Hot weather... check the water temps! STOP WHEN HOT

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Johnno
Posts: 736
Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 3:01 pm

Hot weather... check the water temps! STOP WHEN HOT

Post by Johnno » Mon Dec 31, 2018 5:15 pm

Just a reminder... now we are finally ( at the top of the South anyway) getting the summer weather we’ve been waiting for... check the water temps when fishing. If it’s 19 degrees C ( 67 F ) or over STOP FISHING. That’s the temp that fish will start to die. We had fish kills in the top of the South last year thanks to hot rivers and I don’t think this year will be any different.

Find a cold trib or fish real early in the morning or late in the dusk, keep an eye on the temps and just stop when it gets up there. Usually 10.30 am onwards.

Go find a winery or a local brewery, grab a drink and a platter and sit back and enjoy some other things we have going for us here.. 8-)


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joynhappiness
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2018 7:45 pm

Re: Hot weather... check the water temps! STOP WHEN HOT

Post by joynhappiness » Thu Jan 03, 2019 2:55 pm

Thank you for sharing this informative information with all of us.



Andy W
Posts: 272
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 2:01 pm
Location: Christchurch

Re: Hot weather... check the water temps! STOP WHEN HOT

Post by Andy W » Mon Jan 07, 2019 7:48 am

Even some of the spring fed creeks around Chch are hitting 18 degrees on our hot days - waste of time trying.

Andrew W



the_skunk_whisperer
Posts: 36
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2014 6:31 am

Re: Hot weather... check the water temps! STOP WHEN HOT

Post by the_skunk_whisperer » Sun Jan 27, 2019 6:22 pm

Plenty of other stuff to do in the bush too, take pics or educate the local birds about the dangers of 1080



Johnno
Posts: 736
Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 3:01 pm

Re: Hot weather... check the water temps! STOP WHEN HOT

Post by Johnno » Mon Jan 28, 2019 6:48 am

Now we are in a heat wave, it’s even now more than important than ever to STOP fishing in some parts of the country.
I have heard of reports of fish dying in the Motueka. On the hot days it’s reaching 23 degrees. That’ll be doing it in some parts of the river where they can’t get decent oxygen and find cooler water.

And there are still people on the river fishing...... idiots.

Overnight the other day it got down to only 19 degrees. I turned around and went home at 5.00am without wetting a line. It’s just not worth stressing a fish with those temps...



Johnno
Posts: 736
Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 3:01 pm

Re: Hot weather... check the water temps! STOP WHEN HOT

Post by Johnno » Mon Jan 20, 2020 5:44 am

Bumping this as it’s starting to get warm again. One of my locals is now hitting + 19 degrees C by the middle of the day. I’m seeing anglers still in the water. And they really shouldn’t be. Any fish they catch will likely die on release....

Fish early in the morning or evening after sunset.



Maniototoflyfisher
Posts: 148
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2017 6:30 pm

Re: Hot weather... check the water temps! STOP WHEN HOT

Post by Maniototoflyfisher » Mon Jan 20, 2020 1:40 pm

Getting hot in Central Otago also. After moaning about the cold start to the summer, the last week has had highs of close to or above 30*C. The water coming out of the taps is tepid as is the water in many of our irrigation ponds and my local river. We had been getting amazing fishing with adult damselfly patterns in the middle of the day but in the last day or two it's dropped off with minimal trout cruising the edges - however it's only a week or two before the cicadas start in our high country dams 😜



canuck
Posts: 92
Joined: Mon May 12, 2014 1:26 am

Re: Hot weather... check the water temps! STOP WHEN HOT

Post by canuck » Fri Jan 24, 2020 1:39 am

I just became aware that the Ecan river flow site now has a temperature column, this seems super handy to me. I thought that I would share that in case others weren't aware.

https://ecan.govt.nz/data/riverflow/

Steve



SparseGreyHackle
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2023 4:12 pm

Re: Hot weather... check the water temps! STOP WHEN HOT

Post by SparseGreyHackle » Fri Jan 12, 2024 11:02 am

Or fish the salt for kahawai along the beach or at the river mouths. The kahawai scene seems to get going this time of year. I tried the mouth of the Waimakariri last year at this time and it was a fun, social scene (and I caught some fish).



Shingalia
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Aug 18, 2015 8:03 am

Re: Hot weather... check the water temps! STOP WHEN HOT

Post by Shingalia » Wed Jan 31, 2024 5:16 pm

Good point you make about fish stress and heat.

I believe DoC has prohibited fishing in Lake Otangamakau during February because it is a shallow water body and the fish can't go deep for cooler water.



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