About Latitude Guiding

Latitude Guiding consists of guide Mike Kirkpatrick, an extremely passionate fly fisherman and lucky enough to live in New Zealand's foremost trout fishing region.
Why is the Nelson region best? You only have to look at the Locations page to see one reason, the sheer abundance of waterways in our area give you literally hundreds of miles of fly fishing water within a couple of hours drive. The quality of these waterways is also amazing, no two rivers are the same, from the slightly tannin stained West Coast to the gin clear headwaters of Kahurangi National Park you will never tire of the locations available.
Then there are the trout themselves, while some of our waterways are renowned for the numbers of fish available in them (don't think that makes them easy to catch!), others are famous for the sheer size of the trout that hide within.
Let's not forget weather, there's not much point having great rivers if you're casting into a gale with sleet coming down around you! Of course everywhere has it's bad days but Nelson is known within New Zealand as 'Sunny Nelson' and for good reason, we regularly boast the highest annual sunshine hours and calm, cloudless sunny days are what this area is famous for.

It's some combination and we feel very lucky to live here, we do our best to make the most of it! I'd love the chance to share my experience and the countryside with you, I know it's a time you'll never forget.

Mike has been hunting and trout fishing this region for most of his life, and there's not many areas he doesn't know about. A passionate and knowledgeable fly fisherman he loves nothing more than taking a client into a wilderness area to hunt large trout. If you really want to get into Nelson's backcountry fishing, whether by car, helicopter or tramp Mike will prepare a trip to suit.

Of course if your time is more limited he can also show you some of his favourite local spots where the variety of water will suit both your ability and preferred technique.

Getting a client to cast, and hook up on one of these sighted trout is what guiding to him is all about. Whether your preferred technique is dry fly, nymph or threadlining he can take you to the location that suits.

I pride myself on a friendly and professional service that caters for all budgets, skill levels and techniques. Whether you're an experienced fly fisherman or a first time angler looking to land his first trout we can tailor an excursion to suit.