Fishing Reports index >January 2008

Mackenzie Country Fishing Report

Will Spry

What a lovely start to the season here in the Mackenzie Country. With low rivers, lots of sunny days and low angler numbers, the fishing has been very good through the Spring and early Summer. Backcountry rivers have been fishable most of the season and the dry fly fishing on them has been very good, with hot days being a feature since early December this year. Terrestrial insects such as Grasshoppers and Beetles have provided a feast for many trough most of the summer.

Our mayfly season was short but sweet this year, with some excellent mayfly fishing being a feature through November and December. Chocolate emergers and Royal Wulffs accounted for most fish and although nymphs were effective throughout, low water levels kept fish looking skywards for dry fly opportunities and they kept poking their heads up regularly.

However, there is a price to pay for such good fishing early in the season and that is the lack of rainfall and snowmelt left to supply the rivers. Whilst our hydro storage lakes have been steadily filling over the last month or so, there is little ongoing rain to keep rivers cool and well supplied. Many of the low country rivers (such as the Twizel, Tekapo, Hakataramea and others) are very low and becoming didymo and algae infested - not a very pretty picture. The Ahuriri is getting the odd flush through, but even it is returning to lower levels quickly, as not normally seen until late February/March.

So, look to the cooler high country rives and streams, paying particular attention to the tree and tussock shaded areas in the heat of the day. Floating a cicada or grasshopper immitation past these ares will probably produce surprising results as the fish move from their cooler hides to intercept a well presented larger dry fly. I have been hearing good cicada activity starting up and the peak in late January and February aught to be a real thrill this year, especially if the warm dry conditions continue. Just keep and eye out for the persistant windy days, as they can be a great time to fish cicadas and grasshoppers in the area. Persist with your casting even on the strongest wind days. Picking the right areas to fish, with the wind in your favour will produce great results.

The local lakes are producing very well and although there are a lot of people on the water, lakes Benmore and Ohau in particular, are producing some great numbers of strong and healthy fish.  My favourite techniques include a small pheasant tail nymph left to dead drift under a spotter dry fly (the blowfly is working well at the moment), about 40cms below the surface, on the edge of one of the obvious weed beds.  Although the fish can often spot the fly easily, a little strip of the line sporadically, will move the nymph and get the fish over to investigate.  On the windy days, get the wind behind you and work a small baitfish imitation back towards you, either with a short strip-pause retrieve or a constant “figure of eight” retrieve for some hefty strikes from these bullet rainbows.

Will Spry is an independent fishing guide; his reports are not officially representative of Fish & Game NZ

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