6 hours walk or 30 minutes boat
ride from the small town of St Arnaud.
Setting
The Travers
is a beautiful river that winds across wide tussock country
between bush covered slopes. It has pristine cool snow fed water
and is a delight to fish. It is located at the head of Lake
Rotoiti (southern end) and is the main feeder into this lake.
It is also an important spawning river for the lake.
The river has a mostly shingle
bed and very clear water in which the large trout can be easily
spotted. The wide grassy flats make for easy casting and the
water is easily waded but be warned, like most wilderness waters
the fish are easily spooked by any poor cast or hurried approach.
Fish numbers and size
Fish numbers
are good with the avearge fish being in the 2-4lb range.
Ease of fishing
Once there, the Travers is an
easy river to fish with wide grassy banks and a good walking
track allowing easy access to most of its fishable length.
Access
Access
is via walking (about 5-6 hours from St Arnaud or a boat ride.
Dry flies:Cicada patterns
are very effective from late summer and beetle
patterns work well in early summer. Otherwise use small flies
such as Greenwell's
Glory, Coch-y-Bondhu,
Humpy, Royal
Wulff or March
Brown. In the faster rapidsr use large visible palmered
flies, especially in the hotter months when the river
is low and very clear and fish move into this water.
Wet flies:
Small wets like Greenwell's
Glory, March
Brown and emerger
sedge patterns such as Invicta
work well when fished sub-surface. These flies are lethal
when fishing the evening rise which can provide spectacular
fishing as the trout tend to feed frenetically at this time.
Spinners: Small
bladed spinners (Mepps
or Veltic) fished
into the faster water or through the deep pools or into the
faster rapids are best for this river.
