Yesterday was the first day we’ve really encountered any wind for ages. Most days have been extremely hot and sunny with plenty of insects still hatching. Even the Cicada can still be heard in places.

Since the last fresh that broke the drought, we’ve had a few regular showers but mainly during the night. There’s never been enough rain to dirty the waters so we’ve had a great summer fishing season. Now autumn has definately arrived and the first light frost was on the ground at the southern end of the Galatea valley this morning. It’s usually about a month later before we experience it by the lake.

Lake Aniwhenua continues to fish well as usual. There’s quite a bit of surface weed in places now and this is where you can see the fish tailing and picking off the insects. There’s certainly plenty of activity and the fish are in good condition. Small wet flies such as La Giaconda and Woolly buggers probably account for the biggest amount of success.

Well, it looks like the lake at Rabbit bridge end is finally going to be dredged soon. This has only been done once before and that was back in the 1980’s. At that time it created a nice drop-off and the trout lined up along the edge in huge numbers. I will keep you posted, as this will really make for some exciting fishing.

The Rangitaiki & Whirinaki rivers have been fishing great. Small beaded nymphs with a bit of red or orange tied in have been all the go lately. Great to drift these under any of those overhanging bushes. In this heat the trout are sitting in those shady spots.