Landing your first trophy-sized rainbow trout is a milestone for any angler, but it takes more than just luck. From choosing the right water to staying persistent, this guide shares top insights from seasoned anglers on how to hook that dream fish. Let’s dive into their top three tips for reeling in a big one, no matter the season

What are your top 3 tips for anglers looking to catch their first trophy-sized rainbow trout, whether in spring or year-round?

Top three, here we are.

Location:
Ensure you’re fishing somewhere where it’s possible to get big fish first. Key things are generally a water/system that large enough to accommodate, stable enough to assist them with surviving after spawning and almost always a decent consistent food source. If you have those things then chances are all the other species of fish in that system will be of a solid spec also.

Persistence:
I catch A LOT of small fish. Its important to know that only a small percentage of fish are truly massive. If you’ve got your location sorted then be persistent, you will no doubt catch plenty of smaller fish along the way, this is all part of it.

Preparation:
Make sure you have all your gear dialled in, I made a fairly fatal mistake when I was younger of using gear that was far too light, especially tippet. Although possible it can be pretty challenging fighting an angry 20lb rainbow on 6x. If you’re able, make everything as heavy as you can without having too much of an effect on your ability to get the take. Much kinder on the fish too as you’ll be able to land it much quicker.

About : Matt

• Matt, how did you first get into fly fishing, and what inspired you to pursue it as a passion?

Ah haha, my grandfather and father were/are both passionate fly anglers and combined with growing up on New Zealand’s South Island I was constantly immersed into some pretty spectacular fishing situations. I suppose having those awesome experiences growing up fly fishing was always going to become a part of who I was. From memory I caught my first trout at around the age of 4 but it wasn’t until around age 12 I really starting getting into it which lead me into exploring deeper and deeper into the New Zealand backcountry. I think what inspired me in pursuing it as a passion will have come from the excitement that came with exploring all these new and remote locations, I certainly ended up deep in some headwaters that not many people visit and I think that’s pretty cool. That excitement of exploring still resonates pretty hard with me today, still drives me, still gives me enjoyment.

• What aspects of fly fishing do you find most rewarding, and how has it shaped your life and adventures in New Zealand?

This is going to sound strange but bear with me, I really enjoy the HARD days fishing. You know, those days where you battle awful conditions, tricky fish and whatever else to just simply get a fish. To me, there’s just something about that aspect of it I find rewarding. The other one is taking a bit of a punt, purposely heading off to a location that is certainly not known for its fishing but giving it a nudge to see how you get on anyway. Last year I spent a bit of time fishing some “fishless” streams and certainly had some good results which I found pretty rewarding. Its shaped my life pretty significantly, I spend far too much time watching weather forecasts and monitoring river flows haha

• When it comes to targeting monster rainbow trout, what specific techniques or strategies do you recommend?

My techniques for targeting monster rainbow trout definitely vary depending on the time of year. Throughout the cooler months, late fall-early spring when the fish tend to be more aggressive I focus my fly selection around brighter coloured, meatier things like hot heads and streamers. During that time of year the majority of our rivers are closed so I put a lot of my efforts into stream mouths on large lakes. During Summer when fishing remote locations there is nothing better than having a large rainbow inhale a large dry so I keep a lot of my focus on that. As far as strategy, big fish typically need a food source so I start with fishing places that can provide that, usually connected so some sort of lake system or in NZ somewhere that can provide a good source of mice.

• Can you share one of your most memorable experiences while fishing for rainbow trout in New Zealand and what made it so special?

Gosh, this is a tough one. I’d say it was a day back in 2014 with a good mate of mine Josh Hutchins. We took a punt on a river trying to avoid pressure from other anglers very late in the season not expecting much, we had some challenging conditions early in the day which was making us question things a bit. The weather eventually cleared up enough and Josh hooked an absolute monster of a rainbow, it ended up being a truly wild mouse fed 13lb backcountry rainbow, even in NZ a wild backcountry rainbow over 10lb is rather difficult to achieve to having something of that spec was truly incredible. We backed the afternoon up with a couple of other fish including an 11lb brown. An afternoon I certainly wont forget!