Fishing News index > December 2006

Otago News December 2006

Spring Trout liberations now in Autumn too!

Nearly 5000 rainbow trout raised at the Macraes Flat Hatchery have been liberated so far into Otago ponds, dams and reservoirs and these will provide excellent opportunities for novice and junior anglers alike. These Put-and-Take fisheries, like the irrigation dams in the Maniototo, Butchers Dam and the Dunedin water supply reservoirs, are popular and productive destinations for family groups over the holidays and with high catch rates and fish up to 4kg being liberated there is a chance of catching a really big one!
Some select fisheries like Dunedin’s Sullivans Dam and Southern Reservoir will have the added bonus of having regular liberations over the autumn as well to keep the fisheries topped up with trout and provide a higher and more constant catch rate. That’s an excellent excuse to pick up a rod, a licence, and kid and get down to those waters!

Macraes Hatchery Update

The Macraes Flat Trout Hatchery is now in its third year and with many of the teething difficulties being worked through staff are looking forward to another successful season. Fish & Game hatchery coordinator Ian Hadland said the fry, which were stripped and raised from eggs out of hatchery brood stock, are feeding well and with the super fast growth rates experienced at the site, they should be a good size for liberating in September.
The wild sourced rainbow stock presently being carried over to replace the current brood stock have also grown past the  one kilogram mark and are on target for 2kgs by the end of summer. These will be stripped of milt and eggs in September bringing a whole new genetic stock to the hatchery.

Tours of the hatchery, run in conjunction with the Oceanagold Goldmine tours have also been popular with over 3000 visitors to the hatchery over the past year including numerous school and community groups.