Cedar Lodge New Zealand 2015/16 Season Wrap Up

We finished our third season as owners of Cedar Lodge at the end of March. It was a very busy season! We met many new friends and welcomed back numerous returning guests.

My biggest take away for the season was the inconsistency of the weather. With few exceptions we had challenging weather each week. The normal high-pressure systems that pass over the southern zone of the South Island simply wouldn’t stick around. We seemed to get a couple of good days before another blast of warm wet weather jumped rivers and limited our options to some degree. Despite the conditions we missed very few days on the water and guests did have some very good success.

November and December were unseasonably warm with a lengthy Manuka Beetle emergence. Those early spring months saw virtually all of the “snows on the tops” get washed away with warm rains and several significant high water events.

January, February and early March anglers had good success fishing large cicada patterns. March cooled a bit and we dropped the dry fly sizes down a bit but still largely brought fish to the dry.

While ideal fishing conditions seemed intermittent our staff performed superbly throughout the season. In the kitchen, Crystal and Kirsten rolled out fantastic fresh New Zealand cuisine. Utilizing New Zealand’s best export grade meats and fishes along with “fresh from the garden veggies”. Dion Matheson flew our R44 helicopter flawlessly, having to cope with “El Nino” winds and wet conditions was often “quite uncomfortable”. Paul Wright and Nick Johnson guided guests with great attitudes, concentrating on positive instruction to maximize results.

We found the fish in very good fitness towards the end of the season. Hopefully their good condition will bode well for next years undoubtedly more settled weather and water conditions.

If you would like to join us at Cedar Lodge next season we still have space. Please check out our website: Cedar Lodge or contact me at caddiseug@yahoo.com for more info.

CD