Fishing News index> May 2008

SPAWNING SURVEYS DEFY ANGLER PREDICTIONS

In the April edition we reported that February was productive for most South Westland lake fishers, but by late March angler success had dropped off.

This lead to some more pessimistic anglers concluding that the fish were simply not there. In response Fish & Game speculated that warm surface water temperatures might be sending late-season salmon to deeper water. We also observed that only spawning surveys would reveal the actual state of the fisheries.

At the time of writing (22 May) the salmon run into lake tributaries has peaked.

The ‘peak of the run’ figures represent the maximum number of fish counted at survey sites on any one of the weekly visits between mid-April and late May.  The same sites are monitored each year. Since not all spawning sites are surveyed the ‘peak count’ does not represent the total number of fish to spawn for the season, however it does provide a reliable indication as to the state of the fishery and also enables an assessment of long term trends

So how are things looking in 2008? Well it would have been good to have a few of the ‘gloom and doom’ merchants with me when I was in South Westland last week.

In Windbag Creek the peak count was 389 fish. This compares well with the ten year average of 143.  At Lake Mapourika where the McDonalds Creek ten year average is 231 salmon, this year the run peaked at 250. It’s down on last year but still better than average.

As well as healthy numbers a feature this year is the size of the salmon. In the course of the season we received a number of reports of 20 pound plus fish and from my observations they would not have been exaggerated. The largest salmon measured so far from the Windbag was exactly one metre long but many jack fish (usually the first to die) are in the 800-900mm range. In prime condition these would easily have been 20 plus pounders.

Even after 20 odd years of spawning surveys the sight of large numbers of salmon is always exciting. But this must be tempered with the reality that spawning habitat is limited and fish have to literally fight for the premium sites. This year it has been  common to see previously constructed redds being dug over by later arrivals, and it is sobering to contemplate that for many salmon the achievement of surviving a perilous life-cycle and undertaking a last major effort to reach the spawning grounds may be ultimately wasted. 

It is a further reminder that, rather than the rate of successful spawning, marine conditions are likely to be the major influence in the productivity of South Westland salmon fisheries. The evidence for this is that in previous years as few as 20-30 spawning fish have been recorded, yet the fisheries have consistently bounced back. Long may it continue!

Chris Tonkin
Manager

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