Southland

I am a born and bred Southlander and have spent most of my life fishing, in Southland and Otago. In 1994 I became a member of the New Zealand Professional Fishing Guides Association and so I have had many happy years working as a Professional Guide.  A lot of those years were spent as Guiding Manager with one of the top Fishing Lodges in New Zealand. My wife Bev and I have 4 children; Shane lives in Auckland, Suzanne in Dublin, Bonita in Invercargill and Brent in Colorado.  My other passions include Photography, Hunting, Travel and Reading.

~Looking forward to meeting you.
Alan Wilson

Testimonials

In each of the past 12 years I have spent a week fishing Southland rivers with Alan Wilson. During that time he has taught me much of what I know about New Zealand trout fishing.

By my count we have fished close on 20 rivers! Alan is not only an excellent guide, as good as you could hope to get, but he is also a good friend. We have had so much fun, so much excitement, and so many laughs. I realize that he is a true outdoorsman, who appreciates what New Zealand’s spectacular fish and awesome environment offer to the fisherman.

You would be fortunate, indeed, to fish with him. He is the consummate professional.

~Barrie Hesp
Connecticut, USA

My son and I, together with two of our friends, fished with Southland Fly Fishing last December, using the Royal Mail Hotel in Lumsden as our headquarters. Our guides, Alan Wilson, Graeme Watson and Daryl Paskell stayed at the nearby motel and joined us after breakfast each morning ready to go.

The fishing in Southland is as good as any New Zealand has to offer. The Mataura, in spite of its fame, remains a much underrated stream. The other major river system is that of the Oreti but there are myriads of smaller streams in the area, all fishing well at the right time. Alan, Graeme and Daryl know these waters backwards. They made the most  of some difficult conditions, finding some great fishing in interesting and challenging places. Typically, the fish were in the three to five pound bracket, browns and rainbows, with the biggest being my son’s eight-pounder. (Let’s not get confused with kilos or inches.)

The Southland team has picked out some spots for our next trip and we will join them again next December. They are first rate guides, great company and highly recommended.

~John Lance
Sydney, Australia