Weekly Fishing Report – Central South Island Region – 13/04/18

Snows on the hills and I’m even considering putting the fire on it was only this time last week I was wearing tee shirt and jandals!

Rhys is off having a well-earned break for a couple of weeks so let’s hope he took some winter woollies with him.

Unfortunately, this latest cool weather system has put off the second salmon spawning count that was scheduled for Monday.

Above Right: A brown that fell victim to a well-presented worm is released by Finn Stevens.

With a bit of luck, I’ll have an update on this count for next week’s report as the forecast for Friday is looking much better.

While I’m on the weather there appears to be another front on its way, due Sunday, so Saturday might be the best day to plan some fishing this weekend.

In saying that, fish do bite in the wind, rain and snow so if you’re brave enough Sunday may also provide some opportunities if you can’t get out on Saturday.      

In one of Rhys’s recent reports he mentioned I took out my son and his friend for a spot of worm fishing on the Opihi River.

If you saw that report you’d have seen, we had a successful day that resulted in a first fish landed for Cameron.

Someone once said “It’s all in how you dangle your worm” so I thought I could share some of my worm dangling tips with you so that you may be able to get a young angler into that special first fish.

Being bought up in Southland I was given the masterclass on how to dangle a worm and much of my youth was spent perfecting the art.

The key to successful worm fishing, like all methods is the presentation and fishing likely looking water.

Worm fishing tends to be most productive when there is some colour in the river on the back of a fresh as this is when trout are keyed in on them. In saying that fishing clear water can be productive too.

In terms of presentation I like to fish a very light weight, just enough to cast the bait assembly to the appropriate spot and no more.

“Heave n leave” with a heavy weight in a pool may produce fish but is not the best method in my opinion.

Casting slightly upstream into the riffle/run and allowing the assembly to bounce its way downstream covers more water and presents the worm more naturally, hopefully right in front of a hungry trout. 

The best weights I have found are thin strips (50-60mm long and 3-4mm wide) of old lead roofing flashings twisted around/crimped onto your main line of 6-8lb mono.

If you don’t have any flashings lying around, ask a friendly builder doing some renovations.

These weights seem to roll over boulders well, reducing snags and allow for easy addition/subtraction to make sure you’re getting to the sweet spot.

I then allow 600mm up to a metre of line between the weight and size 8 bait hook.

Carefully thread the worm onto the hook and be sure to push it over the hook eye and up onto the main line, this helps hold it on the hook when casting.

Be sure that none of the hook is visible. Also, if you find them too squirmy and hard to hold get some wet sand on your fingers as this makes the job much easier.

The most crucial bit for every young angler is worm collection and then the subsequent selection on the river bank.

This can be a lot of fun and adds another activity to get them excited about the upcoming fishing trip.  

If you find your worms are a bit soft when threading onto the hook next time dig them a day or two early and leave them in a cool dark place to “firm up”.

With the recent rain events and more predicted, conditions in our lowland rivers should be perfect for worm fishing. So, get the young angler you know out and let them dangle a worm or two.

RDR Consent Hearing

The hearing of Rangitata Diversion Race Limited’s Application to take additional water and construct a new fish screen and storage facility will be held from the 23^rd of April to the 4^th of May at the Ashburton Trust Events Centre.

Submitters and the public can attend. Central South Island Fish & Game have submitted and will be speaking to this submission.

Come along to Council meetings

Licence holders and members of the public are welcome to attend our next bi-monthly council meeting.

The meeting starts at 7:00pm on Thursday the 19^th of April and is held at the Fish & Game boardroom, 32 Richard Pearse Drive, Temuka.

Not all licence holders read our newsletters or see the meeting advertisements so please spread the word amongst your fishing and game bird hunting friends.

Members of the public can address the Council in the public forum at the meeting, if you intend to do so please contact the office in advance to notify your intentions and topic, phone 03 6158400. 

Tight lines

Hamish Stevens, Fish & Game Officer, Central South Island