NTFC Newsletter_March 2023

CLUB CONTACTS Executive Don Clementson 027 437 6019 [email protected] Barry Howell 544 3069 [email protected] President: Jean Willis 547 6432 [email protected] Past President Secretary Chris Clenshaw 544 5276 [email protected] Treasurer Committee Richard Breakspear 541 9050 [email protected] Kevin Nansett 545 2007 [email protected] Peter Lawler 548 9753 [email protected] Tony Entwistle 544 4565 [email protected] James Macdonald 540 3520 [email protected] Neil Anderson 539 4941 [email protected] Allan Ballard 544 1735 [email protected] Web Master Peter Lawler 548 9753 [email protected] 547 1197 [email protected] Club Librarian Cameron Reid 545 2007 [email protected] 027 437 6019 [email protected] Trophy Master Kevin Nansett Club Sponsorship Don Clementson Club Speakers Committee Members Club Night Tea/Coffee Committee Members Newsletter Editor James Macdonald 540 3520 [email protected] Life Members 1982 Chappie Chapman 2007 Jean Willis 2018 Richard Boyden 2021 Tony Entwistle Past Presidents 06-08 Lester Higgins 08-09 Ross Walker 09-11 Dennis Ealam 03-06 Richard Boyden 13-15 Tony Entwistle 15-17 Maree Peter 17-18 Michael Stevenson 11-13 Ray Day 19-20 Barry Howell The Nelson Trout Fishing Club Meets once a month at: Fish and Game Offices, 66 Champion Road, Richmond Normally the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 7:00pm Please phone (Don’s phone #) if unsure Any views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the committee, club or editor Webpage: www.nelsontroutfishingclub.com Follow us on Facebook Cover: Huw Thomas, coarse fishing with maggots in the early days.

President’s Flyline Nelson Trout Fishing Club March 2023 Greetings Club Members. Welcome to the March Nelson Trout Fishing Club Newsletter. March can be one of the better months for fishing due to the cicadas and passion vine hoppers. It seems short-lived but there is still plenty of good fishing in the Motueka area on mayfly. As long as we don’t get any floods, fishing will still be good on rivers all through April. There have been some good mayfly hatches recently and plenty of fish in the Motueka so don’t make excuses not to go out. At our next meeting we have our local expert on Euro nymphing speaking - not to be missed. Craft Beer Section: For Club members that like liquid for lunch here are a few Craft Beers that will fit the bill - • Wired 8 Flat White Coffee Milk Stout - a quick way to get 2 hits at once. • Shortjaw Hot Cross Bun Red Ale - a beer with a spicy finish. • For afters try a Nectarine Dreams Pale Ale and a Duncans Mr Whippy Raspberry Sherbet Dip.

Buy & Sell Nothing for sale this week. Go to: https://www.flyfishingwithtony.com



Originally published in New Zealand Outdoor, August 1954

News from Latitude Guiding (Mike Kirkpatrick) Hi all! After a few seasons of Covid and the associated border closures, there is a sense of ‘normal programming resuming’ now and the entire guiding team is flat out with old and new clients alike... The fishing has been very good for the most part (considering the less than ideal weather so far) with most systems producing better than average conditioned fish, with a few larger specimens thrown in for good measure. I’ve been a little slack on the filming for YouTube side of things and as algorithms don’t suit what I tend to enjoy producing, I’ve put my time into several feature movies. They are available on Vimeo covering the recent trophy mouse trout seasons. The most recent of these is called ‘Drive’ featuring Cory Scott. It’s an insight into the drive behind a man who has achieved at the highest level in a number of fields and is a great watch I’m told!... https://vimeo.com/ondemand/driveaflyfishingjourney About the big mice year ... https://vimeo.com/ondemand/insightthetrophyquest with the first Chapter free on YouTube; https://youtu.be/oDubAzIj24U To see If the big ones were still around movie follow up.. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/insightchasingthemagic I have a YouTube clip that will be my best yet coming out within the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for that... please subscribe to my channel ‘Mikefsher’ so you don’t miss out. The content will be getting so much better from here on... If you like to listen to podcasts... https://www.destinationanglerpodcast.com/new-zealands-south-island-the-land-of-the-giants- with-mike-kirkpatrick/ For anyone wanting a guide, we have a great team to call on having added a couple of world class guides to our already impressive team. Contact Nans ([email protected]) ASAP as dates for next season are filling fast. Anyway, a very fish-filled and prosperous new year to all. Above all, be kind and courteous to fellow river users, we’re all part of the big fly fishing fraternity... Kind regards, Mike Kirkpatrick Latitude Guiding

THE NELSON TROUT FISHING CLUB Minutes of the committee meeting 8th November 2022 At Fish and Game rooms Champion Rd, Richmond Don welcomed members and declared the meeting open at 7.00pm Attendance: Barry Howell, Jean Willis, Richard Breakspear, Don Clementson, Tony Entwistle, James Macdonald, Chris Clenshaw. Kevin Nansett. Apologies: Peter Lawler, Neil Anderson, Allan Ballard Richard/Barry - Carried. Previous minutes: Minutes of the August meeting, as previously circulated, be taken as read Richard/Don - carried Business, arising from the minutes. nil Treasurers Report Chris presented his written report Moved that the Treasurer’s Report be received Chris/Tony - Carried Discussion about membership ensured, the consensus being: - • Members, whose Subscriptions not renewed by 31st December will be removed from the club’s data base • An email reminder to be sent reminding them that subscriptions are over-due, and if not paid they will lose privilege of club membership • The Club’s website requires reviewing • We need to create a common database of club members It was moved. that the Club’s website be reviewed Tony/Barry - Carried (Consultation with Peter required) A Subcommittee of Tony, Chris and Jean to review the club membership data base. The following accounts to be paid Peter Warren license re-imburse Lester Higgins feeders for hatchery Don/Richard - carried Moved that $500 be donated to the Nelson Marlborough Helicopter Trust. Barry/ Don - carried

Correspondence Request from NZFFA that the club emails its members advising that NZFFA will be providing free tests for nitrate contamination of water at the upcoming Nelson A & P Show. Email from Fred Frahm about access to fishing for mobility challenged anglers. To be referred to Fish and Game for their action. Club Nights November Kate Hunt DoC Freshwater ranger Douglas Rods 5pm Garin Collage December BBQ Sunday 7th December, new fishing pond From 4pm, BBQ from 6pm Reserve day 14th Dec January Informal night at Eddyline? February To be advised March Corina Jordan CEO Fish and Game Wellington Club program January 22 Motueka River Moutere Inn 4pm February Club trip to Lake Brunner Barry to investigate Newsletter. James reports all is well with the newsletter. The committee congratulated him on a good October edition Tony requested approval to advertise his fly-fishing tuition be in the newsletter. He declined the offer of free advertising as it would create a precedent. General Business. Kevin requested that an appeal be sent to members to assist with guiding at the upcoming kids fish out pond events. The committee agreed that committee meeting called as required, any urgent decision required can be paged via email. Next meeting: As required. Don closed the Meeting at 8.02 pm Don Clementson President











Fish & Game 23.1110 POPULATION MONITORING 1111 DRIFT DIVING Since our last reporting date, staff have dived the Waimea and the Upper Motueka. It was encouraging to see a modest uptick in adult trout numbers within the Waimea (mirroring a pre-xmas count in the Lee River), and also good numbers of trout within the Upper Motueka River at a new site selected at the Tapawera bridge, with 13 small, 46 medium, and 13 large fish counted over 1.5km of river at this location – the river here is a lot more stable than the traditionally dived bottom site at Hinetai, and encouragingly 6 large and 12 medium brown trout were counted within one Groyne/willow combo pool above the Tapawera bridge, which will be reported back to Taylors/TDC, as a positive outcome of more structurally diverse river repair techniques. Staff have been active drift diving rivers with the Riuwaka, Opouri, Wangapeka, Owen, Branch/Leatham, Motueka, Maruia, Matakitaki & Baton completed. Notable dive results were recorded on the Opouri, Wangapeka, and Baton where record counts were observed. The Opouri was a great result considering the 100-year return flood event last August, and it was great to see very good numbers of large fish in excellent condition. The Matakitaki River was dived above Horse Terrace Bridge, and trout numbers were low compared to the two previous dives (2009, 2010), and in average condition. The Maruia river was also feeling the effects of recent large flood events, with a low count, and an absence of small/medium fish which are most vulnerable to flood events. The new site on the Upper Motueka River (above Tapawera Bridge) was re-dived while river level was low and temperatures were warm. Fish numbers were still comparable to when it was dived earlier in the season, with most of the medium sized cohort still present, though occupying the very fast ripples. We also had Harry from North Canterbury F&G join us for two days of diving to gain experience. As can be seen from the graph below, the Motueka River trout fishery showed an improvement on the past couple of years. While numbers of medium and small fish were less than some years, numbers of large fish showed an increase on previous years. Of note was the impressive fish size and condition.

23.1130 FISH SALVAGE 1131 FISH SALVAGE If required, carry out fish salvage where it is cost effective and achievable. Jacob & Lawson carried out a contract fish salvage operation upon a request from forestry company, OneFortyOne. Consent was granted to divert Boulder Stream back to its original channel after it had ‘jumped’ out of where it belonged and was causing erosion through forestry and roads. All told, 270 fish were salvaged (upland bully, galaxiid, koura, LF eel, as well as brown trout and salmon smolt). The presence of salmon smolt was a revelation to staff who were not aware Boulder Stream was used as a salmon spawning stream. 23.1140 HATCHERY OPERATIONS AND RELEASES (R3) 1141 Hatchery Hatchery fish management work continues, this year’s trout smolt are well ahead of last years on their growth schedule which is positive. At the time of writing 5300 rainbow smolt averaging 30grams have been transferred into the adult raceway (smolts were ~12 grams at this stage last year), and an additional residual 4000 or so released into Lake Argyle where they are more likely to survive shag predation. We also have around 1000 remaining large fish from last season, which are now in excess of 1.5kg on average. As with everything else at present, the price of fish food has increased significantly, fortunately our annual funding grant from Manawa Energy includes an annual inflation adjustment provision.

23.1160 SPORTS FISHERY AND GAMEBIRD RELEASES 1161 FISHERY ENHANCEMENT/INVESTIGATIONS Construct a fish out pond in Marlborough for a ‘Take a Kid Fishing’ site in partnership with Marlborough District Council and the Marlborough Anglers club. Undertake fish releases within recruitment impaired or drought damaged Marlborough and Nelson fisheries, and enclosed ‘put and take’ fisheries. A total of 600 adult rainbow trout (850g - 1kg) were released into Lake Argyle prior to Xmas, including 200 tagged fish for the popular annual tag competition – a number of tag returns have already been received by staff over the Xmas/New Year period. The adult/junior Tasman FO ponds also received a total of 600 fish spread between ponds prior to Xmas. Staff are aware that there are a number of older anglers who have returned to freshwater angling as a result of the hatchery program, as mobility has prevented them from participating in wild fisheries to-date. Over the months of January and February, 532 adult Rainbows were released into the adult/junior Waimea Park ponds, and 1134 adult Rainbows released into Lake Argyle. 1162 FISHERY ENHANCEMENT/INVESTIGATIONS Monitor and undertake fish restocking in the Branch River in conjunction with the hydroelectric power scheme, including salmonid and native fishery population health. Staff successfully coordinated the heli-transfer of 300 adipose clipped fish into the mid- upper Branch catchment, and 300 fish into the mid-upper Leatham on Dec 8th. An additional 200 adipose clipped fish were tanker transferred into the lower Leatham from Enchanted Stream down to the swing bridge on Dec 20th. The procurement of a second fish tanker now housed at the hatchery ensured 600 fish were able to be easily heli- transferred in one day, as two tankers were able to be stationed onsite during the heli-lift operation. The manager reported some positive fishing for some of these fish when he subsequently took up several junior anglers to Barbers Hut post the release – fish are often hard to find for the first 6 weeks following a release however as they tend to occupy shallow innocuous looking runs in substantial groups which are easy to walk past/miss. A small fresh on Dec 21st may have perhaps assisted in spreading fish out a bit – road condition up both systems is currently good following recent DOC road maintenance work, however the first large flood will likely change this. At the time of writing, annual Branch/Leatham native fishery monitoring is partially completed with results so far indicating good numbers of both native fish and juvenile trout, likely due to a lack of large floods over the last 12 months. The annual drift dive monitoring has also been undertaken showing the releases have been very successful, far exceeding the annual consent target of 7 fish/km. Of note, a good proportion of the large adult rainbows observed are now wild fish, with a few now also being observed within the Leatham which is very encouraging.

1164 SALMON RECRUITMENT Provide advice and assist where appropriate to enhance Salmon recruitment within the Region in particular the Wairau catchment with external funding support. Report Progress in staff reports to Council One or two early salmon have been reported caught in the Wairau so far. It appears there has been plenty of salmon caught this season so far, with a February fresh being the catalyst for upstream migration, and some Marlborough anglers doing very well on the Wairau. While fish numbers have been good, size and condition of the fish has been well below average on the Wairau at least. Interestingly, while staff were undertaking a fish salvage on Boulder Stream (downstream of Wash Bridge on true left), a number of salmon smolt were captured here indicating salmon have been spawning in this stream, which was not known to staff. me Notice. The exceptions being, as requested by the Council at their December Meeting that an additional pheasant weekend (on publicly administered land) covering Opening Weekend be included in the 2023 season as well as extending the Chukar season to allow flexibility around weather and access into Molesworth. Discussions with Molesworth Station and DOC have taken place, with the plan to hold a ‘one off’ upland weekend into Molesworth, the weekend after the Molesworth Goose Hunt takes place. This would allow for vehicle access into the chukar blocks, as well as being able to hunt parts of the main Acheron Valley. We will not be able to hunt some of the side creeks (Guide etc) where stock are present for winter grazing, so essentially we will only be able to hunt the same area as what is available for the goose hunt. We also expect blocks to be available for hunting as per previous years, following the one off weekend. The game notice for the 2023 season has been confirmed and regulation books printed.

Euro Nymphing with Johnny Gummer (see https://www.flyfishingwithtony.com ) Johnny marshalling the troops on the Michael, Rob & Don with the first catch of the Motueka River course Double hookup for Cian & Don One for Rob Trying to land a fish around rocks Instructions from Tony

Day 2 Wangapepa River Dick & Jonny Don & Dan Another one for Rob

Away you go Another double Lined up Nice one Rob Nice netting Dick Fish on broken rod

Tip of the month – Don Clementson Didymodon Tippet Holder - Can’t find your tippet when you rig up next time you go fishing? Then use the Didymodon tippet holder method. Simply wrap your tippet around the band on your reel before you put it away. But wait there’s more - fed up with tangles when using a double rig? Put a Didymodon tippet holder on your rod and hook the top fly into it. It will never tangle again - especially designed from years of trialling and formulated from space age materials - water proof - almost UV protected - will never fall off in the water. Can be purchased for only $29.95 for a twin pack from Didymodon Enterprises. Email [email protected].

Photos by Gebhard Krewett and Don Clementson

Motueka River Management - Rhys Barrier (Manager, F&G Nelson) Cawthron Institute have conducted a 10 year study in the Upper Motueka catchment around key drivers of the 3 native fish species at that site (dwarf galaxiids, Upland Bullies, LF eels), for the groups interest. They concluded that all 3 native species were driven by abiotic factors (floods and to a lesser extent droughts) rather than biotic factors (trout). This is not to say trout don’t eat native fish or that native fish don’t eat trout (juvenile trout today form the mainstay of the threatened adult LF eel diet in many river/lake systems). I guess what the study illustrates, is that fish relationships within aquatic systems are far more complex than those in terrestrial systems and do not necessarily mirror those that exist between our birdlife and mammalian predators which have had such a devastating toll leading to a long list of extinct birds. Indeed, we have only one species of native freshwater fish that has gone extinct, and the jury is still out on what caused this. We need to therefore be cautious before jumping to conclusions that exactly the same terrestrial mechanisms for species declines exist in the aquatic world simply because trout are an introduced predator. The group may also be interested to know we have been monitoring Northern Galaxiids and dwarf galaxiids in the Branch/Leatham Catchments where Manawa Energy have an active adult trout release program in place for the impacts of the hydro weir on salmonid passage – after 6 years we have come to the same conclusions that Cawthron did in the Rainy River upstream of your site of interest – essentially stability drives an explosion of both juvenile trout and both galaxiids species, whereas large floods have the opposite impact and wipe all 3 out for a period. The group may also be interested to know that Northern Galaxiids also exist within the Upper reaches of the Motueka although we have not done any monitoring in this area to-date (I believe DOC did some survey work here a while ago). The Motueka trout fishery is a wild brown trout fishery protected by a Water Conservation Order that protects flows and therefore the life supporting capacity of the entire ecosystem, benefitting all species (native and non-native) that rely on river flows for survival. At the time of its procurement (an expensive 10-year process with FG as lead applicant), the Order ended up protecting Blue Duck, Karst values, Wild scenic etc in some of the tributaries such as the Wangapeka. The order funded primarily by FG provides water quality and quantity protections for much of the river that the TRMP must give effect to. Land use pressure is often the primary driver of native fish declines/regional extinctions, rather than the presence/absence of exotic fish, although there are certainly some issues with trout and the range restricted non-migratory galaxiids further south – something Otago FG have recently agreed they will assist DOC and other groups to achieve better conservation outcomes for some of these species. Happy to provide further information to the group on these topics if they flick me their questions.

My Fishing Life – by Huw Thomas, in four stages Stage 1 - “Maggot races” I was led into an interest in fishing by two disparate events. The first was listening to tales of fishing trips from a bunch of friends at school in Hull (finest city in England) and being intrigued by their accounts of how they entertained themselves when it was raining and the fish weren’t biting. This seemed to consist mainly of selecting a maggot each from their bait boxes and racing them. Cool! The other was my Grandad being bought a rod and reel for his birthday so he could re-kindle his childhood interest in fishing - and killing and eating everything he caught regardless of size. He was a Welsh Baptist Minister and later explained to me that God put creatures on Earth for man to exploit. Size limits and other regulations presumably were unnatural and therefore must be the work of the Devil. As it turned out tackle had changed since he was a young boyo and he couldn’t fathom the workings of the fixed-spool reel, so my young, sharp mind was called upon to see if I could operate it. And the rest is history…… The Welsh Baptist Church doesn’t recognise the law on size limits! There was another thing actually - as a 16 year old I joined an evening class to learn fly-tying. Every fortnight on a Wednesday evening me and my fishing buddy would be ferried to a hall in a nearby village where we would be taught by a rather aristocratic gentleman and his wife. Since we were the only people there under 80 we were always known as “the boys”. They would have been disappointed if they knew we had an ulterior motive for our regular attendance - we discovered that the pub next door would serve us without asking for I.D. and we quickly worked out a scheme for an hour’s fly-tying followed by a couple of swift pints before being picked up by one of our parents who must have wondered why we were always in such a great mood after our classes. Stage 2 - “Wheels” By the time I went to University I had well and truly got the fishing bug. I decided to go to Leicester imagining it to be a quaint English market town, close to the legendary Rutland Water (“Europe’s largest man-made trout fishery”). I had visions of tumbling village streams full of chub, dace and trout so was a little disappointed when I got there and found out it was a bigger city than Hull, and the main river running through it was more like a canal and was prone to regular pollution incidents from the surrounding textile industry. I realised I would need to get out of town to get my fix - but what could I afford on my student grant? Only a motorbike it turned out, but that was

enough to get me to a few of the Midlands reservoir trout fisheries including Rutland and a small stillwater which I can’t remember the name of where I was the proud owner of the record for biggest fish landed for the season! In my last year at med school I got my first car which opened up trips to far-flung exotic locations like Ireland. You’d think I could look a bit happier having just caught my first salmon in Ireland on a fly. Stage 3 - “Why don’t any of my children fish?” Fishing and families don’t mix well so there was a bit of a fallow period. I would encourage the family to holiday in fishing hot-spots like Scotland, Ireland and the South-West of England but inevitably the conditions would be wrong or if the conditions were right the pressure to do things with the kids would be too much to resist. Each of my four children showed a brief flicker of interest in taking up the art, but the flame never quite caught in any of them. Consequently I never had the regular pleasure of simultaneously getting to fish while also feeling virtuous that I was doing my bit to ensure the children were entertained with a well-rounded upbringing. Trying to get my kids interested.

Making a fish look bigger by getting a very small person to hold it. Look it’s got whiskers! River Wye barbel. Must be winter as I have my extra warm coat on.

A very pink king salmon in Alaska in the days when I could afford to travel Stage 4 - “Almost retired” I’ve now sold most of my mountain of coarse fishing tackle as I have no use of it here - so its fly fishing only these days. And I don’t have much to say about that which members of this club won’t have heard before. So here’s a recent picture of me with a trout from a well-known local river that in true South Island tradition I shall decline to name! Good result from the last cast of the day