heathcote
03-17-2012, 03:34 AM
It is autumn in New Zealand and a bonus is time to search out some of our more remote and less famous waters plus indulge in my other passion of tramping.
This trip was to the Kowai river in Canterbury in the Torless Range. A convenient hut is situated near the head waters as a base. This stream was seeded with brown trout in the late 20's and ealy thirties and populations have had a hard time surviving in a very harsh environment. With the 2012 earthquakes it was of interest to see what had happened.
The stream is a typical mountain freestone braided system and to a first glance little had changed; however the upper stream has now waterfalls where none had been previously. A search of this stretch saw no sign of fish of any discription however below the hut inthe larger water where two streams joined a small fully mature brown trout of a mere 75mm was caught in a pool under a bluff and a number of fry were observed in a small feeder. Searching up into the gorge on the Torless stream I caught a first for me on a fly, a New Zealand torrent fish of approx. 10cm. These look a little like a gudgeon or barbel, marbled in colouration to match the environment they live in with a flattened head to better hold the bottom in fast water.
Fine weather mean cold nights in the alpine foothills and frosts are common and the stove in the hut is welcome for comfort in the evening and I am reading for the first time the unabridged "Complete Angler" by Isaak Walton most appropriately by candle light before bed.
Three days of "Heaven" away from it all, total solitude and a bonus fish on the way out much lower down, a 1 1/2 lb rainbow. Such are the joys of these more remote alpine valleys and the light weight of a tenkara rod and gear are an added bonus to fully enjoy this wilderness.
This trip was to the Kowai river in Canterbury in the Torless Range. A convenient hut is situated near the head waters as a base. This stream was seeded with brown trout in the late 20's and ealy thirties and populations have had a hard time surviving in a very harsh environment. With the 2012 earthquakes it was of interest to see what had happened.
The stream is a typical mountain freestone braided system and to a first glance little had changed; however the upper stream has now waterfalls where none had been previously. A search of this stretch saw no sign of fish of any discription however below the hut inthe larger water where two streams joined a small fully mature brown trout of a mere 75mm was caught in a pool under a bluff and a number of fry were observed in a small feeder. Searching up into the gorge on the Torless stream I caught a first for me on a fly, a New Zealand torrent fish of approx. 10cm. These look a little like a gudgeon or barbel, marbled in colouration to match the environment they live in with a flattened head to better hold the bottom in fast water.
Fine weather mean cold nights in the alpine foothills and frosts are common and the stove in the hut is welcome for comfort in the evening and I am reading for the first time the unabridged "Complete Angler" by Isaak Walton most appropriately by candle light before bed.
Three days of "Heaven" away from it all, total solitude and a bonus fish on the way out much lower down, a 1 1/2 lb rainbow. Such are the joys of these more remote alpine valleys and the light weight of a tenkara rod and gear are an added bonus to fully enjoy this wilderness.