South Canterbury Report November 2008

What a month of extremes. The weather has been nothing short of crazy with temperatures in excess of 30 degrees followed by snow to low levels on the hills. Some say its a typical Canterbury spring but enough is enough. Many anglers are getting heartily sick of the nor’westers.

But the fish don’t mind and when conditions have been favourable the action has been fast and furious. I reported a slow start to the trout season but the turn-around has been nothing short of phenomenal. Despite being badly affected with didymo the Opihi has really turned it on with fish large, well-conditioned fish to be found throughout the length of the river. I have heard rumours of double digit fish being caught in one small South Canterbury stream.

Whilst the salmon are slow to show up this season a few have been caught at the Rangitata mouth and lure fishermen are reaping a great harvest of sea-run browns. Whitebait are still running, providing plenty of food for the trout. There have been a lot of red cod about this year and the odd elephant fish amongst them has kept surf-casters keen. Some of the old hands reckon that red cod and salmon travel together. If so, the salmon shouldn’t be far away.

Up-river in the Rangitata a number of anglers have expressed disappointment with the scarcity of rainbows. Numbers appear to have been declining for a few seasons now.

Lake Opuha is looking good with some fine trout to be had. The small salmon released last year are growing quickly and should prove a great addition to anglers’ bags in the next couple of seasons.

Now we would like some rain to keep the lowland streams freshened up. The Te Ngawai, Pareora, Orari and Hinds are all looking the worse for wear at present.

The South Canterbury Salmon Anglers Associaton held its inaugural Swap Meet at Clandeboye recently. It was voted a great success with scores of keen buyers turning up for some great bargains. Hopefully, this will become an annual event that will grow bigger and bigger.

Graeme Marshall is an independent fishing guide; his reports are not officially representative of Fish & Game NZ

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