About Exploration Angling

Exploration Angling isn’t about casting in the easy places. It’s about hauling rod cases through airports, stuffing gear into bush planes, running tides in battered skiffs, and finding fish where the maps fade out.

Exploration Angling is fly fishing for those who go further.

We chase stories from the raw edges of the fly fishing world. Places where the weather shifts fast, boats break down, but the fish make it all worth it.

Here’s what we do to help you:

• Regular dispatches from wild rivers and remote saltwater flats

• Packing lists built from the scars of trips gone wrong (and right)

• No-nonsense reviews on the gear and lodges that matter when you’re days from anywhere

• The Weekly Five – a lean hit of fly fishing news, free every week

Some stories are free. The deeper dives – the destination profiles we want to share with friends, the full gear breakdowns, New Zealand’s secret backcountry, and the kind of intel you’re prepared to pay for – well, that’s for the subscribers who chip in to keep this work alive.

Every subscription keeps us independent, fuels the next trip, and helps us shine a light on the wild corners most anglers will never see.

If you’re in it for the adventure: the missed flights, the broken rods, the fish of a lifetime, this is your campfire. Pull up a log.

Why subscribe?

Get full access to everything we’re putting into the wild: weekly dispatches, new articles, and the full archive of past stories. Think of it as your personal field guide to exploration angling.

Stay up-to-date

Never miss a report from the frontlines. Every new post lands straight in your inbox – spam-free, and ready to read. For extra firepower, grab the Substack app: it’s the only decent way to read on your mobile, but our site’s even better when you’re at the laptop, planning your next expedition.

Be part of this community

This isn’t just a newsletter – it’s a campfire. Gather ‘round. Join the conversation in the comments, tell us what you want to read, and help keep this work independent with a subscription. Your support fuels the next trip, the next story, the next frontier.

Join the crew

Got a story to tell? A gear test worth sharing? A spot you’ve stumbled on that you’re keen to share (no coordinates or distinguishing details please!)? Drop us a line at Southflyfisher.com and get it into the mix.

Thanks for being part of this,
Southflyfisher

EXPLORATION ANGLING is published by Southflyfisher from Wānaka in New Zealand’s beautiful South Island. If you would like to contribute, please contact Southflyfisher with your draft.

Here’s some fun

Find out where your editor, Michael Gregg, is fishing in the 2025-2026 season. Recently, over on No Slack Loops, Michael started jotting down a few stories. Head over there to enjoy the behind-the-scenes chaos of angling life.