The finest New Zealand Flyfishing

Poronui Ranch is a luxury fly fishing lodge nestled in the Taharua Valley southeast of Lake Taupo on New Zealand's spectacular North Island. We offer guests the opportunity to catch legendary fish in stunning and pristine surroundings.

The 16,000 acre property is possibly the best fishing lodge New Zealand has to offer and has been a favored fishing and hunting ground for both ancient Maori tribes and English settlers since 1877. Today the trout fishing and hunting on Poronui Ranch are recognized as “World Class.”

The landscape at Poronui is as varied as the sky is big. Crystal clear mountain water tumbles through forests of beech and native ferns twisting its way through alpine meadows of wild grasses on the valley floor. In the summer months, as mayflies settle on the water’s surface, fishing becomes religion at Poronui Ranch.

Having heard the stories of the kind of giants to be caught fishing New Zealand, avid fly fishermen from all corners of the globe come to Poronui Ranch to test their skills against New Zealand's notoriously large, and wily, brown trout and rainbow trout. They do it in an isolated and beautiful wilderness. Guests will discover un-crowded streams, home to incredibly large resident brown and rainbow trout, with angling opportunities to suit every preference or ability.

The ultimate fly fishing experience is being surrounded by spectacular scenery and casting a dry fly over a big, wild trout in a crystal clear mountain stream. At Poronui Ranch we aim to give our guests that opportunity every day.

Walking & 4WD Access: All of our guides operate modern off-road vehicles, and can drive you to much of the best fly-fishing water. The water is easily accessible and offers an opportunity for the classic fly fishing experience of stalking and sight casting to trophy brown trout and rainbow trout in shallow, crystal clear water. Anglers can expect to fish in seclusion and cast to resident wild fish that have rarely seen a dry fly.

Float Trips: Vast areas of New Zealand are wilderness, and many of our streams remain relatively un-trodden - hardly known to other anglers because getting there is just too difficult. We offer guests daily float trips onto these waters with our licensed Poronui Ranch rafting guides. For the more adventurous flyfisherman, seeking the ultimate outdoor experience, we suggest staying overnight at one of our streamside camps. The experience of a star littered sky above, the crackling of the campfire, the taste of bush brewed coffee and the sound of nearby flowing water - holding the promise of tomorrow - is unbeatable.

Helicopter Fly-outs: The helicopters based at Poronui Ranch provide easy flights to many of New Zealand’s most famous mountain streams. While legendary rivers like the Ngaruroro and the Rangitikei are just in the next valley, there are many more remote streams which go un-noticed, and un-fished, only a short flight away.

Some of these mountain catchments offer easy walking along grassy banks, with shallow wading between quiet pools and runs. Here, a big dry fly floated through a riffle will usually induce a dramatic take. For anglers looking for the ultimate challenge, there are more challenging trophy waters where huge trout cautiously cruise in deep pools. The fish here are clever - and technically difficult to catch - demanding stealth, skill in reading the currents, and accuracy in presentation of the fly. When done successfully, the reward will likely be the biggest trout of a lifetime, and the stuff angling dreams are made of.

Clothing: At Poronui Ranch the atmosphere is relaxed, and neat, casual clothing is most appropriate. A sweater or jacket is useful for cooler evenings, or for visits to our cool wine cellar.

During the summer months most professional fishing guides wade wet. The uniform of choice is a pair of polypropylene long johns under short pants. Early or late season lightweight Gore-Tex (or similar) waders are the most practical. Clothing is best layered with a T-shirt under a long sleeved cotton shirt and a light sweater or jacket. Some form of weatherproof outer garment is essential for fishing in New Zealand, as the weather in the mountains can change quickly. Some guests carry a backpack, others use vest pockets.

The sun is particularly bright this far south, so a wide brimmed hat is recommended. Sun-block of factor 15 should always be worn on the face and hands - even under cloudy conditions. Polaroid sunglasses in an amber or brown tint are essential for seeing fish in our streams.

Felt-soled wading boots (without cleats) are another essential and are best worn with neoprene socks and gravel guards. If an angler is to bring no other fishing gear, we recommend your own wading boots.

The North Island has few nasty insects - but a good quality repellant is handy.

All clothing, hats and accoutrements must be dark or dull colored as our fish take flight at overly bright colors.

Finally, if you want your friends believe your fishing stories, a camera is a must.

Fishing Tackle: The all round rod of choice for New Zealand anglers during summer is nine foot in six weight. Coupling this with a quality reel (with a good drag system) and a matching weight forward line is the best choice for most fishing conditions here. A competent angler may well prefer a lighter and shorter rod on smaller streams, but for bigger water this may be inadequate.

Most of our fish are cast to within 40 feet. This may sound easy over open water, but with a breeze in your face and no back cast room, a less experienced angler is better with a rod nine feet plus and a line that is over-weighted by one (so a six weight rod with a seven weight line) to make longer casts and mends easier.

Like clothing, the fly line must be dull in color with dark green or grey preferred. White, orange or any other fluorescent colored fly line is not suitable for New Zealand's clear water conditions and leaves the angler at a serious disadvantage. At Poronui Ranch we have facility to dye fly lines. An assortment of tapered leaders from 9-15 feet, sizes 3x through 5x with matching tippet material is suitable.

Don't bother bringing a landing net - most American and English nets are too small for our trout.

Flies: Many North American and English patterns work very well in New Zealand, particularly dry flies.

In sizes 10-16: Royal Wulff, Parachute Adams, Humpy (yellow and green), Elk Hair Caddis and Twilight Beauty (like a Dark Cahill) are all ideal.

Local favorites are Red Tipped Governor, Kakahi Queen, Cicada (like a green Joes Hopper), Black Gnat Blowfly (must be fluorescent blue), Coch y Bondhu. Nymphs need to be dark colored with lots of hair and very heavy.

A roughly tied Hair and Copper with plenty of weight bound in (it has to audibly pop when it hits the water) and with a little flash about as an attractor tied into it will also be successful.

In sizes 8-14 our favorites are: Bead-head, Pheasant Tail, Half Back, Stonefly (black), Peeking Caddis, Girdle Bug.