Fishing Reports index >September 2007

Small Streams – Big Trout – Dry Fly
Trout chasin’ with Chris Dore

Finally the day draws near and as the snow line slowly but surely recedes from the surrounding mountaintops the aura of springtime sets in.

October will see me on a variety of wee trickles, taking advantage of the bonanza that is early season small stream fly flinging.

Whilst the snowcap deteriorates nearer the Alps, many of our larger rivers become adversely affected by the melt. Flows are tinged grey and water temperatures plummet, often sending trout to the depths.

Early season temperatures on many of these rivers would be hard pressed to rise above 10 degrees Celsius throughout the day. As the optimum water temperatures for brown trout feeding activity is around 14 degrees Celsius, these low temperatures keep fish in a kind of prolonged hibernation. They will feed, and can be fooled, but your best bet is to hit them with something to make their energy expenditure worthwhile – a large streamer, or creeper nymph or the like. It helps to play on their aggressive territorial instinct over their need to feed at these times, and results can be staggering using a brightly coloured, salt-water streamer pattern.

For me it’s the smaller hill country burns and lowland tributaries. Often many of these streams will begin their day at around 7 or 8 degrees Celsius in October, but having a smaller catchment, and being less affected by snow melt than their larger, parent waters, these wee gems by mid morning could be running at anywhere from 10 through 12 degrees C. Not a lot, but a few degrees CAN make the difference.

Mayflies become more active as the gauge passes through 10 degrees C and by mid morning invertebrate can be very active indeed. Trout will forage at the base of the ripples and out towards the shallower edges, and by midday, particularly on those wee streams further south, a healthy show of hatching Deleatidium may be witnessed.

As these early season mayflies have had a longer period of time to grow over the chill of the winter, they will often mature at a larger size than their late summer / autumn counterparts. Where in April one may need to break out the wee size 18 emerger patterns, in October one can safely get away with 16 and 14’s.

My favourite early season nymph for these waters is a little hare’s ear nymph, and I usually run with a size 12 or 14 as a searching pattern. If you tie your own, you may wish to incorporate a little reddish dubbing into the mix, to better imitate the slightly reddish hue of the naturals in these often peat stained streams. I happen to think this can make a difference at times, despite what my buddies may say.

And when the temperatures become more pleasant and the duns begin to hatch out, one cannot go wrong with a roughly tied Deer Hair Emerger. Simply tied on a curved, grubber hook, Hurricane Bob Wyatts deadly tie incorporates simply a slim, hares fur body and an upright deer hair wing, tied in behind a roughly dubbed thorax. Simplicity at its finest!

Para Adams can be effective, particularly when trailing a probing nymph off the bend, and the good old Dads Favourite (there you go Mr Rodgers ;) ) will no doubt take its fair share of fish on the lower Mataura, if in fishable condition.

Whilst the Waipahi, Hamilton Burn and Waikaka are often popular with early season anglers, it pays to remember that most streams, no matter their size will hold a few fish early on. Get out the maps and explore all those enticing trickles!

As always, there are no hard and fast rules. Get out there no matter the weather and sample some of the truly world-class fly fishing the Southland area has to offer!

TL

Chris Dore
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor.
Queenstown, NZ
027 693 3027

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

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