Northland Reel Life Mar 2017

Autumn brings angling opportunities

Autumn has arrived – with the mornings noticeably cooler and some heavy dews happening.

Northland has had some decent rainfall totals and had a good flush.

Mean annual floods occurred in most river catchments last month with rivers now returning to normal levels.

The rainfall has rejuvenated several parched catchments.

This has relieved the soil moisture deficit in some districts and put an end to the total fire ban over the region, however a restricted fire season remains in force in the Far North.

 Insert Pic Wairua River in flood at Borrowcut Wetland entrance.

With the cooler temperatures, trout in the lakes and reservoirs will be coming closer to the surface to feed.

With the holiday and tourist season slowing down lakes like Kai Iwi won’t be as busy and make for some excellent fishing spots.

For variation, and if you see damselfly and dragonfly active around the water or mating late in the day, try a Hamill’s Killer.

 Insert pic Hamills Killer Fly

Insert pic Actual Damsel Fly nymph – Photo credit NIWA.

 This is a specialist still water fly that represents the damselfly and dragonfly nymph.

Fish this fly with a sinking line slowly over weed beds for the best chance of success.

Areas like the Sin Bin in Kai Iwi Lakes and Wilson’s Dam are well suited to this type of fishing.

We’ve had reports that the Hamills Killer works well in Northland river pools too.

Insert pic Brown trout in the headwaters of Wilson’s Dam

Remember to make the most of the river fishing season as rivers will close to freshwater fishing on April 30.

Keep an eye out for our regional newsletter to keep up to date with fishing news and important dates.

For tips and advice don’t hesitate to drop into your local fish and game office or check out our website.

 Tight lines !

Field Officer Andrew Kirk