18 April 2021
It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon on Lake Matahina when Dan and I got in the canoe just after mid day. There was a bit of a breeze at times and some cloud as we made our way up the lake from the dam. It had been a while since we had fished here (27 December 2020) mainly because the river above fired so well over summer. Last time out here we caught around a half dozen decent browns. We considered that really difficult fishing. The lake has not been the same since the Edgecumbe flood four years previously. So instead of literally covering the entire lake shore, we chose what we thought would be the most productive areas.
Armed with a size 8 bead head krystal olive woolly bugger, our go to fly for any lake edge, Dan cast along the eastern shoreline as I paddled. The water was clear as the earlier algae bloom had died off. Unlike the last four months, the water level was high. It did make sense as this hydroelectric dam runs extra water and generates power mainly during business hours. Some could argue this would pose problems for edge fishing with the water about a metre higher than "normal". Why, well the bugs, snails and bait fish would most likely be feeding in the weeds that have been in a stable environment and that was a metre deeper than normal. We use a floating line and fish the edges quite shallow and quickly, so it might have been that the trout were not seeing our offering if they were in deeper water. I firmly believed the trout would still be up on the shallow edges prowling for whatever food may be around. So we carried on targetting the first metre or two from the shoreline. Besides, having to slow down and use a sinking line just does not appeal to me.
It was pretty slow. It took an hour before I spotted my first fish just as the bugger splattered on the water above it, spooking the rainbow. It was a good sign. It was my turn and I cast and stripped and wiggled and twitched every edge I could. I was rewarded with a nice rainbow but it took some doing. It was Dan's turn again.
The water went dead calm and the sun came out fully. It was picture perfect for watching the action. Dan had two large browns chase his bugger. I told him to strip then said, "drop it back". For some reason he did not understand what that meant. He stopped stripping as he ran out of line to strip. The fly stopped, the brown ate it and I yelled, "strike!" Dan was too slow to react and the fly was spat out. Oh well it was good to see some interest from the trout.
So you know what I mean when I say strip then drop it back? It is simple; if a trout is following your fly but not attacking, move the fly quickly then stop and watch what happens.
We each caught a couple of nice fish of both flavours. At twilight on the way back, a few random fish were rising out in the lake, obviously scavenging dead bugs on the surface. These are almost always rainbows just cruising under the surface in the middle of nowhere. So we gave chase. The trick is to get your fly to the rise immediately or the fish will not see it. But if it is slowly moving and continually rising, you can guestimate where to put the next cast. I picked up two rainbows doing this.
But alas, it was getting dark and chilly so we packed up and went home. I have been thinking about those mid lake risers and I have targetted them many times in the past. They are really on my mind now so I am going to head to a new lake and try again...
