Hawke’s Bay Reel Life Feb 2017

Rivers receive February flush out

With February air temperatures peaking at 33OC at the airport, it was nice to receive some decent rain in the middle of the month to give the rivers a good flush and increase flows.

Many rivers have been very low as a result of our very dry and windy summer.

A solid Ngaruroro River rainbow taken on a large dry fly during early February (Photo Dominic McClarey).

Some rivers like the Ngaruroro and Tukituki came up after the rain and new trout lies will have been created, so the fish may spread out again.

The low flows and warm water had concentrated the trout prior to the floods, with many fish seeking deeper backwaters and pools.

Small hare and copper and pheasant tail nymphs in sizes 16 and 18 had been working well in the low and clear conditions.

Cicada and stimulator patterns are also working well now that we’re well into summer, in fact heading for autumn.

A dry fly and dropper rig can be effective when targeting spooky fish.

Consider using a wet line and a lure when fishing receding coloured rivers, and fish along the margins as this is often where fish feed in these conditions.

Mohaka River

Access points at Jock Sutton Road and Auroa Road have been closed off by Pan Pac due to the extreme fire risk prior to the rain that fell mid-month.

Staff are working with Pan Pac to ensure better communication regarding future closures of these popular Mohaka angler access points, and we’ll try and keep anglers updated on our website and via Facebook.

A good sample of rainbows caught and released by anglers during February averaged 490mm and 1.2kg (2.6lbs) and were in average to good condition overall.

The heaviest was a jack measuring 590mm and weighing 1.8kg (4lb) but it was in poor condition for its length.

Drift dive counts are scheduled for next month in the upper Mohaka and it’ll be interesting to see how the counts compare with previous ones.

Tukituki River

The 2016/17 Hawke’s Bay Regional Championships were held on the Tukituki River over the weekend of the 4th and 5th of February.

Twelve anglers caught a total of 37 trout over the three sessions with the trout averaging 270mm. The largest was a brown trout measuring 550mm.

This event has been attended by up to 18 anglers in the past and produced up to an impressive 780 fish over a two day period.

The number of trout caught this year was the lowest recorded from the last five events.

Right: A brown trout from the Tukituki River caught during February after a fresh (Photo Fred Nichol).

Another well-conditioned rainbow of 2.6kg was also caught and released mid-February.

Some anglers were reporting a reasonable evening rise prior to the floods, especially after some of the very hot days.

Other anglers have fished well into evening and reported good catches with a wet line and larger dark lures.

Lake Tutira

The lake suffered from an algal bloom earlier this year although there have been no confirmed reports of any dead trout so far.

Hopefully the trout released last year will make it through the summer period and provide for a winter fishery later on in 2017.

Anglers Notice – comments please

A review of the 2016-2017 Anglers Notice is underway to identify any changes that might be need in the regulations for the new 2017-2018 season.

Anglers are encouraged to email any suggestions directly to Hawkes Bay Fish & Game staff at: hawkesbay@fishandgame.org.nz

All submissions received will be debated at the next Council meeting in April.

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