Fishing News index> April 2008

WEST COAST NEWS

The adverse impacts of agriculture on water quality have been in the news country-wide, and the West Coast is no exception.  Although there are few issues around the quantity of water in our streams and rivers, water quality remains an issue in places.

West Coast Regional Council has a stock crossing policy that required landowners to bridge or culvert the most frequently used crossings by December 2007, with a further twelve months grace to deal with second or subsequent crossing points.

The farmer response has been generally positive and contractors are busy everywhere. However one landowner with six crossings over a significant trout stream, despite having already had several years to implement a bridging programme, applied for resource consent to suspend a meaningful response for a further five years. Fish & Game naturally objected. It also approached the Dairy Company seeking support for its stance on the grounds that it was not ‘a good look’ for the industry to be condoning a practice that belongs in the past. The upshot is that the landowner has now agreed to bridge the three worst crossing sites this winter, and to install culverts at the remaining three next year. From our perspective this is an excellent result as it will not only deal to a situation that has prompted numerous angler complaints, but it provides evidence that the Company is serious about its suppliers farming sustainably. Well done Westland Milk products!

With the lake salmon season now closed there is time for reflection. While February was an excellent month with a high rate of angler satisfaction a run of very hot weather during the latter part of March sent surface water temperatures soaring and salmon to deep water. The catch rate suffered accordingly and only spawning surveys will reveal whether the fish were there and not being caught, or whether the run peaked early. Watch this space!

Meanwhile with the river salmon season ending on April 30th  there are still fish caught in waters south of the Grey, albeit in lesser numbers and probably of lesser quality than a month ago.

On the trout fishing front April is the month to be fishing holding water near the tributaries of big rivers where pre-spawning fish are likely to congregate. Rivers such as the Inangahua, Grey and Ahaura traditionally produce big fish around this time and this autumn with low flows and (so far) settled weather it will be an especially exciting time to be on the river. 

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