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Christchurch
Fishing & Casting Club Inc. (The Friendly Bunch) www.cfcc.co.nz
Canterbury Horticultural Society Building
South Hagley Park, off Riccarton Ave.
Patron: Peter Shutt
President Secretary Vice President John Collins Shirley Salisbury Dave De Montalk
03 332 3947 03 322 8218 03 942 2339
Next Meeting
Rhys Adams,
From West Coast Fish & Game, talking
on Fishing the West Coast
And
Simon McMillan
From Hunting & Fishing, talking on the
appropriate Soft Baits to use there
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Fisherman's Loft for all your Fishing Requirements
Support the sponsor of our Raffle
359 Lincoln Road, over the railway line Phone now 3383131
www.fishermansloft.co.nz
Articles in your Newsletter
Do you have an article, event, picture, item, or anything else for your newsletter? Please send it to me by e-mail or post. Contributions need to be in by the 20th to make it into the next month’s newsletter. My email address is [email protected] and phone is 03 359 0333. My postal address is 2/43 Eastling St, Bishopdale, Christchurch 8053
Richard
Advertisments in your Newsletter
The club newsletter can be used to advertise a trade or service or special skill you have to offer. The advertisement is a standard half-page, and costs $5.00 per advertisement per month. You must be a financial
member to advertise in this Newsletter.
3
Fly of the Month
Devil Dodger
Hook: 2 – 8 Body: Silver ribbing Wing: Black Hackle: Black Tail: Red Method: Bind hook. Tie in tail then tie on silver rib. Take thread to eye and tie on silver tinsel. Wrap tinsel back to tail then back to eye, tie off. Take four hackle feathers two with the curve up two with the curve down. Line the tips up and place together. Place on top of hook, making sure the tail is not too long, tie on at the eye, Stand hackle herls up and wrap ribbing through herls to eye, about four turns, tie off. Tie on hackle feather and wrap, tie off. Finish head wrapping back over base of hackle so they slope back a bit. Whip finish and glue head.
This fly is a Canterbury fly. It is considered a night fly, but as Chris Dore suggested in the October news letter lures can be fished in higher flows and coloured water, so I suggest this darker lure to try in snow melt Canterbury rivers.
Tight Lines
Norm
The trouble with fishing is it was better before you got there, and also
after you left.
Courtesy Bish & Fish
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Upcoming Events 2014 – 2015
Lake Pearson Day Trip 9
th November. The Club will be
supplying a BBQ, the club Shelter will be set up by 9-00am,
around by the camping area. This trip is
to give on-
the-water
tuition for
anyone,
new or
old, who
wants
further
lessons on
fishing.
You bring yourself and your fishing gear, your own drinks, warm
clothes
in case it turns cold, and enthusiasm. We would like to see some of
the more experienced club members there to give tuition. Come one,
come all, and make a fun day of it! Organiser Dave De Montalk
NOTE: If you put your name down for any of the following, that is a
commitment: if you then find you cannot go, you must cancel. Black Forest Weekend of the 29th November Organiser Rex Gibson Christmas Meeting at 7.30 pm on the 3
rd December at the
Garden Restaurant, Marshland Rd. Organiser Richard Lamb Lake Taylor Weekend of the 20
th to 22
nd February 2015
Organiser John Collins Black Forest Weekend of the 27th March Organiser Rex Gibson Twizel Weekend of the 17th April Organiser Shirley Salisbury
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Free quotes - Hanging of Wall Coverings - Visit my Website
*****
Trout Spotting
Throughout the summer is an ideal time to spot trout
in the local rivers, especially on bright days when the
sun is high overhead. Here are a few tips to help less
experienced anglers to see trout in the river.
n’t wear bright colours.
shade the eyes.
looking for fish.
Trout have excellent eyesight, both in and out of the
water. Keep below the horizon if possible.
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upstream direction.
current and face into the flow. For example the fish
could be facing downstream but still facing into the
current if there is an upstream flow in that section of the river.
moving but can be travelling in any direction.
Sometimes they could be dozing and lying stationary at a strange angle if there is virtually no flow.
usually close to it).
lane for fish. Look there.
in the morning or late at night trout very often
feed or rest close to the bank. Walk quietly and check the edges.
offer shelter for trout.
eds are favourite shelters and feeding zones.
-
offs into pools or deeper channels.
of food. Trout may lie behind a riffle in slightly deeper water. They will often move into the riffle for food.
sunshine a dark shadow can be seen.
trout.
mouth
opening, fin or tail movement, flash of side when feeding.
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surroundings. Any difference should prompt further observation. The shape is more important than colour.
in a location. Note
the relative positions of others. Trout are territorial and also creatures of habit. They
will return to a favourite lie.
the likely spots.
il proven to be a
weed or other object such as the side of a rock or boulder, or a piece of waterlogged wood.
fish through “windows” on the surface as the water
forms waves and depressions on the water surface.
This is an acquired skill and needs to be practised.
Experienced spotters are able to look into the water
through these windows of flat water, whereas most beginners struggle to see past the surface.
rove your results as you gain experience.
small percentage of the trout in a river. If the water
looks “fishy” then always fish through it. You may be
surprised.
When spotting is very difficult.
Just remember that you won’t see trout in every
situation. For instance, when the riverbed is covered in
dark algae or weed, or if the light conditions make
visibility difficult, then your knowledge of where the
fish are likely to be is invaluable, and will improve your
chances of catching trout.
Courtesy of the Hutt Valley Angling Club Incorporated
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Catch of the Month
Name: Sharon Platt Date: Mid October
Size: Little Length: Short Fish: Whitebait
Condition: Excellent! Tackle: Net Location: Rakaia
*****
Give us the details so that we have the opportunity to share your
success next month!
Name……………………………………Date………………………..
Size………………….Length…………………Fish………………….
Condition……………Tackle used…………….Location……………
Which Category Entered………………………………………………
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Mataura Memories
It was during my annual holidays in 1951 that I first fished the
fabled Mataura river in Southland after having served my piscatorial
apprenticeship bait fishing and threadlining the streams around my
home town of Dunedin. I reckoned I was experienced enough to take
on the legendary Mataura which I had heard so much about from a
fellow employee. He was country representative for the company we
both worked for and he regularly fished the Mataura in the evenings
when he was working Southland. In fact it was he who sold me my
first threadline (spinning) reel. He had updated his reel for the latest
Alcedo and his French Mitchell was up for sale. I promptly snapped it
up for seven pounds which equates to $14.00 today. “Cheap enough”
you are very likely thinking but my weekly after-tax pay packet was
just $3.70 and out of that I had to pay board and clothe myself. No
doubt about it, a secondhand reel at $14.00 was a considerable
investment back in ‘51. Would you care to pay four times your weekly
pay today for a secondhand reel?
Not wishing to travel to Southland alone, I enthused three fishing
mates, Ron, Bryce and Noel to join me for two weeks fishing the
Mataura river at Christie’s Bend, just a few kilometres south of
Mataura township but we lacked any form of motorised transport to
commute for essential supplies. That was until I built a power-cycle
and powered it with a Villiers lawnmower engine and man alive,
could that thing go! Unorthodox in design, it was nevertheless
efficient and reliable. So, a few days prior to Christmas, the four of us
purchased train tickets, stowed all our gear including the power-cycle
into the guard’s van and with a whistle blast from a steaming JA
locomotive, we were off to Mataura. Once there we hired a local taxi
to get our gear and my mates to the camping site while I followed
behind on the ‘Villiers Velocipede’. It was the start of a very
memorable fishing holiday and building up friendships which have
endured to the present day.
Having received prior permission from the obliging dairy farmer at
Christie’s Bend to camp on his riverside paddock, we quickly erected
our two pup tents, constructed a fireplace and established a campsite
but quite innocently had pitched our tents facing southwest which is
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where the prevailing weather, for which Southland has earned a not
inconsiderable reputation, originates. And we paid for it!
The author fishing the same area some 60 years later.
On Christmas Eve a vicious sou’wester was slamming its way into
our tiny tents and we spent a miserable night and Christmas Day
under canvas but it was the only setback in two weeks of otherwise
perfect weather. The river stayed clear and trout were regularly caught
on our 4 cm golden Devons, a popular lure in their day. However,
being fitted with little propeller fins to induce spin meant that the
Devons twisted lines into snarls unless regularly changed for one with
reverse rotation but this was a real chore. However, we solved the
problem by making little celluloid anti-kinks. These acted much like a
boat keel when threaded onto our lines directly above the Devons
which greatly reduced twisting. But Devons aside, it was fabulous
fishing compared with Dunedin’s diminutive trout and we positively
revelled in it. We fished the true left bank every day but rarely
ventured far afield. The trout kept coming and were always popular
for the evening meal. Mainly in the 2.5 to 3.5 pounds range, a couple
of these were quite sufficient.
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Curiously we never saw another fisherman the entire time we were
there. Just cows, sheep and the odd rabbit for additional company -
the latter being brought down by a volley of stones and converted into
bunny stew!
Thank goodness my mother endowed me with cooking basics
because we ate well and as camp cook, I never ever received any
complaints, the golden rule being ‘criticise the cook and you inherit
his job!’ And thanks to the dairy farmer’s generosity, we received
fresh milk and cream every day. He kept a benevolent eye on us and
was genuinely interested in what we were doing. We reciprocated by
ensuring he was regularly supplied with brown trout fillets. For
evening entertainment we sometimes took a rabbit carcase to the river
after dark to attract eels, some of which proved to be too powerful to
be hoisted out of the water. One memorable brute straightened a 15
mm diameter spring steel gaff which none of us could restore.
Mataura eels had a reputation for being akin to man-eaters and were
subsequently treated with the greatest respect. During the late 1960’s I
read a report in The Southland Times concerning an enormous eel
captured at Mataura Falls which had an intact glass soft drink bottle in
its gut. It was thickly coated with calcified secretions attributed to
futile digestive efforts. It was assumed that the bottle had been
mistaken for an injured fish tumbling down the falls but not only did
outsize eels receive media attention. In 1953 the Otago Daily Times
reported a Dunedin spin fisherman hooking and landing a 23 pound
brown trout which was also taken below the falls. What a fabulous
fish! The mind boggles!
All too soon our Mataura fishing holiday came to an end and we all
agreed that it had been a great success and that the river had well and
truly lived up to its reputation, so much so that in 1952 I decided that
a further trip to the Mataura was warranted. However, on this
occasion just Ron was able to accompany me but this time we had
transport independence - thanks to my Francis Barnett motorcycle. A
few days prior to Christmas we crammed all our gear on to it,
departed Dunedin and by late afternoon had established a campsite on
the left bank of the Mataura just north of the town. Once again we
were blessed with great weather and excellent sport for the entire two
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weeks we were there. Southland historically turned on settled
summer weather which was taken full advantage of by fishers and
campers alike. No one had heard of El Nino or La Nina weather
patterns or latter-day global warming. Summer was summer and
Southland was up with the best when it came to fair weather and on
both occasions that we fished the Mataura during the 1950s, we
experienced beautiful conditions. Sadly, settled weather can no longer
be relied upon. “Bring back those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer!”
Frank Cartwright
Sept. 2014
******
Photo of the Month
Sharon’s 1st Canal fish. 5 lb Salmon
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Messages From The President
Starting Them Off
The new season is here, (at time of writing I haven’t been out) Well I have, sort of. At the end of September we had family from Auckland come and stay for a week. My brother and sister in law, their 3 grandsons, twins aged 7 yrs, one 5 yr. old. Before the twins left Auckland they gave their Gar ( Granddad ) a letter reminding him to take the fishing rods to CH CH. He naturally said yes! He phoned me to sort it. No worries bro. My old trout rods were too big for them, my good spinning rods were too good for them. Visions of The Warehouse shopping for kids’ rods that would probably break if you looked at them the wrong way, started to give
me a head ache. On the way to a job I called into Fisherman’s Loft, to see if they had anything that would suit and well-priced (cheap). Rob said “ look at these, almost kid proof.“ Shimano rod and reel combo for kids, Kid Sticks $49. Two piece
spinning rod, reel with line that can take some abuse. Great set up for young uns.
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Myself, Kim my sister in law, took them to the Groynes then to the Styx River but no luck. Next day myself and brother Mike headed to the Selwyn, then L11. No luck but the boys had a great time. We fished soft baits under a bubble. Next year better luck.
I was very impressed with the Kid Stick Combo, an inexpensive way to get young kids fishing with their own gear and not breaking your good gear. John
MANY THANKS I would like to thanks to everyone who helped with Sunday casting, Norm, Sherily, Rex, Dave de M, Colin ( If I have missed any one sorry about that, but thank you ) We had a great turn out on the 2nd, 3 rd, 4 th Sunday. Majority public with couple of club members. We also gained some new members, welcome to the club. Many thanks John C
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MEMBERS FEED BACK SECTION.
We, your committee, are always trying to give you what you want, but we need your feedback to do our job well. Be it positive or negative ( be gentle ) for the good of the club. IE Have you been on club trip ? Did you enjoy yourself ? What would you change, if anything. Club nights – What would you like more of /less of? So please talk to us as we need to know. We are a small committee, you are welcome to join to give new ideas to help the club. Many thanks John C
Take a Kid Fishing
On the weekend of 18 th & 19 th October, Della and I were supposed to head over to Hokitika with Dave de M, and a few other brave souls. The weather forecast wasn’t looking pretty for the Friday so we pulled out of the trip. Looking forward to reading about the Hokitika trip. I tried to console myself by trying my luck at the Selwyn river on Friday night, casting into strong Nor Wester; saw a couple of trout but no luck for me. I would have preferred the Waimak chasing sea-runs, but that had already come down and was unfishable. So headed to Take a Kid Fishing on Sunday morning. If you want to watch organised chaos, go and help out next year.
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I would like to thank, Shirley, Richard & Sharon, Keith Loader, Keith Harries, Rex, Della ( hope I haven’t missed any one out, sorry if have ) for helping out and making it an enjoyable time for all the public that we helped. Alan was there giving one on one tuition to his granddaughter. There was a lot of fish caught, lots of people going home with a salmon or two. Thanks John
******
Confessions of a club-a-holic
For over twenty years I have been a member of three fishing clubs.
From the early 1990s I also belonged to a fourth. I eventually decided
that that club's members weren't focussed on the comaraderie that
occurred in all the others. In the last few years I have added another
two clubs.
Part of the problem is that I have enjoyed trout, salmon and sea
fishing. Spin fishing gear, hand lines, surfcasters and fly rods all live
in my garage. I even brought one four wheel drive vehicle primarily
because my surf rods could fit in the boot area.
All of this addiction requires a “support group”; or in my case, several
support groups; the fishing clubs. There are fringe benefits. You get to
pick a lot more brains about the finer points of fishing. We all love
what we are good at. With fishing, “being good at it” requires luck,
skills, and a fair dose of knowledge. Most fishing clubs focus their
meetings on sharing their achievements and explaining their
collective knowledge.
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Achievements are usually measured and recorded by awarding club
trophies. One club has over twenty. All these clubs, except one,
require actual evidence of the achievements. There is an assumption
that all fisher-folk are liars; that they were born honest but somehow
got over it!
Clubs usually require that the achievement (usually a fish of course)
be independently “measured”. This normally means finding a certified
set of scales, with the fish gutted and gilled. This latter point is in case
the compulsively dishonest fisherman has filled the fish with lumps of
lead! Yes, I know it happened once up Auckland way. To me it
smacks of the hysteria that Bin Laden has created around airport
security.
It also requires that you kill the fish. These potential trophy fish are
the alpha males and matriarchs of the fishery. However if not killed
and independently weighed then the fish could not be considered for
the trophy.
Another factor is that trophy fish are often caught a long way from
certified scales; often also when the premises with the scales are
closed.
There is another option that fits better with our 21st century lifestyle. I
am talking about
cell phones (that
take photos), or
small digital
cameras that
will fit in the
fisherman's
pocket or fishing
vest. But, you
may state, how
do we know
how big the fish
is as, since most
club were
started, “size
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counts” has become the basis of trophy awards.
The answer is to incorporate length into the equation. There are
retractable measuring tapes that are small enough to fit into fishing
vest pockets; I am talking about the small outside pockets where most
of the fly fishing fraternity keep their tippet material spools. They
only cost around $2.00. I got one from Mitre 10 for $1.99 in
September.
A photo that shows both the fish and the extended tape, should only
take 20 seconds to set up and the fish could be released if desired.
I usually carry a small digital camera in a snap lock bag – the bag is in
case I take a dunking! A cell phone in a similar bag would also do the
trick.
At least with a “verified” length, experienced club officers can
reasonably assess the validity of the weight submitted. I think that it is
time that clubs
stop assuming that
all their members
are cheats and
move to accepting
the type of
evidence that is
suggested above.
Most people enjoy
the recognition of
their peers. That is
the basis of having
club trophies,
whether it be
fishing, bowls, billiards, rugby or athletics. We should not over
complicate the process (the KISS principle).
Rex
*******
The pleasant'st angling is to see the fish ~ Cut with her golden oars
the silver stream ~ And greedily devour the treacherous bait.
Author: Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing (Ursula at III, i)
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Fishing the Canals Dawn was still a little way off when the alarm clock shattered what had been a good nights sleep, we quickly dressed and amongst commenting ”we are getting madder as we get older” we drove down to the Rolleston Garage and met up with John and Della who had filled up and were ready to hit the road to Twizel. As always we drove in convoy style, and for what is compulsory for us on this trip, we stopped at Fairlie and had a great coffee and an even better pie for what was for us, our breakfast/lunch.
Beautiful Day We then proceeded to the Tekapo Canal enjoying great weather and the promise of a good weekend of fishing and socialising. As always the Tekapo provided a number of fish and although we didn’t manage to catch any Trophy fish John hooked into what certainly looked like an 8 or 9lb fish which unfortunately he didn’t land but we managed to make even bigger as the weekend went on. We fished for the rest of the day and caught and released a number of fish before making our way to our accommodation at the Mckenzie Country Lodge. What a great bunch our hosts are and for $105.00 a night for two you get a great room and a terrific buffet breakfast to start the day, this must work out as the bargain of the year as in the evening a large open fire awaits with a good selection of reasonable priced
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wine and a good hearty meal but most people find the breakfast has dulled their appetite for dinner. John and Della are really great on this trip as they have both completed Malcom Bell’s Fishing the Canals weekend trips and are very good tutors, and pass on a wealth of information to the uninitiated. If you are thinking of trying soft bait lures on spinning gear then I really recommend you come on the next trip.
We Do It Hard Down There
The next day dawned fine and clear as we made our way to Ohau C , once again a number of fish were caught and released with a large number of really big fish surfacing and enjoying getting our heart rates up. John and Della had fished another canal during the day and had experienced a large number of fish in the 2-3lb range but no trophies had come their way. The number of anglers were definitely down this trip and with the warmer weather we really enjoyed our weekend.
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We fished the Tekapo again the next day on the way home and as before caught and released a number of fish before heading to Geraldine to stop for coffee before driving the last leg back to Christchurch, already having decided to return down south again before the main season begins in Canterbury. Keep an eye out for
Road to Nowhere the next organised trip I know at least two people who can’t wait to return.
Richard Platt
*****
'Twas merry when You wagered on your angling, when your diver
Did hang a salt fish on his hook, which he With fervency drew up.
Author: Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra (Charmian at II, v)
Courtesy: Bish & Fish
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OUR NEW WEBSITE
“Christchurch Fishing and Casting Club have a brand new website http://www.cfcc.co.nz/, blog and Facebook page. Our website is now Smartphone and Tablet friendly and we’ve added new resources for our members including featured videos and our events calendar. In the coming weeks we will be taking over the management of our BLOG and Facebook page. We will be inviting posts and contributions our from members"
*****
Fly-fishing is solitary, contemplative, misanthropic, scientific in some
hands, poetic in others, and laced with conflicting aesthetic
considerations. It is not even clear if catching fish is actually the
point.
Author: John Gierach Published: Dances With Trout - 1994
Courtesy Bish & Fish
23
Education, At a Practical Level…
I am a preschool teacher and on a recent trip down to the canals
fishing, the children at preschool asked if I could bring back a fish
that they could eat. With the pressure on to catch one I didn’t succeed
but thankfully John did. On the Monday morning I arrived with a
salmon and the children were very interested.
First of all they all had to have a close look and some of them even
felt the fish. It was then time to get it ready to cook which they helped
with. After what seemed like a long time to them the fish was cooked
and it was time for morning tea. Most of the children enjoyed the
salmon with some coming back for seconds. There was still some at
afternoon tea time so the table was full again for the salmon and
cracker. I’m sure that now when I tell the children at preschool that
I’m going fishing there will be a request for fish for morning tea.
Della
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Tips of the month
1 Oops…
It pays to turn the stick blender off before pulling it out of the dip you
are mixing.
2 I was fishing the Waimak on Saturday of Labour Weekend, A F & G Ranger was doing license checks; this time I had mine on me and not at home. He made a suggestion that, as it is easy to leave your license at home or in other gear, most people now have their cell phone either on them or in their vehicle, so take a photo of your licence showing all your details clearly. That way if you leave home without your license there is still a good chance you will have your phone with you.
Cheers John
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Dear John, Below is a message from Chris Dore asking for support with submissions on the proposed Oreti Cycle Trail, it's a top river, if you have a moment please take the time to make a submission;
We need you! As part of the Around The Mountain Cycle trail the developers wish to push up to 60,000 cyclists per year through the Oreti Valley in Southland, New Zealand. However this is one of New Zealands top trophy producing river valleys and aside from the angling, visitors rate highly the wild, natural and scenic environment of the upper valley through the 'walk only zone', the location of the proposed trail. Whether you have visited this area or whether it is on your wish list, please write a submission mentioning how you personally feel about sending bulldozers and extracting gravel from quarries to be dug in this valley, and the resulting cycle trail and proposed bridge across the most remote and untouched area, and how this may affect your desire to visit this stunning location. There is a perfectly viable, more cost efficient and of lesser environmentally damaging route available down through the Mararoa river valley which simply makes more sense. The remote and natural landscape, yet with relatively easy access is one of the things that makes this river valley so appealing to trophy anglers, hunters, mountain bikers, hikers and bird watchers alike. Submissions close Nov 3rd and can be emailed to [email protected] in a word document following the general format of the prescribed RMA submission form ( form 13) located in the link below. Even a couple of sentences will make a difference.
26
Anyone can submit on this, including international interests and it's important we do so. Mention you are supportive of the cycle trail with the exception of the proposed route from the Mt Nicolas road bridge, down through the Oreti valley including the proposed bridge spanning the river and associated structures. There is a viable and less disruptive route available down the Mararoa with the safety of a nearby road should cyclists get into trouble. The natural landscape of the upper Oreti valley is highly important to the amenity value of the Oreti, and aside from the world class trophy brown trout fishery, draws hikers, hunters, bird watchers and mountain bikers who appreciate the remoteness of this location, the wild and natural landscape with relative ease of access. Submission forms can be downloaded here... southlanddc.govt.nz/my-southland/around-the-mountains-cycle-trail/stage-two/ Get on it! Submissions close November 3rd ------------------------------- PS - I've put the FR submission up on the website here, You are welcome to use it as a template, just copy and paste it, changing the names and add your own comments as you wish
Kind regards,
Steve Gerard Flyshop NZ Ltd
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Unclaimed mail to:
2/43 Eastling Street
Bishopdale 8053
Christchurch
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the letters and articles in this newsletter are the
authors’ own and not necessarily those of the Editor or The Christchurch Fishing and Casting
Club Inc.
