Fishing News >October 2007

Catch Fish While the Water is Clear

In the beginning there was water, clear water. In fact the clear water lasted a good week or so, which is always a blessing at the start of the fishing season. More often than not we have fine weather and good river conditions right up until the end of September and then just as the season opens, so do the heavens. This doesn’t stop the hardy angler from fishing; it just leaves them fewer options and sometimes makes things a little crowded. So having clear water in most catchments for opening day was a blessing, and anglers were able to spread out and fish a variety of waters.

Many headed south from Dunedin and targeted the rain-fed streams of South Otago and Southland. The opening day itself proved a bit tricky, not because of the usual high dirty water, but due to the overhead conditions. There was high cloud, strong wind and a falling barometer to deal with. Any one of these factors can make fishing difficult, but all three together make things particularly challenging. Therefore opening day bags were modest in most cases. By Wednesday, the weather was coming right and the fish began to play ball. I happened to be passing the Waipahi River early on Wednesday afternoon and there was a huge hatch of mayfly going on. Fish were rising freely up and downstream of the bridge I stopped to look off.

I managed to get out for a morning fish once in that first week. My father and I took my daughter and nephew down to the lower Taieri. We started with spinners and immediately my nephew caught a lovely sea run fish of about 3lbs. After a while with no further success, we moved spots and tried a bit of worm fishing, everyone managed to hook a decent fish, but again it was only my nephew who landed one; another fish around the same size. It was a fun morning, we all had our chances and the best angler won on the day! Well done Jason.

Labour Weekend has just passed and I’m looking out the window of my office at wind and rain ….. lots of wind. The last couple of weeks or so have been, to put it in polite terms, soggy and chilly. Just about all running waters in the area have been high and dirty. I’ll not complain though, the thick end of the season is still to come and there will be plenty of good times over the next few months! Spring is an unpredictable season; you have to make the best of good conditions if you get them, because often they only last a day or two.

Back to Reel Life