Fishing News index> July 2008

Southland Fish and Game Fishing News July 2008

After a warmish May and June the weather in the Deep South has got colder but still warm enough for the grass to continue to grow a little – a few city lawn owners even mowing their lawns on the occasional warm day. Global warming is truly with us.

We have had few frosts but plenty of fog in recent weeks. The Te Anau basin has had more than its share along with overcast days that don’t deliver enough vitamin D to keep the locals from going a little bit barmy. Many of course are away in warmer places such as northern Queensland and the islands where they will be getting a bit of fishing therapy as well as some warm sunshine.

The usual F&G winter work of sign replacement and trout spawning surveys has been going on.  Fish and Game has made a few changes to the regulations with a one fish limit applying generally over the more accessible hill and back country waters – the upper Oreti, Whitestone, Upukerora and Eglinton being the most popular ones. On the upper Oreti and upper Mataura the catch and release areas have been dropped in favour of a one bag limit and this area will be closely monitored to see what, if anything, occurs with the trout population. 

Spawning surveys reveal that the Aparima tributaries still contain the usual numbers of trout. In the Waituna system a sample of trout caught to monitor long term changes in size indicate few differences there compared to recent years.

The numbers of trout spawning in the Waikaka Stream was down a bit on last year – but freshes just at the wrong time could have covered these making the count a bit less than totally accurate.

Whitebaiters are starting to get excited about the season that gets underway again in the middle of August. This will signal the start of the summer so estuary trout at least will be getting a bit more interested in chasing small silvery bait. At the same time the rainbow trout of the mountains will be nosing up into the smallest tributaries to lay their eggs.

While it is cold here it won’t be long till we get some warm days and the fishing rods that have laid rather forlornly in dark cupboards for the last three months will be getting some flexing again.

Maurice Rodway
Manager.

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