Angling Report: December 2005 Lake Brunner Fly Fishing Report
The good weather has continued through November and into December. There have been a couple of brief rain events, with consequent but modest freshes down the rivers, but still no significant floods since February 2005. Rivers are in excellent shape with algae build-up on the bottoms such as you would normally not see until February/March! Consequently here has been a major increase in aquatic insect populations, and trout are in absolutely superb condition, particularly in rivers such as the Grey.
On the other hand, fish in Lake Brunner are in poorer condition on average, with lots of "slabs" caught over recent months. Lake levels have been very low all through winter and spring.
With a dry summer looming in many South Island areas, the prospects of a great cicada hatch are high - and it would be nice indeed to have a long hot summer with bulk volumes of terrestrials to keep the trout keen! Low and clear rivers will make fishing challenging, with "spring creek" conditions prevalent on most local streams. Water temperatures are already high, meaning the head of deep pools and the bottoms of faster runs are where the fish are most likely to be found if current conditions continue. Fly of choice in evenings is a size 14 Kakahi Queen, or a size 16 Elk Hair Caddis. Try skating the caddis on dark - let it swing down stream of you ,and raise and lower the rod to skate the fly upstream a yard or two then drift back... takes can be savage, with fish sometimes coming clear out of the water!
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| Stuart Parkinson holds up his first-ever trout. Things can only get better... actually, To be completely objective and fair, it was the first time he had been fishing in his life, and only about his 3rd cast on his first fly casting lesson! |
...and things did get better! Actually, Stu landed some nice fish and at the end of the 3 day trip was casting extremely well. I'd say he was well and truly hooked on fishing! |
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| Jerry Weitz landed a lovely 5lb fish... |
...and then he let it go again! |
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| Jerry in "stealth mode" which nearly got him the monster - unfortunately, the cast was a fraction close to a fish of around 8lbs... |
...but we washed his sorrows away with the obligatory cup of coffee and a handful of cookies! The sugar-rush always gets them smiling again! |
                                
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