“In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.”
A line from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s lengthy poem that has been a little misquoted at times.
Spring is also a time of renewal for flora and fauna, plus for us!
Renewal of focus and intention, as we ponder prospects for another trout fishing season. This year we must take a Grey Ghost or two down around the estuary areas, to entice fish that have dropped down to gorge on whitebait that are hopefully ascending the rivers.
Also we’ll have to get out on the lake for some early season action around the margins with damsel nymphs, as it’s so good from October to early December with plenty of fish to sight and very little fizz boat or jet-ski action to disturb the eardrums and the water.
Then another idea that comes to mind, is to go prospecting some new waters that have not yet been explored and to illustrate this, here in the West Coast region there is more water than you can shake a stick at, or a rod, and I don’t mean the stuff that falls from the sky.
That only happens a bit in Spring and Autumn and mainly at night! Many people who say “Oh it rains all the time on The Coast,” have not actually been here and its merely hearsay. We get more annual sunshine hours than Auckland and on the rare occasions there happens to be a bit of precipitation, it gets on with it then stops. There’s no cold mizzle and drizzle for days, as in say Canterbury and it ‘s normally mild if there’s a downpour over here. I can say that from experience as I lived in Christchurch for three and twenty years, before leaving to train in Wellington.
So what are the signs of Spring over here on The Coast? One of the very early indications are the bare, leafless Magnolia trees, bursting out with massive cream, or pinkish blooms, followed some weeks later by Kowhai gold. The flowering cherry trees show a vibrant pink display. Willows develop a red tinge as the new buds swell, then take on a pale green which deepens as the season advances. Golden willows sprout afresh with new green leaves – the combination of the two colours, a reminder of the gold and green trout we catch walking and stalking the margins of Lake Brunner.
Out there in the early season, cygnet and ducklings paddle close by their parents, and if you are lucky you might observe a young kingfisher getting flying lessons from Mum, and Dad. There is often more to the experience of fishing than fishing. Down in the coastal areas you might see other Kingfishers appearing on power lines and posts, as they wait for the first of the wrigglers to come into the rivers.
On that topic, adverts for nets show up in the paper and on social media, while trout anglers might put their noses into their fly-box, to see if there are any Grey Ghosts left from last year. Blackbirds, those seemingly benign denizens of our gardens, start running across the lawn after each other, as the attendant brown female keeps a beady eye on them, to see which is the strongest and worth having as a mate. It can get pretty vicious as the two black ,avian knights go at each other, flapping up in the air, beak and claw clashing. Sometimes a dead bird on the front lawn or in the gutter, is not the result of a cat, or a speeding car, but the outcome of one of these confrontations.
Now Opening Day is fast approaching, so where to go? Normally for us its a favourite old lake that has been closed since the end of last season. We’ve been out there innumerable times over the years, so we know where the stumps and rocks are located. It’s likely we’ll meet a Fish and Game officer on patrol, for a chat and a licence check- ah yes, the new licence, better tidy that off very soon now and hey, what about the weather prospects? The boat & trailer will need a check over and the fuel, is it stale? Better have a look at the fishing gear as well, how old are those leaders? So what time should we get out there and when is daylight? Best you show up here at the gate around 5am, I’ll bring lunch.
So off we go and another season is underway with experiences to enjoy and tales to be told. Even remembered to put the bung in – you only forget that once, don ‘t you!
Tight lines for the new season
