NTFC Newsletter_June 2023 (1)

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: Finn Jowsey with a Motueka Brown Trout, caught on a nymph

President’s Flyline Nelson Trout Fishing Club June 2023 Welcome to the June edition of the Nelson Trout Fishing Club newsletter. Not much is happening out there on the river at the moment. The trout are feeling the cold as well. It is a good time to stock up your fly box and sort your gear out for the next season. I thought that it is time for another name change for the Fishing Club. Because we have a patch that we can sew onto our fishing vest I thought that we could call the Club The Nelson Trout Fishing Gang or Mob. We can get some feedback on this subject at the next AGM. With the AGM just around the corner we are looking for a new President. I can’t carry on because of Club Rules so put your hand up. It’s a paid job of $80k. Oops it’s not April 1st is it? At the AGM we will be having the famous Mr Entwistle’s quiz evening with a major prize for the winner. Also we will have a flyline to raffle off courtesy of Flytackle NZ so bring some money along.

Buy & Sell A. Chris Clenshaw has three marine rod/reel combos for sale: 1. Shimano TLD 30. 2 speed graphite sea reel and braid, matched to Shimano Taipan boat rod. Only used a few times. Immaculate condition. Ideal for Snapper Kingfish and Groper fishing. $275 2. Ryobi Adventure SD101 level wind sea reel and braid. Matched to 1.7 metre game rod. Ideal for big snapper groper, kingfish, sharks. Excellent condition $120 3. Penn 330GTI level wind sea reel and monofilament line matched to boat rod. Ideal for snapper and Kingfish, blue cod. Excellent condition $110

Contact Chris 0274377630 B. Finn Sumner is looking for a book: “A river rules my kitchen” by Tony Smith Finn is willing to pay $60 for the book; contact him at [email protected]

Go to: https://www.flyfishingwithtony.com



Originally published in New Zealand Outdoor, November 1954

Club Dinner at the Moutere Inn The annual Club Dinner was held in the Moutere Inn on Sunday June 18. The Club was fortunate to have Helen Blint as Speaker, discussing her time spent on the Chatham Islands. President Don Clementson, Tony Entwistle and Cameron Reid outside the Moutere Inn

Annual Club Membership Dues are due Subs are due as from 1st June. The subs will remain at $40 per adult and Juniors free. Please pay fee to Acct: 06 0705 0373202 00 Membership Cards Cards will not be sent out in the mail due to the cost of postage. Once subs have been paid cards will be available for collection on club nights

Angling in the UK – James Macdonald One of the reasons for travelling to the UK in June this year was to attend the 50th Anniversary of my University geology class. We met on the island of Islay (Inner Hebrides), the 5th largest Scottish island. We had a three day geological field trip, interspersed with the odd visit to the island’s famous distilleries. The visit to the UK also allowed me to get together, firstly, with Chris & Helen Sherwood in Dorset and, secondly, with my childhood friend, Quin Hollick of Comberton, near Cambridge. Some of you will remember Chris as a one-time member of the Nelson Club. Most of the fly fishing in the UK takes place on still waters, commonly reservoirs. The nearest water to the Sherwood’s house in Dorset is at Sutton Bingham, near Yeovil on the border with Somerset. Chris and I spent a good day on the reservoir getting our bag limit (5 each) after a few hours. The fish seemed to be particularly attracted to aerated water, where pumps introduce air into the reservoir which is used to reduce algal blooms. Most fish weighed around 2 lbs. Typical Sutton Bingham rainbow Later in the month, Quin and I drove south to Romsey in Hampshire, where we stayed in a pub, The Drake on the Test. Romsey is about 15km northwest of Southampton. We had booked 2 days of fishing on the Test. We booked through Orvis who supplied us with a guide, Adam Sinclair. The first day we fished a beat at Timsbury and on the second day we were on the Ginger Beer beat at Kimbridge on land owned by Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame. We lost count of the number of fish we caught; it was around 15 per day, typically 2-3 lbs. All fish were returned.

Swans on the Test Thatched cottage beside the Test Quin hooks up; note the manicured bank Quin’s first trout from the Test Close up of Quin’s pretty trout

James gets into the act The Ginger Beer beat, so called due to the bubbles that form on the far bank (left) as a result of a small weir visible in the background Guide Adam Sinclair beside the Orvis fishing lodge on the Ginger Beer beat

Quin hooks up on the Ginger Beer beat Adam nets the brownie

Report on the May meeting of the Nelson Marlborough Fish and Game council – Jean Willis Items on the agenda that will be of interest to our club members: Pressure Sensitive fisheries. The council recommended that the proposed rivers be gazetted as pressure sensitive fisheries. Travers River Wangapeka River Upper Wairau River Matakitaki River D’Urville River Background information: - Pressure sensitive fisheries The Selection criteria that have been agreed by the New Zealand Fish & Game Council after a consultation process with resident and non-resident anglers, followed by regional Fish & Game Councils, were used to guide discussion. The objectives of the proposed designated waters fisheries management framework are to: 1. Aim for more equitable (50/50) use of pressure-sensitive fisheries between resident and non- resident anglers; 2. To place minimal restrictions on anglers not contributing to pressure in sensitive fisheries. It was agreed by Fish & Game NZ that subject to ministerial approval, a designated water will typically constitute: • Almost exclusively rivers • Clear water • Excellent sight fishing • Large average size of fish • High scenic value • Often in a wilderness or back country setting • Mostly located in the South Island • Greater than 50% non-resident angler use and pressure. It should be noted that not all these criteria are required to be met for designation consideration by regional Fish and Game Councils – for example a lowland agricultural fishery such as the Riuwaka that only meets the bottom bullet point above, or conversely a national park fishery meeting the first 7 bullet points only that is considered vulnerable to excessive use by Fish & Game Councils. For a lowland river example such as the Riuwaka, robust angler use data would be required given it does not meet the other designation criteria. For waterways of high scenic and solitude values within national parks however, angler use data may not necessarily be a compulsory requirement if all other criteria are met and Councils are concerned about excessive angling pressure within these systems. An example of this thinking is the assumption by the NZ Fish & Game Council that all existing back country fisheries will likely be migrated into designated waters, regardless of what angler use data exists for them (noting the committee resolved not to include the Goulter (an existing N/M back country fishery), due to the current state of this fishery. It is envisaged that based on current non-resident angler tourism levels, designated waters will ultimately comprise a total of less than 2% of the entire freshwater salmonid fishery resource within NZ, although specific South Island regions will have a higher percentage of their fisheries than this designated, as non-resident pressure tends to be South Island focussed. For resident anglers, an annual Designated Waters licence will be available at a cost $5 per region, with no restriction on the number of days fishing within a Designated Water unless that water is also a controlled fishery. For non-resident anglers, Designated Waters Day licences only will be available, capped at a maximum of five licences per region, at a cost of $40 per day licence.

The Designated waters system affect our club members if they fish the Upper Wairau, Travers, Matakitaki, Wangapeka (entire river) and D’Urville. You will need an endorsement to your licence at a cost of $5. If you wish to fish designated water outside of our region, an additional endorsement at $5 per region will be required. Change to winter fishing boundaries Winter fishing is permitted on the Wairau River as far as Wash bridge. This returns the winter fishing limit to the same as in previous seasons. The fishing limit for salmon set to the Wash bridge. The Conway river winter fishing boundary is the state Hwy. 1 main road. There was no winter limits on the Conway river last season. Licence fees for 23/24 season The Council endorsed the following recommendations for the 23/24 season license Whole season adult $153 Junior $31 Child free Family $198 Non resident whole season $264 Loyal senior $130 Local area $122 Short break $55 Long break $107 Day $24 Non resident say $37 Endorsements: - Salmon $5 Designated waters: - non resident $40/day maximum 5 days resident $5 whole season per region The license fees schedule will have to be presented to the Minister of Conservation, who will approve or not the schedule. Jean Willis Councillor

My Fishing Life – Mark Jowsey As a teenager I started sea fishing with friends on Filey Brigg situated on the Yorkshire coastline in the UK. Winter fishing for Atlantic Cod, braving the cold North Easterly winds and wild seas. We fished with 12ft beach caster rods and multiplier (bait caster) reels. Learning how to control the spool speed and preventing over runs and bird nests. We gathered lug worms for bait from the beach during low tides and peeler crabs from rock pools on the Brigg. Sinkers were made at home melting old lead pipe and pouring into molds. School holidays during the summer were spent fishing for Mackerel, using 9ft spin rods, fixed spool reels and spinners. We fished with both shop bought and homemade spinners that we made from cutlery handles, heated, and twisted to create extra wobble and action to the lure. Filey Brigg – Looking from Carr Naze towards Brigg end Filey Brigg – North side I biked from our family home with friends with our rods strapped to our bikes in thigh waders and fishing gear. Our bikes were left on the top of the cliffs and we accessed fishing spots on the Brigg by climbing down rusty steel ladders bolted into the cliffs. Returning home with a bag full of Mackerel my Grandparents would give me a few pounds for my catch which would pay for more fishing tackle. At low tides we would search the rocks and dive for spinners snagged on rocks and ledges. Ladders on Filey Brigg used for access to fishing spots at Anglers on Brigg end during the Annual fishing festival. high tide. When I was not fishing, I would read fishing books and magazines and when away on family holidays, would visit tackle shops which started my curiosity and interest in other types of fishing, particularly fly fishing. I recall visiting a tackle shop in Cumbria and spending considerable time looking through the selection of flies with great interest. I never had the opportunity though to take up other types of fishing as I did not have access to other fishing waters locally so I stuck with sea fishing.

In my late teens I became interested in other pursuits and started sea and whitewater kayaking and unfortunately did not fish very often. I moved to Jersey in the Channel Islands after finishing my horticultural studies and degree and took up scuba diving, which has taken my wife and I to many wonderful destinations around the world, including Indonesia, the Mediterranean and Red Sea. Despite taking up other pursuits, my interest in fishing was always still with me, and I have always been drawn to be near the water in one way or another. I fished with friends on boats around the Jersey coastline whenever I got the chance, jigging for Mackerel and trolling for Sea Bass. My family and I emigrated to New Zealand in early 2008. Working in Auckland I fished with friends around the Waitemata Harbour and Hauraki Gulf Islands for Snapper. Fishing then started to become a family pursuit and days were spent fishing from wharves and jetties around Auckland, catching Snapper and Kahawai. As Finn and Brogan grew older, we started fishing with friends together on their boat around the Manukau Harbour, and crossing the bar fishing the deeper waters outside the Manukau Heads when conditions were suitable for a safe crossing. Wharf Fishing with my daughter Brogan at Diamond Harbour We then moved to Christchurch in 2015 which started my passion for trout fishing. A friend recommended that I took the kids along to a “Take a Kid” fishing day held at the Groynes. Following this event, we frequently fished at the Groynes and Finn and Brogan refined their skills catching salmon and rainbow trout, fishing with a bubble float and bait, spinners, and soft baits. I soon learnt about spin fishing for Kahawai at the Wamakariri river mouth, which was great fun on light tackle which reminded me of spinning for Mackerel in my youth. We also often visited the Canterbury High Country lakes as a family outing. Enjoying a family picnic whilst we fished and ending the day with a camp fire toasting marshmallows. I started to hear and learn about the Twizel canals and this world class fishery. We then started driving south at 3.00am in the morning on a regular basis in freezing conditions to discover that the fishing at the canals was not as easy as first expected. Following several visits and many, many hours spent searching the canals, discovering where and how to fish them, we started catching fish. We never caught monster fish or large quantities, but always enjoyed our trips to the canals and often returned home with fish for the smoker.

Finn Fishing at the Groynes – sometimes you need a little Finn fishing at the Groynes – baiting the hook. patience. Finn looking pleased with a nice Lake Lyndon rainbow trout Fishing with my daughter Brogan on the Tekapo canal for the smoker Soft baiting on the Ohau A Canal Brogan with a beauty at 10lbs Following my childhood curiosity of fly fishing I decided that I should finally do something about it and attended casting sessions held on Victoria Lake in Hagley Park by the Christchurch Fishing and Casting Club. I remember very clearly instructed to move my arm like a toy tin soldier from the elbow. I attended several sessions but did not progress very well, I can hear Tony saying “too tight at the elbow” so I continued with spin fishing. Due to work we moved to Nelson in 2019 where we discovered Lake Argyle and the Waimea fishing ponds where we could enjoy family fishing. I decided that it was about time again to learn fly fishing so I searched fly fishing and fishing clubs in Nelson. I discovered the Nelson Trout Fishing Club, Tony Entwistle and the casting clinic held at Saxton Field. I attended the casting clinic, joined the club, and enrolled for Tony’s First steps Introductory fly fishing course.

Finn with a Rainbow Trout caught early morning at Lake Argyle Finn at the Waimea Fishing ponds Following this I brought my first fly rod and reel set. I practiced casting but struggled to progress so contacted Tony for a few one-on-one fly casting sessions, first on the grass at Saxton, then on the water at Appleby Bridge. Tony then invited me to join him on the Club fishing day on the Motueka in March 2021. On this day my fly fishing journey well and truly began. Mentored by Tony, I had five takes on a dry fly, I broke off the first one, missed one take, and landed three fish. Two of 4 ¼ lbs and the best at 6 lbs. I was well and truly “hooked for life.” Club fishing day with Tony on the Motueka River - Best fish of the Wairau River Brown Trout day at 6lbs. (Photo credit – Zane Mirfin) I have since attended Tony’s Trout Tactics Reefton Field Trip last November. We had three days of rain but had a great time, learnt heaps, and all caught fish in challenging conditions. I have also been fortunate to team up with Don this past season. Don kindly mentored myself and Finn throughout the season which has been invaluable to my learning and spending time on the water. I am still in the early years of my fly fishing journey which I am enjoying, learning together with my son Finn. Fishing with family and friends has always been part of my fishing life which will continue throughout my fly fishing journey sharing the joys and challenges of fly fishing.

Leatham River Rainbow trout Finn with a Motueka Brown Trout, caught on a nymph x