[yellowfin]

I’ve been reading through the forum and website and

[Miliwolf]

Yes, there is salmon fishing up river. It is quite popular, two years ago I caught a nice 7.7lb Salmon while spinning for trout although I live in Marlborough which is the northern edge of the Salmon runs.

We also have a population of sea run brown trout. The enter the rivers early spring chasing baitfish. Late in the summer they enter again and head upstream to spawn.

I have only been trout fishing for 2-3 years but I am quite passionate about it. Marlborough has quite a few good rivers to fish.

The largest river is the Wairau, it is 140km long and most braided. It holds good populations of brown trout and a few rainbows. There can be good fishing for sea run brown trout near the mouth.

The middle reaches are quite boring, although do hold good numbers of fish where the water is stable.

The upper reaches and headwaters are secnic and a excellent brown trout fishery. Trophy size trout are not unheard of. Although the river is swift and fast flowing in these parts.

The second main river in Marlborough is the Pelorus. The lower reaches holds good number of both Rainbow and Brown trout. The upper reaches are a series of deep crystal clear ponds which hold few fish but the ones which are there are normally big.

The main tributary of the Pelorus is the Rai, this river holds a amazing number of trout. although many of them are small.

If the rivers are in flood, the best place to fish is a small river called Spring Creek. The water is clear and the river holds a large number of good size fish.

There are many other rivers and options in Blenheim and I have only given a quick overview of three of the key rivers. The website NZfishing.com has good information and so does the ‘book’ Southh Island Trout Fishing Guide – John Kent.

With regards to equipment. I use a 6wt 9ft rod for fly fishing. It handles 90% of the conditions just fine. Your 7ft would probably be alright on all but the smallest of streams. If possible I would use a lighter spinning rod for freshwater fishing.

A floating line is important, along with tippit material in 3x and 4x. I like to use “AirFlo Floating Poly Leader 5ft”. Then to that I tie a couple of feet of 0X tippit material and to that I 4-5 feet of 3x or 4x material.

This leader set-up seems to work well and I find it handles the wind better then the more traditional tapered leaders and is more forgiven on my poor casting techqnuie.

Fly Selection i like to have.

Pheasant Tail Nymph in sizes 12-16 with 16 being my favourite. Tungsten beadheads are also useful to get the Nymph down quickly.

Hare & Copper Nympth in simalar sizes.

Maybe a few Stone Fly nympths if you plan to fish the headwaters.

For Streams the best option is the Wooly Bugger, in sizes 2-6.

Having a selection of Dry Flys is also handy. December is still a bit early for ‘large terrestrial fishing’.

Now onto the Marlborough sounds.

The inner queen charolete sounds hold few fish, and you really need a boat and fish the ‘headlands and outer bays to catch decent number of blue cod.

The Pelerous sound should have Snapper in it at this time of year, they are quite hit and miss but they are decent fighters.

There would also be a range of other saltwater fish present.

There is a lot of information and it would take to long to write it all here.

[yellowfin]

Hello Miliwolf

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply. You’ve covered a lot of ground there.

[Miliwolf]

To get into the very good fishing, you really need to get further out then Ship Cove. Although, it is still possible to catch a feed of fish in the inner sounds.

I say the Sea run trout should still be around, try the mouths of the Wairau or Pelorus. At dusk with a incoming tide is suppose to be the best fishing. Using a wetfly would be the best method to capture the sea runs.

I have not been able to master ‘blind’ nympth fishing mainly because I have not tried. But it is a very effective method. I prefer to sight fish for trout.

I spot the trout, then using two small nympth flys about a 2 feet apart. I then cast upstream of the feeding trout making sure the flyline proper lands downstream of the fish. Then the nympths should sink down to the level of the trout. If all goes well you should see the trout open its mouth.Around that time you would need to strike.

Here is a short video showing ‘Nympth fishing”.

http://www.fishfever.com/node/157/play

With blind nymph fishing, the technique is similar, but you use a indicator which moves slightly when the fish takes the nymph.

The book has a good briefing for most rivers and lakes in New Zealand. The first chapter has a bit on technique and recommended equipment.

I say the Wakamarina would be worth a look. It does not hold a large number of fish, but normally atleast 1 per pond. It mainly holds resident browns with a few very nice fish. It can be quite hard going in spots, and requires a bit of pushing through bush and climbing around cliffs. In a few spots in the upper reaches (not highly recommended) swimming is required.

A popular place to fish wet flys is where the wakamarina joins the Pelorus. I have heard of large sea run browns being caught there fishing at night.

The wakamarina (and most rivers) have been swollen or in flood all month so I have not been able to fish them this season.

[yellowfin]

Thanks for the vid link. I think I’ll be able to manage that method.

The boat I’ve been on in the Sounds is thought to be a little underpowered to go outside in rough weather

[Miliwolf]

When its rough, even quite large boats struggle to get out onto the coast. We owned a high quality pontoon boat and about half the time we went fishing it was to rough to stay out on the headlands.

People claim that Barracouta have worms, it might be true but I suspect they would do humans no harm. Especially after being cooked. I have tried eating a small barracouta before and can not remember the taste. They are a great fighting fish and fun on a light gear.

The wakamarina does not hold enough fish to bother with ‘blind fishing’. It would be a option on a few of the larger rivers with high fish populations. The lower Pelorus would be a option in high flows.

[yellowfin]

Miliwolf

Just back from a trip to try out the new methods you showed me.

[Miliwolf]

Good to hear that you had a bit of luck with nympthing.

Using your usual techniques, how many fish would you have expected to catch?

[yellowfin]

[Miliwolf]

I went up the wakamarina a couple of weeks back. The river was still swollen but the water was clear. Spent a few hours searching but did not spot a single trout worth casting to. There was a slight breeze which made spotting a bit harder. Probably should of blind fished.

Another river worth a try would be the Rai, it starts about 10 minutes upstream of where the wakamarina joins the pelerous. It holds a large number of fish and a few very big ponds which I suspect would be ideal for streamer fishing. I am no expert but I consider the Wakamarina and the upper perlorus to be more Dry fly and Nymph areas. The water is very clear and the trout equally wary.

I been told the best time for streamer fishing is when the river is slightly coloured. When the water is low and clean that is where the nympths or dry fly have the advantage.

John Kent does not say much on the Wakamarina in his book, but there is a bit on the Pelorus and Rai. I own a book (21 great New Zealand trout waters by Tony Orman) which has a chapter on fishing the Pelorus. Probably not worth buying.

The wet flies recommended include Greenwell’s Glory, Twilight Beauty, Grouse and Purple, Pevirl of the peak, all sizes 10-14. The lures are Hairy Dog and Hamill’s killer. But I would also include a few Wooly Buggers, probably in size 2-8.

[yellowfin]

Thanks Miliwolf.

[Miliwolf]

Fished the Wakamarina again. Low and Clear. Fished about a 5km stretch and saw that many fish.

Caught a 2kg brown which was cruising a pond. Got him on a size 12 or 14 pheasant tail nymph with a gold beadhead for weight.

They are extra wary so take advantage of cover and their blind spots.

[yellowfin]

Hi Miliwolf

Thanks for the update. I didn’t river fish up at Tutukaka but fished off a boat and caught a few snapper and parrot fish which were delicious. Also fished from the rocks and caught a snapper spinning with a dexter wedge.

[yellowfin]

Hi Miliwolf

Thanks for the update. I didn’t river fish up at Tutukaka but fished off a boat and caught a few snapper and parrot fish which were delicious. Also fished from the rocks and caught a snapper spinning with a dexter wedge.

[Miliwolf]

If you have time a trip to the Goulter would be worthwhile.

Was up there on sunday. The river is low but decent to large fish are still plentiful. They are wary but if you approach the river with cover you should avoid spooking to many.

Even if they are spooked if you back away from the river and wait a few minutes they quite often start feeding again. If they see a flyline they are normally gone.

It would be about a 2 hour drive from Havelock (4WD recommend), then it takes 4-5 hours to fish up to the middle hut. There is a couple of hours fishing above the hut but it makes for a extremely long day.

Last weekend I left home at 7:30am and got back home at 8:30pm during that time I fished up to the middle hut. Less crazy people spend the night in the hut.

A mid week trip should give you the river to yourself.

[Author]

Posts