Southland Fishing Season Looking Good

Southland Fish and Game Field Officer Cohen Stewart outlines the trout fishing prospects for the 2017/18 season.

In Southland, trout fishing options abound and the season ahead is shaping up to be a good one.

Anglers will have noticed that river flows were uncharacteristically stable over winter with no major floods. Such conditions are ideal for trout spawning. Fish counts in the Waituna catchment have revealed plenty of fat brown trout and this year they are larger than average. Rainbow trout spawning counts on the upper Waiau have also been high due to favourable river conditions.

Counts from our drift diving surveys earlier in the year showed that trout numbers were the second highest on record in the upper Mataura and the highest on record in the lower Mararoa. Consider a visit to these rivers at some stage during the season.

Invercargill anglers have some great fishing opportunities on their doorstep. For example, the lower Oreti and Makarewa rivers are 10-15 minutes drive from Invercargill. These river sections have excellent populations of brown trout. When fishing the lower Oreti and Makarewa rivers my lure pick is a soft bait.

I recommend anglers buy their licence early and make the most of early season fishing opportunities. Fishing in October and November can be particularly productive as trout are franticly feeding to regain condition after spawning and they will be more naïve than usual as they haven’t seen a fly or lure in a while.

Invercargill anglers should make sure they harvest a fish or two this season. Harvesting fish for the table is an important part of the hunter gather process. I like to take fish of about 1-1.5kg in weight. These are the best to eat. When you do decide to take a fish, look after it. Bleed and gut the trout as soon as possible and put it in a cool place, preferably on ice. If you take the right trout and look after it, you can be assured a tasty meal come dinner time.