Fishing News index> March 2009

Welcome to the New Year and the prospects that may unfold.
Anglers can hardly be forgiven for not getting caught up in the economic crisis running around the globe at the moment. Every bit of news media that is viewed at present is negative, which can only mean that communities become entrenched and
conserve their revenue outgoings. This no doubt will reflect in fishing licence sales revenue throughout the country.  Unfortunately for fishing fans this will probably mean that fisheries management projects may be delayed, especially in smaller regions like Northland where fisheries play a smaller role in the region's overall strategy.
This can be viewed as a small hiccup in the big picture, as  sure as Trout rise this economic downturn will turnaround.
We would expect local anglers to frequent their home waters more than ever given the financial constraints at the moment, although Tourism New Zealand have assessed that kiwis are still seeing their recreation as an essential annual necessity.
What better recreational avenue can a person have than a leisurely fish up a pristine backwater stream where financial concerns are forgotten?
From as little as a couple of hundred dollars anglers can explore the country with minimal costs and relax and enjoy natures best.

Regional Roundup 

The country was bathed in fabulous sun over the Xmas New Year period with northland in particular enjoying one of best summers for some time. As with most hot summers our rivers and streams suffer with low flows and higher water temperatures. This summer was no exception as low-lying pastoral waters were low and temperatures high. Upper catchment waters are obviously cooler especially on bush-clad waterways and fish numbers in these areas were good for most of these waters despite minimal flows with water visibility exceptional. Angler reports over the December/ January periods were fairly non-existent from rivers and streams which is unusual, but is probably because everyone was taking advantage of the splendid summer weather and salt-water activities.
Lakes and Reservoirs have been producing good fish especially waters that permit boating activity. The trick during the warmer months is weighted lines, which give effective depth to the tackle being used. Fish at these times of the year seek the deeper margins where water temperatures are considerably cooler.
Targeting fish in deeper water isn’t restricted to boaties as shore based anglers can use float tubes and fish with more traditional methods. Fast sinking lines for the fly fisher or even jigging is a great option when a hot spot of congregated fish are located.
Lakes and Reservoirs will fish best with Bully and Koura imitations during the summer daylight hours, as these feed specimens will be the primary source in deeper waters. Coming into April things will pick up in shallower margins especially during darkness as cooling waters permit fish to patrol verges for airborne insect activity.

Pest Fish Advocacy

Northland residents will have no doubt read or glanced at articles about pest fish species in print by the Department of Conservation of late.
Whilst the relevance of these introduced species may not affect the average person in the street they do pose a threat to northlands angling waters. Of the species identified the Koi Carp is probably the most detrimental as they are efficient feeders of instream Flora. Koi are renowned for their longevity and size and can degrade a waterway of all vegetation over a period of time. Some people may see this as a blessing with the varieties of introduced weed pests clogging northlands waterways but the plant life also acts as a haven for many native fauna species.
If anglers do happen upon species of fish that they cannot identify please contact any Department of Conservation or Fish & Game office as steps can be taken to eradicate where possible. Your help with pest fish destruction only ensures that our sport fisheries will remain viable and healthy for generations to come.

Northland Flood Damage.

Last year our office wrote of work that was carried out on the Kerikeri and Tirohanga rivers in the mid north. The concern with these wonderful waters was the unusually damaging floods that occurred during 2008. We are pleased to note that fish are still present in the Kerikeri river however things aren’t that rosy on the Tirohanga.
During January the Tirohanga received its second largest rainfall flood event ever recorded. The damage to this river and its upper catchment will mean that any smaller fish present will probably have been destroyed. Staff are to undertake a survey of the upper level spawning areas to ascertain future stocking viability and continued monitoring. We can only hope that these freakish rainfall events are anomalies. 
 

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