Reel Life November 2017
- 24/11/2017
We'll run the risk of a cliché, to say that summer has arrived early and we're getting some glowing reports of how good the fishing is in different parts of the country.
With beetles, mayflies and other bugs hatching, trout are on the feed.
The South Island high country has been called HOT! As the best way to describe both the fishing and the weather.
And there are stories like the two anglers who landed around 20 rainbows each on the second weekend of the season on stream 'X' in the McKenzie Country.
And we have confirmed reports of the first salmon being caught in the Rakaia and Waimakariri rivers.
In the central North Island, anglers are getting set for some of the country's "finest brown trout fishing.”
The upper reaches of some of Lake Rotorua tributaries which have been closed for the spawning season will re-open for summer angling from Friday, December 1, 2017.
Our Wellington staff have raved about fish in "spectacular” condition, and plenty of them, right from the headwaters through to the lowlands.
To see how good the fishing is in the lower North Island, click here.
Schools will soon break up for the year. But here's a look back at Fish & Game's fresh waters programme for schools. Teacher Lisa McClure of Leeston School in Canterbury talks about the value of the programme.
P.S. Thanks again to Reuben Creery for this photo of daughter Emma (5) with her trout from Lake Mangamahoe. We featured her twin Paige last month so now its Emma's turn (we don't want a family row!).
P.P.S - If you think you've got a freshwater fishing image worthy of featuring on our 'cover', email it to Richard Cosgrove for consideration.
Fishing News
'Be kind to the trout you catch,' says Fish & Game
With the summer fishing season well underway, Fish & Game has launched an initiative to educate anglers on how to properly look after trout they catch.
Fish & Game has produced videos, along with a new brochure and web pages to educate anglers on the best way to handle trout before releasing them. Visit our web page here.
Fish & Game: Dairy NZ moves 'too little, too late'
Fish & Game is critical of Dairy NZ's strategic vision for the dairy sector, saying it is a decade late and the industry must act sooner to protect the environment and regain public support.
The just-unveiled strategy's number one pledge is to protect and nurture the environment for future generations and to lead efforts to improve the health and swimmability of rivers and streams. Click here.
Action plan to save wild salmon
Anglers have been warned they are now in a last-ditch battle to save New Zealand's wild salmon population.
More than 120 anglers attended Fish & Game's two day Salmon Symposium in Ashburton earlier this month to hear from local and international experts about possible causes for the decline.
Opening the symposium, Fish & Game NZ Chief Executive Martin Taylor told delegates he is committed to halting the decline. Read more here.
Christmas presents?
If you're short of ideas on pressies for outdoor-minded friends or relations, consider a subscription to our Fish & Game NZ magazine. Given the price of glossy mags these days it's a real bargain for an annual subscription of $35.
But wait, there's more…only a few days left to enter our draw for this amazing Epic Fly rod worth $1200! All you need to do is take out that subscription to the mag and you could be in to win. Click here - quickly!
There's heaps of great info on the mag's website too. Head to the website for a browse.
For another great present idea…why not get a licence for your nearest and dearest? The Whole Season kind of licence is a real gilt-edged gift. Click here for information.
Hey everyone - only a few more days left to enter our draw for this amazing Epic Fly rod worth $1200!
All you need to do is take out a subscription to Fish & Game magazine, for just $35, and you could be in to win. And what a great Xmas present idea a year's subscription to this superb magazine is too... Get into it!
Click on the image below for more information.
Advertising Opportunity!
If you would like to advertise in the above banner position and directly reach the fishing community across New Zealand, please contact Don Rood.
Streamside with...
Will Spry says there's plenty of great fishing around and it's the best spring in the South Island high country for some time...
Find out more
Graeme Marshall says November and December are his two favourite months of the year, certainly for fly fishing...
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NZFFA President David Haynes summarises recent freshwater news and issues ...
Find out more
Creasy's Column - By Hugh Creasy
There's a high bank on the Turnbull River, where an angler can look down on a slow-moving backwater where big fish lie. It's a view that invites temptation. There are places where you can clamber down the clay bank to good casting spots, and with a steeple cast, or a side cast, get your fly to a fish. Getting the fish to take the fly is another matter. They are big fish, and well educated. Nothing seems to attract them. I offer no solution. In all the times I have passed them, with various fishing companions, I have never seen one caught. Further upriver, just short of the dam, there are fish that will take a fly. They are smaller, but they fight in that feisty manner of West Coast browns, and on light gear they are quite capable of stripping a full arbour of line and backing.
On a memorable occasion I had a big fish straighten a hook after 20 minutes of dogged resistance. I was using a tippet strength in double figures. Downstream, whitebaiters are packing up and sobering up. There are memorable celebrations when the season starts and they can last for the duration. When they are gone a peace descends on the village of Okuru, a peace that lasts until the tourist invasion begins and jetboats ply the rivers and the Arawata, the Turnbull and the Okuru become a noisy playground.
Continue reading here.
This Month's Regional News
Click on the region to read.