Otago Weekly Fishing Report - 9 March 2023

Cooler overnight lows and shorter days are bringing on the mayfly hatches, while rain showers through the week provided a welcome refresh for many low rivers. Forecast rain over the weekend will provide opportunities at river mouths as trout and salmon prepare for their spawning runs. Don’t forget the Lower Clutha/Bluelight Fishing Competition is being held this Sunday.

With cooler temperatures and rain starting to become a more common occurrence in our weather forecast it signals the increased emergence of mayflies.

Santillan, from Queenstown Hunting & Fishing, recommends increasing your leader length and dropping down to size 16-18 flies in order to be successful on these mayfly-feeding trout. Popular mayfly patterns include Parachute Adams and Dad’s Favourites while Pheasant tail and Flashback nymphs can be used to imitate the hatching nymphs. Calm mornings and warm afternoons are your best bet to produce successful fishing, says Santillan.

Tasty trout snack, an adult mayfly sitting on the water surface. Credit: Ben Sowry.

Pomahaka fishing well

Fish & Game officer Bruce Quirey reported good fishing on the middle reaches of the Pomahaka River over the weekend, with the river still low and wadeable in many sections having missed much of the recent rainfall nearer the coast.

Good fish numbers were encountered over the weekend with browns eagerly rising for size 14 and 16 Parachute Adams flies. They ranged in size from 1.5kg to just wee ones of about 250g. These fish also proved easily susceptible to softbaits, taking slowly retrieved Savage Cannibal Shad on a size 1/16 ounce jighead. 

A size 14 Parachute Adams fly was the undoing of this 1.5kg brown trout on the Pomahaka. Credit: Bruce Quirey.A size 14 Parachute Adams fly was the undoing of this 1.5kg brown trout on the Pomahaka. Credit: Bruce Quirey.

River mouth rainbows

With the increase rainfall received over the last of weeks large numbers of trout and salmon are congregating at river mouths enjoying the cooler more oxygenated water.

Brad, from Hunting & Fishing Central Otago, reports that some rainbow trout caught within the last week have started developing eggs. Many of these river mouth rainbows are under conditioned and make poor eating. It is recommended to limit handling of these fish if you intend to release them.

The Lowburn Inlet has been a hotspot for some large perch recently, Brad says. He recommends targeting these using a range of softbaits (Brad’s favourites are the Berkley T-tails and Grubs).

Softbaits come into their own when exploring deep, slower sections of rivers or lakes. When searching for fish, look for structure such as rocks and logs, drop-offs, undercut banks, and the edges of current seams.

Lower Taieri trout on the bite