Otago Anglers' Association senior vice-president Chris Fahey said the club was established in 1881 and celebrated its 135th anniversary this month.
The club had more than 20 senior members and several junior members, ranging in age from 9 to late 80s.
He expected ''a late membership rush'' before the trout fishing season opens on Saturday.
''It is an exciting time.''
Members had access to its weekly meetings at its clubrooms in Tomahawk, and novice anglers could gain fishing knowledge from senior members.
The members had access to the club's fishing lodges on the Pomahaka River and Mataura River.
The club will hold its 133rd Waipahi Gold Medal Fishing Competition on the Waipahi River this November.
The club also arranged fishing trips for its members in Otago, Southland and the West Coast.
''We try and get out and about.''
Otago Fish & Game operations manager Ian Hadland said a benign winter and calm spring had set up ''near perfect conditions'' for the opening of the angling season.
''There was no really significant floods over the winter so the fish should be in good condition and the water clarity, particularly in our lowland Otago waters like the Pomahaka and Waipahi rivers, is terrific. That's great news for our dedicated early-season anglers.''
About 5% more fishing licences had sold than at the same time last year, Mr Hadland said.
''People are excited and are getting prepared.''
Fish & Game sold 27,000 fishing licences for the 2015-16 season in Southland - 10% more than the previous season.
The new discounted licence categories for seniors and local anglers sold ''very well'' last year.
Most of the increased sales were in the day-licence category.
''Because of the discounting for seniors and cheaper short-term options, it didn't result in a leap in revenue for the organisation, but that was never the aim. It was about delivering a broader range of better fitting licences.''
The Otago Fish & Game Council had hoped for improvements to compliance this year but double the usual number of fishing offenders were caught.
The 70 angling offenders had some form of prosecution action taken against them, ranging from warnings for technical breaches to court fines of more than $2000.
The most common offence was fishing without a licence, an offence which was the easiest for anglers to avoid, Mr Hadland said
''Grabbing an online $20 day licence before you head out the door can save an awful amount of grief for the offender and paperwork for us. Don't get me wrong, a drop in compliance from 96% to 94% is still good compliance but it could always be better.''
