Thread: Catch Any Trout Today?

Originally Posted by Trout

All ways good river mouth fishing at this time of the year over yr way.Those rainbows love brown trout eggs drifting out the rivermouths.

Hoping to give egg rolling a go in the twizel canals over winter. Might try some artificial eggs dangling off a float at either the Wānaka or Hāwea outlets in the meantime.

Saw a number of trout heading up the upper reaches of the Matukituki river on a walk this arvo.

Timaru Creek mouth area good for bows in May -June.

Originally Posted by Haggie

Hoping to give egg rolling a go in the twizel canals over winter. Might try some artificial eggs dangling off a float at either the Wānaka or Hāwea outlets in the meantime.

Float fishing is a much neglected technique here in NZ. I want to try it on the canals at some point. I would be interested if you could share your rigs and let us know how you get on.

Ran some eggs down to a weighted nymph 6ish feet long off a float/bobber at the Hāwea outlet again before work and got another nice rainbow.

Just using a cheap telescopic rod with 8 pound mono (6 pound for the leader) but find I’m a bit slow to set the hook and missing quite a few opportunities. Thinking it might be time to upgrade the rod and use some braid to see if I can set the hook more regularly.

Yrs ago we use to spin fish the Wanaka out let at night till midnight using a black n gold Toby.If you didn't have 8lb line on,youd get taken to the cleaners.Some big fish come out after dark and we fished from the north side.You couldnt walk down far with your fish,just hand on and hope for the best.

Above the Hawea outlet ie lake side of the dam can be very productive for land locked quniet salmon at certain times of the year.

From memory about now when they build up there trying to do their spawning run.

Also excellant fishing in the Makarora during may (when most other rivers have closed for the season) It is full of fish on their spawning run up from lake Wanaka.
@Haggie Nice fish but it looks more like a brown in that photo

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Originally Posted by kukuwai

Above the Hawea outlet ie lake side of the dam can be very productive for land locked quniet salmon at certain times of the year.

From memory about now when they build up there trying to do their spawning run.

Also excellant fishing in the Makarora during may (when most other rivers have closed for the season) It is full of fish on their spawning run up from lake Wanaka.
@Haggie Nice fish but it looks more like a brown in that photo

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Yea I have heard that they hang out by the intake pipe and have hooked up there. Keen to get into the salmon more but have alot more luck with the trout.

Hmmm hard to see because I had cut its head off already in the picture and its on bit of an angle but had a streak of pink on its cheek and along the body and was quite green on the top. Are hybrids are a thing?

Not sure about hybrids ?
Either way it looks tasty

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Originally Posted by Haggie

Just using a cheap telescopic rod with 8 pound mono (6 pound for the leader) but find I’m a bit slow to set the hook and missing quite a few opportunities. Thinking it might be time to upgrade the rod and use some braid to see if I can set the hook more regularly. ]

Long thin light rods are the way to go for serious float fishing. Hard to track down in NZ, but there are a few options.

This evening effort, Lake Dunstan. First cast. Nice condition Rainbow. Softbait doing the business again.
Released. Also got a slabby Brown, again released.

Originally Posted by Haggie

Yea I have heard that they hang out by the intake pipe and have hooked up there. Keen to get into the salmon more but have alot more luck with the trout.

Hmmm hard to see because I had cut its head off already in the picture and its on bit of an angle but had a streak of pink on its cheek and along the body and was quite green on the top. Are hybrids are a thing?

Hybrids are a thing but that's 95% sure a brown. Bows just don't get spots like that.

Originally Posted by viper

This evening effort, Lake Dunstan. First cast. Nice condition Rainbow. Softbait doing the business again.
Released. Also got a slabby Brown, again released. Attachment 224336

That's a fantastic looking fish.
If you were planning to release fish in future there's a couple pointers that will give your fish a far greater chance of survival.
Please don't take this as a lecture, plenty of people just don't know and think they're doing a good thing releasing trout.
Don't let you fish touch the ground. Gravel, sand, rocks etc typical around NZ waterways. This removes the mucus layer protecting your fish. Without this they will have less chance of surviving due to increased risk of infection. Same with a dry net or hands. Dragging them up the bank is also a no-no for the same reasons.
Easy fix is buy a net. Wet it before you use it and cradle this fish in the net (in the water).
Cameras kill fish. Every second out of the water reduces the survival chance. If you want a photo they look just as good in the drink in the safety of your net.

If you really have to get that photo do it quickly and support the fish. Don't do the Dundee death grip. Support the fish under the pectoral fins and wrist of the tail. Do it quick, you're pretty much waterboarding the fish while posing for your photo.

I've no problem killing fish. Just don't kid yourself that your doing a fish a favour by releasing it poorly. A poor release and you'd have been better off to kill it and feed it to the neighbours cat.
A compromised fish will swim away and "look okay" initially. It's later on when the adrenaline wears off and the lactic acid kicks in is when they die. If they survive the initial shock they can also die of infection later on, the loss of their mucus layer is effectively like a burn to us. Easy to get infected.
BAD RELEASE = 3rd degree burns while waterboarding in a vice
GOOD RELEASE = Drunk on a ferris wheel at the circus where you got a piercing you can't remember and now have mild PTSD and a bad hangover.

Cheers for the release tips. I do move quickly and always make sure my hands are wet, also very careful with the cradling and handling.
They swim off strongly, guess a fighting chance is better than none. I will try the net thing as well.

Originally Posted by viper

Cheers for the release tips. I do move quickly and always make sure my hands are wet, also very careful with the cradling and handling.
They swim off strongly, guess a fighting chance is better than none. I will try the net thing as well.

Nice. Using a net gets easier the more you do it and it's a big plus for the fish. I like the McLean ones but anything is better than nothing.
Swimming off strong is just instinct. You'd haul ass too if you'd just escaped some psycho who tried to murder you.

Weighted nymph dangling off a float bagged a brown first cast this arvo.