My recommendation is for anywhere that could have a mayfly hatch and that covers most rivers and streams.
The best hatches are likely to be on the Mataura or the lower Clutha. Small rainfed waters would also be worth a visit.
For fishing, the lower Clutha as well as the part of the river above the Hawea confluence and the outlet of Lake Wanaka both have good sedge hatches.
We are starting to get a few frosts and the water temperature is dropping so the action starts mid-morning rather than earlier in the day and, at the end of the day, fish activity stops suddenly on most waters.
The Clutha is an exception as it carries a great volume of water so the temperature fluctuates little from day to day so fish activity can continue well into the night.
As it happens, I am in Wanaka this week running a fly-fishing course and have fished three evenings.
The upper Clutha between the lake's outlet and Albert Town is very low at under 100cumecs. I have only seen it lower once before, and then only slightly lower.
I like it when it is low as there are the same number of fish but less water for them to hide in making it easier to find them.
The weather has been perfect on two of the evenings - warm and calm. However, on the other evening it was cold and at times quite windy.
On the first evening, there were many sedges about. The rise only lasted for about half an hour but that was enough time to hook a few fish.
They were all rainbows up to 1kg and in great condition. All took a deer hair sedge.
The third evening was similar but the rise started earlier and lasted a bit longer and the fish were just as obliging. Interestingly, I did not see another person fly fishing.
The second evening in the cold and wind had few sedges and even fewer rises although I did hook several fish covering the water rather than casting to rises, although most of them did not make it as far as the net.
I kept one fish on the third evening and all it contained in is stomach were adult sedges which is not surprising as the various stages of the sedge's life cycle are the staple diet of upper Clutha trout.
Before the season ends, I hope to have at least a couple of visits to the Mataura which is always my river of choice at this time of year.
Because of the great population of fish and the fly life, April on the Mataura produces more fish for me than any other month and any other river. I only hope that the weather holds until the end of the month.
