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Comments 1 | Posted by: Global Administrator,
The end of April usually means the end of fishing for the headwater streams in the vicinity of Poronui. While winter brought the runs of spawning trout to the Taupo tributaries, for most anglers their season ended when the summer season came to a close. This year is different! The upper reaches of Hawke’s Bay Rivers, which includes the Ngaruroro, Mohaka, Taharua and other tributaries will remain open until 30 June. NZ Fish & Game have made the change to provide additional angler opportunity. They are confident that that the increased fishing pressure will have no impact on the fishery. Fish & Game notes that the peak of spawning occurs after June and with the huge amount of potential spawning areas in the catchments there is simply no reason not to fish during these months if anglers want to.
The water will certainly be colder but it could be a great chance for anglers to get a winter break or a mixed fishing and hunting trip.
So what will the fishing be like? As this is the first season it has been legal for anglers to fish during Mauy/June it really is too early to tell. Fish will be moving during this period and we could easily get aggregations of fish around the smaller tributaries. The limited fishing that has already taken place has been very successful - so the signs are good!
Leave the dry flies at home as it is important to get right down to fish level in the cooler waters. The fishing is still predominantly to sighted fish, and they are strong fighters as they are in peak condition after a summer of feasting.
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Comments 1 | Posted by: Global Administrator,
The piercing bugle-like call of the Sika stag echoed around Poronui during the April rut. An extremely vocal and aggressive deer species, the Sika are renowned for charging in unexpectedly to a call. It makes for very exciting hunting and there are some great sights as stags clash over cycling hinds. This year was certainly no exception, with some tremendous hunting and great stags up to 180 DS already taken.
The stags typically rut in the relative security of bush or heavy timber. While there will still be some rutting activity, with the occasional hind that was missed in April cycling again, the rut is largely over. The stags will now start to venture out into the open looking to regain the condition they lost during long nights of partying! The next two months are one of the best times to take a really top trophy, as it can be easier to view stags from a distance, whereas rut hunting tends to be close proximity – almost hand to hand combat!
Here is a photo of Pat Kingham with a 174 DS sika stag shot in April.
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