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NZ$9.90 incl GST FREE TO WHOLE SEASON LICENCE HOLDERSspecial issue forty sevenForgotten Front Country Dragon Slaying Adding The Spin OptionFarming To Fix Water WoesFISH & GAME NEW ZEALANDAUGUST 2018SPECIAL ISSUE FORTY SEVENQUALITY TACKLE... QUALITY FISH!Premium Hooks & Flies...Fly Hooks• reliable hook ups• maximum strength• 13 styles• Made in JapanFreshwater Flies• over 50 patterns• all tied with our quality Japanese hooks• using only the best componentsAcross Our Entire Range, We Focus On Quality...Jellybeans®• 6 colour variations• 5cm long - sold in 5 packs• supreme quality J6 Flyhook “built in” to the Jellybean• spectacular and enticing swimming actionSpinsects®• 7 colour variations• 3 sizes: 6g, 12g and 28g• small for it’s weight but casts very well• unique spinning blade that imitates a fleeing fishShort Handled Net• light weight, with shoulder strap• rubber coated netting avoids snags and is • easy on the fishRainbow Braid Elite & SSP®• super sensitive• superior casting• low diameter• indication marks for depth reading & bite detectionFluorocarbon & Green Deception Leader• low visibility• high sensitivity• ultimate abrasion resistance• available in 4lb, 6lb, 8lb, 10lb & 12lbNEW Pink Deception Leader• Super Bond Polymer technology providing exceptional abrasion resistance• low visibility in water• high knot strength, soft & supple feel• available in 4lb, 6lb, 8lb, 10lb & 12lbOur World-Class Leader Range Has an Exiciting New Addition...NEW4lb FluorocarbonBlack Magic Globug & 6lb Fluorocarbon QUALITY FISH!View our extensive range and find your nearest stockist at:www.blackmagictackle.comBMax 60 Range Growing A Following...Even More Enticing...Look What’s On The Horizon...Enticers• a very enticing and lifelike appearance• 7 colour variations across the range, suited to • NZ conditions two sizes: 7g - 45mm, • 12g - 60mm• an effective lure for both trolling and castingSpinmax & Rattle Snack• two exciting new lures with a full range of sizes and colours are being added to our freshwater range just in time for the coming seasonBMax 60 Lures• bibbed lures that dive down 1.2 - 1.8m• 10 colour variations in total across the range, suited to NZ conditions• 60mm long• rattle beads inside to attract hungry fish• rigged with strong, sharp treble hooksBMax 60 ‘Mad Minnow’ & Rainbow Braid Elite 12lbSSP® Fibre Glide 4kg+, Globug & Fluorocarbon 6lbEnticer ‘Brownie’Spinsect® 12g ‘Blood Grub’5 NEW COLOURS2 NEW COLOURSCOMING SOONSmeltGoldieGreenieNEW Spotty BuckNEW Red BellyNEW CarpRainbowRattle SnackSpinmax5 colors, 2 sizes (7g, 55mm & 14g, 70mm)5 colors, 3 sizes (6.5g, 40mm, 9.3g, 45mm & 13g, 50mm)PerchBrookieBrownieTroutNEW GoldilocksNEW UV LollipopNEW Night RiderNEW Mad MinnowBullyBrownieWELCOME TO S PECIAL ISSUE 47Fish & Game New Zealand4photo: Nick King5Fish & Game New Zealand“If I fished only to capture fish,my fishing trips would haveended long ago.”– Zane Grey PECIAL ISSUE 47Chief Executive Comment 8Viewpoint 9News up front 10Forgotten Front Country 12Nick King on the overlooked water right under our noses.Let’s Get More Women On The Water 20Libby O’Brien hopes for a better gender balance in freshwater angling.Estuary Angling - ‘Kiwi As’ 28Andrew Harding on the angling riches in these accessible reaches.David Parker – Unfinished Business 34Don Rood profiles the Environment Minister.Dragon Slaying 40David Moate divulges his secrets for successfully using a versatile imitation.Adding The Spin Option 46Adrian Bell extolls the benefits of fishing both ways. Future Farming To Fix Our Water Woes 52Rachel Stewart on what the industry must do to really address water quality. Water Warriors – III 56Grant Dyson profiles more Kiwis trying to turn the tables on water pollution.Well, I’ll Be Buggered 60David Moate offers tips on fishing the world’s most popular lure.In the Field 62New Zealand Council News 64n Northland Region 67n Auckland/Waikato Region 69n Eastern Region 71n Hawke’s Bay Region 73n Taranaki Region 75n Wellington Region 77n Nelson/Marlborough Region 79n West Coast Region 81n North Canterbury Region 83n Central South Island Region 85n Otago Region 87n Southland Region 89NZ$9.90 incl GST FREE TO WHOLE SEASON LICENCE HOLDERSspecial issue forty sevenForgotten Front Country Dragon Slaying Adding The Spin OptionFarming To Fix Water WoesSH & GAME NEW ZEALANDUGUST 2018PECIAL ISSUE FORTY SEVENFeaturesRegional SupplementsEarly Season SuccessPhoto: Jack Gauld “If, as I suspect, trout fishing is something of a disease, then it is also something of a therapy in itself.” – Tom SutcliffeEditorHamish Carnachanhamish@fishandgamenz.co.nzAdvErtisingVincent Rayneau 021 637 952 vince@fishandgamenz.co.nzdEsignStan Tucker stan.tucker@fishandgamenz.co.nzProductionVincent Rayneau vince@fishandgamenz.co.nzcontributing PhotogrAPhErsNeil Stuart, Peter Ryan, Hamish Carnachan, Stan Tucker, David Towgood, Mike Kirkpatrick, Peter Carty, Graeme Marshall, David Moate, Andrew Harding, Tim Angeli, Marcus Janssen, Rob Suisted, Stu Hastie, Bob South, Mike Kirkpatrick, Nick King, Derek Grzelewski, Les Hill, Alistair Marshall.Print WEbstArPublishErFish & Game New Zealand magazine is published on behalf of Fish & Game New Zealand by BDMA Revolution Limited MAGAZINE & ONLINEBDMA REVOLUTION6Fish & Game New ZealandCopyright 2016-18 BDMA Revolution Limited. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Most articles are commissioned but quality contributions will be considered. While every care is taken we, and the New Zealand Fish & Game Council, accept no responsibility for submitted material.Advertising within this publication is subject to BDMA Revolution’s standard advertising terms and conditions.This magazine is subject to the New Zealand Press Council. Complaints to be first directed to hamish@fishandgamenz.co.nz with “Press Council complaint” in the subject line. If unsatisfied, the complaint may be referred to the Press Council, P. O. Box 10 879, The Terrace, Wellington 6143 or by email at: info@presscouncil.org.nz Further details and online complaints at: www.presscouncil.org.nzRESIGISTERED PUBLICATION - ISSN 1172-434XPO. Box 133075, Eastridge, Auckland, 1146, New Zealand. www.bdmarevolution.co.nzfishandgame.org.nzThe new trout season is here. It’s time to dust off your rods and get fishing.Grab your 2018-19 fishing licence today.Yourtickettoadventure7Fish & Game New ZealandFARMING LEADERSHIP STUCKIN THE DARK AGESO SUCCEED IN THE MODERN world, businesses, including those in the primary sector, must be clever and progressive.They must innovate, listen to their customers, and react quickly to changing demands and fortunes. They must also pay attention to how the public views them in order to protect their reputation and preserve their social licence to operate.And if a business’s social licence to operate is questioned, then it needs to respond by addressing the core reasons why.However, it seems this is too hard for many businesses, which choose instead to go on the attack. They increase PR budgets, attack the messenger, deny the problem exists, refuse to change and minimise any impact they are causing. Above all, they deny responsibility for fixing the problem.Unfortunately for New Zealand, the last few decades have seen primary industry leaders use this response as their default position for addressing the public’s environmental concerns.They have failed to acknowledge the world has changed and they need to catch up.As a result, they are ignoring the public’s rising expectations of meaningful action, with the inevitable result people are becoming increasingly frustrated they are being ignored and their very real concerns dismissed.That short-sighted approach is starting to cost the primary sector dearly.There was a time when New Zealanders were proud of their primary industries. After all, we were told the country was “built on the sheep’s back” and we were “feeding the world” with prime lamb, beef and dairy. Our seafood was top quality and our fast-growing exotic forests provided harvestable timber more quickly than anywhere else on the globe.The result was that our primary industries were respected; they provided jobs and their social licence to operate was secure. That was why many Kiwis proudly watched Country Calendar each week regardless of whether they lived in a city or the country.That has changed. There is now a growing realisation that corporate dairy farming, fishing and forestry are unnecessarily and seriously damaging the environment, along with their reputations and social licence.Even worse for New Zealand’s economy, our trading reputation – based on a ‘clean green’ reputation – is also at risk, with overseas markets starting to question how environmentally friendly we really are.It is surprising to see the similarities across all three primary sectors and how they have reacted when publicly challenged about their operating practices. We have seen it with the fishing industry.For years, there have been concerns about fish dumping, the by-catch of dolphins, seals and sea birds, and the conditions endured by foreign workers on New Zealand vessels.The industry response was predictable. It dismissed the criticism and if pressed, minimised the impact. The big seafood companies fought having their catches scrutinised by observers or cameras. The same reaction is starting to be seen in the forestry sector, which for years provided its workers with the country’s most dangerous occupation. Forestry downplayed its OSH responsibilities until the late trade union leader Helen Kelly made it her mission to turn that situation around.Now, sloppy harvesting practices have resulted in a tsunami of flood-borne discarded logs and pruning debris damaging private homes and publicly funded infrastructure, as recently witnessed in Tolaga Bay and Tasman. The forestry response has been to deny it is their problem, blame the weather and forcing the victims to prove the perpetrators are legally liable before they will pay a cent in compensation. When challenged, all these industries have responded in a similar way.Dairying has led the way with slick ad campaigns on our TV screens showing smiling celebrities handing out milk to beaming school children.Fishing has quickly followed with its own artistically filmed glossy ads emphasising salt-of-the-sea locals in small boats earning a living from the oceans against a background of beautiful sunsets. THE WORLD IS WAKING UP TO THE FACT THAT OUR INDUSTRIAL FARMING PRACTICES ARE APPALLING, SAYS TAYLORSurprisingly, there is no mention of factory ships, ocean beds damaged by trawling nets, discarded non-target species or inconvenient albatross by-catches.The question now is will forestry be next to hire the same PR company as dairying and fishing and start pumping out propaganda to try and convince Kiwis of an alternative reality?One thing is clear about corporate dairying, fishing and forestry. They all seem to be following the same tactics pioneered by that one-time major global player which lost its social licence – the tobacco industry.When the growing scientific evidence showed smoking was a killer, Big Tobacco resorted to denial and attack to discredit the growing mountain of medical research. The major tobacco companies launched ad campaign after ad campaign showing how much fun it was to smoke, sponsored sports and wheeled out laughing, smoking celebrities. And all the time the industry attacked, denied and minimised.In the long run, that didn’t work out too well. Big Tobacco probably knew it was going to lose, just as farming, forestry and fishing know they will have to change… sometime.But they continue resisting this inevitable change. Just like tobacco bosses, they know to delay change is to maximise profits now, which is what they have been doing for the last decade.However, it’s now time for their denial, minimisation and inaction to stop.For dairying, a good start would be to stop Chief Executive COMMENTFISH & GAME NZ CHIEF EXECUTIVE MARTIN TAYLOR SAYS PRIMARY INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP HAS FAILED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE WORLD HAS CHANGED AND THAT THEIR SECTORS NEED TO CATCH UP.Fish & Game New Zealand8HE ONE CONSTANT, WE ARE often reminded, is change. There is nothing wrong with change. As anglers we love the technological changes which handed us graphite rods, new fishing lines and breathable waders and we eagerly await the next big technological breakthrough.But when it comes to protecting the environment, tackling global warming and ensuring all Kiwis can enjoy clean rivers, lakes and streams, it’s the speed of change – or the lack of speed – that is the problem.We are told it takes a long time to turn around an oil tanker; good things take time and Rome apparently wasn’t built in a day.The problem is we don’t have a lot of time to turn this ship around.When it comes to addressing water quality, climate change and stopping the calculated abuse of the environment, New Zealand needs to change – and quickly.Fish & Game has a proud track record of standing up and being counted on these issues.But it hasn’t been easy.Back at the turn of the century when it sounded the alarm about industrial dairying’s impact on the environment, the organisation was attacked and pilloried.Federated Farmers’ leaders were aghast anyone would question dairying’s right to pollute our waterways. What Fish & Game was doing, they said, was “eco-terrorism”.At the same time, farmers, aided and abetted by some political parties, were also fighting efforts to tackle climate change. They marched on Parliament and cheered National MP Shane Ardern when he drove a tractor up Parliament’s steps.Maybe they were different times but it’s gob-smacking to now look back at the refusal to face these threats. Instead of immediate action to address them, they were cynically exploited for political gain.Things are now starting to change with meaningful policies tackling water pollution and ensuring New Zealand does its bit fighting climate change.After decades of denying there is a problem, Big Agriculture is starting to realise that strategy is costing it its social licence.Belatedly, it is trying to show it is doing something, although it favours glossy ads and voluntary compliance rather than compulsion. The industry has been stung into action by the realisation public concern over dirty rivers, climate change and the environment were key factors in the portraying the public’s anger over dirty rivers as an example of the urban-rural divide. Dairy leaders and their organisations have used this tactic in the belief that townies apparently just don’t understand the need for dirty rivers.Unfortunately, townies understand only too well. And so too do rural communities upset their favourite swimming holes are now un-swimmable or empty or their drinking water contaminated.It isn’t just a dissatisfied few who are unhappy – the numbers wanting better water quality are overwhelming. A recent Colmar Brunton poll examined how New Zealanders felt about water quality and three quarters – 75 per cent – say they were extremely or very concerned about pollution of lakes and rivers.The only issue people were more worried about was the cost of living, with 77 per cent expressing their concern.More than 70 per cent said commercial businesses should pay for their impact on the environment and dairying shouldn’t be treated more leniently than other commercial operations.Big Agriculture should note that the people surveyed came from throughout New Zealand – they live in the cities, the towns and rural communities.And on farms.Part of the ‘deny at all costs’ strategy used by dairy leaders has been to attack Fish & Game and other environmental groups as the enemy. Fortunately, many farmers see right through it.Recently, I had a discussion with a group of farmers – dairy and beef and lamb – about water quality and how to reduce farming’s impact on our rivers, lakes and streams.These farmers are progressive, in tune with their communities and take their environmental responsibilities seriously. They know they have to perform and told me they are creating wetlands and fencing off waterways.When I pointed out that their lobby groups and industry leaders were actively campaigning against compulsory environmental rules and bottom lines, I was quickly reminded they too are unhappy with the situation.“They don’t represent us,” one dairy farmer told me, pointing to her environmental record.It’s time dairy and farming leaders started listening to these farmers. They are the ones doing the right thing, protecting wetlands, tackling pollution and taking the environment into account when they make decisions.They are taking real action at their cost to do what’s right.These farmers are leading by example – their farms showcase how it is possible to be profitable and environmentally sound.But there is increasing frustration among them about the standard of leadership they are getting from higher up, from the likes of Fonterra, Dairy NZ and Federated Farmers.A good example of this failed leadership was the recent release of a farming action plan to improve water quality. The plan is from the Good Farming Practice Governance Group, whose members include Fonterra, Dairy NZ, Federated Farmers and Irrigation NZ.The group claims the plan will allow im-proved water quality in the country’s rivers, lakes and streams to be achieved more quickly. It all sounds perfectly reasonable ex-cept for one glaring problem – it is voluntary. If a farmer doesn’t want to be environ-mentally responsible and protect our water-ways, they don’t have to. As a result, this plan is just a collection of voluntary commitments without any bottom lines. All it does is encourage voluntary best practice, an idea which has been tried and failed before. As far back as 2003, the Dairy and Clean Streams Accord asked farmers to voluntarily protect waterways. Some 15 years later that reliance on voluntary compliance has clearly failed as can be seen by intensive farming’s adverse impact on water quality.The Good Farming Practice Group’s voluntary action plan is just another part of farming leaders’ charm offensive. There have been similar solemn announcements along these lines over the last year.They include farming leaders standing by the Ngaruroro River pledging to make all rivers swimmable, Dairy NZ making a raft of commitments in its Dairy Tomorrow release followed by Fonterra’s Commitments to Our Waterways and Sustainability report.Each time, the vital missing ingredient has been action. The time for farming leaders’ aspirational pledges in glossy documents backed by slick media campaigns is over. If those industry leaders really want to stop polluting our waterways and restore them to health, they would support mandatory regulations allowing that to happen.Such a move may well change the way farming is done in New Zealand, but until we abandon the idea that protecting the environment is only voluntary, then agriculture’s reliance on water pollution as a form of corporate welfare will continue. The reality is that there is going to be no progress on water quality until it is compul-sory for all industries – including agriculture – to care for the environment. As I discovered talking to farmers, many agree and are frus-trated by the lack of action and leadership.The time for talking is over. We need action.Martin Taylor, Chief Executive OfficerNew Zealand Fish & Game CouncilVIEWPOINTTHE GLACIAL PACEOF CHANGENational Party losing power in last year’s election.Even big companies – like KPMG – are warning Big Agriculture it needs to “move with velocity” to deliver the community’s desire for swimmable rivers.For the average New Zealander wanting to take their kids for a swim in their local river, the change in attitude is welcome. But the change is not only well overdue, it needs to be faster.One of the other shorthand terms for slow progress – like turning oil tankers and building Rome – is “glacial slow”.It is ironic then New Zealand’s pace of change has been so slow on issues like climate change that our glaciers are reacting more quickly to the threat than we are in addressing it.Tourism magnets like Fox Glacier are retreating into the mountains faster than politicians can make the hard decisions and provide the leadership necessary to tackle the problem.It isn’t just politicians and Big Agriculture which need to provide strong leadership – so does Fish & Game. That begins with licence holders being prepared to step up and lead from the front to ensure this oil tanker of inaction is turned around.The opportunity to do this is by standing in the Fish & Game elections. Nominations for councillors are now open, with voting in October.A councillor’s job isn’t easy – it’s unpaid, disappointments are guaranteed and your stamina and patience will be tested. But it is vital you do your bit to ensure what we love is also loved and enjoyed by our children and grandchildren.The need for change isn’t confined to politicians, farmers and climate deniers.Fish & Game also needs to get its house in order. Anglers and hunters are often skilled at criticising, infighting and concentrating on the trivial.That needs to change if Fish & Game is going to make meaningful progress on improving water quality and the environment. So as you read this magazine and eagerly anticipate the new fishing season, take time to think beyond your favourite Opening Day stream and start considering the future.That starts with voting in the Fish & Game elections and, if you are up to it, standing for your local Fish & Game council.Change is needed and we can’t wait any longer for it to happen.Don Rood, Communications ManagerNew Zealand Fish & Game CouncilFish & Game New Zealand9Next >