Fishing News index>October 2007

TARANAKI REGION TROUT FISHING – OCTOBER 2007

After long fine spells in September, the rain started on opening day and there has been little respite since. The 7-day trace for the Manganui River at Everett Park shown below is typical of the conditions experienced so far this season, with hardly a day going by when the rivers are not in fresh…and that’s saying nothing about the wind!

But, anglers who have got out fishing in between freshes have reported some good catches of well-conditioned trout. Spin fishing has been understandably productive given the river conditions, but fly fishing with gold or tungsten bead-head hare and copper or half-back type nymphs have also accounted for some nice fish, as has a creeper or worm fished with fly gear or under a bubble float. All our mountain streams and rivers clear very quickly after rain and they’re at least spin-fishable within 24 hours of a flood peak. It’s just a matter of getting out there at the right time. The Table below provides web addresses for some handy sources of flow and rainfall information that can help you decide when and where to go fishing.

TABLE 1. Riverflows on-line

Whatever the weather, there are always the lakes. Lake Rotomanu at New Plymouth is currently holding a plentiful supply of rainbow trout up to 1.7kg following the recent kids fishing day and anglers are hooking into good numbers with each visit. It will be a similar situation at Lake Wiritoa near Wanganui. Lake Ratapiko near Tariki will also be worth a visit, even when the Manganui River is in fresh. So, with the unsettled conditions apparently set to continue for several more weeks yet, making the most of the lulls in between weather fronts will be the way to go.

Up-and-coming Kids Trout Fishing Events
Opunake
In conjunction with the Opunake Sportfishing & Angling Club, Fish and Game NZ is providing 100 2-year-old rainbow trout for a kids’ trout fishing day at Opunake Lake on SATURDAY 8th DECEMBER 2007. Trout will be corralled within a holding net along the lake shore and children will be able to fish with the help of local experts. To reduce waiting times, anglers should book a time at Collins Sports in Opunake. Opunake Lake also receives annual releases of rainbow trout raised at the Hawera hatchery and these grow to 1.5kg or more. The lake also contains good-sized brown trout originating from the adjacent Waiaua River.

Stratford
Thanks to a grant from the Taranaki Electricity Trust and the donation of trout by DOC’s National Trout Centre at Turangi, 400 2-year-old rainbows will be released into the Scout Den pool on the Patea River for the ninth annual Stratford kids’ trout fishing day on SATURDAY 8th DECEMBER 2007. The event will run from 10am to 2pm, with fishing gear and expert assistance provided by members of the Stratford Club Fishing Section. Rainbow trout not caught on the day remain in the reach of the Patea River running through Stratford and complement the angling provided by the river’s resident brown trout population. The walkways running on both sides of the Patea River through and downstream of Stratford give good access to fishing sites in a number of pools and runs.

Waitara
In association with the Inglewood Ron & Gun Club and local anglers there will be a free kids’ trout fishing day at Lake Ngangana on SATURDAY 8th DECEMBER 2007. Thanks to a grant from the Taranaki Electricity Trust and the donation of trout by DOC’s National Trout Centre, kids will be able to fish for 300 two-year-old rainbow trout corralled within a holding net at the northern end of the lake. The event will run from 8am to 1pm and children will be asked to register and take their turn fishing with a help of local experts. All fishing gear will be supplied. Located at the end of Joll Street next to the Taranaki Kart Club track, Lake Ngangana provides a great place to teach kids trout fishing. There is a track round the lake and a good cover of native vegetation means there are always sheltered fishing sites out of the wind. Lake Ngangana is open to all year fly, spin and bait fishing for both trout and perch.

Fishing the Creeper
Getting started isn’t always easy. You buy a licence in the expectation that you will catch plenty of trout in your first season. The reality may sometimes be a little different. At times it’s hard to find fish and when you do, the sods are even harder to catch! The wily brown trout found in most Taranaki waters can be pretty discerning feeders, but one good way to begin fishing with some success is by using the creeper, or “toe-biter” as it is commonly called. This is the larva of the Dobsonfly, Archichauloides diversus and is one of our largest aquatic insects, common in stony streams throughout the country. Creeper are an important predator on other aquatic insect larvae and they are equipped with a strong pair of pincers for holding prey - thus the name “toe-biter”.

Trout fishers have long recognised the potential of this insect larva as a fish catcher and fifty years ago almost half of all the angling effort expended in Taranaki involved the use of creeper. While the technique has declined in popularity in recent years, it is still a legitimate method in all waters that are open to bait fishing. In the Wellington and Taranaki Regions, this means all waters except those that are restricted to fly or spin fishing only.

Where do you find creeper? Early in the season, creeper crawl out of the water to pupate into adult dobsonflies and they can be found under rocks just above the waterline. Not just any rock - those that are stable in floods are preferred. Usually, the best creeper “beds” are located in the upper reaches of streams where water quality is high. Later in the season a small fine-meshed net should be used. Hold the net downstream of some likely looking rocks in the streambed and gently lift the rocks from the bed. The current will wash debris, other insect larvae and creeper into the net.

Creeper should be placed in a small tin with a little moss. Usually, 5 or 6 creeper will be sufficient for a mornings fishing - so take only what you need and carefully replace each rock exactly as you found it, thereby retaining the habitat for other creeper. How do you fish them? Creeper can be fished with both fly and spinning gear. In all cases, slide the hook in under the thorax, between the first and second segments behind the head.

The secret with fly gear is to avoid back-casting as much as possible to prevent the creeper flying off. Using a floating line, roll cast upstream to fish pocket water in bouldery runs and riffles in the same way as you would with a nymph. In pools, you can also let out some line downstream, raise the rod until the creeper comes to the surface, then lob the insect upstream into fast water at the head of the pool. Again, mend the line as you would for nymphing.

With spinning gear, use a plastic bubble float loaded with a little water to aid casting. Add a 1-2 metre trace with split shot attached 30cm above the hook. Cast the creeper upstream, taking up slack as the float comes back toward you. Strike by lifting the rod tip when the float starts bobbing or disappears underwater. The bubble float method can also be used with a spinning reel attached to a fly rod and this setup combines excellent casting ability with the flexibility of a fly rod.

Bait fishing has received much bad press in recent years because of the high mortality of gut hooked fish. However, fishing the creeper in the same way as a nymph and keeping slack line to a minimum, will ensure most fish are hooked in the mouth. Studies have found there is no difference in hooking mortality between trout caught by fly, spinner or bait, provided the bait is not swallowed.

Didymo Update
In late July 2007, MAF BioSecurity NZ held a seminar to update stakeholders on the results of recent scientific studies on didymo. Some of the key findings were that:

• Nuisance blooms of didymo have become more frequent in North America and Europe. Whereas it was once considered to be restricted to cold, low nutrient waters, didymo now occurs in warm waters up to 25oC and at more nutrient rich sites. Didymo is therefore much more adaptable than first thought;
• A 13-month study of didymo in the Oreti, Waiau and Mararoa Rivers in Southland found that large floods removed thick growths of didymo by scouring, but the algae started to increase again only 5-10 days after a flood. Didymo was scoured most in rivers with mobile beds and least in rivers with large stable cobble and boulder beds;
• The 13-month study found that, while invertebrate biomass tended to increase as didymo bloomed, the abundance and biomass of mayfly, stonefly and caddis species decreased, suggesting a reduced food supply for large trout. A second short-term study found didymo had no effect on invertebrate drift density and biomass and hence on trout growth. However, scientists were keen to point out that it was still way too soon to say just what the effects of didymo will be on invertebrates and trout populations. The effects of didymo on native algae, blue duck etc. have not been studied at all;
• Researchers based at Waikato University have developed a method for the extreme low-level genetic detection of didymo. The method can reliably detect didymo down to a concentration of less than one cell per ml. and will provide cost-effective early detection of didymo, well before new infestations are visible;
• The effectiveness of the “Check, Clean and Dry” method for killing didymo is confirmed. Spraying non-porous materials with a 2% solution of bleach or a 5% solution of detergent is effective. For porous or absorbent materials, such as felt-soled waders, spraying is not effective. They need to be soaked for at least 40 minutes in hot water kept above 45 °C, OR soaked for at least 30 minutes in hot water kept above 45 °C containing 5% dishwashing detergent or nappy cleaner, OR frozen solid. Better to leave your felt-soled waders at home;
• A study has confirmed that didymo generally does not survive well in spring creeks. Further research will be undertaken to determine the particular combination of water chemistry factors likely to be responsible;
• A field trial using a single (1hr.) application of the chelated copper compound GemexTM in a small stream was found to suppress didymo for at least three weeks in a 1-3km stream section. The results suggest that didymo might be able to be eliminated from a waterway if it was detected and treated in its very early stages. There was some mortality of juvenile rainbow trout which could possibly be reduced by manipulating water pH during treatment;
• As at 21st June 2007, didymo had been confirmed as being present in 53 rivers and 5 lakes in the South Island, but since then, didymo has been found in the upper Clarence River in Marlborough. For further information visit http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/pest-and-disease-response/pests-and-diseases-watchlist/didymosphenia-geminata/
  

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