These are our awesome staff members! What sets us apart is that our passion for fishing is matched by our passion for customer service. We aim to provide the best possible tackle shopping experience and are known for going the extra mile. We're always keen to talk about anything fishing and fish related, share our experiences and listen to yours. Come by and get to know us or check out our staff profiles below.
Mark is the owner of the Fishermans' Loft since the summer of 2019 after co-owning it for over 12 years. Besides running the shop, he is also a qualified casting instructor and has been fishing all his life. He is a passionate fly fisherman who loves chasing the trophy trout in the back country rivers and lakes. Mark also enjoys boat and land based sea fishing and taking his son for a fish.
Kieran got into fly tying before fly fishing after spending his pocket money on collecting flies and learning how to roll your own as they say.His love of all creatures great and small led to fish tanks set up with various aquatic insects to further his understanding and knowledge of what he should be imitating.Becoming good mates with Chappie Chapman at a young age improved his casting abilities immensely and was soon turning over 20ft leaders with ease.With over 30years of fly fishing and tying experience Kieran is well versed in what it takes to trick tough lowland and back country fish,something he finds the most rewarding is strapping a heavy pack on for a few days exploring the more remote places that New Zealand has to offer
I’m Wilfie, and fishing has been a constant in my life since I was five years old. What started as a passion has grown into a deep understanding of both saltwater and freshwater fishing, including fly fishing and tying my own flies.
I have a particular passion for game fishing—the adrenaline of a screaming reel is hard to beat. Alongside time on the water, I’ve developed strong technical skills in lure rigging, game fishing setups, and correctly spooling rods and reels to maximise performance and reliability.
I now design, build, and sell my own custom topwater lures, targeting species such as kahawai, kingfish, and other saltwater predators, combining practical experience with a focus on quality and performance.
Jake's passion for fishing began as a kid at his family's farm in the Ozark mountains of Missouri, USA where he would chase smallmouth bass and other warmwater species with ultra-lite spin setups. After a few trips to the western USA, Jake took up fly fishing and developed a passion for trout fishing that would later prompt him to move to Fort Collins, Colorado. In Colorado, Jake befriended some incredible fishermen and fly tiers, who further ignited his passion for both fishing and fly-tying alike. These days Jake spends the summers commercial fishing for sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay, Alaska, and fly fishing as much as possible when not working. He has traveled the world with a fly rod or two in hand, including a 10 day fishing trip to New Zealand in 2017. That first trip to NZ opened his eyes to the world-class sight fishing that the South Island has to offer. Since that trip, Jake has returned to New Zealand multiple times and has explored heaps of rivers around the South Island. The team at Fisherman's Loft helped him with fishing advice along the way, and today Jake finds himself working at the Loft to help other keen anglers find success in New Zealand fisheries.
This is Isaac,
He Has been keen on fly fishing for around four years now. Besides his main passion of fly fishing, sea-run salmon fishing is also a large interest that he has. Alongside always being up for a spin fishing trip, Whether that's in our pristine lakes, rivers, or down at the hydro canals.
Other than fishing Isaac spends his time hunting, tramping,seeking new adventure and opportunity in the back country. Isaac has also picked up fly tying since starting at Fishermans Loft, tying new patterns has become another passion that he has added to his list, adapting and changing patterns for certain fisheries is key, and being able to tie custom flies has helped develop another level of understanding for our fisheries and the life that they hold.
Our newest member Dodge loves pats and play time,He enjoys meeting new customers and wishes he could work more at the store