I had one real high and that was most of January. Table river conditions and mostly fine weather were the reasons the fishing was good. Throughout the rest of the season either very high temperatures or fluctuating flows in most rivers were less than ideal.
There is no such thing as a bad season just as there is no such thing as a bad day’s fishing — some are just better than others.
The mind of an angler only retains good memories and bad days are forgotten. Which is possibly a good thing, or we would all wander round in a state of depression most of the time.
This is why I keep a fishing diary. Everything is written down, soon after it happened, before I am dazzled by the golden glow of the past.
My diary tells me that January was good. The definition of good being seeing fish throughout the day and catching some of them at regular intervals.
Looking at my diary I realise that just five days made a huge difference to my season — three of them were on the Pomahaka and two were on the Mataura.
The diary also tells me there were several days when I saw few fish and caught very few or none at all. These days have already faded from my working memory.
The lows of the season were seeing fewer fish than past seasons on the Taieri and very little fly life especially on the Maniototo.
On the Maniototo I saw very few fish on my favourite dams. Unusually my biggest fish of the season came from Sullivans Dam in November.
The one thing that has been consistent this season has been the flies that have caught fish for me.
But of course, that is because they are the flies that I use the most and because I catch fish on them, I keep using them so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Looking back on the good old days helps distract us from the present and thinking about the future.
The government seems to have abandoned our tarnished clean green image for a dirty brown one.
The disappearance of insects and the increase in smothering algae in rivers and streams does not inspire optimism.
The protection of the environment is in the hands of a delusional trio who fail to understand that survival is supported primarily by a functioning ecosystem.
On the brighter side, October 1 is not too far away, just enough time to mend leaky waders, sort out fly boxes and to tie enough flies to get through next season, which of course is going to be the best season ever.
