Peter Scott thought the old adage was a great joke when he and a couple of mates joined a fishing school in Twizel for their annual fishing holiday this year.
That was until he reeled in a 10kg rainbow trout from one of the hydro canals.
The experienced Dunedin fisherman usually takes an overseas fishing holiday at least once a year, but the Covid-19 pandemic had snapped that line.
So he decided to spend his holiday money a little closer to home and support the New Zealand economy by joining Ben Booth at Boothy's Fishing School in Twizel.
"It was a bit of a joke for the three of us that went, because we’re all good fishermen — we’re pretty good at catching a fish wherever we go.
"We thought we already knew it all and we wouldn’t really learn much.
"But Ben knows the area like the back of his hand. That local knowledge is gold.
"We were up there the night before we started at the school, and we threw lures everywhere and tried pretty much everything we could to try and catch a fish, but we failed dismally.
"We gained so much knowledge from Ben. We didn’t expect that."
Some of the most memorable fish he has reeled in overseas included a 40kg halibut in Alaska, and a 7kg wahoo in Fiji.
But the 10kg rainbow was by far the biggest trout he had caught, he said.
"I’ve done a lot of fishing all over the world, and this was a pretty awesome experience right here in our backyard."
He said the fish he caught seldom ended up on a dinner plate.
"We just photograph them and then let them go so that someone else can have a go at them."
While his fish was big, he said it was small compared to the record 22kg rainbow trout caught by a fisherman in the canals in the past.
"That’s a monster."
Unfortunately, Mr Scott declined to share any of the secrets he learned for catching a monster on the canals.
When it comes to great fishing spots, there are some lessons worth keeping a secret.
