Easter Fishing down South NZ

Thursday as promised the storm had passed and snow was lying low in the mountains we shot down to the Upper M for the afternoon. The river was still up and slightly discoloured but clean enough to spot to about waist deep. We found some nice trout and managed to hook 2 - one to the bank which was about a 5.5 lb jack fish in excellent condition. Very light mayfly hatch around 3 o’clock but no real surface activity.



Easter Friday saw us in Central for the day on the M with excellent conditions, blue bird and no wind. My beginners managed 4 to the bank nothing big, nice 2-3 lbs fish. In the back ground the sound of distant gun fire was echoing thru the valley due to the great Easter bunny hunt - teams of 10 head out on to different farms to help clear the rabbits - each team expects over the 48 hour shoot to nail about 1000 bunnies. With 20 teams out there blasting away you can imagine the sound!

The big O has been producing some good mayfly hatches between 1 and 4 pm and resulting in some nice fresh run trout - still quite full.

Reports from friends driving past the rivers has been plenty of fisherman out enjoying the long Easter weekend with anglers vehicles parked up all over the shop.

Some tips on how to fight NZ trout

Here are some tips for fighting trout that I always find useful and spend time constantly telling people - they should up your catch rate (unless you count long line releases):

1. Use the strongest leader and tippet you think you can get away with.

2. Make sure you check your leader and tippet for any weaknesses before you cast to that hog.

3. Keep the rod tip up - show the fish the butt (not your's - the rod's). If you have a low flat rod you will shock load the tippet and risk losing the fish.

4. Keep your check (tension) low - enough to stop over spooling only - use your index and forefinger with the line running through it to increase or decrease tension when you need to. If you really need too up the check when you have the chance.

5. If the trout makes a long run away from you that will take care of all the lose line spooling around in the water.

6. Get on the reel.

7. Clear the hand from the reel (completely when the trout runs).

8. If the trout runs at you - strip line in (from behind the hand that the fingers are controlling the line tension with and if possible move away from the fish.

9. If you are in the water - move out of it when you get the chance - it's always fun when the trout swims between your legs.

10. Get your hands up above your head (until you too get tired). the extra 2-3 feet elevation on the rod will lift the trouts' head up (great on brownies) and allow you to maneuver the trout where you want it to go more easily.

12. Soft wrists when the trout goes airborne - if you lower the rod tip and end up with too much slack as you lift you may shock the tippet.

13. Use rod angle to direct the fish where you want it to go as much as possible.

14. Always keep one eye on the fish while you move over tricky terrain during the battle.

14. Be aware of the terrain - as much as a river runs through it, a lost fish is better than drowning.

15. The battle is not over until the fish is in the net or up the bank.

16. The net is unlike a tennis racket.

17. Try not to water net unless there is no other option - keep one foot on the bank.

18. If you are fishing with a friend communicate throughout the battle - generally the guy on the rod is the Chief and the net guy the Indian.

19. Fight Hard

20. Unless it's really necessary don't use a net - beach the fish.

21. Beg, steal or buy a set of knee high stockings - cut the toe end off - wear one on a wrist while fishing - when you go to handle the trout (with wet hands) roll it down and you will find you can get a much less slippery hold on the fish until you release it.

22. You can hold the trout quite firmly just in front of the tail fin (with the stocking hand) while the other rests very gently under the belly.

23. Photograph and take dimensions quickly. While you are doing this give the trout a drink between photos.

24. Hold the fish upstream in light flowing water (maybe behind a rock).

25. Release hands and watch the fish swim away to battle for another day.

Another Spring Week chasing trout in NZ

Local knowledge and good use of the 'net can be key - after the last rainstorm pretty much all the waters dirtied up and many fly fishers would have been disappointed. I did the research on the 'net and then the miles and dropped into a back country river which was at a higher flow but had remained clean while the catchment next door was dirty and all those around were blown out.

It ended up to be a great day with 9 trout to the bank and one long line release with quite a few other chances as well. Some on the dry and some on nymph with the same patterns from my last blog post being effective.

Check out my net vibes page:

http://www.netvibes.com/swguiding#SW_Guiding_Public_Fishing_Info

You will find access to some useful info you can get to for trout fishing purposes off the net all in one neat place.

South Island Rivers to re-open soon after spawning season- Felts soles Banned

With less than one month until our lowland rivers (The South Island of New Zealand) re-open on the 1st October the usual excitement is beginning to build. I am keen to get back on the water and start my seasonal exploratory duties of checking out the various waters around and track down some big trout for standby when the right clients and conditions avail themselves. You can bet your arse that I will do a bit of fishing too!


Felts have now been officially banned by the Minster - see below:

To reduce the risk of didymo spread, Conservation Minister Steve Chadwick today agreed to the New Zealand Fish and Game Council recommendation to restrict the use of footwear with felt soles by fishing licence holders.

“Our world-famous trout fisheries are threatened by the invasive alga ‘rock snot’, or didymo. While didymo is currently only in some South Island rivers, it could be easily spread to other places and we are taking these steps now to protect our precious waterways,” Steve Chadwick said.

The new condition is part of the Anglers Notice and comes into affect from the beginning of the fishing season on 1 October.

“The New Zealand Fish and Game Council has recommended that people who hold a licence to fish for trout, and other sports fish, should contribute to the national campaign to halt the spread of didymo by not using felt-soled waders when fishing.

“Given that felt-soled waders, and similar footwear, are very difficult to clean using the ‘Check Clean Dry’ approach, I have accepted the Council’s advice.

“It is important that fishers realise that this restriction does not remove the risk of didymo spread – it will address one particularly high risk, but we still need them to continue to be vigilant about cleaning other equipment.

“The ‘Check Clean Dry’ practice is critical to fight against didymo and other freshwater pests. Fishers have a special responsibility to help care for the trout fisheries that are the basis of their sport, and I urge them to continue to vigilantly follow Biosecurity guidelines.

“I will also be asking both the Department of Conservation and Fish and Game councils to increase their monitoring and education work relating to other vectors of didymo in freshwater, as part of the Biosecurity NZ nationwide campaign.

“I acknowledge that some anglers will need to change the types of soles they use, however, no-one wants to see didymo spread further, and the negative impact of didymo reaching their favourite fishery would be far greater than meeting the costs of this restriction.”

Some waders and boots used by freshwater fishers have a sole made from a thick felted material, which poses a very high biosecurity risk as micro-organisms, such as didymo, can become trapped in the felt, and cannot be killed by the normal cleaning methods used with other footwear. There are alternative soles available, and waders can be re-soled.

Check Clean Dry
Check Clean Dry
Check Clean Dry