It took a while for a Middlemarch couple to fall in love, but once they did it was hook, line and sinker.
When Donna Solar and Annie Duncan first went fishing in 2021 things did not quite go to plan, but three years on they cannot put the rods down and have eagerly awaited the beginning of the 2024-25 fishing season.
The season starts today, with many waters open again for trout and salmon fishing.
Mrs Solar and Mrs Duncan began fishing together at the Taieri River, a 100m walk from their Middlemarch home.
It was Mrs Duncan’s first time casting a rod and Mrs Solar’s first in over 40 years.
"I wanted to give up fishing. I hated it", Mrs Duncan said.
During her first season she did not get a bite , only managing to find herself falling in the water on the odd occasion.
Not catching a fish was like not being served at a restaurant, she said.
"You don’t come back, do you?"
After her unsuccessful season, the pair ventured up river to fish, picking a spot near the Rock and Pillar Range.
"By golly, by gosh, I got a bite.
"The arms were in the air and I was jumping up and down."
She reeled in a 1.36kg brown trout and had not looked back since, she said.
"You know what they say: The happiest two days of your life are when you buy a boat and the day you sell it."
On each fishing trip they brought their three dogs, George, Mack and Frankie.
Her favourite moments on the boat came when tralling.
"Suddenly [the line] goes and you’re away and you know you’ve got a fish."
The couple often had coffee and scone in hand when the line went, Mrs Solar said.
"Your coffee cup goes splash and overboard, and the scones gone the other way."
Since getting the boat, which they named after the Star Trek starship Enterprise, they had had a lot of fishing luck come their way, she said.
"We’ve had quite a bit of luck. We’ve got a really good number of salmon", Mrs Duncan said.
She caught her first rainbow trout, which they smoked and ate.
Fish & Game had been "really helpful" in their fishing journey and had advice for beginners.
"Just hang in there. Keep going, your day will come and once it does you’re hooked", she said.
Otago Fish & Game chief executive Ian Hadland said fishing would be good for the opening but potential adverse weather could have an impact.
"It’ll be good for [today] but after that I think it’s going to be pretty hard for the rivers."
The fish would be in "good condition" at the start of the season, Mr Hadland said.
