Fishing Reports

 

As is often the case at this time of the year, trout fishing in the Canterbury region has been variable. Some waters are fishing very well; others are slow to see fish in numbers. The lakes in particular provided testing conditions and few obvious trout. The following waters were fished last week: Clarence River The river is running high from the considerable snow melt, especially as the surrounding mountains had a heavy, late dousing of snow only a couple of weeks ago. Consequently the Clarence is not only high but also very cold and this seems to be affecting the feeding habits of the resident trout. The usual large numbers of juvenile trout are not obvious and the larger fish are not holding in their usual feeding stations. There are some reasonable size trout in the river but they are lying deeper than they would in the height of summer. It was necessary to use heavier flies as the fish were hiding in the deeper runs and in the body of the pools. It took a while to cotton on to this different behaviour but once the change was made to fishing deeper, some good trout were taken, the best being around 2.5 kg. Their condition was good and the strong fighting browns took some landing. Best flies were Beadhead Hare’n’Coppers, when trailed behind heavy weighted Caddis ‘sinker’ flies. Lake Tennyson The snow-capped surrounding mountains made it seem more like mid-winter fishing than late spring. The fish seemed to think so too and stayed deep. Two hours walking the lakeshore saw no fish spotted, unusual for this productive lake. A few exploratory casts from the point into the deeper water at the drop off provided no response. It would be likely that fishing will continue to be slow until the lake edges warm up a little, persuading the trout to start their ‘summer cruise’. Even the normally productive outlet only saw a few juveniles in residence. Hurunui River The main river was not fished, as there was a unique opportunity to fish the North Branch through EskHead Station. This is usually closed to anglers other than those staying at the farm. Anglers should note that there is very inexpensive accommodation available at EskHead and the owners, Peter & Helen Heddel, are very responsible about spelling the water so it does not get thrashed. Few fish were seen in the North Branch but those seen were a good size. They are not easy to fish to at present as they were lying deep in the pools. Usually the riffles fish well in this river but it seemed that the trout were not inclined to leave the comfort of the big pools as yet. Some of the tributaries were fishing better, proven by a 5 kg fish taken the day before our visit. I was there to guide the winner of The Warehouse ‘Fish with Ron’ competition that was open to all purchasers of ‘Hooked on Trout’. The winner was a Baptist minister from Dunedin, Robert Rutta. His kids had bought him the book for Fathers Day and were delighted when he won the contest. Bob’s fishing day did not prove too successful as he lost a 3.5 kg trout, which would have been his biggest ever, fish. And Bob also had the thrill of casting for 15 minutes to a 4.5 kg big brown but this monster proved a bit too wary in the end. The trout was finally spooked when he was a bit suspicious of Bob’s fly and followed it downstream a few metres until he came eye to eye with a surprised angler. Exciting fishing even if the trout won that particular battle. Lake Coleridge Unfortunately our visit to Coleridge coincided with the arrival of the southerly and the fish seemed to be hiding in the depths of the lake. We fished the inlet of the Harper River and the strong flow of the snowmelt-enhanced waters looked ideal to entice some young rainbows to feed on whatever the river might be bringing into the lake. When a strong young rainbow took the nymph on Bill’s second cast, it looked like being a good theory. But that was it for the day. We persevered for a couple of hours, trying all sorts of fly combinations to no avail. One silly rainbow was all we had to show for two hours of battling the elements. Again it seemed that the weather would need to warm up somewhat to get the trout on the move. Opihi River Compared to its midsummer flow levels, the river was running very high. As yet the inroads made by the irrigation offtake had not reduced the river to its more usual level. Snowmelt from Dobson skifield was obviously contributing to the higher river levels. The trout appeared to enjoy the greater flow and large numbers of fish were in the river and feeding actively. The choice of fly did not seem to matter too much as any nymph with a bit of a flash was taken with gusto by the small browns, mostly around 1 kg. However the odd good fish was also present with the biggest fish taken being a 3.5 kg brown. The fish were in good condition, with silvery sides and dark spots. It was interesting on a second visit on a warm day, to note several trout were feeding on the surface, although none were persuaded to take a dry fly. Lake Alexandrina The locals feel the lake is a month behind its usual status at present, again probably due to the recent cold weather. They believe the fish are still holding in the inlet stream and have not yet dropped back to the lake. Apparently Opening Day was very quiet all round and the fishing from both boat and shore has continued to be slow. The day we visited was absolutely stunning, calm and warm. As a result, fish were rising but unfortunately for us shore-bound anglers, all about 75 metres out from the shore. They seemed to be taking midges, as the takes were mainly sips from the surface. The odd trout was seen cruising the shallows but they proved rather difficult to tempt. Without a riffle on the water, the trout had a distinct advantage and it was hard to land the 6 weight delicately enough to not scare the fish. The four weight in the case at home was perhaps what was needed. Next time maybe…………….. Ron has a free information service on troutfishing at www.troutnz.com

 

From ron Giles

Report type: Freshwater

Report date: 29 November 00