Angling Report: Dec 2001 Lake Brunner Fly Fishing Report
The
rain set in in mid November, and continued unabated for a
month. During this period, all rivers were in flood every day,
and the lake sustained extremely high levels, with total of
900mm of rain in the period.
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|
The Crooked
River in peak flood is a sobering sight! |
Air
temperatures were consistently high at around 18-20C, so
whilst it was wet, being outdoors was not totally unpleasant.
These are the times when we give thanks for the chest
waders... the rain coats, and the broad-brimmed hats!!!
My guest for this period was Jean Paul Malla, from the
Complete Angler Lodge in Tasmania. Fortunately, he'd just come
from the rainy season in Papua New Guinea, and as a 20yr
resident of Tassie, was quite at home in our delinquent
weather. The fishing, under such conditions, is challenging
Rivers are out of the question, and the lake shore has
disappeared into the rain forest. The only option for us was
forays along the mountain shores of Lakes Brunner &
Poerua, where the edge rises steeply and trout do not have the
opportunity to spread out over the low-lying farmlands as in
the case on opposite shores.
 |
 |
| High
lake levels, the beach is under 6ft of water! |
But
the trout are plentiful, & in great condition |
We
caught fish on every expedition, and had several exciting
sessions. Jean had a nice new St Croix rod purchased
especially for this expedition - and it snapped in half part
way through battle with a particularly savage trout!!!
We were able to land it, but that was the end of the rod for
the duration of his visit. On another day, calm but steady
drizzle falling, we landed thirteen trout for the day!!!
One of those days when you don't want to go home, with fish
rising steadily all day, and obligingly taking any properly
presented streamer fly. For every one we landed, we lost
another - and even got broken off 3 times!!!
December
16 - 23
2001
An improvement in the weather for a much anticipated
return visit by Mr K C Mueller, from Hawaii. Still not very summer-like, but at
least we got a few days in without chest waders on, such luxury! :-) Lake
levels dropped appreciably, and rivers were clear and fishable. The excellent
condition of trout has been a striking factor throughout this year. Fish are
predominantly short and fat, and full of fight. On two of the days Mr Mueller
was here, we landed 5 trout in sessions of 4-5 hours.
December
30 2001
Back to the rain... guests from Minnesota, Bob
Blanchette and Ben Held, having just left temperatures of 0'F enroute for
Antartica, found our windy weather to be quite tropical... With flooded rivers
again, the Arnold River (outlet from Lake Brunner) seemed our best option and we
set off downstream from Moana around 8:30am. The falling barometer, stiff
breeze, and occasional showers were all against us, but the visitors were
positive, enthusiastic, and appreciative of the scenery. We were rewarded by
several strikes, landing a couple of nice fish, and even had a bust-off on a
good fish before lunch. The day got progressively harder as the wind speed
increased, making casting a 5 weight line a difficult task.
Angling Report: Dec 2001 Lake Brunner Fly Fishing Report
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