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Kiwi Ken's Fishing Page |
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| Hi,
I'm a keen trout fisherman, from Palmerston North, New Zealand. There are two main river systems locally which I fish. Both are 'natural fisheries' in that all fish stocks are wild and self perpetuating, and no stocking of hatchery fish occurs. The Manawatu River flows through Palmerston North and is a fine brown trout fishery. It is an extensive river system which drains both the eastern and western watersheds of the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges. That means that you can nearly always find a tributary or area that has fishable water, and I can enjoy fishing it all year round. The trout mainly average between 2 - 4 lb, but there are bigger ones to be had. The Rangitikei River flows out to sea to the west of Palmerston North, and is a world-class fishery holding both brown and rainbow trout. It is a long river (by NZ standards) which originates in the middle of the North Island. The headwaters hold good numbers of double figure fish. I also enjoy fishing it locally, as it holds good stocks of browns and rainbows. I fish according to the location and conditions. Local rivers fish well with a nymph and dryfly in summer, but will also fish well with a wet fly or lure fished downstream, especially in autunm to spring when the river levels are higher. Mostly I catch and release, but the fish stocks are more than sufficient to keep fish if I wish to do so. I tie my own flies, and the standard patterns work well here, particularly caddis and mayfly imitations. Hare and copper, and pheasant tail nymphs; mayfly spinners and caddis sedge dry flies; and both small wet flies and small-fish imitations for downstreaming. As well as being a member of the Manawatu Freshwater Anglers Club (based in Palmerston North), I am Research Officer for the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater Anglers. Their web site can be found here. Drop me a line,
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Horned caddis - an effective
fish taker on the Manawatu River
