Recent news & Articles

Running a fishing lodge can be a complex thing. There are so many variables to take into account, without doubt, the weather has a significant impact on the trout fishery and therefore the fishing. In our early season the weather cooperated brilliantly. November & December saw clear rivers, sunny days and little wind. The… Read more

26 April 2016 This is not your typical fly fishing blog, but please do read on…..I want to tell you a little story, it’s a real life story I moved to New Zealand 13 years ago and luckily chose the wonderful Owen Valley to establish my wee fishing lodge. I was lucky principally because of the sensational people who… Read more

Nelson is a delightful city of 50, 000 people, which makes it an ideal size to explore on foot or by bike if you’re feeling active. With around 2,500 hours of sunshine each year, Nelson regularly tops the “sunniest city in New Zealand” lists. It has a mild, Mediterranean-type climate, with coastal breezes tempering the… Read more

Renowned fly fishing manufacturer Sage introduces two new model ranges to its lineup. First up is the MOD, which is designed and handcrafted on Bainbridge Island, USA with Sage’s Konnetic Technology®. Thoughtfully crafted with contemporary line designs and angling styles in mind, the MOD is a modern interpretation… Read more

In my November 2014 blog post, I discussed the mouse plague that this region was likely to experience over the season. Well, it happened! It wasn’t the massive mice and rat plague we’ve seen in previous seasons (1999/2000, for example) but on certain rivers in the Nelson/Marlborough region there were mice simply… Read more

The last weekend in April saw Owen River Lodge open its doors for the annual Casting For Recovery South Island retreat. It’s the third time we’ve hosted this very special event. Casting For Recovery offers retreats free of charge to people who have, or have had, breast cancer. Participants get to take some time out, be pampered,… Read more

As an angler, if you’re very lucky, there is one day that outshines all others. One lucky couple had theirs here last week. Wayne and Vicki are from Melbourne and have just completed their fourth stay at Owen River Lodge. They learned to fly fish here on their first visit in October 2012, so you could say they’re… Read more

If you’ve ever thought about fly fishing for huge wild brown trout in New Zealand, then this season is the time to come ! Why I hear you say ? Well to cut a long story short, there is a mice and rat plague in the beech forests in some parts of the South Island of New Zealand. These furry little critters are… Read more

Over the past few months, we’ve been waiting to see if the mouse and rat plague predicted by the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) will eventuate. I can now state with a reasonable degree of certainty that although it’s taken longer to manifest than originally thought, we are definitely in the midst of a mouse… Read more

I think there are several really important things that make up a truly great fishing lodge: the accommodations, the food, the staff, the location, the fishery, the fishing guides and the loan gear. We all know what a hassle it is packing and traveling with fishing gear. So we’ve taken the pain out of staying and fishing with… Read more

Sage, the leader is fly rod design and manufacture has released a new range of medium-fast action single-hand, switch and two-hand fly rods to the market with the ACCEL series by reinventing proven Generation 5 technology. Adding a graphite hoop core and axial fiber material in the new Generation 5 technology allowed for a lighter,… Read more

Fish and Game are the organization delegated by the New Zealand government to manage the freshwater fishery, has introduced a new licence type for non-resident anglers. So, for this upcoming season there are two licences available:· A 24-hour licence at a cost of NZ $25 per angler, per day. There are no limits on the number… Read more

We’ve had Wi-Fi available in the main lodge building since opening but to be honest, we have struggled to get the signal out to all the guest cottage suites…. I’m pleased to let all our guests know that we have upgraded our Wi-Fi network and, as a consequence, Wi-Fi is now available in all our guest cottage suites. Naturally… Read more

Each season sees several groups of hosted traveling anglers stay and fish at Owen River Lodge. This upcoming season is no different with Barry & Cathy Beck and April Vokey hosting groups of anglers during season 2014 2015. April Vokey : Nov 30 > December 7 April hails from British Columbia and is an avid… Read more