Monday 29th Tengawai Bridge

Popped down the river for 45min after work.  Game plan was to fish the confluence of the "farm" creek and the Tengawai where I has seen a small fish yesterday.  I used a green caddis below a Kakahi Queen but there was no-one home.  I went upstream to a glide where I had fished last season.  There was a rise and I retied with a Grenwell's Glory below the Kakahi Queen.  I caught (and landed!) a 150mm long trout.  My first fish in the Tengawai.  It had the Glory through its upper lip.  I stuck gently and retrieved the fish quietly  It was released because of its size.  I fished on for a few more minutes but it was time to go.  When packing up I noticed that both my Queen and my Glory were gone. Lesson: retie your flies after catching a fish and don't touch the water on your back cast!

Sunday 28th October. Tengawai Bridge.

Up at dawn and down to bridge. Water @ 10oC. Saw a small fish and covered it 2-3 times with a midge pattern. Fish looked interested but to my annoyance the hook slipped up into the indicator, I had not attached the indicator properly. Stuck a loop in it but the fish saw me and shot off. It's amazing how long you can stand behind a fish without it, seeing you. Walked up stream saw no other fish other than a small shoal of smelt/young trout. Had no reading glasses so hook tying very difficult. On way back walked up small side stream that led into farmland and cattle grazing at the water's edge. It was in this stream I had fished, at its confluence, earlier. The fish was back there again but I spooked it moving downstream. This was just outside a minor time on the solunar calendar.

Saturday 27th Ocotber. O'Neills Crossing

Water 10oC, Nice evening. Looking for a rise. Saw no fish whatsoever. Practised fishing with wee wets. Left at 8:30pm.

Saturday 27th October: Cave Bridge

On way up to Fairlie stopped at Cave to have a crack at the fish mentioned in post entitled "Watching".  Wasn't there.  Time was about 10am just outside an activity period for the solunar calendat.  No other fish seen. Two other fishermen upstream. Difficult breeze under the bridge (strong NW), 20oC on strream side, water 10oC.

Saturday 27th October: Confluence of the Opihi and the Tengawai

Up at dawn and down to the Salesyard Bridge. Started under the bridge and walked up.  Saw nothing. Water temp 10oC. Walked up Tengawai as the Opihi was carrying a little too much colour. Saw nothing worth casting to. Dramatic changes throughout the river system from winter's floods.

Watching

On a few days I have called in at the Cave bridge to look at a fish, about 1kg, holding underneath the bridge.  On four visits it has been there twice.  It holds beside (not in front or behind) two biggish rocks running a small triangle over them.  There are bubble streams near by but not right over the lie. The lie is shallow, the water still carries some colour.  The photo is the lie; there is no fish in this picture!

It's hard to see it feed, it doesn't rise, but it does cruise off in-stream effortlessly about a metre then comes back to hold, I guess it spots something to feed on in mid-water.  Today I called in at 4pm and that was a minor time on a poor day for the solunar calendar, I threw a tiny pebble in a metre upstream and it swam to it.  The first time I saw it was Wednesday about 11am but I don't know what that was on the calendar.  It held for a number of minutes.  I got bored before it left the lie

There may have been another smaller fish in the deep pool to the true right of this fish but it may have been the same one too. .

Sunday 21st October. Te Ngawai

Went down to the Tengawai bridge as bad weather was approaching and I knew getting out on the 22nd would be unlikely, late or unpleasant and as I write this the next morning it is raining and it has snowed.  I had noticed an adult mayfly entrapped in one of the net curtains around the house so I had also wondered if there was a hatch on.

There was. I got down there just before 8pm.  I had chosen to walk (I had drunk a couple of wines) and so decided to set myself a challenge of taking just three flies.  I took a Kakahi Queen, a nymph and something like a Greenwell's Glory (as a wee wet). The July-August floods had left a new relatively broad and deep glide downstream of the bridge and I tackled up with the nymph.  However when I got to the water I could see tail swirls and hear 'galomps' as trout took stuff at or below the surface.  There were many adult mayflies winging around and dimples where others arrived or alighted.  I changed to the wee wet and fished it across and down, I was using barely a metre of 3X tippet on a clear 'hover' 3m leader.  This was the first time I had fished a wee wet and I has delighted to get two hook ups.  Landed neither but all the same I had wondered whether a fish would ever take my flies along the Tengawai (they are allegedly very spooky there).

The fish were small as I had seen from the first one that leapt when hooked.  I was facing downstream, they were facing upstream and I failed to moderate my strike, pulling the fly out of their mouths.  I have since read about leaving a 'shock loop' on one's line hand to enable the fish to turn downstream before striking.  There was remains of a fish's mouth on the fly with the first strike, a bit upsetting.

Fish were feeding all around me.  I was trying to get my fly to a swirl 10m downstream whilst there was a swirl 2m to my left (I was knee deep in the glide).  The whole glide was active but they were probably all small although some of the 'galomps' sounded 'meaty'.  The activity died away, I changed to the Kakahi Queen but it was all over, no mayflies flying.  I left at 9pm.

That's three hookups in one weekend in the Opihi-and-its-tributaries river system.  Some progress; landing one must only be a wee time away.  A very interesting and enjoyable experience. The day was rated poor by solunar calendar and I think I arrived towards the end of a 'major' time.

Sun 21st October Te Ngawai

Couple of hours walking upstream from Hammonds Road.  Fished to a smallish animal in a clear backwater (a recurring theme now- is it because I miss the ones in the river?).  Covered it at least twice; once with a new water boatman to no avail.  Need more cover, perhaps dabbing is better.  Leaders coiling gave poor presentation too.  Broke sunglasses.

The day was rated "poor" by the solunar calendar and I arrived a Hammonds Road close to the end of a 'major' time.

Saturday October 20th. Opihi River

I went to the fishing tackle shop and heard that the fish were numerous at the mouth of the Opihi.  There were many people down there at 8pm when I arrived but I saw no fish nor felt one on the line.  I had read a book over the preceding fortnight called "Fish Sense" and I had wanted to put a few changes in place when using a streamer.  It was a little outside a "major" for the solunar calendar. I fished on a 3X tippet with a silicon smelt, an olive woolly bugger then a black one.  I left at 9pm.

Saturday 20th October. Temuka River

The Solunar calendar suggested an early start and I missed it a bit but there was a period of "minor" activity just after.  I saw lots of fish. I went to gin-clear backwater that was wide and deep.  I saw no fish but I thought it would be odds on to be a trout somewhere.  So I took off the nymph I had been prospecting somewhat blindly but I couldn't be bothered taking off the indicator, I put on a water boatman as I could see wakes form invisible things skating.  It was 8:45 and I decide I would  let the boatman dangle there for 15min. After 10min I lifted the line as it was drifting towards willows.  As I did it dabbled a bit and a fish swam into view.  I dabbled it again and the fish took it.  I struck and the fish fought but with one tail swirl it was off with the hook, it would have been about a kilo.  Is that 6X tippet the problem?  I had the drag on too so that compounded the weak tippet.  Still it was amazing.  I was well made up with actually hooking a fish in a tributary of the Opihi  and although landing it would have been good I was happy.  I had fished to a plan and it had been successful.  The hard part had been done the next steps are easier.

Sunday 21st October, Lake Opuha

Snow fell on Saturday around the lake and it was still underfoot when I began. I went to the lake because the rivers were up.  I parked at Bennett's corner and started to walk around. The lake was relatively clear and high. I quickly hooked a fish on the weighted woolly bugger but it quickly broke the line or the knot failed.  I was using a long length of 6X tippet that was on the line already. For the next three hours i trudged around the lake.  I saw and spooked enough fish.  The woolly bugger was the only one of that pattern I had. A thoroughly disheartening day and the holidays ends without a fish.

Fri 12 October, Lake Opuha

Managed to sneak a couple of hours at the inlet end (Eric's corner) between 3 and 5pm.  This was a "minor" time on the solunar calendar.  Lots of wind chop, the wind direction was up the lake. Didn't see a fish, but some some "mud puffs" and a tail swirl, until after 4:30.  A small trout, about 500g, swimming in a channel through weeds.  Fished to it but slapped a weed-infested Woolly Bugger right on top of it. Scattered. Really gauche handling. Fished a selection of streamers; a yellow Dorothy, and Bruce Keys red Killer (which I lost) besides the weighted green Bugger. Walked up the river (Opuha?) a wee way too-nothing. Dreadful weather Saturday 13th.

The Catlins 7th to 10th October

Horrible weather over these few days prevented me taking the money trip up to the golf course.  (The fishing expedition  that has yet to fail!)

The day we arrived I got out on dusk to thread-line around the golf course.  The water was very discoloured. No fish seen.

The next day got out at dawn and as the tide was low went up to Surat Bay and Manuka Point.  Thread-lined at Surat and used wet flies at Manuka Point.  Poor weather. No fish seen.

Next day (Tue) got out in late afternoon to Catlins River (Wisp Rec area).  Very happy with my skills there.  Fished a riffly pond to a pattern of nymphs, dries and streamers.  Gave the mouse a swim!  No luck though, no fish seen - the water is very tanin stained up there.  Still not a bad day's fishing despite the fast water.  Weather was horrid, especially at the coast

The car was clean before I got to the Wisp!

Casting the Silicon Smelt

Last day got out at dawn.  Tide low so got down to Surat Bay and thread-lined using my own reel.  Got a few follows with the black and gold Toby but couldn't say that they were actually trout.  They were small. The weather was foggy but still and calm.  Chucked the silicon smelt on a 4m leader and putted around the Owaka below the crib later in the morning.  Surprised myself at how well the long leader handled.  No luck.  When putting the boat away at 1pm (hadn't used it at all) saw a big fish surface chasing bait fish 

Interestingly I had read an article from Fish and Game Central South Island about the poor start to the season (at the Waitaki) and aligned that to a "Solunar calendar".  I took said calendar from http://www.fishingreminder.com/ with me but my times were dictated more by non-fishing activities and I didn't hit any of the major times.  The fish that jumped as I was putting the boat away was in a major time.  I am going to try and follow the Solunar calendar for a while and see if there is anything in it.

Friday 5th October

Went for a fish at dawn down Tengawai.  Went in at Mazes Road and walked up.  Came across a 1lb Brown in a gin clear backwater.  He didn't see me so I spent a half hour, without success, trying to intercept him on his beat.  Tried a nymph, a water boatman and a streamer before he disappeared. (I am sure he didn't see me; rain was approaching or perhaps he needed to do other trout stuff). Saw nothing else.  Thread-lined on the way home. Very frustrating hard to control line in narrow river.  Found out later that thread-lining is not allowed in the Tengawai.  Whoops!

Monday 1st October

Opening Day!
A real fizzer.  Had been looking forward to this for months but due to heading away to Nelson had to squeeze a wee walk at dawn by the Tengawai.  Saw one tiny and one small fish.  Tried to fish to them but no luck.  The river has changed hugely with the floods (4) of late July/early August.

One was a 1 in 50 yr flood.  I suppose the fish will slowly come back up from the lower reaches.

Not me but two anyway

Down at Owaka River by the golf course bridge Saturday and Sunday the 1st and 2nd of September with Joe.  He was spinning with a black and gold Tassie and hooked a 850g fish just as the boat drifted back downstream under the bridge.  On the Sunday we caught nothing at this pool but he hooked a 1.1kg fish just up from the Portland.  The black and gold Tassie had been lost so he was using a very old looking Tassie that was yellow and green with a single hook.  I hooked one on a gold and black Toby earlier on Sunday at Surat Bay at low tide but it got off at a moment when I was distracted.

That's three rows up to the golf course and three fish.  Not bad.  I was using double rig streamers. I think I was getting my gear low enough.  I've checked the regs and I can use weight in this river.  The water was less visible that in April when I caught a 500g fish up there.

Very exciting for Joe he saw the 1.1kg fish coming onto the hook.

Both fish were full of mud crabs especially the 1.1kg.  I wonder why they take lures when they are full?  One crab was alive and was returned to the river.

Got one!

On holiday at the crib.  Tried one morning to drift up the Owaka River on the incoming tide and then drift home as it receded.  Left too late though and had to row against the tide for about one mile.  Dragged a lure all the way up and got nothing.  When I got there I picked up the fly rod. I saw one and soon, as I drifted I began to see more and more.  Eventually a pair of fish cruised under the boat and I was able to drop the woolly bugger very close to them, it wasn't hard, and one fish took it.  It was a short but exciting fight. Here's the location correct to 5m or so.

On the way back there were many fish seen.  I think a dozen all up.  I formed the idea that they were sunning themselves 1n the shallow water of the true right bank.  Despite my efforts only one was caught.  It is legal in tidal reaches of Otago to fish from drifting row boats.  Six is the limit bag in Otago!

It was good fun fly fishing standing up on the drifting boat by myself.  It was possible to spook the fish and ideally I should have spent more time sitting down after spotting a fish.  It would have been good to drop a big fat terrestrial on the water and see their reaction (the woolly bugger was weighted to get it on the bottom).  The caught fish had a large cockabully in its gut in the early stages of digestion.  Plenty of bait fish were seen. The unlucky fish weighed 0.53 kg.  We cooked it in foil with pepper and lemons.  It tasted very good.

Frustrations

Went up the local river again today.  Drove about 10km up to a bridge and walked half a kilometre from there.  Saw nothing on the way up and turned for home at about 8:20am.

Saw a shape holding in a limestone pothole on the way down.  Whilst I was freeing the leader it popped out took something and went back to the hole.  Perhaps it saw me, I don't know but it continued to hold.

I had a Caddis emerger on so I flicked it out (no reason for this fly, there  was no hatch on but the Fishing Report from CSI Fish & Game had suggested it). It wasn't a difficult cast and I was able to fish sitting below the grass tops.  After several casts which were not far away I changed the fly to a dark blue humpy.  Nothing. Tried a green sparkle (Caddis).  Nothing.  Changed again to something that looks a little like a Kakahi Queen.  Still nothing. Tried one of the bug-eyed mayflies.  Same result.

I crossed the stream below it and checked it was still there.  It was but it was holding on the bottom.  Tried a tungsten bead mayfly.  Nothing.  Put extra weight on, still nothing.  The fish was still there.

The pothole was deep and not wide.  It was a good sized fish.  Silvery.  Perhaps 3 pounds?  In the end I had run out of time and I poked it with my rod!  That's how close it was.  It shot off.  So did, I late for home. By using my rod I estimate the hole was 4.5 ft deep.

Do trout sometimes just not feed?  This is the second time a trout lying close to the bank has not responded even to lining.

Have been out many times this summer.  Still no fish from my two local rivers.

Water levels falling

I walked along the river today looking for backwaters where I had see fish before. Unfortunately the backwaters were shrinking and the one of my favourites was occupied by a particularly obnoxious pukeko who alerted anything that might have been there. I did shoot some video of a nice fish though.

I had a humpy dry with a blood worm below it but could not unfurl it. Besides the fish usually came back. A while later I walked to the mouth of the backwater and a fish, I think the same one "pushed" by me to the open river.

Later I walked alomg the local stream. Saw 3 or 4 fish. They weren't too spooky. I lined a couple and they didn't spook but they weren't intertetsted in what I had to offer. I was trying a humpy with a collie below. I tried a caddis with the collie then the caddis by itself. After the linings I tried a midge but sighted no more fish. It was pouring and hard to see.

Success

After Christmas I took a journey to Cromwell and on the way back drove a short distance up the Ahuriri.

The day was awesome and river looked fantastic. Due to time constraints I didn't go to far up, only about 5km, and blind-fished downstream in some long, wide, knee-deep, warm riffles. I caught a 0.2kg trout on a Mrs Simpson streamer above a heavily weighted stone fly nymph. An even smaller trout self-released just after I got it out of the water. It took the stone fly.

The first larger fish didn't fight much and I thought I had snagged a rock. It ruined the Mrs Simpson.

I thought the decision to downstream a streamer and a nymph was unusual but it worked! I stripped a lot of line and used the current to take it hither and thither.

Next time I will try further up the river.

What are they eating?

Down at our local stream's bridge one or two small trout can be seen at almost any time of the day feeding voraciously under the willows. The downstream animal in particular is "lapping" away at the surface rapidly. I would have thought I could have caught it.

I have tried to put a range of flies across its nose: blue dun, beetles, etc. I have also tried nymph below it in the waist deep water. The most it has noticed is to stop feeding, briefly. Last night I went down with a net and took a sample of the scum line they are feeding in. There were lots of "shucks" there; possibly caddis judging by the time of the year and other writers but looking more like mayflies to my scientific (but new to angling) eye.

(Whilst I was there I also took a sample of the downstream glide where large numbers of baitfish (fingerling trout?) regularly leap out of the water. Mainly chronomids there judging by the wrigglers in the water and the plague around my face.)

Next I think I'll try more drys (kakahi queen, royal wulf, grey wulf) and maybe get over to the other bank and dead drift over the feeding fish. I find it hard to get the fly under the willows into the drift.