There has been rain on and off this last week, and of course some snow, all of which has meant that rivers are mostly above normal and the water is cool.
There has been a pattern so far this season with small streams being fishable and larger rivers unfishable or marginal at best.
The same is true this weekend but there are also still waters to fall back on if you cannot find a suitable river. Because of the cool water fish have not been very active early and are following a typical spring pattern with the main feeding period being from late morning on, so do not be disillusioned if you have no success early in the day.
My picks for fishing this weekend are the Tokomairiro, Waiwera, Waikouaiti as far as running water goes and the Maniototo dams and the tussock lakes for a still-water option. The latter will be very much dependent on the weather, the warmer the better.
Last weekend, the 128th Waipahi Gold Medal was held, on the Waipahi of course. The day began with the competitors gathering at the oak tree in Clinton.
Usually by 8am the anglers are getting restless and keen to get to their beats, but not last Saturday. Snow was falling steadily and there was already a good ground covering. The word was that the river was in good order but the snow and biting wind tempered enthusiasm.
Eventually we set off. Chris Hyndman, my partner on beat 24, and I headed off down State Highway 1 following a vehicle sliding all over the road. We got to our beat safely but sat in the vehicle for the first hour until the snow eased off.
The snow on the paddocks was about 15cm deep and the wind was icy. I took the lower half of the beat and Chris the upper. The water did look good so I started with confidence and first time through I hooked and lost two fish, one of which was small and the other I did not see during the few seconds I had contact.
Eventually the river started to rise and colour up as the snow had begun to melt by lunchtime. This was my 30th Waipahi Gold Medal. I had managed to at least weigh in a fish for the first 29, but it was looking less likely as the time passed that I would weigh in on the 30th attempt.
I decided if I caught a fish over the size limit I would keep it.
About 4pm I was plonking a nymph up the edge of the river thinking this was the best option as the river was rising steadily and quite dirty by now. A hapless fish came to the rescue. It was bang on the size limit so I kept it. The next hour was fruitless. It turned out that was the only fish weighed in and by default won the gold medal.
- Mike Weddell
