A Celebration of Fly Fishing
Southflyfisher creates independent content for global fly fishers.
Exploration Angling launched to build a bucket list for destination anglers. Our content includes:
Regular fresh and saltwater fly fishing articles
Packing lists for offshore angling destinations
Gear & Lodge reviews
The Weekly Five - industry news emailed to subscribers every week.
Some of our Exploration Angling content is free to access for everyone, including The Weekly Five.
New location profiles, packing lists, gear reviews and New Zealand reviews will be available to paid subscribers who choose to support this writing via a very modest Substack subscription.
Exploration Angling is published by Southflyfisher. Our editor is Michael Gregg from Wānaka in New Zealand’s beautiful South Island. If you would like to contribute, please contact Michael with your concept or draft to review.
About South Flyfisher
I’ve embraced the mysteries of fly fishing for a few decades now. I’ve explored many of New Zealand’s backcountry rivers and more recently broadened my angling interest into saltwater species and international destinations.
Now I’m bringing these experiences into Exploration Angling. Sharing thoughts and opinions. Hoping to make new fishing friends in new locations.
For those who I haven’t yet met on the river or wading saltwater flats with, here’s some more about me and what I’m hoping to achieve here.
As South Flyfisher, I go fishing with my mates in backcountry New Zealand and with fun people in exotic places in other countries.
On these trips, I like to test all sorts of new and old fly fishing paraphernalia, technical apparel and tramping kit. Then I write it up to share online. With any luck, a few fish are caught and carefully released along the way too.
I don’t expect everyone to agree with my opinions. You are welcome to write up your own reviews too.
My hope is that Southflyfisher informs & inspires anglers to travel further, armed with the right gear and a great attitude. That's my mission anyway.
Recently I launched Exploration Angling to share hot-off-the-press destination fishing info with fellow anglers.
The focus of my content is:
new fishing destinations around the globe,
help for anglers planning to visit New Zealand,
sharing data and opinion on fishery management,
sharing my angling experiences, and
reviews of some gear I buy, test and rate.
I also want to share my optimism for our sport, put a blowtorch to any issues we need to front-foot as a community, and celebrate our role as conservators of the land and waters we cherish.
Long time angler
I've been fly fishing the South Island of New Zealand since 1982. I remember seeing my first trout in a local stream as a young fella. It was only a few minutes walk from my childhood home to our local stream running through town. I was climbing a willow limb overhanging the water when a solid speckled brown cruised under the tree, likely in search of willow grubs. I saw it and marvelled. It saw me and took off. Thus started a repetitive pattern of engagement that has continued for the past forty years.
Back then, it took me months of spooking flighty fish in a couple of the town's crystal-clear streams before I managed to hook my first on a size #12 Dad's Favourite dry. It was a very patient 2.5lb brown, my favourite type.
That’s me, fishing a local spring creek circa 1986.
In hindsight, these world-class spring-fed creeks weren't the easiest place for a fly fishing newcomer to cut his teeth on. Luckily I didn’t know that at the time. Instead I hoovered up everything I could read about entomology, trout behaviour, fly tying, knots, casting and small stream stalking (trout hunting is a more apt term). I was determined to better the stakes against these stunningly spotted beauties a short bicycle ride away. My teens were a fast blur of camping out on rivers with mates, biking for tens of kilometres each weekend, consuming angling magazines, fly-tying, and careful casting – with mixed results. It kept me out of trouble. Mostly.
Since those halcyon teenage years, I've walked, climbed and flown by helicopter and fixed wing into many corners of New Zealand's North and South Island backcountry – both hunting deer and trout fishing. Many of my favourite memories are winter pilgrimages to Taupo and Rotorua, circumnavigating high country lakes, exploring the back of beyond across both islands over endless springs, summers and autumns. I've tramped, swam or floated out of New Zealand’s wilderness rivers after days of isolated camping, searching around the next bend for new water and the promise of large trout. Yes, I'm just another kiwi angler.
Progressively my focus turned to saltwater fly fishing and to international trout waters. Glorious images on social media haven’t help to contain my excitement for saltwater angling. A new bucket list as long as my arm has invaded my dreams. I will need another lifetime just to tick off the current list of spectacular saltwater locations and toothy species.
Fitting these expeditions into busy senior business and marketing roles, raising a family and trying to maintain a suitable work/life/angling balance has been challenging.
Reviewer & Writer
I believe that the decades of advertising and marketing experience, combined with what I've learned about the angling industry in recent years, has put me in good stead to turn my mind to consumer buying behaviour in the fickle fly fishing sector.
Our chosen sport is tiny compared to many others. Once we deep dive into the sector, surrounding us with favourable fishing algorithms, it’s easy to think our brands, our channels and our sport is much more important to society.
I respect the immense power of brand and conscious bias that drives loyalty. I understand the value of experiential marketing. I'm a digital marketer from way back (ask me and you might be surprised about my credentials) so I genuinely appreciate the challenges facing the local fly fishing shop – and the myriad of choice available to consumers nowadays.
I research a bunch of products and buy those that I expect and hope will be excellent. I test them and share my opinions on this site to help others in their decision-making. I also share my thoughts and images on other fly fishing forums, and across the web, less so on social media. Typically, I'll just share the good stuff; a result of my research prior to any purchases, thanks to others’ reviews. If I'm writing about it, it probably passed with flying colours – for me at least.
I also write about the broad locations I fish, without hotspotting the places I and other cherish. I hope this inspires others to fish the destination I get to enjoy. To go on a journey I've been fortunate to trek.
I try to share my thoughts on angling approach, access issues, what I see and worry about with the fisheries I care mostly deeply about, without coming across as just another whinging angler.
Come fishing with me if you're around where I am. I go fishing with a lot of different people from all corners of the globe and love meeting new people and sharing a yarn or a couple of flies.
Feel free to drop me a line so we can wet one together sometime soon, especially if you’re heading to New Zealand. I’m happy to help plan your visit.
Cheers,
Michael Gregg
South Flyfisher
Why subscribe?
Subscribe to get full access to my weekly newsletter, new articles every week and publication archives.
Join the crew!
If you would like to contribute a guest editorial, publish a location article here or share a gear review, drop me a line. Check Southflyfisher.com for contact dets.
Stay up-to-date
Never miss an update—every new post is sent directly to your email inbox. For a spam-free, ad-free reading experience, plus audio and community features, get the Substack app. (I use it on my mobile, but the experience is so much better on the laptop.)
Please make an effort to be part of this community of anglers who share your interests. Participate in the comments section, and support this work with a paid subscription. Please let me know what you want to read about.
Thanks!
South Flyfisher
Southflyfisher is published from Wānaka, Aotearoa, New Zealand.
