Welcome.
Welcome to Wilderness Trout, a celebration of wild trout in wild places.
My name is James Barnett, a passionate trout fisherman and artist. I would like to share with you my paintings, photography and
experiences flyfishing in New Zealand.
I have featured some great locations, useful techniques
for catching wiley trout and I reveal some of my
favourite flies.
You can also register to purchase limited edition prints and even
commission a life size painting of your trophy trout. I hope you enjoy
spending time at Wilderness Trout.
A note on conservation.
The beautiful scenery and
high quality of our trout are features that we in New Zealand occasionally
take for granted, yet we all know these are finite resources, especially
given the increased pressure put upon them. Water abstraction, hydro power
generation, intensive farming and increased angler harvest will all contribute
to the erosion of our outstanding ecosystem.
I advocate the conservation of New Zealands
precious lakes and rivers. I encourage fellow anglers to take an
active interest in conserving our waterways, this includes limiting the
numbers of fish we take for the pot - an approach that is even more important
when fishing relatively fragile back country headwaters and streams.
Lets all enjoy our trout fishing, both now and in the future.
News / Features.
11.02.12: Plenty of Water in Streams.
The wet summer has ensured North Island waterways still contain plenty of water. With temperatures rising and insect life reaching a peak we could see some excellent action in the next month or so.
30.01.12: Target Taupo.
The January edition of Department of Conservation's Target Taupo magazine contains some interesting thoughts on the current situation regarding late winter spawning runs in the region and the risks of reintroducing early running fish.
06.01.12: New Year, New Leaf.
The new year will see changes to the Wilderness Trout website. For some time the site has taken a back seat to the demands of work, family and of course getting out doing stuff! This year I have some fresh ideas for the site... watch this space!
Painting: 'Tongariro Jack'.
My painting features a male rainbow trout in full spawning colours, as it runs the world famous Tongariro River -more>
Trophy Trout Painting.
Commission a life size painting of your trophy trout. Your measurements and photographs will be used as a guide for the painting -more>
A highly recommended New Zealand book written by keen flyfisherman and fishery scientist Dr John Hayes with stunning photography from Les Hill:
The Artful Science of Trout Fishing
Further excellent books available internationally:-