Spring Trout Fishing

Spring comes slowly in the south of the country. It is not uncommon to have late frosts and many four layer days, writes Greg Morton. Though blossom, daffodils and camellia flowers are out, the waterways are still very cold, rainbows are still spawning and brown trout are sluggishly back on the beat trying to regain condition.

The new trout season this year will be eagerly awaited after the virus and resulting economic woes of autumn and winter. Fishing is a tonic for many people. Trout anglers have a choice of lakes or lowland rivers on opening day, and in my case, I tend to target lakes in delta areas where streams flow in.

I head over to the Central South Island region, stay the night in accommodation near the lake of my choice and hit the water at first light. Depending on ‘gut feeling’ inclination, the location could be Lake Tekapo, Lake Ohau, Lake Benmore, Lake Opuha, Lake Aviemore or Lake Waitaki. All have rewarded the travel effort in the past.

One thing all these lakes have is majestic mountain views. Staring at those peaks this year will have me thinking of the many tahr that have called our high country ranges home since 1904. These immigrants have a 116 year history in NZ, and as a hunting/fishing writer, I have been lucky enough to have visited some great tahr properties over the years. Notable stations are Dry Creek, Godley Peaks, Lilydale, Rata Peaks and Lochaber.

Tahr are tough, hardy mammals and in spring, blonde-maned bull tahr mob up and look to put on condition after the rigours of the rut and winter (very similar to what brown trout are doing). There are times while fishing when I have seen bull mobs so low down they are nearly on the valley floor.

Sadly, what is happening to tahr in Westland and Mt Cook National Parks this year is not any way to treat long term residents. Labelled environmental pests, every tahr seen from the air will be shot – bull, nanny or kid – until the allotted DOC helicopter hours are used up. All will be left to rot, including the trophy bulls. The aim is extermination achieved through slaughter.

Trophy tahr like this fine animal are worth a great deal to regional economies.

Trophy bulls are worth thousands to the hunting industry, to national and international tourism, to the regions and to New Zealand as a whole. I understand the need for flora conservation and I understand there are two sides to every story, but when compromise is token at best and a unique resource is wasted, then my understanding runs out. Grant Dixon wrote a great editorial on this topic in the August edition of NZFN.

On opening day, I select delta lake areas to chase trout for a couple of reasons. Browns will be there after the rigours of spawning and if the lake has rainbows, some late spawners might be still waiting to enter the rivers. On one of the lakes I named above, I invariably snared a brown trout or two in the first half hour of dawn. There is a small stream that trickles into the shallow top delta of the lake and some resident trout get so brazen over the closed season period that they are used to parking up just off the drop off in water barely covering their backs.

They betray their presence with surface swirls as they grab food items drifting by. The first cast is the most important as it will be whacked if you do it right. I use a very small brown spinner, and lob it behind the swirls and slowly wind it past the trout’s nose. A snag is the main threat but if the spinner retrieves cleanly the result is a firm crunch.

If you can land it quickly, there is always a chance of landing a second or even a third before the survivors suss there is something wrong. One day I even achieved my limit of four in just one hour. As the day progresses, the trout retreat back into deeper water and the stream mouth goes dead.

On one of the other lakes, a better technique is to fish just beyond the shoreline waves that crash on the beach if a light wind is blowing. Big browns patrol this zone looking for food uncovered by the wave surge. A small spinner flicked out ten metres or so and worked through the waves can be very successful, though tough on the heart as strikes are aggressive.

On opening day, a young angler usually shows me that bait is the best lure of all. One opening I had slept the night in my tent and at first light heard a car pull up near me. I was targeting a spot further around the lake so wasn’t worried about anglers crowding me. I got up to pack my gear and saw it was a grandad with his grandson. They rolled out of the car, set up a couple of Y-shaped sticks to hold the rods, baited up with worms and flicked out their rigs. The boy had landed two before I even got started and the proud grandad was leaning back in his chair with a hot coffee. Worms catch a lot of trout on opening day as trout are in cruise mode near the bottom. Floating worm rigs also do well.

Opening Day success - the writer with a fine fish taken on a spinner.

One spring tip I can give is buying spinners with dressed hooks. I seldom use bare hooks any more. Trout seem to strike the disguised hook rather than the lure body so end up well hooked. I have never had a trout nearly swallow a bare hook but my dressed hook has been stuck right down the throat on a number of occasions. Evidence like that impresses me.