Reel Life November 2024 - Southland

Ryan Saunders with a solid brownie from Opening Day on the Hamilton Burn, which he caught using a soft bait.

We’re hearing reports from anglers that they are seeing good numbers of fish in our waterways, and that they are in superb condition. They must have weathered the wet spring a-ok, and have been dining on the extra food items that will have been washed into our rivers and streams.

These portly trout are superb eating, and we encourage you to take one for the family dinner. Or consider catching one for the next barbeque - you might just be surprised to see who has never eaten a trout!  

With the increase in temperatures, observant anglers will be noticing an uptick in insect activity, with more terrestrial activity and stronger afternoon mayfly hatches. This is creating exciting emerger and dry fly fishing opportunities.

Some waterways are still above ‘normal’ flows, but don’t let that put your off as it can be conducive to fish activity and fishing success. Slightly cloudy water will benefit spin, soft-bait, and bait anglers as trout will have less time to inspect your offering and may be more inclined to snap at it out of reflex. Similarly, it can make fly fishing opportunities more forgiving if your casting, or presentation isn’t perfect.

Trout fishing for wellbeing

Southland Fish & Game staff have been working with Dr Shyamala Nada-Raja (University of Otago) and medical student Iritana Bennett-Fakahau (University of Otago) to undertake research exploring the link between trout fishing and wellbeing.

Our study focused on understanding how trout anglers define wellbeing and how they perceive trout fishing influences their wellbeing.

Anglers in our study described wellbeing as a combination of mental, physical, spiritual, and relational health and believed trout fishing contributes to these wellbeing elements by:

• Evoking positive emotions
• Enabling connection with self, others (friends/family), nature (the environment), and place (certain special locations)
• Offering an escape from life’s stressors
• Providing physical exercise

Here’s what some of the anglers in our study had to say. Does this reflect your experience on the water?

Mental health

[trout fishing enables you to] shut out the other distractions … the everyday matters of life which are always buzzing around in our heads … and you often sort of push them out, just for a moment, and just focus on what’s in front of you.

It’s [trout fishing] about disconnecting from other things, the urban environment. You know, coming away from screens, laptops, the stuff that’s around us every day, lots of other distractions, that sort of noise and clutter that you get in your life.

Physical health

[when trout fishing] … you might have to walk for an hour … you get a bit of an exercise buzz on from that’

Spiritual health

… you can feel the power of the river depending on which river you’re in. Depends on the river and where you are but there’s certainly a sort of a spiritual aspect to being near a river, and seeing a river, that’s for sure.

Relational health

… one of the greatest pleasures I get is introducing young men and women to a sport that I love, which is fly fishing … spotting fish, showing them where fish lie … I’ve got a lot of friends and I’ve taught their sons and daughters to fish and taken them out and then most of them have embraced it … . It really lifts my soul and gives me a lot of pleasure.

Our study certainly suggests there is potential for trout fishing to enhance your wellbeing so we encourage you to get out on the water with your fishing rod as much as you can this season. 

If you want to read more about the findings of this work, you can check out the full paper here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1177083X.2024.2347409#abstract

Trout fishing provides a great way to connect with nature and may positively affect your wellbeing.  

Lake Monowai Jetty Build & Boat Ramp Do Up

Those of you who frequent Lake Monowai will have noticed that the boat ramp has reached the end of its serviceability and needs a re-do.

Also, there has never been a jetty at Lake Monowai. A jetty will facilitate safe mooring, and improve the ease of getting on and off boats, and loading/unloading them. It will also become a focal point for visitors to wander along, and swimmers to jump off.

Southland Fish & Game have been working quietly in the background and have acquired the necessary designs, consents and a ‘Right to Occupy Agreement’ with Pioneer Energy.

We plan to ‘push go’ when the lake is low, around late February.

We’re asking for lake users to consider making a one-off donation towards this infrastructure project.

Doing so will ensure there is free and practical access to this beautiful lake for the next ~100 years.

 

To make a donation, go to https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/lake-monowai-jetty-construction-and-boat-ramp

Alternatively, email [email protected] to arrange making a donation directly as Give-A-Little deduct 5%.

[Note: Southland Fish & Game has devoted a lot of staff time, and a substantial sum, towards this. We also have some funding applications in process. We are asking for community donations in recognition of the wider benefit(s) this will have to the community.]

Soft-bait Clinic Report

Southland Fish & Game teamed up with Lance Gill from Composite Developments (Okuma, Rapala) , who presented an instructional soft bait fishing clinic on the lower Oreti River.

For anglers who were unable to attend, here are some of Lance’s top tips:

• Colour selection: Black is Lance's go-to colour for most situations, particularly murky water, but he suggests keeping a few colours on hand as certain colours work better on different days.
• Jig head weight: Stick to 1/16th, 1/12th, 1/8th and 1/6th oz jig heads for most rivers.
• Hook size: Use #1 hooks for longer soft baits and #2 or #4 hooks for shorter ones.
• Knot choice: When tying fluorocarbon line to braid, go with the knot you find easiest—no fancy knots needed! When connecting your line to the soft bait, tie directly to the jig head. Do not use clip swivels or loop knots.
• Soft bait type: If you have never used soft baits before, paddle tail soft baits are ideal for beginners.
• Retrieving technique: Cast upstream, let the soft bait sink close to the bottom, and retrieve slowly, maintaining contact with the bait. You can’t reel slow enough.
• Missed a bite? If you miss a hookup, keep your bait in the water and continue to retrieve slowly—often, the fish will come back for another go.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for a great evening and due the success, we will look to plan more of them. Announcements will be on the Southland Fish & Game Facebook page.

Persistence pays off

Archie Nelson’s first brown trout

Eight-year-old Archie Nelson has proven that determination and patience can lead to angling success. After spending last season trying to catch his first brown trout, Archie reeled in a few perch but the warry brown trout seemed to evade him. Undeterred, he kept learning and practising.

Recently, Archie and his dad, Nathan, took to the Oreti River after attending Lance Gill’s soft-bait fishing clinic. Armed with new skills and knowledge, they applied what they’d learned, and Archie’s perseverance paid off—he caught his very first brown trout!

Nathan also shared how helpful Fish & Game's instructional resources have been for their fishing journey as they had no previous fishing experience. Nathan noted that the resources taught them the basics they needed to get started and the Southland Fish & Game staff also provided them with some fishing spots to try.

If you’re new to trout fishing and need some guidance, check out the resources on our website: https://www.fishandgame.org.nz/freshwater-fishing-in-new-zealand/where-to-fish/regional-info/southland/new-to-fishing-in-southland/.

You can also get in touch with Fish & Game staff on our Facebook page or by email at [email protected].

 

If you have any photos or fishy stories that you think other anglers might like to see or read in next month’s Reel Life, then email them to [email protected]

All the best for your upcoming fishing trips,

From the team at Southland Fish & Game