New Zealand Trophy Waters is a 5 DVD series filmed by Bruce Masson. It's a great introduction to trout fishing in the South Island of New Zealand, aside from just showing some excellent fishing. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view, the locations are never named. Most of the fishing is done by three guys, Robbie McPhee, Keith Mitchell and Chris Jackson, who are all accomplished fishermen. They catch some fantastic fish, a number of which are double figure, in some very nice locations. The fishing is filmed in an interesting way, it definitely isn't from the "looking at someone's back" school. You see everything from the spotting and the stalk, the take in what is often crystal clear water, on through the fight to - most of the time - the landing.

Here's a rundown of the content of each volume:

Volume 1 (80 mins)
This DVD features some nice water, mainly small backcountry streams, and of course great fish. Like the other volumes is has good tips on fishing for our trout. From what I hear from guides, overseas fisherman are not often used to stalking and sight fishing for large spooky fish, so the techniques presented could be very useful for those planning a trip here. A number of successful flies are shown, you may be surprised at how simple they are. There's a quick tying demonstration for Robbie McPhee's Wee Muddler, a very good cicada pattern.

Volume 2 (118 mins)
This volume has more variety than the first. The first part shows cicada fishing in the backcountry, something many New Zealand fisherman really enjoy. Fish will come a long way to absolutely savage big terrestrial patterns on the top. There's a section about fishing dries and nymphs in a small backcountry river, and another pursuing sea run trout in what looks like a small lowland river. There's also a good casting tutorial from Mike Weddell, 5 times British All Round Fly Casting Champion, amongst other accolades.

There are tying demonstrations for several flies on this DVD, including a more detailed description of the Wee Muddler mentioned above.

Volume 3 (120 mins)
This is my favourite in the series. There's a good variety of fishing, including the only real appearance of a larger braided freestone river like most of the main South Island east coast rivers. There are also back country streams, a large spring creek type river and a bit of stillwater fishing. The final chapter is called "Lost Opportunities" and shows even skilfull fisherman can have their off days. There is a tying demonstration of a nice caddis pupa imitation.

Volume 4 (114 mins)
This is my least favourite DVD of the 5. In general the content just isn't particularly engrossing. One chapter features a regular host guiding an English couple. They catch some nice fish, including one of 11 lb, but it isn't terribly exciting fishing. Another chapter is about stillwater fishing. I do a lot of stillwater fishing and it was interesting to see how someone fishes to rising trout, but overall this chapter is pretty boring.

There is an interesting section about fishing to pressured trout. This chapter features Sexyloops' own Bob Wyatt exclaiming in amazement as a fish rises to a fly but somehow never seems to quite reach it. I definitely picked up a lot of useful information, it's almost worth buying for this chapter alone.

Volume 5 (102 mins)
This volume is all about flyfishing from the female perspective. It follows a couple of women over several days of backcountry fishing. One of them is older and has been flyfishing for some time, while the younger one hasn't been fishing for as long. I would say the older of the two is as good as most men, better than many, and both catch some nice fish. The older one also ties a mean Coch-y-bondu.

I get the impression that this DVD doesn't get a look from most guys. I think that's a shame, because although the girliness level is pretty high, their enthusiasm is infectious. These are serious fisherwomen who have the bug bad. After watching it I certainly wanted to go out for a fish!

The production of the DVDs is ok, but not great. The film quality is of a good standard throughout, but the presentation of it is average. The first DVD doesn't have chapters, so you can't skip sections. None of the DVDs have menus which let you pick chapters up front, which is something I'd have found useful. The music is just this side of being muzak, a bit cheesy but not annoying. The presentation and narration could best be called naive, often amusing, but to me these are down-to-earth guys showing you some great fishing and that's ok. Some US DVDs I've seen feel a bit like watching an infomercial.

At the time of writing I've been flyfishing just over a year. I've learnt a lot from these DVDs. It's great to see where you can catch fish, the sort of water and the types of lies. Although they aren't intended to be instructional, the DVDs give quite a bit of information on techniques, presentation and flies. It's encouraging to see even experienced fisherman still hook the grass on their back casts, muff deliveries and get tangled up. Of course more experienced anglers can just sit back and enjoy some top fishing.

If I were to pick one DVD to buy it would be Vol. 3, however any of the first 3 are good. Vol. 4 is a bit of a low point. The "pressured trout" chapter is interesting, but overall I didn't enjoy it as much as the others. Vol. 5 is good, and if you're male and can stand a bit of girliness it's worth a look. I'd also recommend it to female anglers, particularly those who are getting started in fly fishing and might get a bit of inspiration from seeing that the ladies can absolutely foot it with the guys.

The DVDs are available for mail order overseas from http://www.fishingvideo.co.nz/.

Reviewed by Jo Meder
March 08

DVD details, as reviewed:
New Zealand Trophy Trout Waters Volumes 1 to 5
Available from http://www.fishingvideo.co.nz/, or stores in NZ
Available in PAL or NTSC. DVDs are region free.
Price $40 NZD each, approx. $32 USD at time of writing, plus P&P

Jo Meder (jo@sexyloops.com) lives in New Zealand's South Island on the side of a mountain. Since rediscovering fly fishing a few years ago he's become a hopeless addict and can often be found roaming the banks of both rivers and lakes, supporting his habit through work as a software developer. One day he will catch a fish from his kayak. He likes to cast just because and seeks to pass on the enjoyment of casting in his capacity as an FFF Certified Casting Instructor.