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....... to the January edition of Reel Life, and a Happy New Year from all at Fish & Game.
As many parts of the country struggle to cope with sweltering heat and the impact of low rainfall, we open this month with the Chief Executive of Fish & Game, Bryce Johnson, who says, contrary to the recent Federated Farmers position, that water storage is not a “silver bullet”
Amongst other general news, Otago Fish & Game are involved in a World Wetlands Day event on Feb 1 – try and go along if you can. And for those who got the reading bug over Christmas, Southland have produced this splendid book.
Now, how is the country fishing?
Around the regions....
All is quiet on the Northland front. Low rainfall and low rivers make for tricky fishing.
In Auckland / Waikato, there’s been some good fishing in both lakes and rivers, especially for those dry-fly fishing a cicada imitation. The regional annual report is also now available online.
Heading across to the Eastern Region, local rivers are in top condition, and those using cicadas, rather than being deafened by them, are cleaning up. Warm lake water has also meant plenty of fish available to be targeted at the stream mouths.
In Hawke’s Bay, most of the small and medium sized rivers are looking quite low as the drought in the region is prolonged. Having said that, the Tukituki produced an 8lb brown recently! The regional F&G office are still looking for trout heads for their trout health study, so please help if possible.
The future of trout fishing in Taranaki looks secure – their recent Kids day at Stratford attracted 122 children who managed to catch a very creditable 89 fish!
Fishing in the Wellington area has generally been good across the region, with the Manawatu and Rangitikei rivers the stand-outs. If you want to fish the region, check out details about their newly published access pamphlets.
Into the South Island....
The best conditions for summer fishing for many years, say Nelson / Marlborough! Late spring rainfalls have kept flows at a good level, and with the cicadas hatching, things will continue to improve.
Salmon fishing is hotting up on the West Coast. The sea runners are due any day, and if the last few years are anything to go by, fishing should be great.
Salmon fishing is also starting to improve in Central South Island. High temperatures and low waters have made daytime trout fishing challenging. Some great news is that high flows in the Waitaki have cleared out a lot of didymo.
Southland is one region which seems to have had good rainfall, ensuring, most rivers have adequate flows. The Waiau, Mataura and Waikaia are predicted to be the pick of the bunch over the next month.
Fishing reports this month come from Joan Ryder in the Eastern Region, Graeme Marshall in CSI and Will Spry in Mackenzie Country, and Richard Grimmet in Queenstown
The latest editions of several local angling club newsletters can be found at: http://www.fishandgame.org.nz/Site/Features/AnglingClubNewsletters.aspx
Hugh Creasy passes a hot summers day in the idle pursuit of fish and happiness in this month’s At the End are the Rainbows.
Bringing up the tail as usual, The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Editor ponders the ability of fishing to be a great leveller, after a disatrous Christmas fishing expedition.
Happy New Year.
Jerry
Jerry Flay, Editor, Reel Life
reellife@inbox.net.nz | 