Will Spry Fishing Report for Reel Life March 2019
- 29/03/2019
Mackenzie Country Report
Cicada time through the Mackenzie has been a long and excellent spell of fishing, with the hot sunny days continuing throughout March and excellent flows on our rivers providing some great fishing. Lakes too have had their fair share of quality fishing, with some good stocky brown trout being caught in both still and moving waters. The good run might be about to draw to a close on the terrestrial front however, as a rain bomb starts to approach from the west as I write. Don't let a good downpour put you off however, as there are still plenty of good fishing opportunities in the wet.
Many of the smaller lakes in the region will not colour up quickly and the larger lakes will likely have good clean water through many parts of them as well. Even the rivers, once the danger of rising levels has passed, will fish well as the flows start to drop and fish clean up the insects washed down with the higher flows. The other great benefit is that we should start to see a fresh run of fish up from the lakes and, yes, mayflies are already starting to show up in numbers again on some streams, ready for the autumnal hatches. As the rivers drop and clear, river mouths can be a fabulous place to target trout as well. So chins up and get out there and into them!
The sockeye salmon runs have been very good again this year, with large numbers in the lakes Benmore and Ohau catchment rivers migrating their way into the spawning grounds. These colourful species are greatly prized as "red salmon" in North America, however we are reminded that it is illegal to fish for the sockeye salmon when they are spawning. Dying after their mating has completed, the life cycle of the Pacific salmon species is a wonder of nature and the nutrient and food source the dying fish supply to the ecosystem is bountiful.
Autumn looks like it will be quite late this year, as many of the trees around the region have not yet started to change to their autumnal finery. With the warmer weather looking likely to continue for the next few weeks as well, it is a case of get fishing, not hunting just yet, to take advantage of some of the best trout fishing we have enjoyed for a number of years.
Will Spry