The annual Otago Salmon Fishing competition on the upper Otago Harbour at the weekend was as popular as ever with anglers, but even 210 entrants could bring in only eight fish for the weigh-in.
Entrants brought in 43 fish last year, but this year things were ''just a bit different'', event organiser Wayne Olsen, the chairman of the New Zealand Salmon Anglers' Association Otago branch said.
What had been a fantastic summer for humans was a hot one for cold-water loving salmon which, he said, were mostly still lurking in deeper water off Taiaroa Head waiting for the harbour to cool down.
With water temperatures in the harbour reaching 19.8degC yesterday, conditions were not ideal fish-wise, Mr Olsen said.
Still, the winning 6kg specimen, caught by John Jamieson (61), of Dunedin, from the Leith wharf about 10.30am yesterday, was not to be sniffed at.
Mr Jamieson, who had been a salmon angler for ''40-odd'' years, said he caught no other fish in 19 hours over two days. He was not concerned about the lack of fish at the moment, knowing they would be back.
