Fishing up near Arthur's Pass

While fly fishing the Hurunui River by the bridge where SH1 passes over the river, I met a guy fishing for salmon who gave me a suggestion on where to try next. He suggested going up by Lake Pearson for some rivers and lakes up there. Some of them are fly fishing only. 

It takes about an hour and a half to get from Christchurch to Lake Pearson along route 73. The scenery along this route is incredible. It passes by Castle Hill which was used as the final battle ground in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and is a very popular spot for bouldering and rock climbing. Another hour down the road is Arthur's Pass. 

I tried fishing in Lake Grasmere and Lake Sarah. There were definitely fish visible in both lakes (good sized trout for sure), but the wind was a bit high and I had trouble casting. 

The night sky at Lake Pearson was incredible. The Milky Way stretched across the sky with the texture and depth that I have only seen in photos. The stars were uncountable. Thousands of pinpoints of light.