October 2018 Otago Lakes Fishing Report

Proudly brought to you by Craig Smith from Hatch Fishing

The new season has kicked off well, with good numbers of fish caught and many in great condition for the time of year. The lack of large floods in some catchments over winter has resulted stable river levels over the last few months to help recovery post spawning. 

Opening day has seen some high waters in many Sth island areas — we have managed to find some smaller waters with steady fishable flows, but there is plenty of fluctuation between catchments that are very close to each other. 

Fish are being taken mainly on mayfly nymphs, but there are some decent hatches and dry fly opportunities as the weather is very changeable. 

Around our lakes, the fish are feeding strongly on bullies in the gravel margins. We looked at the stomach contents of a fish this week and found it was crammed full of bullies, to the exclusion of anything else. 

Southern Wild has a good selection of quality flies including mayfly and bully imitations. 

Remember the ORC or ES websites are your friends  - it pays to check river flows prior to heading out, and saves a lot of driving. 

Please look at the new regulations for lakes Wanaka and Hawea regarding bag limits - 2 trout per day instead of 6. Most anglers I have talked to think this is sensible and long overdue. 

Enjoy the springtime.

Craig Smith