The rain this week was welcome as rivers were very warm. The Taieri reached 24degC, which is just about as high as trout can tolerate.
Most streams are at their lowest levels so far this season, which makes trout easier to find as they have less water to hide in but not necessarily easier to catch.
With several days of cooler weather forecast, trout will be more active and feeding most of the time.
However, the cicada hatch will be delayed until the air temperature is into the 20s again.
I heard there were a few cicadas about at the Loganburn Dam earlier in the week but not enough to bring the trout to the surface.
The water temperature in the tussock lakes will be lower than that of lowland rivers due to their altitude and fish will be feeding on whatever they can find — snails, damselfly nymphs, midge pupae, water boatmen and koura present, if they are present.
On rivers trout are still feeding on willow grub throughout the day and on mayfly spinners when it is calm.
Presumably, they will also be feeding on mayfly duns in the late evening, and sedges.
I have not been on the river that late to verify this, but I am sure it is happening.
On the subject of being on the river, I have been out a couple of times in the last week.
They happened to be the two hottest days lately.
The first was on the Mataura, which was at a good level for fishing and very clear.
There was some algal growth, which is not ideal, but the fish did not seem to mind once they got going.
In the first couple of hours, I only saw two fish, then fishing a nice ripply section along a gravel beach I hiked four in 10 minutes but only landed two.
On the flat water above trout began rising to a fall of spinners, which I found hard to get on to as they were moving around a lot and I could not see them in the water due to the glare.
I moved further up the pool to where there was more current, hoping they would be holding station — and they were.
I rose several and landed a few before the rise petered out.
In the afternoon I did not see many rises, but the trout were on the nymph in the ripples and took a fancy to my hare’s ear.
The second day was on the Taieri, where predictably they were on willow grub and if I pestered them long enough, they took my fly.
Two young spin fishers came kayaking down the river and politely waited while I covered a rising fish and I missed the take, twice.
They told me they had see quite a few trout around the corner upstream, so that is where I headed.
Sure enough, there were fish feeding steadily and I managed to catch a couple before I had to leave.
