June 2008 Reel Life, Central South Island Region.
Graeme Hughes, Fish and Game Officer.

Mid winter and rivers of the region remain at low levels. Norwest conditions over the main divide last week  produced rain and snow melt resulting  in a rapid increase in high country river flows however this was short lived and the flows dropped quickly.  Mid and low country waters are seldom affected by these conditions and consequently the flows here remain below average. Although all rivers are closed to fishing (excepting a winter season in the lower reaches of the Waitaki, Rangitata, Ashburton and Opihi Rivers, downstream of State Highway 1 Bridge from 1st June to 31st August) low flows during spawning periods can limit spawning migration and areas for successful redd excavation.

Chinook salmon spawning is almost completed with just a few live salmon remaining on the spawning grounds. Despite the low flow in the Hakataramea which has lifted from an extreme low of 800 litres per second to 1500 liters per second, (mean flow 6000 lps) surprisingly salmon were seen several kilometres above the confluence with the Waitaki River. Despite access being restricted mature adults migrated 9 km upstream. On the 30th May a total of 103 salmon, approx 75% of these being live fish, were counted in the Hakataramea River during an aerial spawning survey. On May 25th 2007 during an aerial count of the Haka River over some 20 kilometres of river there were 64 live and 17 dead salmon counted. 

In the Rangitata River headwater tributaries Hamish Stevens reports that with the help of volunteers salmon redd counts have been completed for Deep Creek. Weather on the day was ideal with no wind making for good visibility conditions. Despite the count being later than planned large numbers of live fish were still spawning and moving up the creek. 919 redds were counted along with 572 dead and 433 live salmon which is the best numbers recorded since 1998. Counts for Deep Stream and other salmon spawning areas are still to be completed.

Fish and Game Officer Mark Webb reports that although the  final redd count numbers are not yet completed, it appears that in the Rangitata River there may have been a total run of 6000 fish into the this year, 2000 of which were caught by anglers which leaves about 4000 that have spawned. These numbers are encouraging  and mark a big increase from recent years.

 Irrigation shutdown.
Approximately 800 Brown and Rainbow trout and Chinook salmon smolts  have been netted or electro fished from drying areas of the Morven Glenavy  races. The salvage consisted of 20% large adults up to 2kg, the remainder being smaller, from fingerlings up to 150mm in length. Of interest is the increase in salmon smolts. In the 80’s and 90’s the bulk of the juvenile fish salvage consisted of downstream migrating Chinook salmon smolts. In recent years this number dropped dramatically to a few individuals. This unexpected catch could well be an indicator of an increase in the population of spawning adults in the Waitaki river upstream of the irrigation intake located at Bells property Ikiwai. All fish were released  back into the Waitaki River.

Fish salvage was required during the RDR annual shutdown in late April. 73 adult salmon were salvaged along with 170 trout that ranged in size from 1 to 2lb.  

Lake Stocking
During salvage operations from didymo free South Canterbury waters, fish were transported to various lakes that have limited spawning habitat which limits trout populations. 150 brown trout up to 4lbs were released into Lake Hood while a further 120 went to Lake Roundabout and should provide angling opportunities this coming season. 

100 brown trout fingerlings were caught and transported to the Lake Mystery by helicopter (during spawning counts) and released. They will acclimatise to their new environment quickly and boost trout populations within the lake which is limited due to poor spawning habitat. 

Lower Waihao River.
With the combination of the shutdown of the MGIC’s races the low flow in lower Waihao River, water below the irrigation discharge point receded and very large trout were stranded in several pools. Approximately 30 adult Brown trout were electro fished from beneath willows lopped for bank protection. Many fish were trophy class specimens weighing  4 to 6 kg. The lower river which opens to the sea periodically is an interesting place to electro-fish. During the salvage operation several migratory indigenous fish species were collected, lamprey ammocoetes, bullies, eels, Black flounder, adults and juveniles, galaxids, unidentified possibly Galaxius maculatus. During their migration periods white bait and Common smelt are numerous in the lower Waihao River. One large perch was captured. The last report of  perch in this vicinity was in the mid 90’s when 2 were seen by a trout fisherman. The diverse fish population obviously provides the Waihao “brown” with a variety of foods indicated by the excellent condition these fish were in despite the cramped living conditions.  While the coastal and tidal area of the lower Waihao River is known locally as a Brown trout fishery for both resident and migratory  fish, in the area we salvaged the  population of very large Brown trout is not well known or a very well kept secret by local anglers. 

Surviving in an environment protected by overhanging and semi-submerged Crack willow these large fish would be difficult to fish for. The chances of landing one of these monsters when hooked would be slim amongst the myriad of branches and other debris which provide excellent escape cover and certain escape from an angler’s line. 

Winter fishing.
With brown trout moving from lakes into spawning tributaries there is minimal activity from lake edge anglers. Few anglers have been observed and no hugely successful stories have filtered through and there could be several reasons for this: 1. no one’s out fishing. 2. They’re fishing at night and are not visible. 3, no one’s catching anything. Weather conditions to a large extent dictate angler enthusiasm during the winter season. Recently here has been a variety of inclement conditions which make any water based activity unpleasant. Wind, fog, overcast and more wind, note, no rain. It appears the runs of frosty weather we expect are yet to come and instead warmer  temperatures have occurred unexpectedly and un-seasonally. Early running Brown trout have already completed redd construction and eggs are presently incubating,  the peak of the migration should occur about now although I suspect the run is behind schedule.

The few fishing expeditions I am aware of have been reasonably successful with one or two fish taken by each angler however success is hard to measure and is governed by the anglers experience and individual expertise. To spend several hours waist deep in cold water in sub zero air temperatures I would want to catch more than one or two trout before I would call it successful.

When called upon to accompany anyone on a mid winter night fishing expedition,( I have never been known to organise a winter fishing “experience”), I have to admit to two rather important checks necessary before I agree. I check the solunar tables. You either believe in them or you don’t.  If you are a disciple of solunar tables you will know that in a 24 hour period there will be 4, occasionally only 3, but usually 4 periods of activity by fish and animals, two in the “am”  hours and 2 in the “pm” called “majors” and  “minors.” What’s the difference between minors and majors? The minors are of shorter duration, usually 45 minutes to 90 minutes whereas the majors are mostly about 2 hours. When conditions are ideal however, they have been known to last for as long as 3 ½ hours.  Of course the best times for fishing and hunting, as we all know is early morning and late evening, however at other times during the day and at night it is hard to guess and we optimistically keep at it hoping for the best. Solunar tables are not a guarantee that fish will, with suicidal tendencies throw themselves at your lures or flies, they are a forecast of the probable periods of activity, the times when fish and game are most likely to feed, if they are going to do so during any given day. Because  fishing is affected by weather conditions and of course barometric pressure,  if the day or night turns out to be a shocker, low pressures and awful conditions you can forget all about solunar tables until the weather is on the improve.

So if a nocturnal outing to catch a fish coincides with solunar “minor” or a “major” then I’m more likely to go. The other consideration?  What’s showing on the movie channel of course! 

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