Wanaka and the Southern Lakes are in the midst of a real winter for a change. Real winter means, plenty of snow, storms from the South and storms from the West. Generally a lack of any el Nino or Nina that the weather "experts" like to label these so called predictable weather patterns. The net result is we have alot of snow and also lots of rain and runoff. The lakes and the rivers are full. All in all perfect winter water conditions, not great for fishing now but filling the system up for spring and summer. So what is open and what are the prospects? The Clutha River from the DOC reserve upstream of the Albert Town Bridge to Lake Dunstan, and the Hawea River, there is also a short section of the Timaru River open from the Dingleburn road bridge to Lake Hawea. This section of Timaru Creek is best approached from the lake edge and work your way back to the bridge. There are only 600 to 700m of water and a couple of pools that may hold fish. It is very much a case of hoping to be there at the right time and finding a run of fish moving upstream. To those that have not fished Timaru Creek, it is small water, on average 50 -75cm deep, fast flowing over a heavy gravel bottom and 2-5m wide, generally gin clear but does colour quickly at any time of the year with snow melt. Park your vehicle at the bridge car park, cross the bridge and walk up the road 150m towards Dingleburn Station, there is a road that then takes you to the lake edge. From the lake edge you have a couple of options, one is to walk back upstream looking for running fish holding on the margins or in one of the 3 pools before the bridge, odds are there will be a couple but never alot as they seem to run this first section without the rest stops. A better bet is to have a look at the mouth and fish the rip. The time of day does not appear to be too much of an issue, what is more important is the wind direction and distance from the lake edge to the drop off. The "delta" is huge and until you see the lake at low levels 338-340m you don't appreciate the 500-600 of sand between the drop and the shore, it is more likely you will walk 50-100 meters and the drop off will only be the rip itself. Watch for quicksand if the lake is at 344-345m it is hard to spot and extremely dangerous sand. Contact Energy have a website that gives you the lake levels for Lake Hawea. The Hawea River is a real lottery during the winter months. Flows are normally too high (160-220 cumecs) for any hope of fishing. Once in a blue moon the river is dropped back to 9 cumecs and you can fish it for a day or two before it is back to high flows. I have never taken the time to ask Contact Energy why the river will be dropped from time to time. It is high 95% of the winter so in effect not a fishery to depend on. Access to Hawea River is easy. Ease of access is becoming a real luxury on most rivers but due to development along the west back, what used to be one property from Camphill Road to the Dam wall is now several properties with access off SH6 your best bet. There are as yet no marked F&G accesses but at the very least there are several houses with doors to knock on. There is an access at the dam wall from the BP Hawea garage. A gate allows you to drive the 300m to a parking area from where you can pick up the irrigation race and follows it down stream and fish your way back to the dam. The pool at the dam wall itself is an extremely popular spot, which explains why I've never fished it. Walk down and fish back. I have a rough rule that for every 5 minutes you walk down stream it takes about an hour to fish back up. The Hawea is not a river to sight fish, you have to cover the water and cover it very systematically. It is big and busy water so use it well. The next access is off Camphill Road; Camphill is off SH6 at the Maungawera turnoff. Once at the bridge on Camphill Road walk back over the bridge from the car park and fish either up or down stream off the western bank. The western bank (true right) apart from being the right handers choice is far better access with beaches and relatively clear banks, the true left is quite steep and covered in scrub, not a great place to fish from. Camphill Road to the dam wall is approximately 4km and more water than you can fish in a day. If you are fishing with a buddy then get dropped at the bridge and fish up to the dam as your buddy walks down from the dam for a couple of kilometres and fishes back to the dam wall. Its not water you have to be concerned about fishing behind someone else as the fish numbers and habits are such that you can catch fish under most conditions. The next easy access is the Wanaka Gun Club, which is right on SH6. There is a parking area at the end of the fence, the property to the left (north) is private and to the right the Wanaka Gun Club. If the gun club gate is open and the red flag up then keep your wits about you or you could end up with a load of 8's in the rump. Do be mindful, and if the flag is up walk down the gun club drive and check to see what is going on. If the club is shooting skeet or trap you are fine but if they are on sporting clays then head somewhere else as you have to walk over the gun club land to get to the river and right through the middle of the sporting clay course. From the car park walk around the end of the fence and staying on top of the terrace walk down stream following the track. This will bring you out on top off the gun club pool. From here you are able to peer over a cliff to watch several very educated trout in the pool below. Approximately 100 metres down stream just as the river turns the corner is a good crossing to take you onto the true left bank, this is the bank to be on unless you are 40ft tall and related to the almighty. The right bank is heavy willows and deep, deep water. There are clay seams that cross the river bottom at the Gun Club pool, these blue grey seams are extremely slick, if you want a swim just walk on one! So you either cross to the left bank or staying on the right bank you can walk down stream to the mouth of Farm Creek and fish back to the Gun club. There are 5 of the most perfect runs/pools between Farm Creek and the Gun club that you could ever ask to fish. Again I normally fish the first 2 from the true left then cross back to the true right for the next 3. Be careful crossing the Hawea River, as the stones are slick with algae, even for the experts I would strongly recommend a stick to help you over the river. If you have walked down to Farm Creek on the right bank you will wander off the Gun Club land into Ken Burkes backyard. Ken and Claire’s house is right on the river bank you now know your at the right spot, you will almost certainly get greeted by a very noisy golden retriever, its bark is worse than its bite, just. If you have crossed to the true left at the Gun Club and are fishing up stream then stay on the left until you are opposite Bradley’s. You can’t miss this home that sits in a stand of mature pines on a terrace 150 m back from the river on a sweeping right hand bend. This bend is one of those “put me down and bury me” runs, perfectly made for a ‘right hander’. I cross at the bottom of the pool at the lone willow and fish from here right up to the head of the pool. You now have the choice of crossing or staying on the right bank, the next run is the kayak pool and has a series of wires over your head that rapid gates are hung from for the slalom kayak course, they are ‘a pain in the butt’ and make a perfect pool very difficult.The same applies to the next pool with regard to the wires, you do have the choice again to cross and fish the back of the island pool and get away from the wires. Once at the top of the island pool you must cross back to the right bank. There is now a long slow wide pool several hundred meters long, there is deep water along the far bank under the willows and always a brown or 2 about, it requires deep wading and a long cast to reach the best water. But do not despair if you can’t reach the willows, because at the head of the pool is a classic drop off and a pool I call ‘the Never fail’ pool. It has never failed! Fish it deep with a double nymph and fish every centimetre of it, especially around the 3 large submerged rocks I call the Bermuda triangle, if you don't catch a fish here then push through the scrub and walk up into the pines and hang yourself, no just kidding! But do stick to the pines and walk out onto the track that takes you back down towards the Gun Club, the 2nd house on the right is mine and I'll march you right back to that pool and fish you through it! For a small price of course! Once out of the ‘Never fail’ you again cross to the left, carefully. The next pool is opposite the Solar Powered Estate, again a home 100 meters above you overlooking the river. An absolutely beautiful pool can be fished from either bank but I prefer the left as it gives you a better crack at the ripple at the top opposite the Lombardy poplars. You can easily spend a couple of hours in this one pool. Once out of this pool it is best if you are on the left to walk up past the single willow and then cross back to the right. The next pool is a strange beast that is best attacked from the middle of the river fishing both to the left and then the right, you'll see the bar in mid stream parallel to the old willows on the left back. It is a very interesting pool. The next pool has a high gravel cliff on the right and you can suit yourself if you fish it from the right of left. If you fish from the left then bare in mind that this is the last good crossing point before Camphill. As you look upstream over a series of pocket water you will see some mature old man pines on the true left just as the river turns the corner, that is the last crossing and you must get back to the true right if you are to enjoy the next 1.5 km of fishing straight up to Camphill. From the Gun Club to Camphill Bridge is a days fishing for 2 people, well it is when I'm guiding this section. There is alot of water and if it has plenty of movement and more than 1 meter of depth then fish it, its gin clear, but full of rainbows that are all but impossible to spot. If you are into sight fishing then this is not a section of water for you, if on the other hand you enjoy exploring with a dry dropper or team of nymphs you will be enthralled by this water. The final access is from the DOC reserve at the confluence of the Hawea and Clutha Rivers below the Albert Town bridge of SH6. Just drive off the bridge and you will see the DOC sign to your left and the gravel tracks that lead to the river, It is great fishing from either bank for the next 1.5km up to the Gun Club. It is a section of water that will get more than it’s fear share of attention but has plenty of trout for everybody. All of the above is of no use what so ever if the Hawea River has flows above 9 cumecs as you cannot and should not cross the river. Again, Contact Energy have a website that gives the water flows on a day-to-day basis, use it; it is one of the few useful things that Contact Energy has going for it! ******************************************************* FISHING & HUNTING AMONGST FRIENDS ******************************************************* FISHING & HUNTING SERVICES Gerald & Sue Telford PO Box 312 Wanaka New Zealand Ph/fax: 64-3-443-9257 email: gtelfor@es.co.nz Fishing & Hunting Services: www.flyfishhunt.co.nz Wanaka Hideaway Cottage: www.flyfishhunt.co.nz/Cottage *********************************************************************

 

From Irina beljac

Report type: Freshwater

Report date: 03 July 02

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