Spring Trout fishing in Otago

The word cusp means ‘a point of transition between two different states’ and that aptly describes trout fishing in Otago in the late winter/ early spring months of July through to September.

In many local waters the 2019 fishing licence allows 12 month fishing but a new licence will need to be purchased to continue fishing after October 1st.

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The target species at this in-between time is mainly spawning mature rainbow trout and smaller brown and rainbow maiden fish. Adult brown trout are absent for most of winter though a few skinny early spawned specimens will start to appear in the last months of the cusp period.

The rainbow trout fishing can be great but problematic as the adult fish are on the move and good water one day can be barren when revisited. Locations worth visiting are inlet river mouths and deltas at the top of 12 month fishing lakes, open large rivers like the Clutha River which have groups of mature fish running the system and hydro rivers and canals in which spawning fish gather below obstacles such as dams and weirs. Anglers, like the bears of Alaska, gather at these prime spots to clip the harvest ticket on the way through.

This cusp period can be very cold and in my home town of Alexandra any temperature with two digits is worthy of celebration. Many days have one digit with a minus in front. The upside is there is no problem with insects or humidity down here.

I pretty much left June to its foggy self but by July a bit of cabin fever saw me rustle out some fishing tackle and go in search of rainbows.

The Clutha River was my location of choice but the downside is that it is a very deep river with a strong current. A hydro requirement also means the flow is inconsistent. Using Google Earth I located a possible hotspot for spawning fish and headed there. On arrival it looked good. It was a part of the river away from the main current where the water slowed and flowed over a shallower section of gravel downstream of a small tributary.

I never feel really confident on the Clutha as the best fishing I have experienced (brown or rainbow) is always linked to the concept of spawning and all the intangibles that go with that urge. Fish are transitory, either ‘there’ or more likely ‘not’ and it doesn’t take many casts to determine which situation you face on the day. On my first trip to the new spot, I gave it a C minus – one small maiden rainbow landed, one lost small fish and a couple of strikes.

A few days later after a period of rain I was back to try again. The first thing I encountered was a slightly higher river with a cloudy brown tinge to the usually blue/green water. I nearly turned tail at this point and went somewhere else but one factor made me pause. There was a wet rock line above the present flow which indicated the river was falling not rising. The visibility in the cloudy water was also not too bad so I thought the fish should still be able to see a flashing spinner. Salmon anglers would say the colour was perfect.

I've previously mentioned how I had been successful in recent times with green lures so I tied on a flashy green Panther Martin spinner which also travels deep when being retrieved. The first few casts received a nip or two so I was optimistic something was about to happen.

The Panther Martin spinner works best with a slow retrieve, and when working properly transmits a steady spinning pull back to the rod tip. I prefer using lures I can feel or see working as I am more in touch with what is happening at the fishy end of each cast.

When a fish hit it came as no surprise, although the small brown I landed had a lot of growing to do. I quickly released him. Next cast enticed a more solid whack and hook-up, heralding the arrival of a shoal of rainbows, and I was the only angler present to reap the rewards. Finding rainbows in the middle reaches of the Clutha is quite rare during the warmer months of the fishing season. I imagine they spend most of their lives downstream in Lake Roxburgh where fishing pressure is very low due to access difficulties for shoreline anglers. Spawning time seems to be the only period where they put in a more consistent appearance.

The rainbow I had just hooked put up a spirited fight but, having swallowed the whole lure and weighing about one kg, he was always going to be landed. It was a perfect eating sized fish so I despatched him for the pot. The bag limit in this part of the Clutha is four. The following two hours were full of action and I landed five more trout, lost two others at the net and had several other firm strikes and grabs. In addition to the one I had already despatched, I kept two others. One of those two was the fish of the day.

The fat 1.5kg jack was the last fish I landed and put up a great battle in the heavy current. Like the other fish I kept he had swallowed the spinner whole so release was impossible. This is something I often see when using Panther Martin spinners. Fish eat them not just bite at them so the ‘landed fish’ rate is very high.

While I fished the water cleared a bit and the level dropped further. The fishing activity then stopped. I carried on for half an hour or so but they were doggo or gone. I have returned to the spot twice more since then (both times it was to clear water) for one small fish so it is back to the C minus again.

   This article is reproduced with permission of   
New Zealand Fishing News

September 2019 - Greg Morton
Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited

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