By GEOFF THOMAS
Gone Fishing
The fishing in Southland rivers and streams is highly regarded by anglers who travel from around the world to cast to the brown trout found in rivers like the Oreti and the Mataura.
When the visitor travels to the more remote parts of the district, the lakes and rivers can produce the sort of fishing which is usually found only in dreams. Here, the brown trout are numerous and uneducated, readily attacking lures and flies.
But it is the sea-run trout that excite local anglers. Unlike the salmon that occasionally run up the rivers, the brown trout usually remain in the lower reaches - close to the river mouths.
The opportunity to visit one of the more popular fishing spots this week with local anglers was quickly accepted. John, Ross and Jim have fished the Waituna Lagoon for almost a lifetime and were happy to reveal their secrets.
Waituna is a shallow lake, which flows into the sea through a short river, and the mouth can be reached only by horseback or four-wheel-drive bike along about 6km of windswept ocean beach.
Like much of our fishing throughout the country, it was far better 30 or 40 years ago and Jim's family have been fishing there for nearly 70 years.
Tales of catches in the hundreds are reinforced by faded photographs showing rows and rows of large trout hanging on a fence. Today, there is a limit of two fish per angler, only recently reduced from four a day.
"The brown trout are hatched in the Waituna Stream, which flows into the other side of the lake, and some people fish in the lake - wading the margins or fishing from a small boat," said Jim.
"But we catch the biggest fish at the mouth where it runs into the sea. These trout go out to sea and follow the feed back in on the tide."
His photo album showed monsters of 6kg and more, but a 4.5kg trout is now cause for celebration.
Hundreds of anglers will line up on opening day of the new season on October 1, but at this time of year an encounter with other anglers is rare.
Most will cast small spinners and wobbling lures, using a lighter version of the tackle which is the mainstay of the salmon fishing throughout the South Island. Others cast trout flies, similar to those used in Rotorua or Taupo, that resemble the small baitfish and whitebait on which the trout prey.
But Jim and his mates have perfected a technique that can be deadly.
Unscrewing the top of a large jar full of small, preserved fish, he carefully impales one of the 15cm baitfish through the head with a tiny treble hook, and then slips a second treble into the body near the tail.
It is a smelt, a large relative of the whitebait which is found throughout the country, and is well known for its distinctive cucumber-like aroma.
The bait is bent slightly, which imparts a spinning action when retrieved through the water like a metal lure. A tiny ball sinker above a swivel provides the weight needed to cast the bait on the light spinning rods these anglers prefer to use.
"The action is important," says Jim, raising and lowering the tip of his rod as he winds the bait back to the shore. "The baitfish swim up and down against the current and that action is important."
A sudden jerk and his rod arcs as a healthy trout leaps from the water in the middle of the channel. The 2kg fish is soon lying on the sand, gleaming bright silver, with the dark spots and green back of a brown trout. The fish which come from the sea are brighter than their dullcoloured cousins which live on the lake, and are beautiful eating with firm, pink flesh.
Fishing: Remote southern spots yield plentiful catches
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