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TROUT FISHING WITH MAURICE RODWAY - Weekly Column: January 24, 2002
 Southland, New Zealand

Small Towns and Growth Gurus

A curious characteristic of the leaders of small towns is that they want their towns to get bigger. Those in the small towns claim people should move to join them because they don't have traffic jams, and life is relaxed, there are open spaces. Images on television show wilderness and deserted beaches.

Of course a consequence of a successful campaign is the loss of the desirable features small and medium sized places have. When small towns have changed to large towns and the urge to grow continues, the attractive features change of course. The growth gurus cleverly rearrange the advertisements accordingly.

One of the characteristics of Southland is a relative lack of people, but a profusion of natural places. Generally these places are deserted. When these are trout streams the trout fishing there is usually good.

Anglers are not rushed into catching a trout. The subtle colours that fill the landscape of a trout fishing experience can be fully appreciated.

Crowds and good trout fishing rarely go hand in hand. In the popular trout streams of the US, where town size is desirably large, it is said that anglers have to take their own rock to stand on.

Fortunately we are far from such a situation here although those with an eye to growth have done their best to change this. With the exception of holiday periods and the lower Mataura in the late summer, Southland's trout streams and lake margins are sparsely populated with anglers.

Last weekend our angling party camped on the banks of the Waiau River. We did meet an angler who was just going home but aside from him the river was deserted. A cold wind persuaded us to set up the tent in a sheltered spot. After dinner we set out for the river and fished a fly in front of surges of water along the margins that we knew were feeding trout. When the sun sat briefly on the horizon it accented the dimples of uncountable inanga pursuing invisible tidbits in the surface film.  The wind singing in the wings of wild ducks replaced the cold breeze. We watched as they flew in groups across the river to muddy backwaters where they would rest at night. Little gulls, almost missing their night time curfew, were amongst the last birds to see in the last light of the summer day.  A small group of parries finally swooped over, low and jet like, with landing gear out to settle on their own shingle bar.  Their calls and those of plovers were all that could be heard as we settled into our sleeping bags.

The treasures of a trout-fishing trip cannot be found near towns that have grown too big.

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

Article © 2002 Maurice Rodway, All Rights Reserved.

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