Fishing — river, sea

Press, 11 August 1982, Page 33

Fishing — river, sea

Marlborough is fortunate in the number of trout fishing rivers it has and the wide variety of types of streams and rivers.

The Marlborough Acclimatisation ■ Society suggests either a fly fishing rod that will take a floating fly line, no heavier than weight six, or light thread-line gear with small lures.

The principal trout fishing waters are the Wairau, Pelorus. Rai, Opawa. Taylor and -Clarence Rivers, and Spring Creek on the Blen-heim-Picton highway.

On the 100 km Wairau. the average size of the brown trout caught is 50cm long and I.skg in weight. Threadlining is popular and successful. especially when the whitebait are running in the lower reaches, and fly fishing is usually profitable on a warm summer evening. Brown and rainbow trout

caught in the Pelorus River average I.lkg, with the brown trout tending to be larger. Thread-lining can be worthwhile here, whereas the Rai, a tributary, is a flyfishing river.

On the outskirts of Blenheim, the Opawa holds some very wary but good-sized brown trout, for which fly fishing is probably best. The Taylor Dam, source of the borough's water supply, can produce some good evening rises. Salmon ascend the rivers in February and March, and although not in great numbers, some are caught each

year, mainly- by spin fishermen.

The Wairau. Awatere and Clarence have all had sporadic runs of salmon, and the Marlborough Acclimatisation Society is particularly interested in details of salmon catches, such as weight, length and — if possible — a head for aging of the fish.

The Marlborough Sounds in the north-east corner of the South Island is the home and breeding ground of schnapper, blue cod, kingfish, kahawai. terakihi. mackerel and groper.

.The Queen Charlotte Sound, running north-east into Cook Strait, is about 45km long and up to Bkm wide, and is famous for its blue cod fishing. West of Queen Charlotte Sound and running roughly parallel are the Pelorus and Keneperu Sounds, providing a vast area of fishable water. Schnapper and blue cod can be caught throughout and groper abound in the outer reaches. The entire coastal area from the Sounds to south of Kaikoura provides good surf fishing from beaches, with schnapper. red cod, moki. kahawai and dog fish caught in all areas.

Schnapper caught in the Sounds average nearly 4.5 kg and trophies of more than Bkg are not uncommon.’ Many are caught in the Queen Charlotte Sound and

Torv Channel, but the Pelorus and Keneperu Sound •yield the most, from both shore and boat. Bv contrast, the terakihi is a shoal fish that is mainly found near kelp beds. Mussels. pipis or fish bait is recommended, with a small hook and light tackle. Blue cod up to 2.25 kg can be caught throughout the Sounds, but few are taken from the shore. Deep water close to a headland is often most productive and squid or fresh fish is the best bait. Medium to light tackle is rcommended. , .

Although not prized locally as a table fish, kahawai are great fighters that can be taken onbait or with a spinner. On a much larger scale, kingfish are truly great game . fish, seldom taken either from the shore or on bait. A feather lure, a spinner or a long white belly cut from a kahawai and trolled behind a boat provide the best methods of attracting them. Fish up to 14kg are caught and strong tackle and a wire trace are essential.

Many other varieties of fish, such as red cod. dog fish, rays, conger eels, spotties, herrings, garfish and moki are also caught off the Marlborough coast.