Super-keen angler Gary Kemsley has done all sorts of fishing, so is in a great position to tell us that good fishing needn’t mean travelling to remote, hard-to-reach places…

New Zealand boasts world-class fishing in its high country wilderness and along the stretches of its remote coasts. Wily brown trout and feisty rainbows await in the remote freshwater locations, often amongst forest or bush, while big, reef-dwelling snapper and moki lurk in the seldom-fished, rugged, off-road coastline.

But that’s not all New Zealand has to offer. There is also worldclass fishing close to our highways and motorways. Here, the access problems might include finding a place to park on the side of busy roads, rather than impenetrable bush or impassable cliffs. Plenty of short roads lead from highways right to the beach, and the fishing at such places can be as good as five kilometres up the beach, only accessible by foot or quad bike.

One of my favourite fishing sayings is, “Snapper don’t know where the car park is.” Think about that. Here, in Hawkes Bay, places that come to mind are Gill Rd at Bayview, Le Quesne Rd a bit further north, and Awatoto south of Napier, right on the State Highway.

Being able to fish by your car makes everything easier and more comfortable, yet places like these can be very rewarding. Of course, riding your quad off into the distance opens up new opportunities and can bring big rewards too, but my point here is that you don’t have to do that to catch good fish.

Trout fishing is no different. Apart from the thrill of heading off into the unknown wilderness, you may have as much fun fishing near the car alongside one of our major highways. Taupo is a classic example. You can pull off the road at the Waitahanui River, park between the road and the river, and there may be a fresh run of rainbows holding two metres away. It’s therefore possible to have a bucking rod and screaming reel with State Highway One just five metres away on the other side of your car...

The beauty of a fishery where the trout (or salmon) run the river’s length to spawning grounds is that they can be found at roadside waters or close to bridges crossed at one time or another.

Anglers may be limited to the more accessible fishing spots due to age or a physical inability to get around. Or maybe you only have a short time to fish. No worries, the very fish you desire may be close at hand.

I well remember catching a fat, silver, hard-fighting rainbow of over four kilos under the main road bridge at Waitahanui near Taupo. Others have been caught under bridges all over the country. Some access points from main highway bridges may get you into spectacular backcountry waters.

My all-time favourite is the Okoeke Stream, which passes under State Highway Five before entering the Waipunga River below the Waipunga Falls. This is wild country, and you can step into it from the carpark at the confluence. Fish your way up the small waters of the Okoeke and you will be surprised by the size of fish it holds, even under the main road bridge.

Further upstream will see you in typical New Zealand wilderness water. Deer on the banks are common. This is largely dry fly water, offering bouldery and tight fishing, with trees in the water in places making it look hopeless, but move up further and you come to a fly-fisher’s paradise. It’s not for everyone. If you like long casts on big rivers, this isn’t the place for you, but if you want technical fishing in small water for big fish, you will find few better. And it is right by the road! (The Mokomokonui, further down, is another tributary offering similar fishing, but access is more difficult.)

For the big river fishers there are plenty of places where roads follow rivers for many kilometres, providing access for fishing in many spots. One that comes to mind for me is the Buller out of Murchison. The river is a big, wild one, and it follows the road through most of its twists and turns. You will find your trout – big, lazy browns – holding in the quiet water along the sides of the river. The best spots are usually on the far side and unreachable, but that is common when fishing big rivers. You will earn your fish from the Buller, but they are there and are right beside the road.

Another large and challenging river, in the North Island this time, is the Ngaruroro River, which runs to the sea in Hawkes Bay. This river holds some wonderful fish throughout its length. In recent times quinnat salmon have been caught from the river to complement the rainbows, browns and sea-runners that make this a special fishery. Access points are available at Fernhill and Maraekakaho, off Highway 50, and from the Napier-Taihape Road at Kuripapango. You will need all your skills to be successful on this water; it is large and the trout are spread out. Spinning, wet fly, dry fly and nymphing all have their place here, and you should be geared up to try them all in a day.

The fish are famous. Salmon to 6kg, rainbows to 5kg and browns to 7kg. They are not all that size of course, but it gives you an idea of the possibilities when fishing a pool by the road or under a bridge. My best fish from the Ngaruroro so far was a four-kilo rainbow caught 100m above the Highway 50 bridge at Fernhill.

Fishing by the roads needs a positive mindset. Talk to your mates and they’ll tell you they walked in for two days to reach some wilderness river and caught huge trout. That’s great, but not everyone can do that. It’s nice to have a big fish story where the hardest part of the trip was climbing up the bank to the car 10 metres from the river.

Approach roadside waters as if you were the first to fish them; the trout will be there – you just need a cautious approach. Others may have tried, but may not have been as skilled (or lucky!) as you. I like to take a long look at roadside waters before fishing them. Think what approach anyone else would have used and then devise your own strategy. A different approach may bring instant results.

What is possible by the roads? Well, just about anything the river can produce. During a South Island trip we were prospecting along the easier road accesses for fish prior to the One Fly Contest in the Nelson area. We stopped by the Waiau River, south of Blenheim, and peered into a deep, slow pool. I went down to the water and waited for instructions from above on where to cast.

“Wow, look at that!” I heard, and then, “Cast up 15 metres and a metre out from the bank!”

I made the cast over and over with no response. I went up for a look to see what was wrong, as I was sure my presentation had been perfect. Looking down from the road edge I saw the biggest salmon ever. I had covered it alright and it hadn’t spooked, but it was not interested. Just shows that fish are not afraid to live by roads, and we should use that to our advantage. 
Waikari