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Driftfishing: A Fresh Look At The Clutha River(posted August, 2010) New Zealand is world-renowned for quality brown and rainbow trout fishing. But some of the best fishing areas are difficult to access and only lightly fished. Remote headwaters, steep-sided gorges, deep ravines, sheer bluffs, braided glides, overhanging vegetation, long stretches of fast rapids and a lack of access roads all make getting at the fish no easy task. Helicopters are used in many guiding operations, but they can only target open stretches of waterway, not every nook and cranny that holds fish. And helicopters are expensive, typically billed at an hourly rate and added to the daily guide fee. Driftboats are one obvious answer to reaching remote waters. But why are there so few driftboat fisheries in New Zealand compared to, say, the American West? The answer is simple: New Zealand does not have many of the right kind of rivers. Drift fishing clients do not want a short, white-knuckle, white-water raft trip; they want a long float where fishing opportunities start immediately and last for the duration. Most New Zealand rivers simply don’t offer the right combination of lots of fish, safe water and enough length to make driftfishing viable. At present there are only two regions where drift fishing is an option. On the North Island, several rivers in the vicinity of Lake Taupo (Tongariro, Mohaka, Rangitikei) are floatable. And, on the South Island, near Lake Wanaka, there are three floatable rivers – namely, the Clutha, Makaroa and Matukituki. It is worth noting, however, that anglers are not allowed to actually fish from a drifting raft on some of these rivers. They must land before fishing.....
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