Southland is not a place that shouts about itself. It sits at the bottom of the South Island, far enough from the tourist trail that most visiting anglers never make it there. That is precisely what makes it worth the trip.

The rivers here — the Mataura, the Oreti, the Aparima and the smaller streams running off the ranges — hold brown trout that have never been under serious fishing pressure. Big, wary fish in water clear enough to see the bottom at three metres. Southland has the highest density of wild trout in New Zealand, a fact its guides are quietly proud of. Finding the fish is not the challenge here. Presenting to them is.

Daryl Paskell has been guiding these rivers since 1996. He knows which reaches fish best after a rain event, which spring creeks hold fish through summer when the main rivers run low, and which backcountry valleys are worth the walk. Kristina Placko brings NZPFGA-registered guiding credentials and a philosophy that fly fishing should be genuinely accessible — she has taught complete beginners and coached experienced anglers who needed to slow down and think more carefully about their presentation.

Together they offer fly fishing and spin fishing on light tackle across an almost unlimited variety of water. October through May is the formal season, with the best dry fly fishing running through the summer months when Southland's famous Mataura mayfly hatches bring fish to the surface in numbers.