HORSE STORIES

There are big trout, there are huge trout, and then there are New Zealand jungle trout. Writer Derek Grzelewski joined legendary Kiwi guide Miles Rushmer to hack through some of the densest jungles on the island in search of rod-shattering, tippet-destroying Godzilla trout. Pushing 20 pounds and hiding in impossibly overgrown conditions, these fish require stealth, patience and pinpoint, bow-and-arrow casting. You have one shot to land the fish of a lifetime. Feeling lucky?

“Forget all you know about flyfishing. This is a whole new game, like nothing you’ve ever done.” Miles Rushmer was standing on a rickety wooden bridge spanning a creek narrow enough to jump across. He held his fly rod pointing at me like a rapier. In his other hand, pinched between the thumb and forefinger, he held a dull-gray nymph the size of a small pebble, but twice as heavy. As he drew the fly up, past his right eye and then to his ear, the 20-pound tippet tightened and bent the rod into a bow.Subscribe to start your collection of the world’s best flyfishing publication.

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