Low, clear rivers offer best chances

IT has been a little chilly and slightly damp this week to say the least, which means that rivers are high and the water is much colder. All this adds up to poor prospects for fishing in running water this weekend. The best chances will be spin fishing in rivers that are not too high or coloured. The lower Taieri should offer the chance of a sea trout, as could the middle reaches of the Pomahaka. The rivers of East

Otago miss most of the rain from the southwest and the Shag and

Waikouaiti are fishable as I write. Sea trout move into the lower reaches at this time of year.

Perversely, the weather forecast from the beginning of next week is good, so hopefully there will be a chance of good fishing before the end of the season.

Of course there are still waters that are worth fishing with any method and this will be the last weekend for Blakely’s and Rutherford’s Dams on the Maniototo, but there are several others that are still open. Other waters worth a cast are the Island Block pond, near Ettrick, and Conroy’s Dam.

The lakes of Central Otago are well above the normal for autumn but since they usually remain clear, they will be fishable. At this time of year brown trout move into the shallows and feed on bullies. Any small bully imitation or a damsel fly nymph will catch fish.

Last weekend I had planned to fish the Maniototo, as in the middle of last week I had some good fish from Rutherford’s Dam. However, the terrible weather forecast for Sunday afternoon made me change plans and I decided to fish locally. I checked the Otago Regional Council website and saw the lower Waipori was not too high, so I thought I would check it out. The water looked reasonable when I got there but shortly after it began to rise, bringing down lots of leaves and sticks.

I eventually found a fish lying near the opposite bank and managed to get a nymph close to it, but the strong flow between us quickly dragged the fly away. The fish chased it briefly before turning away and a couple of casts later it disappeared. By now the river was much higher and I gave it away.

The Contour Channel is not far away, so I searched along a stretch of it. It was sheltered from the wind and the water was very clear. Despite fishing blind and looking carefully, I did not spot or spook a single fish, a rare occurrence on the water. The weather remained fine but I had run out of local options as the Taieri was coloured, so I went home. It was another couple of hours before the predicted bad weather hit and I could have had most of the day on the Maniototo in reasonable conditions. The moral of the story is choose the best option and give it a go.