The summer is well and truely here, with hot weather and strong dry winds.
River levels are getting low, and many rivers further East are now out of action as the flows fall below levels that can support fish passage.
Also, even in some of the alpine rivers, the fish are becoming dormant in the afternoon due to high water temperatures - I generally find when it gets to about 20C the activity goes off and the fish move under the banks or deep into the holes to find cooler water. If you do catch fish when the water is warm later in the day, be extra careful when you handle and release the fish as they really struggle to recover.
Locally, the cicadas are about, and the fish are keyed into them, with solid takes if the cast is well executed. There are also some reasonable mayfly hatches, and green beetles are still being found on some of the high country storage dams.
On some rivers near the mouth where it enters the lake, fish are moving up during the heat of the day to cool off. We have found large numbers of fish milling around in pools, but they are catchable if you are patient and wait until one comes within range, rather than just casting up to the top of the pool and scattering the fish.
Nymphs are also working well in the deeper parts of the river down in the cooler water.
On the Southland rivers, willow grubs are a major food source, and accurate casting is required.
Southern Wild have a great selection of flies, and ones for Feb include:
Cicadas - both tussock and bush
Mayfly dries such as parachute adams
Willow grubs
Blowflies
Black beadhead tungsten mayfly nymphs in sizes 14 and 16
Below is a nice brown from last week caught on a cicada in small water. Enjoy February.
