2006/2007 news
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
