One of the more grunty weather systems has been smashing southern NZ over the last 72 hrs and the worst of it is arriving now and for the next 24 hrs. Snow has fallen to very low levels over the South Island of New Zealand and Mt Hutt in Canterbury has received well over a meter of snow and may end up with a excellent base going into the ski season.
It has been a while since I have fished in conditions that require de-icing of the fishing rod guides and at the moment I am not rushing out the door to experience it. The extremely cold blustery southerly that is blowing has certainly got my hopes up for a good duck shoot this afternoon.
There looks like there could be a few small gaps in the weather next week so there could be some good options to get out then – if I can find a stable couple of days together we are going to try to get into Fiordland for a late season hit on some of the big browns that are getting ready for spawning.
The reports of a long and cold winter ahead of us may well becoming true and it will interesting to see if it translates into big snow which will then make for some big run off come spring time through the rivers systems. If the winter is long and cold it will also have and effect on the health of the trout at the beginning of the season – it will take longer for them to put condition back on.