Those that did rise are back to a good fishable level or close to it.
The thing that has changed notably is the water temperature.
Rivers are staying in the low teens most of the time due to cooler days and longer nights.
The main effect this has from the fishing point of view is insect activity and therefore fish activity starts later in the day. If you like to fish later in the day cover the deeper, slower water to increase your chances of a fish.
As the water warms insects will become more active and trout will move into shallower,faster water to feed.
The peak feeding period is from noon to late afternoon.
Nymphs fished deep are the best bet in the morning then lighter nymphs fished in the afternoon moving on to dry flies or emergers if a rise occurs.
Sometimes fishing a dry works even when there are no rises but nymphs are more productive until you start to see trout’s noses breaking the surface consistently. If it is calm and sunny lookout for a fall of spinners.
There will be gentle sipping rises in the slower flats and towards the tail of a pool.
At least we have some water to fish in so far. I drove to Christchurch and back last weekend and other than the big rivers rising in the Southern Alps most of the rivers were dry.
Even on the way home after some rain at the weekend they were still dry. Probably that is the way things are going to be in the future given the political direction at the moment.
The lack of mention of climate change and the ecological consequences is worrying to say the least. No mention of mitigating the effects of environmental abuse and who will bear the cost.
If conditions stay as they are this weekend, my pick for fishing would be the Mataura during the day and the Clutha in the evenings where a sedge rise can be expected. We will start to get frosts soon and although that delays the start of the day’s fishing the sport can still be good.
I remember (backed up by my diaries) having frosty starts on the Mataura in the autumn and finding fish in the shallows in the afternoon taking nymphs and then duns at the peak of the rise. The action stops abruptly in the late afternoon.
The same applies to the upper Clutha in the evenings where the frost sets in earlier than in the low country with fish rising to spinners then sedges even when the line is freezing to the rod rings and the hands are numb.
It is amazing how catching a fish can distract from the discomfort.
