News 2006 - 2007
04 May 2007
Hi Everyone,
With the main season now behind us the lower Mataura below the Gore bridge is still open for the rest of May (except for the
5th,6th May) and there has been some good fishing with some good spinner falls happening in the afternoon producing great rises and hooking into
some very nice sea run browns. Also with Rainbows starting their migration run up the back country rivers and the combination of fine settled
weather and stable clear waters some of these rivers are starting to produce some very exciting and great fishing!!
So tight lines everybody, Michael
18 April 2007
Hi Everybody,
With the sea run all ready schooled up and most residents starting to school up to head up river and spawn, it seems some
days that there are no fish in the river anywhere too be found, then all of a sudden you come into a pool with about 20-30 in it. Next day same
hole they're all gone and its time to start again, but when you do find them, ya can have quite a good time just trying to hook them to start
with can be a very good challenge, then the fight !! some of those fish are very fit indeed with most being between 3-6lb with the odd bigger
one lurking about. A recent fresh thought the Pomahaka will bring more up that river and should make the rest of April very enjoyable with some
good fishing still to be had, so ..
Tight lines everyone, Michael
1 April 2007
Hi every one
(Sorry for all those who have been trying to get a hold of us - my phone line was down for 3 days)
After the recent fresh (flush) going through all rivers, fishing has picked up a little and the number of hook ups are on the increase with most
resident fish taking in as much food as possible before they start moving up river to spawn. However most sea run are starting to pair up and
sit on the bottom and moving very little to take food in which you must put you nymphs right in front of their nose to induce a strike this is
especially the case in the mid reaches of the Pomahaka. Should you happen to hit a sea-run around the 5-7lb you soon know about it with some
very spectacular aerodynamics and the fight to go with it!! When the conditions suit their been some very good afternoon hatches happening on
the lower Mataura with some good fishing to be had, when their is no hatch you can still pick up the odd fish using a nymph.
Tight lines All
Michael
15 March 2007
Hi everyone,
The Mataura has been very low lately and most of the good sized fish are becoming very educated to any suspect looking fly or a slight movement,
or over cast fly will put them down quick. Stealth being the key to any success anywhere. However some much needed rain has been falling putting
a fresh through most rivers in Southland which is good for all as trout don't like the warm water which comes with low water levels. Higher
water levels make fishing a little easier as I find fish tend to feed much better and don't seam to be as spooky as they are with low clear
water. This rain should bring up a fresh run of sea-run up most low land waters which should add some good entertainment should you be able to
hook into one of them very fit fish.
Tight lines everyone
Michael
23 Feb 2007
Hi everyone,
Fishing at the moment is about as good as its going to get with all the rivers low and clear making for sight fishing at it's best. There are a
lot of fish out there, some more easily fooled than others. I will have fond memories for a long time of a small pool in the mid reaches of the
Oreti in which one could almost do nothing wrong, hooking a very good number of 1-4lbs. almost all of which were sitting on the bottom feeding.
Having only a dry on at the time I thought - What would be the chance of them coming up to take a dry fly off the top? Very little I thought,
but boy was I wrong!! First cast with a #14 Addams then whammo - fish on! A fluke I thought, but no, almost every fish over the next 2-3hrs came
up and took a dry at some stage. The Mataura is also fishing very well with mid morning and evening hatches coming off and a good number of
1-3lb'rs being caught. If there is no hatch coming off on these fine summer days it doesn't take long to spot one sitting on the bottom to throw
a nymph at!!
So, tight lines everyone
Michael
11 Feb 2007
Hi everyone
River levels are starting to get low now but not real low just yet and the fishing is starting to get tough!! With some days it seems you can't
do any thing wrong and pick up fish after fish on an afternoon hatch and the next day.. nothing. They take your fly and spit it straight back
out. Some days they are that spooky you can't get a fly within 10 foot of one without it taking off into the deep. Everyday is different to the
next!! The rivers are getting hammered at the moment and it comes down to 'right spot, right day'. If you find a good stretch of water you will
do well, with some stretches of water fishing very well with a lot of fish in them others not so well and seem to have no fish in them for
miles. There are a lot of fishermen out there and I'm seeing a good number of fish getting hooked at the moment on the Mataura. I'm not
surprised as its fishing very, very well indeed.
Tight Lines
Michael
22 Jan 2007
Hi everyone
With some nice fine weather other the last few days their has been a good number of fish feeding whenever I seem to turn up at a river. Some of
the fish being fairly particular on what the are going to take and having to mix things up a bit in order to fool a fish or two. And on the
other hand their also been times in which they seem to take any thing you chuck at 'em there have been a good number of fish being caught in the
1-3lb range and I've seen the odd big one! But they are starting to become very spooky but haven't been able to got a good crack at them
Tight lines everyone
Michael
07 Jan 2007
Hi Everyone
With some pleasant weather in the the last few evening's I've been having a lot of success on a high and clearing Mataura river after the recent
fresh that went through it, I've been catching a lot 3-5lbs on a dry fly - without a hatch happening these fish are very hungry!! Also finding
that nymph's a re also having some success and hooking a lot of fish in 1-2lb mark most of these fish are in very good condition (despite recent
flooding) and putting up some very impressive fights.
So tight lines everyone
Michael
29 Dec 2006
Hi Everyone
With the warmer weather over the last few weeks I'm starting too see a lot more hatch's coming off daily. With rivers still carrying a lot of
excess water and the lack of fishermen on the rivers up to now (!!) fish numbers are still quite high. On some of the larger rivers I'm finding
most nymphs are working quite effectively. On the smaller streams there is an ever increasing number of people on river banks and fish are
starting to becoming very spooky and very fussy on what they are going to eat. Some fish are even rejecting naturals.
So Tight Lines
Everyone
12 Dec 2006
Hi Everyone
With the weather starting to settle a little I've been to some back country rivers lately and they're starting to fish very well. A recent trip
into the Von river saw a very good number of 1-3lb rainbows being caught - with them not being in the best of condition maybe explaining
why they seemed to take almost any fly coming down the river. Also seeing the odd afternoon and evening rise happening on the Mataura and with
some luck with the weather to stay settled, we may see some good fishing over the next couple of weeks.
Tight lines everyone
Michael
28 Nov 2006
Hi Everyone
Things have been a tad difficult of late with heavy down-pours in the headwaters of almost every catchment. Rivers have been high and muddy and
just when they come right, more rain and up they come again. So I've been to some different waters and finding things a bit tricky with trout
feeding habits a lot different to what I'm used to. Needless to say hook ups are down a bit. I managed to sneak in a fishing trip to the Waikaia
to find some good conditioned fish ranging from 3 to 5lb which seemed to feed well after lunch.
Tight lines
Michael
18 Nov 2006
Hi Everybody
With a successful trip into some back country rivers in the last week I can tell you they are in good condition and containing good number of
fish, With some 2-4lb rainbows being easily fooled with size 14 nymphs. The Eglinton contains some very large Browns which are not as silly as
their smaller rainbow cousins as rainbows will just about take anything you put in front of them if the conditions are right. Browns however
seem to know that you are on the river to catch them and can be quite fussy when they want to be, especially when they are feeding near the
surface.
Tight lines
Michael
02 Nov 2006
Hi everyone,
Afternoon hatches are happening almost everyday on most rivers or streams I've been to lately, with some nice 2 to 4lb fish being caught on an
afternoon rise. With so many natural flies on the water is been extremely difficult to spot my fly on the water. Needless to say making it
difficult to know when to strike!!! It's been fun indeed.
With opening weekend on many backcountry rivers this weekend, I am looking forward to visiting most of them, to see if
the fishing is as good as it has been in Gore and its surrounding areas. Lets hope there is many a fish which will be happy to take my fly!!!
Tight lines
Michael
19 Oct 2006
Hi People,
Sorry if you have been trying to contact us - we have had a virus in the computer which required it to be sent to the shop (not the river) for 3
days but has been fixed and is going again - fingers crossed we have no more problems
With the cloudless, windless, sunny warm days of opening week now a distance memory,
we have been bombarded with very strong north westerlies and rain. The rivers have been going up and down on a daily basis. Therefore fishing
has not been easy, to say the least. Casting into 137km winds is not much fun and we're finding that the hook-ups are down but the quality and
overall size of the fish getting better, with Robby catching a 9lb brown on the creeper - a very nice fish. On the odd good evening there has
been some surface movement on the Mataura - been catching some fish on the dry fly. With some nice early season hatches and the rivers full of
fish, before-Christmas fishing is set to be exciting to say the least!!!
Tight lines,
Michael.
4 Oct 2006
Hi Everyone!
After many months of anticipation opening day of fishing was finally upon us - WAHOO!!! - with little rain and fine spring days it is a great
time to be on the river.
I've personally had a great start to the season picking up good conditioned brown trout ranging in size from 4lb-7lb. in
small streams and rivers that surround Gore. With the Mataura being just a five minute walk from my front door step it is very hard not to
resist being on it every day.
In the evening there is good nymphing movement with a great number of fish, ranging in size from 1lb-3lb which are quite
happy to take almost anything you put in front of them.
So, tight lines people!
Michael
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