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TROUT FISHING WITH MAURICE RODWAY - Weekly Column: 14-January-00
 Southland, New Zealand

Elements of the Angling Mecca

Many of us will now be returning from holiday. While we, the locals, have to pack our fishing gear away, visitors are bringing theirs to our shores, in ever increasing numbers. Tourism advocates are working hard to bring more anglers to the rivers of the region.

Anglers are, like any group, interested in protecting things they like. In respect of rivers these things are free access to a bit of a river where the water is clear and there are a good number of reasonably big trout. Where there is a reasonable chance of catching at least one, and where there is a bit of peace and solitude. 

Over the years anglers have had a bit of trouble in keeping all of these things secure. Hydro dams, bulldozers, and pollution have all taken a slice or two, but in recent times some reclamation of the losses has been made, so much so that trout fishing here is now better than what it was a few years ago. Its so good that people from all over the world are coming here for the "things" we like. They are anglers too and the effort they make to get here shows we all crave the same. With all this popularity we are reaching a point where we are going to lose some of the best aspects of our trout fishing.

Over the summer it is rare to find the sand on a river beach unmarked with the feet of another angler. Not only is the evidence of other anglers on the shore of the river, but there is also evidence in the eye of the trout. The eye is sharper now, more wary of an artificial fly, and more wary of a shadow moving from tussock to tussock. 

In the past anglers took trout home so there were fewer for followers to fish for. Now most anglers let their fish go, recycling them. An apparently charitable gesture to other anglers, and to the wild trout we have come almost to revere. But unlike a released rainbow, or cutthroat of the Rockies, where catch and release became a necessity, New Zealand's brown trout learn about these experiences and they apparently don't like them. While they remain in the river they become devilishly difficult to catch. With this behaviour trout fishing loses some of its important elements. To see a trout come confidently to a well presented fly is a unique reward for patience and skill. To see a trout sulk on the bottom the moment you strip line from the reel is to receive a generous dose of frustration.

The elements of the angling mecca that are needed are indeed difficult to hold together. The latest challenge to the ideal we hold dear is not going to be any easier to resolve than the others that we have overcome in the past, this time however the enemy is within.

Maurice Rodway
Southland, New Zealand                           E-mail: information@southlandfishgame.co.nz

Article © 2000 Maurice Rodway, All Rights Reserved.

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