The Catch That Trout series consists of two books covering the North Island and the South Island of New Zealand. Extracts and more information on these books can be found here

"Your books Hooked on Trout and Catch That Trout rank amongst some of my all-time best trout fishing reading! Excellent writing style and books!

 

Tight lines!"

 

Jan

 

Jan Swanepoel

HAMILTON
North Island
New Zealand

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Extract from Catch That Trout - South Island

Lake Alexandrina lies just to the west of its much larger sister lake, the superb Lake Tekapo, famous for a unique mineral-blue colouration. Compared to Tekapo, Alexandrina is a much more stable lake and so provides a better habitat for trout. Access is gained by turning right off SH 8, a couple of kilometres out of Tekapo village.

The road passes Mt John, easily recognisable by the domes of the observatory on top. The first access is found just before the Mt John turnoff where it is necessary to pass through a gate and follow the rough track to the south end of the lake. Shallow flats in this area provide good fishing from boats or from the shore at the change of light. There are overhanging willows that give protection for cruising brown trout that tend to appear in low light conditions.

The next access is signposted and found just before Lake McGregor, which is a much smaller lake but well worth exploring with a fly rod. It fishes best to a streamer fly at the outlet leading to Lake Tekapo and at the mouth of the inlet from Lake Alexandrina. The road passes the south side of Lake McGregor and finishes at the collection of fishing huts and caravans at the outlet of Lake Alexandrina. The water channel between the two lakes is not open for fishing. There is a network of tracks from here leading to the south end of the lake and along its eastern shores.

The final access involves heading up the road a further five kilometres before turning left at the first junction. The road appears to be heading towards the farm buildings but then swings left and passes the tractor shed on the right. The road should be followed until another collection of fishing huts is reached. The car can be left here and a short walk made to the northern end of the lake and the mouth of the inlet stream. The lake is very deep here and streamer flyfishing is the best method. To fish the shallower, western side of the lake, it is better to drive through the huts and swing left to follow a rough track down to the lake edge. A short walk brings you to the area known as ‘the Pothole’ which provides excellent fishing for the shorebound angler. Care should be taken as some of the clumps of bullrushes or raupo are in fact floating islands and can be unstable if set foot upon. Before and after ‘the Pothole’, there are plenty of stable banks adorned with willow trees to provide some cover for the stalking angler.

Because it is fed by only one small creek, Lake Alexandrina is a very stable lake and its level rarely fluctuates much. There is a good mix of shallow feeding areas and deep water that provide shelter and security. This balance results in ideal trout habitat and high trout numbers. The lake holds both rainbow and brown trout averaging 1.5 kg but with trout up to 5 kg not uncommon.