Monster South Island Canal Trout

Okay, I agree, some of the Mackenzie Country canal brown and rainbow beasts are grossly overweight and lack attractive symmetry, having tiny bullet heads, barrel-like bodies, and relatively small tails. Also, most of them lack true ‘wild trout’ behaviour, simply positioning themselves under the salmon cages so they can scoff any feed pellets that manage to fall through with minimal effort. It’s no wonder some anglers look down their noses at this fishery. But not me. Sure, I’d prefer these fish to look more ‘natural’, especially their tail, which is often somewhat stunted in comparison to the rest of their body, but they still present a massive challenge when targeted on very light spin gear.

In this case ‘very light’ typically means PE 0.8-1.0 braid (8-10lb) mainline connected to 1.2 metres of 6-7lb fluorocarbon leader with one or two tiny #12-14 egg-imitation flies tied on the end. It doesn’t take much for any component to fail, or for the hook to pull out as it often does.