| By
Michael Courtman, The Southland Times, Tuesday, 2 October 2007
Southland rivers rewarded anglers with some good
catches on the opening day of the trout fishing season yesterday.
Fish and Game Southland manager Maurice Rodway
said there had been reports of several, 2-3kg rainbow trout caught
in the upper Waiau
River, and a large brown trout taken from the Dunsdale stream.
Mr Rodway said quite a few fishermen had taken
advantage of the school holidays and fine weather to get out and
wet a line.
Licence sales had been steady and there were
no reports of anyone being caught fishing without a licence.
Although heavy rain had discoloured the upper
reaches of some rivers in the district, such as the Mataura
and Oreti,
the lower reaches of these rivers were in good condition for opening
day.
Mr Rodway said the weekend was shaping up to
be a good time for fly anglers fishing the tributaries such as the
Waimea, Waikawa, Hamilton Burn and Acton. "The rivers should
be in excellent condition if the weather holds up for the weekend."
Edendale angler Brain Russell said he caught
one brown trout during a morning's fishing on the Mataura
River.
New Zealand Professional Fishing Guide Association
member Harvey McGuire said trout were more likely to take a bait
early in the season when food was scarcer.
"Early season is always the easiest time
to catch fish if if the rivers are in suitable condition."
View
the original article and photo at the Stuff website |