Day 1: We fished the upper Mataura for the first day until mid morning when we got blown off the water…
Fishing the upper Mataura:
No hatches and discoloured water so off to the middle Oreti, but not much luck there either, again more wind….
Day 2: We headed off to check out the Pomahaka but that was also very high and discoloured, and after a lot of driving we gave up and headed back to Gore to fish the lower Mataura, only to arrive on the water just as gale force winds started blowing… So we retreated back to Gore for the customary photo under the big trout:
To top that off it rained all night and next day all the rivers were brown, with the Waimea flowing out of its banks…
Day 3: So after a morning spent looking for clean water we found the Mararoa clean and not too high. We fished that for most of the day, again with wind and rain keeping us company apart from the odd moment of sunshine to give us hope. I managed to catch a few rainbows, the largest around 4lbs, which put up a great fight in the fast current.
One of the Mararoa bows:
Wes looking the part:
Kiwi Burn Swingbridge (heaps of didymo downstream, a lot less above):
We tried another spot downstream but there was heaps of didymo around, not very nice at all, and no fish caught either… After more rain we gave up and went back to the motel to dry off
Day 4: We gave up on Southland and headed north to Omarama, stopping off along the way to check out a few spots, but again rain and wind… We made it to Omarama, found a place to stay and fished the Ahuriri delta for a couple of small rainbows, and I briefly hooked and lost a large brown in one of the backwaters. We had an interesting experience when we took the wrong turn on the track and ended up in a swampy marsh… I struggled through, Wes spat the dummy and went back to the car. We tried again after we were informed that there was an easier track which we found without too much trouble – another lesson learned…
Day 5: We fished the upper Ahuriri and had a memorable day, clear skies, no wind and plenty of big fish around. It was quite cold so no cicadas around but the first fish I spotted obligingly took the nymph, and weighed in at 7.5lbs:
Next it was Wes’ turn and many spooked fish later he finally caught his first good brown, a beautiful 4lber:
I ended the morning with 2 browns (7lb and 5lb) and 2 4lb rainbows, plus 2 lost fish and a few more missed strikes… What a spot, absolutely stunning…
5lb Ahuriri brown:
4lb Ahuriri rainbow:
We fished the lower section that evening where I caught a few more nice fish.
Day 6: We headed back up into the valley but the wind was back in full force, so we went down the valley. The Hakataramea was running very low so we fished the Waitaki in Kurow and I had a great session catching 4lb rainbows and browns… We then headed to Waitakidan’s place, after he had kindly offered accom for the next 2 days. Highlight of the day was Wes’ first involuntary river swim…
Day 7: Dan took us to one of his favourite streams and we had a great morning, we spotted lots of fish but I only managed to land one, a lovely 4lb rainbow...
The fish seemed to have other things on their mind... Dan did a great job as spotter and also cameraman, the video will be out in your local shop soon… That afternoon we fished the Waitaki and I had another great session with 8 fish caught, rainbows and browns to 4lbs…
4lb Waitaki brown:
Day 8: Dan took us to his NUNYA and we had a memorable couple of hours fishing for 3-4lb browns in the beautiful stream. 2 fish each, with Wes catching a lovely fish on dry fly too, a great way to finish off the trip. I pulled out the Scott G 884 for the occasion and it was just perfect:
Wes and Waitakidan:
