualities and it is a bonus for the fly fisherman that they also take fly's well. Snapper are primarily a deep feeding fish, although in the heat of summer they will come well up into a well set burley trail... Usually though, you will be trying to get near the bottom for most success. Mark Draper, New Zealand Salt Fly Guru and Guide has even had success with Snapper on poppers in Summer's where very high water temperatures have made the fish particularly aggressive.

I often target snapper on my light rod in locations where I am landbased and awaiting the arrival of Kingfish in the burley, much the same as I outlined for Kahawai except that I fish deep and very slow with long slow strips. My three most successful flies on snapper have been Chartreuse and White Clouser's, Anchovy Bombs, and Draper's Snapper Fly... Many anglers swear by Booby Flies and fish them on a deep line (They try to float) and strip them so they dive downwards... I know the technique is successful as so many anglers employ the method... it just hasn't been that way for me... Give it a go.. I certainly haven't given up on the method. Snapper are often caught in deep water and fly anglers tend to await the warmer water arriving to target snapper, but using the new line technology which allows us to fish deeper than ever before we are abe to get excellent deep drifts over reefs and when the snapper are on the bite the fly angler will find themselves matching bait and soft plastic anglers fish for fish... the key is being able to reach them.

As the water warms the snapper move into the many shallow harbors dotted around New Zealand and can be caught in very shallow water. Locally here in Tauranga harbor I have caught snapper in water as shallow as 1 meter and less. My usual method for finding the very best spots is to walk the flats at low tide... areas of "digging" in the sand by the snapper show up clearly and I mark the best ones on the GPS and return at high tide and fish those areas. Change of light and even after dark are excellent times to target snapper.

John Dory have been a difficult species for most New Zealand anglers to target on the fly rod, but I boldly offer I have found the secret... John Dory are a predatory fish with a mouth the extends like a bucket to engulf small bait fish it has stalked...

I targeted John Dory in burley trails (Same.. "waiting for a Kingie" scenario) for 18 months before I noticed the issue with flies... I had spoken at length with Northern New Zealand Salt fly expert Craig Worthington who likewise had been frustrated by this fish on flies... neither of us came up with the answer until one day I noticed the Johnnie's would "light up" and commence to stalk the fly only to lose interest and move away... I tried to watch as closely as I could to determine the point they lost interest and turned off the prey... it was always on the stop of even the slowest strip retrieve... I started to employ a very slow hand twist retrieve the same as employed by freshwater anglers fishing bullies or chironomid imitations or nymphs in lakes in general... Constant movement is the key. The only real issue with John Dory is that they fight like a waterlogged plastic bag... The tail is very small in proportion to the body size... the bonus, if you keep some of your catch, is that they are one of the truly best eating fish you will encounter... Small #2 deceivers have been successful for me but any bait fish imitation in the #2 - 4/0 size range should be accepted... just don't stop your retrieve...

Trevally are a sensational fish to the flyfisherman and are available in many parts of the country. One of the mainstays of flyfishing during winter months (As well as barracoutta... we'll talk more of those later...) and can be found in all manner of areas as bottom feeders, in burley trails, feeding at the surface on krill etc. The best Trevally fly, in general I have found anywhere is Worthington's Interceptor and I wouldn't venture to any area I thought I might encounter Trevally without at least of few of these flies.

Krill Feeders are great fun on a fly rod and often offer the best opportunity for the fly angler to show up anglers using more conventional styles. Trevally, Kahawai, Koheru, Parore, and more will all school and feed on Krill and using Krill flies is often the answer. Size range of fish predating on krill can vary from area to area with Three Kings and White Island schools often holding much larger krill feeders than those found in other areas. Boat positioning is usually the most important factor and getting your fly to the leading edge of the school another important factor so the fish come onto the fly rather than the fly going amongst the fish. One of my most memorable episodes of this style of fishing was at Bird Rock in the Bay of Islands fishing with Craig Worthington... at one point we had three schools in casting range, all different species and the Kahawai and Kingfish were dashing among these predating on any unwary school fish... it was a hectic a furious session of fishing.

Ooglies is a term often used to describe fish that are an unwanted by-catch. I prefer to think of "ooglies" as more a fun fish to catch and days spent pursuing as many species as possible can be fun. With light rods you can pursue the bait-fish in your burley trail... mullet, mackerel, piper, small Kahawai, Rock Cod, Parore, Wrasse... all while not truly sports fish are fun to have deceived on fly and readily take them... I have even had Squid take my fly and witnessed Craig Worthington land one... without ink I might add!