About the Author See Ron's full bio here

101 Trout Fishing Tips Secrets of Successful Fly fishing By Ron Giles (click photo for larger image) Order this book

Ron’s latest book gives you every technique you will ever need to successfully fish all the lakes and rivers of New Zealand. This incredibly handy reference book reveals 101 special tips that will see any angler catch more trout. Find out how to set traps for cruising trout, to overcome difficult fishing conditions, to work out where trout lie in a river or hold in a lake.

Whatever your level of experience, this practical book will ensure you have less of those blank days when nothing seems to work. Beginners and practised fisher folk alike can dip into a rich store of information to find easy solutions to those testing situations when, despite all the preparation, the fish simply aren’t taking the bait!

Catch that Trout! Fishing the North Island of New Zealand By Ron Giles (click photo for larger image) Order this book

Catch That Trout - North Island is the companion book to Ron's last book and offers a complete guide to fishing in the North Island of New Zealand. Many anglers are drawn to the South Island by the stories of the great fishing there and so are often unaware of the equally fantastic fishing that can be had in the beautiful lakes and rivers of the North Island . Ron's new book details the best of this fishing and specifies the fishing technique that gets the best out of each of these unique waterways.

The book has the same format as the South Island version as reader feedback has strongly shown this is what anglers want – a ‘how to, where to' book. That book helped thousands of anglers to catch more fish and this new book will do the same for anyone willing to try the latest advances in fishing techniques. Ron spent six months in USA and Canada studying advances in fishing techniques and the results of his extensive research are now available to anyone wanting to improve their fishing success for just the price of a book.

Review - in NZ Herald 2-1-04 , by Harvey Clark
“ Catch That Trout" by Ron Giles covers North Island rivers and lakes and is a companion volume to Giles' Fishing the South Island . Together the two books provide an authoritative, comprehensive guide to New Zealand 's trout fisheries.”

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Catch that Trout! Fishing the South Island of New Zealand By Ron Giles (click photo for larger image)   Order this book

• Access and directions, including detailed maps

• The most common trout foods and the best flies to imitate them

• The best fishing technique to use for this type of water. Also included is a comprehensive review of the specific trout fishing tackle, equipment and clothing that is the best suited to New Zealand conditions. No matter what your level of fly fishing expertise, this book will help you catch more trout.

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Hooked On Trout How and Where to Catch Large Trout in New Zealand Written by Ron Giles (click photo for larger image) Order this book

Feedback on the book

You wrote a fabulous book. I could feel the excitement of the "hunt" and so finished the book in one sitting.

Thanks to your book my father and I had a very successful trip and Dad lost a "trophy fish" on one of your recommended rivers. It is a great book…..you've got a successful combination and I look forward to the next one. The book entertained and occupied me for two full evenings and I enjoyed the read. With the vast options of New Zealand rivers to fish we found the specifics in your book the most helpful in making our decisions on where to go. The maps and specific information provided on each of the rivers helped greatly in making our fishing trip to New Zealand a success. Congratulations on what is probably the best NZ trout fishing book I have read!

I just wanted to let you know that your book that I purchased has helped out tremendously on our fishing trip to New Zealand Book was great and I enjoyed the read and your perceptions on some of the rivers! Good stuff. I would highly recommend your book to anyone who was seriously looking to experience the fishing that New Zealand has to offer. Your last book was an inspiration to me and got me onto places like the mighty Ruakituri which I think now is one of my favourite places to fish.

I really enjoyed your book. The River, tips, and tales format was great. I read it "cover to cover" in spite of the fact that I won't get near most of the waters. Congratulations it looks really good; reminiscent of Tony Busch's but much more interesting.

I have your book - am enjoying it so far. I like the stories and the sense of humour.

I am just writing to let you know that I have a copy of your book and I am finding it both enjoyable and informative. I liked your book and a sequel may be well worth it. Keep up the good work Ron.

Hooked on Trout is excellent. Thanks for writing a great fishing book.

An excellent read with some brilliant tales. Keep up the good work and I look forward to more books in the future.

The book itself is certainly refreshing from the point of view that its not just a string of big tales. Keep them coming.

I picked up a copy of your excellent book and love what I've read thus far. I think the format of combining river descriptions with various techniques and tips is a great idea.

Your book provides an EXCELLENT source, with sufficient detail, for a serious fly fisherman to find the less traveled spots where beauty and solitude prevail; all without the intrusion of a helicopter.

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Ron Giles is an outdoor writer who has been Fly fishing for 30 years. During this time, he has traveled extensively around New Zealand and always taken along his fly rod. He has fished all the major rivers and lakes in NZ as well as a large number of trout waters known only to local anglers and their friends. This `inside' information has seen him catch more than 30 trout over the magic 10 lb (4.5 kg) mark.

The information in his books come from the records Ron has kept of every fishing trip; detailing weather, river conditions, trout hooked, technique employed and successful flies. Usually the flies are of his own making as Ron has tied his own flies right from when he first started fishing. His creations are eagerly sought-after by his angling friends, as his flies always seem to have a special appeal to trout.

Ron has been a member of the Auckland Freshwater Anglers Club for 25 years and always enjoys the chance to swap fishing stories. These have provided the basis of his regular contribution of articles on trout fishing to a variety of magazines and web sites. In all his writing, his aim is to inform but still entertain the reader. He has an easy-to-read writing style that enables him to keep the reader's interest even when writing about a very technical subject. .

Ron strongly believes that most anglers want a trout fishing book to tell them `where to' and `how to' catch trout. They are looking for a book that tells them where to go to either catch a big fish or a lot of fish. And that also recommends the best technique to ensure success on that particular water. The great bulk of anglers are at the `intermediate' stage where they have fished the popular rivers and are now looking for new rivers and new challenges. Ron spent six months in USA and Canada studying advances in fishing techniques and the results of his extensive research are now available to anyone wanting to improve their fishing success for just the price of a book.

Signed copies of all three books are available from the author - contact us

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Where to Catch a Trophy Trout
By Ron Giles

One of the most common questions I get asked is: where is the best place to catch a trophy trout? That is getting harder to do and so harder to answer. One thinks of rivers in the popular Nelson region such as the Wangapeka; of the mighty Buller and the boisterous browns that it has aplenty; of the regal Grey River and it's horde of big fish tributaries; of the myriad of hardly-fished West Coast waters; rivers like the Ahuriri over the pass in Central Otago; and the many fine rivers in the home of the brown trout - Southland. But for me, the best chance of catching a big fish is in that region a couple of hours north of Christchurch where a large number of superb trout rivers originate on both sides of the cleft in the Southern Alps that is the Lewis Pass.

By basing yourself at either Hanmer Springs on the east side of the pass or at Springs Junction on the west, there are several rivers nearby where you have a good chance of picking up your trophy trout. And you won't have a huge number of competing anglers, especially if you avoid the weekends. That is not the case with many other of the recognised `big fish' waters where a tramping trip is needed to get away from the like-minded hordes. Even then, there is no guarantee that as you reach the targeted stretch of remote river, you see angler and guide alighting from the chopper in front of you. That is becoming a common experience in many of our back country rivers. So much so that there are now plans to restrict access to remote Otago rivers because of the pressure coming from visiting anglers. As yet, the Lewis Pass area does not suffer from such problems and most of the best fishing spots do not require an overnight expedition.

The most well known river in this area is probably the Maruia. Fortunately this lovely river has 70 km of fishable water so it can take a lot of angling pressure. Not far from the Maruia, the Matakitaki River is worth a look. It is a very flood-prone waterway and not many know that it is more stable in the upper reaches around Matakitaki Station. A lot of walking per fish will be required, as is usually the case with braided waters but the odd good fish will make it worth the effort.

Going west from Springs Junction brings you to the headwaters of two rivers known for large trout: the Upper Grey and Iangahua Rivers . The mighty Grey River rises in Lake Christabel as the Blue Grey River and is joined by the Brown Grey a few kilometres further down. There is good fishing from the lake all way down to the junction with the Robinson River . The Inangahua is a different beast completely, being the typical brown, peat-stained West Coast river and so not appealing to all anglers. It is a long river, rising on Rahu Saddle above Springs Junction, flowing west through Reefton to join the Buller.

Inangahua River Click for full view

Inangahua River

Going east over Lewis Pass there are several rivers that could be fished but the two that yield trophy trout the most often are the Boyle and the Hope Rivers. The last of the big fish rivers in this region is the upper Waiau. Access by vehicle is restricted to the private road through St James Station and it is a long trek in some suitable 4 WD vehicle from Hanmer Springs through the Clarence Valley and across Malings Pass to the upper Waiau. However this is the river that is rumoured to have produced five double figure fish in one day for the English client of a local guide so it just might be worth the long drive! You certainly won't see a lot of other anglers as the only other access is a two day tramp in via the St James Walkway.

Spend a week in the Lewis Pass region, early or late in the season, and you will have given yourself perhaps the best chance of picking up a trophy trout without the expense of helicopters or guides. Even if you don't score the big one, you will have seen some beautiful country and caught a lot of very respectable-sized trout. Just remember to respect these wild back country rivers and take only a photo of your trophy fish with you.

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