Testimonials

In May 2006 me and my friend Kent from Denmark were picked up in Taupo by our New Zealand fly fishing guide Andrew Blake for the next 2 weeks.  We did not knew what had to come but it turned out to be some of the best fishing we have ever experienced and we had the time of our lives.  We had never tried fly fishing for trout before and wanted the learn the skills from one of the best.  And we did!! After a few hours by learning to cast we went to the famous Tongariro and from day one we caught fish.  Andrew learned us all the important things about flies, reading the water,,etc.   During our time with him we were never in doubt that he always did what was best for us and the fishing, he is a completely New Zealand fishing Nerd.  I don't know how many fish we caught during those 2 weeks,,,lots of rainbow trout between 3 and 8 pounds and lost bigger ones.  Every day we fished different places,,,small streams, lakes and of course  Tongariro.  After our time with Andrew in New Zealand we learned all the basics in fly fishing, plus a little more and has brought it back home.  At the same time Andrew is very easy to get along with, friendly, funny and at the same time top professional , we fished day and night for 2 weeks and there was always fishing stories to talk about, a really fishing mate. Our time with Andrew in Turangi was just a part of our 4 months traveling around South America as backpackers, but for sure the best part, no doubt,,,,we already planed our next trip down to him, this time we just cut away all the nonsense, just fishing around in the Taupo region!!! Welcome to contact me on morten_sandvej at hotmail dot com.

Hope you can use it Andrew,,,sorry about the english,,you need to fix that yourself!!!

Kind regards Morten

Andrew

Just a note to thank you for an extremely interesting day on the TT.  I had never fished that river before and was advised on the benefits of getting hold of someone who knew what they were doing for my first attempt.  You were nominated!  Having been around for a while I was a little skeptical but you certainly changed my opinion.  Your strange kiwi accounting system in terms of hook ups vs. landing rate was also knew to me.  However, considering the position we were fishing from and the prevailing current and your sneaky kiwi tactic of tying on size 16 nymphs, I feel that 27 fish out of 53 hook ups was not too bad for an old bloke like me.  Hopefully, this poor twisted frame I call a body will soon repair from the effort and I hope to front up with you early next year.  I will go to a gym or maybe take steroids beforehand. Once again many thanks.

Stuart

My wife and I decided it was time to see some of New Zealand since work in Wellington had slowed down a bit.  I wanted to do some fly fishing for the notorious trout New Zealand is famous for, so we decided to head for the Lake Taupo region.  We made contact with Andrew through the internet.  Andrew booked reservations for us at a very nice fly fishing lodge called Angler's Retreat in the Lake Taupo region.  This is a wonderful place to use as a base to explore Taupo.  Richard, the owner is wonderful and spoiled us to no end with the food, service and friendship.  But on to the fly fishing! This was my first time ever fly fishing in New Zealand, and in fact my very first true fly fishing trip any where.  Andrew picked me up and took me to one of his secret back country rivers.  The short hike to the river was easy and the country side is beautiful.  Andrew gave me some excellent instructions and I had one on the very first cast.  I think I hooked 11 trout that day and landed two very nice 4-5 pound trout, one rainbow and one brown.  It was an excellent fly fishing trip near Lake Taupo.  I am ready to plan my next adventure with Andrew for more quality fly fishing on and near Lake Taupo.  I can't say enough good things about the fly fishing experience with Andrew.

Dear Andrew,

First of all I'd just like to thank you for sending me the photos. I would also like to thank you for a terrific weekend, I was extremely impressed with the service you offered and your professional approach to the whole guided trip. I look forward to returning some time in the future and I will definately be recommending you as a guide to everyone.

Cheers and thanks again

Kind Regards

Ernie Greatorex