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Reel Life Southland Jan 2012
Tough times for trout
After a very dry period, starting late November and ending Friday January 13, we appeared to re-enter winter in Southland. We’ve had snow on the mountains a couple of times and plenty of pretty nasty winds.
We had some very warm days in December in particular, and on some of those days the water temperature in our rivers was getting uncomfortable and even life-threatening for trout. It was great for holiday makers but scary for those who rely on the land for a living. Now, of course, the cold will have driven away the tourists but made the trout much happier.
We had to rescue trout from the Whitestone River and Eyre Creek since they’d almost dried up, and even now after the rain, rivers are getting low once more.
Good old Royal Wulff
Despite the cold weather, dry fly fishing is at its peak with the good old Royal Wulff hard to beat. It imitates nothing in particular but the peacock herl, red hackle and tail seem to attract even the most discerning trout - provided your cast is delicate enough not to scare it.
The Mataura has regained a good flow. On the weekend of the January 14 and 15 there was almost a flood in the Waikaia, so it’s taken a while for the lower reaches of the Mataura below the Waikaia to return to normal.
However, the smaller Aparima is pretty low again, and many hill tributaries will also be very low as we head into the early autumn.
It’s feeding time – grubs and smelt
Of course it’s willow grub time and these little insects are hard to imitate as anyone who has tried to catch trout feeding on them will know. So just keep trying; a secret ingredient has yet to be discovered, even though some will claim to have found it.
Until recently, fishing in the estuaries has been very good with large numbers of smelt and adult whitebait causing trout feeding frenzies, especially in the evenings, although daytime fishing has been good too. While lures that imitate smelt are the obvious choice for a pattern, sometimes small dark nymphs work well when cast to a cruising trout. You need a sunny day for this so you can see the fish better and a breeze helps too. Not that there’s any trouble getting plenty of wind – but sunshine has been in short supply.
Spin fishing hasn’t been that great but whenever there’s a small fresh get out your spinning gear. Trout are much more easily caught when there is a bit of colour in the water, and there is a chance that you’ll catch a salmon too. Salmon numbers have been slowly building up in the Oreti and it is likely that the same will be occurring in the other main rivers. These fish are around 5kg – a nice addition to the bag of a casual trout angler.
