The majority of what we do as a fishing guide service is connecting anglers with great fishing guides, usually here in Montanaland, but sometimes in other fishy places as well. Like New Zealand. On the south island. In Nelson, our favorite Kiwi fishing town.
When my cousin Drew contacted me last week asking about the fishing opportunities near Nelson, since he just happened to be there for a week, my response was clear and concise; it's awesome and there's only one guy you need to talk to about it. Tony Entwistle.
My wife and I first fished with Tony in 2000, and similar to my cousin, it was an opportunistic meeting during a brief stay in Nelson. I learned more about New Zealand history, politics, conservation, flora, fauna and culinary delights (meat pies!), with Tony in 2 days than I have in all of my other travels there. He also introduced us to a number of hauntingly huge Kiwi brown trout, some of which we tricked, most which fooled us. A connection was made, as Tony and his wonderful wife Sharon have become great friends of our family, and he has been a great guide mentor for me.
Passing this connection along to my good friend was easy and rewarding to do. I haven't gotten a detailed report of their day on the water, but I get the impression they connected with a few.
If you want to make a new fishing friend in New Zealand look no further than Tony Entwistle's New Zealand Fly Fishing.
