Big trout fishing in Marlborough

Press, 7 July 1977, Page 21

Big trout fishing in Marlborough

By

BEN HOPE

Last season as a youngster was eel fishing in the Opawa River, on the outskirts of Blenheim, his bait was taken by something big and powerful. He struggled bravely against the almost irresistible force and once he was caught off balance and pulled into the watercress on the edge of the stream. Eventually he landed the fish — a huge brown trout. Estimates of its weight vary but it was certainly into double figures in poundage and some say it was nearer the 201 b mark.

Alas, the lad had no licence and the catch was kept a secret for some time. However, good fish stories about big fish are difficult to keep secret and eventually the tale of the monster’s capture surfaced. The fish had been eaten and so the only reminder for the youngster -was just his memory. To those who know Marlborough’s fishing, big fish are no real surprise. Some years ago the Pelorus River yielded a 16 pounder to lan Byrne, of the Woodbourne Air Force base, and the Wairau River has produced its

share of double figure fish. Perhaps the big fish are symbolic of the quality of Marlborough’s trout fishing. The fishing may lack to some extent the quantity of the North Island’s Taupo district but it has a very definite quality about its style and sport. Usually, the trout are brown trout and usually they rise well to the insect hatches of the streams, thereby making them the finest of sport for fly fishermen. You can find them in the sunshine of Marlborough’s summer mornings nymphing and swirling in the faster water or languidly rising to the surface of a quiet pool, or you can wait for the evening hatch and rise at dusk. There are five main waters: Wairau River. Shingle bed often braided, but the ideal water for spinning. A minnow or a dark spoon or wobbler works well. Brown trout averaging 41b but often bigger and the occasional salmon after January. Access is relatively simple as good roads follow its course, except in the extreme upper reaches. Spring Creek. A clear spring-fed stream which joins the Wairau, just below the Blenheim-Picton highway. Banks are grassy with willows overhanging and watercress on the edges. It is essentially a flyfishing water. Conditions make for challenging and at times difficult fishing. Brown trout averaging 41b but often bigger. Dry fly or nymph fishing is recommended. Opawa Stream. Contains brown trout. Sluggish in its lower reaches where it meanders around the northern outskirts of Blenheim, but it contains some big trout in its bottom end. Further upstream the trout are smaller but can be taken in the evening on the dry fly-

Pelorus River. Runs into Pelorus Sound near Havelock. A fine trout

river with brown trout averaging 31b and rainbow trout 2{lb. Spinning will take the rainbow trout and the occasional brown trout, while nymph or dry fly is suited to the brown trout. Rai River. A tributary of the Pelorus . A flyfisherman’s delight with brown trout averaging 2Alb, which rise well during the day and evening. Some rainbow trout are present near the Rai Valley Village. There are other waters too. Some tributaries of the Wairau River have trout .There are several small streams on the north bank of the Wairau and tvro large tributaries on the south side, and the Waihopai and Branch Rivers. Both hold trout, although not in large n umbel’s.

Local regulations should be carefully checked by visiting anglers. Some waters such as the Rai, Pelorus and Upper Wairau have a four fish limit on them, while there are also some streams restricted to fly only. It is also an easy drive to the Lake Rotoiti area of the Nelson Acclimatisation Society district, where the upper reaches of the Buller River can be fished amidst fine scenery. Marlborough itself can offer some backdrops to trout fishing, ranging from bouncing bush fringed streams to tranquil, slow stretches in rural surroundings. Like the trout, the water is quality personified with gin clear water in which trout can be seen with the aid of polarised glasses.