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Floating Weekend Days & Environment Southland's River Flow Site
The main problem with trout fishing in the spring is that the days when fishing is the best  usually fall during the week when most of us should be at work. This
is not a problem that is unique to trout fishing. Tennis players and the junior cricket teams all line up in their whites on Saturday and Sunday ready to partake in the summer game but often they have
to sit in the pavilions waiting for showers to pass..
There is a relatively simple solution to this problem. The weekend days
should be floating rather than being fixed as they are at the moment, on Saturday and Sunday. Meteorologists can reliably predict the weather for 5-7 days in advance now so
what I propose is that on each Monday morning a pronouncement is to be made that designates the two weekend days of the week. In this way everyone who partakes in
outdoor sports will get a fine day or two to enjoy them. Another benefit of this arrangement will be that recreation will be given its proper place, ahead of work. What do
we work for? Time off surely? If we work during the rainy days and play during the fine ones we will be all better mentally and so our work will be more productive.
I can't quite think why someone hasn't thought of this idea before. There must be a catch somewhere!
In the meantime we do have to battle blizzards and discoloured water when the weekend
arrives and can only hope that the 2-3 fine days we get each week will align themselves with the weekend.
Now that the storms of late September and early October seem to have at least
weakened, if not departed most of our main rivers are falling to fishable levels. The lower Waiau which has raged angrily for the last month is now calm and clear (fingers crossed)
and will provide excellent fishing for those that want to venture westwards. Similarly the Aparima and the upper reaches of the Mataura and Oreti are in excellent condition for
early season trout fishing. In addition to checking the river report in Friday's edition of the Southland Times anglers with access to the Internet should go to Environment
Southland's river flow site and check flow levels which are usually updated at least daily. This is at http://envirosouth.southnet.co.nz/flow.cfm
The Environment Southland site also has river temperatures and other interesting bits of
information so it is a good one to add to your favourites.
In the meantime if there is nothing else the local political candidates have to offer, you
could ask them to push for floating weekend days to match the weather. I am sure we would all be better off.
Maurice Rodway
Southland, New Zealand E-mail: mrodway@southlandfishgame.co.nz
Article © 2002 Maurice Rodway, All Rights Reserved.
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