It is fortunate overnight temperatures have dropped in the past week, which has had a cooling effect on rivers and streams.
This has had a noticeable effect on trout behaviour. They are feeding more actively now, which benefits the angler.
The lack of rainfall continues and waters are lower every day.
Hopefully, forecast rainfall will eventuate. To a certain point, slightly more than the flow ceasing altogether, low water is good for fishing. It is the combined effect of low flow and hot weather that is the problem.
When it comes to choosing a fishing spot, the water ideally should be below 20degC with not too much weed or algae - oh, and a few fish there, too, would help.
Tussock lakes meet these conditions and are a good option, especially if the weather is fine, and it will not be long before cicadas appear on the scene. A worm or lure will catch fish for the threadliner, whereas the fly fisher should use midge pupae early or late in the day or waterboatman and damsel fly nymph throughout the day.
Flowing water options for fishing are the Clutha, the Taieri and the Mataura. The Clutha, in particular, is ideal, as it is at a good level and its temperature is around 18degC, at which trout feed flat out. Spin fishing is worth a try during the day and fly fishing early and late for best results, but throughout the day can be productive, too.
Murray Smart and I had a memorable day on the Mataura for the last day out for 2011. The river was a little lower than during my last visit but a few degrees cooler and there were rising fish for most of the day, as well as fish nymphing in the ripples.
We fished separate sections of river but had much the same experience with fish on the nymph in the morning and on the spinner late in the afternoon.
I fished a section that I had not visited since the big flood of last year. In some parts, the changes to the river were dramatic and in others it had hardly changed at all. The light, clean bottom in one ripple made it much easier to spot fish, although that is counterbalanced to a certain extent by the trout being spookier.
As usual, most of the fish for the day were caught on either a size 14 hare's ear nymph or a size 12 version of the same fly.
However the odd fish rising during the day took a mayfly emerger and to finish off the day, the upside-down spinner did the trick. Both Murray and I had one of our best days so far this season.
On another day I nipped down to the Taieri, to see if I could catch a nice fish I had seen last week. I could not reach it on that occasion, but the river had dropped since and I was able to get a fly to it and it took straight off. It is nice when things go to plan occasionally.
• Written by Mike Weddell.
