Dr John Kent is a retired general medical practitioner who has been an avid angler for sixty years. Having lived in both the North and South Islands, John has a comprehensive knowledge of New Zealand's geography and its rivers, streams and lakes. In 1997, John co-authored New Zealand's Top Trout Fishing Waters with his partner, Patti Magnano Madsen, and followed this with a collection of short stories, Up the Creek with John Kent. In 2004, John combined with photographer David Hallett to publish Classic Fly Fishing in New Zealand Rivers, and this book won a Montana Award in the Lifestyle and Contemporary Culture section.
John has fished in Montana, Idaho, Washington and Alaska and has given two presentations on New Zealand fly fishing at the Federation of Fly Fishing Conclaves in Montana and Michigan. He was invited to contribute to the International Fly Plate Project, and in 2003 was awarded the New Zealand Fish and Game Gold Medal for conservation advocacy.