burkefish
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burkefish commented on the post, Salmon Fishing in the Lower Waimakariri River Video – Close to Christchurch City 3 years, 5 months ago
an update on the waimak. the first week of April 2016 saw 40 salmon taken at mcintoshs which gave a total for the season there of about 300. silverstream hatchery had 114 fish return from which 200,000 eggs were harvested,some of these fish would have been over 20lb when entering the rive. the other interesting thing is that not all the returning…[Read more]
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burkefish replied to the topic Fishing Depths and Winding Speeds for McIntosh's in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 4 months ago
an interesting thing that seems to be happening in the lower reaches of the mak on low flows is that because the area has slumped in the quakes. salt water is a lot further upstream when the flow gets into the 30cum range. seems salmon when in the river don’t to sit in or mostly won’t travel trough saltwater which being heavier than fresh sits on…[Read more]
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burkefish replied to the topic Salmon Season 2014 – 2015 in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 4 months ago
can report about 110,000 salmon smolt have been released this winter in north canterbury rivers. didn’t have as many ova this years about 46,000. but a bonus has been about 30,000 fry donated to f&g. some to go into the harper to boost salmon in coleridge as releasing smolt into the lake has not been working as those fish seek to head for the…[Read more]
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burkefish replied to the topic Salmon Season 2014 – 2015 in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 4 months ago
can report about 110,000 salmon smolt have been released this winter in north canterbury rivers. didn’t have as many ova this years about 46,000. but a bonus has been about 30,000 fry donated to f&g. some to go into the harper to salmon in coleridge as releasing smolt into the lake has not been working as those fish seek to head for the sea.been a…[Read more]
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burkefish replied to the topic Fixing up old lures in the forum Fishing Lures 4 years, 5 months ago
the method i use is roughen the surface, spray with metallic auto repair paint, leave 24 hours, coat with nail polish -colour of choice ( ones with holographic bits in are good) then finally give a coat of dulux clear plastic- a can will spray 50+ spinners.
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burkefish replied to the topic Devon minnows in the forum Fishing Lures 4 years, 5 months ago
have used devons for trout, have got a lot of them collected over the years. will try some next season and see if pacific salmon take to them.
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burkefish replied to the topic Salmon Season 2014 – 2015 in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 5 months ago
have had a report of a 17lb salmon this month by stewarts gully boat club.
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burkefish replied to the topic Salmon Season 2014 – 2015 in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 5 months ago
there is to be more ova planting this weekend as is a sort of a club day with anyone invited. We will be meeting at Yauldhurst pub carpark for carpooling at 8 am. there will be a bbq lunch provided, you need to have warm clothing and gumboots. for anyone interested we well be loading our large alevinator with 30,000 eggs.
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burkefish replied to the topic Salmon Season 2014 – 2015 in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 5 months ago
personally I had 1 fish up to 25th March, the got 6 in the next 12 days. Other anglers got a lot more and those fishing up river did really well. Know of one person who caught 7 in aday releasing them. The hatcheries had low returns this year with F&G having only 400,000 eggs. That is half the number they had last year the nz salmon anglers will…[Read more]
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burkefish replied to the topic Salmon Season 2014 – 2015 in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 5 months ago
have seen and had reports of fresh salmon still arriving in the upper mak on their spawning run already a good number of redds around. the run has certainly been later than usual.
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burkefish replied to the topic Salmon Season 2014 – 2015 in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 7 months ago
another point on the season . the early fish were not in the same condition as the later ones with the latter being much better. which seems like there was an improving food supply out there. also i have caught fish in april for the last 4seasons as follows–2011-1 2012-1,2013-2,2014-4, 2015-3.previous to that from 1990 to 2010 i had only 2…[Read more]
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burkefish replied to the topic Salmon Season 2014 – 2015 in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 7 months ago
one of the reasons, if not the main one for small salmon this year is the quakes especially 2011 disrupted the main food supply (nz or stout sprats) this year have shown poor hatchery returns so far though fish are still arriving. there has been an absence of 4 year at sea fish. the good news is there have been good numbers of 2year at sea fish.…[Read more]
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burkefish replied to the topic Salmon Season 2014 – 2015 in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 7 months ago
the problems with this salmon season are 1 it was late and there are still fish arriving. 2 very few fish survived the 2011 run because of the quakes. the good news is that there have been a lot of 2year at sea fish which according to niwi usually means a good number of 3year at sea fish the following season. good 1st spawning count on the rakaia…[Read more]
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burkefish replied to the topic Salmon Season 2014 – 2015 in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 9 months ago
no not far away, was the first week of march last year. signs looking good after what starting to happen at other rivers this week.
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burkefish replied to the topic Salmon Season 2014 – 2015 in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 9 months ago
shark slayer thats a great catch would get adrenaline going.
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burkefish replied to the topic Salmon Season 2014 – 2015 in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 9 months ago
thanks to a great group of volunteers we were able to finclip 90,000 salmon smolt at montrose today.
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burkefish replied to the topic best time to fish in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 9 months ago
the best time at river mouths for salmon is half tide out to half tide in. if that coincides with early morning or dusk so much the better.
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burkefish replied to the topic Salmon Season 2014 – 2015 in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 9 months ago
that won’t stop them, some of the best days i have had have been in howling southerlys.
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burkefish replied to the topic Salmon Season 2014 – 2015 in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 10 months ago
all the regulations are up for review in may this year . you can submit a proposal . it would need to pass in you local area be voted on by all areas and then accepted by the government to become universal. on the other hand the regions can tweet local regs to some degree. you could stand for the f&g council thats up for elction later on i think…[Read more]
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burkefish replied to the topic Salmon Season 2014 – 2015 in the forum Salmon Forum 4 years, 10 months ago
was looked at in detail at the 1999 salmon forum and the logistics and costs involved ruled it out. will see if i can find the papers and give the exact reasons. one of the reasons was that it would hard to have volunteers policing 7 days a week up to 12-14 hours day. to counter that you would need to restrict the hours that you could fish.
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The Tasmanian Devil is a very good still water lure for use on lakes. Try casting out and then waiting for 20 or 30 seconds for the lure to sink before starting a slow retrieve. At 13.5g Tasmanian Devils can be cast a long way out to where the fish could be schooling. They work very well in the Stilling Basin at the western end of the Tekapo Canal.
Great info on sea-run trout.
Cool article about salmon fishing.
Thanks for that info
Great update Burkefish. Thanks for that. The salmon do seem to be waiting that extra bit longer before running the river. The end of March and beginning of April was certainly the best time to fish McIntosh’s last season!
an update on the waimak. the first week of April 2016 saw 40 salmon taken at mcintoshs which gave a total for the season there of about 300. silverstream hatchery had 114 fish return from which 200,000 eggs were harvested,some of these fish would have been over 20lb when entering the rive. the other interesting thing is that not all the returning fish were finclipped. salmon also spawned below the hatchery some of those were also finclipped. while the numberes weren’t great there was a reasonable spawning up the top of the waimak but it was later than usual being at the end of May. seems in the last few years the salmon are not running as early as they use to probably one of the factors is that the river flow is getting lower each year which is a big problem especially when more water is being taken than should be by consent holders. this is being monitored by salmon anglers and edcan have admitted mistakes. low water flows also seems to be contributing to smaller size fish, there is some evidence that this happens.
Sadly, it was bulldozed. What a waste I reckon!
Several subscribers have contacted me asking, “do Fish & Game check licences at McIntosh’s.” I’m told they have been checking them there almost every day this season. I did see them myself checking licences several times this month at McIntosh’s. I’m not sure they go down the bait anglers end though.
I gave a talk some years ago at the Canterbury Anglers Club to about 70 members. I asked for a show of hands to the question; “how many of you fish over winter?” Only about three people put their hands up!
Hi Paul,
Our Fishingmag forum membership login is the same login you used to become a member of the site.
The forum had well over a 1,000 members and for over a decade was very active. In the past year most prefer to post on facebook instead – a trend worldwide. However site membership is growing steadily and many view the forums without posting. If you do post questions on our Fishingmag forum I’m sure we’ll be able to help you. Best wishes Allan Burgess
Hey Alan
I have just come across your website and would like to know how to join the forums. I have only recently started to Flyfish and have planned a trip to New Zealand next Oct 2016. I live Ln Perth Western Australia.
Cheer
Paul
Thanks for that. Bottled kahawai is actually very good. The bottling process seems to improve the taste quite a lot.
Thanks for the info, a friend gave me a bottle of preserved kahawai and I have always wanted to preserve kahawai for the whanau.
Hi im looking forward to this years open day comp at Coleridge .Its my first fishing there and my first fishing comp and it is my birthday on the 7th and couldn’t think of a better thing to do on my birthday.and where are you aloud to camp ?
I so enjoyed your Lake Coleridge article,it brought back memories of my Feb.1970 visit with Ted and Grace porter(just before his death)Ted was about to finish his book”under the nor’west arch”,we discussed his and my trip to Antarctica and many stories of his adventures.The lake was pretty remote in those days,but worth the trip.I now live in Panama City,Florida and enjoy surf fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.Thank you for reminding me of those times.
Hi Jim, The Complete Angler tackle store in Christchurch will have cicada patterns for sure. This is a “must have” in any trout angler’s fly-box so any good tackle store should stock cicada patterns.
Where can I buy the cicada shown above?
I agree, 15-20 minutes bait change. Also, i believe if you cast out and retrieve your line and find your bait still on the hook, regardless if its been out for 5 minutes or 15 minutes, chuck it and re bait your hooks to fresh bait.
Just to say it worked a treat all four sections are fitting nice and snug now thanks for the tip
Candle wax not only helps to keep the sections together; it also makes it easier to twist the sections apart. Multi section 3 and 4 piece rods are more prone to coming apart during casting. Good luck with that.
Thanks for that I had a tight joint and decided to sand it down a little and like most heavy handed blokes did it a little too much so it can be loose unless I push it together like there is no tomorrow. I will try this tip here hoping at my Blackrock Helboy 4 piece spinning rod is great for just walking along the back casting here and there for trout, chubb or perch
Many people have been complaining to the city council about the mess and rubbish anglers leave behind and the difficulty they have in walking past all the fishing rods and crab pot lines. I just hope this doesn’t eventually lead to fishing being banned on the pier.
Salmon anglers often fish at river-mouths in close proximity with one another. At times almost touching shoulders. There is a certain unspoken etiquette which involves mutual respect for one another. Disputes are very rare. Sadly, some who fish from the New Brighton Pier seem to have never heard of this!
I agree that 15 minutes sounds about right. On occasion I have fished several rods and been spin fishing with a third. Generally I’ll have a cast and wait about five minutes the first time, before winding in to check the bait is still there, and that the sinker isn’t being buried – as can happen on a shingle beach. If the bait is untouched I’ll cast it back out then proceed to setting out a second rod. Squid is a surprisingly good bait. I note that the guys fishing the Ninety Mile Beach in the far north skin it first.
When Surf-casting what approx length of time should one keep line out ….I personally prefer 15 min spells as mentioned in your article, and rebaite my squid as mentioned every 15 min.
Hi Roger, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
great reading
Hi Bob, I think you have nailed it. That is exactly how I cast and retrieve Tasmanian Devils. It pays to watch the lure coming in as fish will sometimes follow it all the way to your feet, at times striking at the last moment. Tasmanian Devils have sufficient weight in a compact package to cast very well. I have had great success with them on winter rainbows by motoring up wind into the lake shallows, switching off the motor, and casting over the weed, as the boat drifts downwind. On the Otago Lakes like Benmore, Ohau, and so on, a rainbow will often take the Tassie on the first or second cast with this method. They are also very popular for lake trolling, especially in Lake Taupo and the other Central North Island Lakes, and in Lake Wanaka, Dunstan, and the others in the south.
hi was wondering how are the 13.5 devils used? cast, wait, retrieve, twitch the rod and continue retrieving? or is there a different more productive way?
Hi Shane, I can’t agree with you more about this. I used to go fishing on the old breakwater down past the container area. We would catch a lot of fish off there back-in-the-day! That was blocked-off years ago. It is a shame that the whole port has been closed off to fishing and has been for a few years now.
Hi i am not to happy about not been able to fish over at lyttelton i use to go over all the time to catch sprat and at the same time set up a rig to do my salmon float fishing there are a lot of salmon over there and now i cant get to them i have court them up to 25kg most about 15kg mark just as well i can at lest still catch them on the sumner Break water i have been catching them for a few years now not a lot of people now of them as most of the time i catch them at night a well lit fishing warf just for fishing night our day over at lyttelton would be wonderful as the solmon come round well lit places as t do the sprat eney way just thourt i would share this
Thanks
S A Stringer
Most anglers will be fishing a couple of metres of flurocarbon as a leader at the end of their braided line. The flurocarbon sinks well and is very hard for fish to see. As to the weight of the flurocarbon it depends on the area you are fishing and the likelihood of snags and sharp rocks. Many will fish for trout with a leader of say 8lb flurocarbon tied to the end of their braid with a surgeon’s knot. They will then tie a softbait to the end with a uni-knot. This works fine most of the time. Next comes tying a dropper and adding a nymph further up the line above the softbait. The softbait at the bottom supplies the casting weight. Tying a dropper with a blood knot, or double surgeon’s knot, in the leader will weaken it for certain no matter how good a job you do tying the dropper in the leader.
Any weakness becomes critical when you hook a much bigger fish than expected. A fifteen pound trout or salmon in the canals for example will really test this light-weight leader and dropper setup. The fish could be on the line for an hour before coming to the bank. You have to really nurse the fish and not be tempted to tighten the drag resulting in loosing it for sure. Some very good anglers are successful tying the nymph to the main line and then tying the softbait to the hook bend. In both cases using a uni-knot. One answer is to fish with heavier flurocarbon 15 or 17lb test. This make the rig stronger. However I have witnessed plenty big fish lost in the canals on this heavier flurocarbon. You still have to take your time and not try to force the issue. The argument is heavier line might result in fewer takes versus having a rig strong enough to land most fish you might encounter. Personally I mostly use monofilament leaders and they work fine for me.
Sorry not selling nymphs at the moment. They are very easy to tie yourself for about 30 cents each.
Hi Allan, love your website am new to fishing have done some soft baiting at the canals with not much success. Like your idea of trailing a softbait minnow off a nymph hook.Will the fish still hook up on the nymph or be put off by the monofilament. What sort of knot would you tie and is that off the actual hook itself.. Sorry for all the questions. Ps do you sell these nymphs they look great!
Good spotting. Have changed that now. I don’t know if you can get mentholated spirits – funny!
Mentholated spirits. LOL
Hi Michael, You are very welcome. Regards Allan Burgess
Thank you for the download
Well Capt Justin, You are quite correct the Shimano TR200G isn’t a level drag, or at least my one isn’t. That was obviously a mistake which I have now corrected. Thank you for pointing that out! I have gotten it a bit mixed up with the similar looking Shimano Charter Special TR2000 .Cheers Allan Burgess
How is this reel a lever drag? Am I missing something?
Years ago I remember campers down at the Rangitata River mouth boiling up jars of salmon next to their caravans to take back home. Great if you are away for weeks because you don’t have to worry about refrigeration.
Great article, thanks Allen, hopefully I will use it by December this year, might test it out on kahawai
Great to hear from you Clive. Seventy years is a long time! Three fish last year is still pretty good going. More pictures would be great. Best wishes Allan Burgess
Hi Allan, 50 years of salmon fishing. Wow!! A good article. I’m still alive and up to 70 years of chasing salmon. Not so many fish in the Rakaia and I’m not spending too much time chasing them. Only caught three last year. Can send some more photos if you want them. Clive Morriss.