Easter outlook looking good

EASTER weekend looks like an ideal opportunity to get in some time on the river or lake before the end of the season.

River levels are looking good after dropping all week from the higher flows last weekend. The weather forecast is not too bad either.

If you are heading to Central Otago, fishing the lake edges with small bully imitation gives a good chance of catching fish the good old damsel fly nymph is a good option too. If fishing early or late, a midge pupa imitation if midge are hatching or a sedge imitation if there are sedges hatching or returning to the water to lay their eggs.

If rivers are more your scene, fishing ripples during the day with a weighted nymph should work and a sedge imitation as dusk approaches. The outflow from Lake Wanaka is above ideal level but the upper Clutha is still worth a cast in the late evening and on into darkness. Being Easter, there will be a full moon, which is not ideal, but fish can still be caught, especially where high banks create a long shadow.

Rainfed waters fish well at this time of year, the best of them being the Mataura and Pomahaka. There should be a hatch of mayflies in the afternoon although this does not guarantee trout rising to them. If the weather is warm and calm, there could also be a fall of spinners. It is not unusual for duns to hatch and spinners to fall at the same time. So, make sure you know which one the trout are targeting. Dun rises tend to be full head and tail whereas spinner rises are usually small sips.

Murray and I fished the Maniototo last weekend— Blakelys dam. It was fine and calm but rather cool when we started. There were quite a few rises here and there but I never touched a fish. I mainly fished a pair of damsel fly nymphs, olive and orange versions, I also tried a water boatman. When a breeze sprang up, I was confident there would be some action. I like to fish a shore with the wind running parallel to it. The water was choppy, and it was not long before I hooked a good fish which turned out to be 2.5kg, a rainbow, of course, as sadly there are very few brown trout in the dam these days.

Tight lines for the weekend.