Anglers itching to get into waters

Overseas anglers are ‘‘busting’’ to get back to New Zealand waters to land prized trout after Covid 19 closed the borders for two years, a fishing guide says.

And the guides themselves are looking forward to getting back out on the water with their clients after basically being unemployed for a period of time.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of overseas anglers flocked to Southland’s rivers in summer to attempt to bag a trophy trout, but the guiding industry dried up when New Zealand’s borders closed.

Now that the borders are open again, guides are expecting a steady stream of anglers back in the water.

At the self-professed Brown Trout Capital of the World, Gore trout-fishing guide Barry Perkins said overseas anglers were ‘‘busting’’ to get back into New Zealand waters.

‘‘Some of my clients come every year, and they’ve had to cancel for two years in a row, so they can’t wait to get back,’’ he said.

‘‘The fishing here is uncrowded, the rivers are great they’re desperate to get back here.’’

His first overseas client will arrive on October 14, and he has bookings right through the season with anglers from Europe, the United States and Australia.

Business had been quiet during the pandemic, but he had guided some New Zealanders.

‘‘We spent more time fishing ourselves, which was really great. Now there will be more people on the rivers but it won’t be crowded, there’s plenty of water to fish.

Hurley’s Fly Fishing Shop in Lumsden employed five guides at the peak of the season before the pandemic hit, but they had all been unemployed and doing other jobs while New Zealand’s borders were closed, guide Brendan Shields said.

‘‘We’re booked right through to the end of the season. Most of our clients are from Australia with a few Americans,’’ he said.

‘‘A lot of them had left their gear here in someone’s garage and they’re now wondering what condition it’s in.’’

Some older clients were hesitant to return to the country because of the pandemic, so it could take a while for numbers to return to the way they had been prior to 2019, he said.

Southland Fish and Game manager Zane Moss said in the 2019-2020 season (pre Covid19) 2230 fishing licences were sold to nonresidents in the province.

For this coming season, 72 non-resident licences and 2310 resident licences had been sold prior to opening day on Saturday.

‘‘These early sales to nonresident anglers suggest that our small rural towns will experience a very welcome influx of tourist anglers, which I know will be extremely valued’’.

‘‘Small towns like Waikaia, Garston, Athol and Mossburn receive very significant benefit from this fishing-based tourism, as happy anglers once again support accommodation, pubs and cafes’’

Opening day also coincided nicely with the start of the school holidays, he said.

‘‘It’s relatively rare for the opening day of the fishing season to fall on a Saturday, so there will be thousands of happy anglers looking forward to tomorrow. Next week also sees the start of the school holidays so plenty of Southland kids will have opportunity to get out and about on local streams and rivers with family and friends, which in my experience is a welcome distraction from the constant temptations of technology’’.

The forecast looked promising, with Southland set to have some of the best weather in the country, he said.

‘‘Rivers are generally at pretty full spring flow levels and some will be higher than fly anglers in particular would like.

‘‘However, the great news is there will still be opportunities across all of the province. Spin and bait anglers will be especially pleased because the flows will suit them extremely well.’’