There’s plenty of room on New Zealand rivers this fishing season

Usually, by now, Southland’s riverbanks are swarming with tourists on a quest to hook a trophy trout from the gin-clear depths of one of our streams.

But not this year.

Covid-19 has taken its toll on the freshwater angling industry, and anglers on weekend trips from Australia, or those who visit from the United States or the United Kingdom, won’t be on the rivers because of border restrictions.

These “high yield” visitors usually took up guided fly-fishing throughout Southland and traditionally injected about $1 to $2 million in the economy.

The industry had continued to flourish as the south’s rivers are known as some of the best in the country for trout.

Yet, Southland Fish & Game manager Zane Moss said with the absence of the overseas fishermen and women, it might be an ideal time for Kiwis to learn how to fish.

“There has never been a better season to give it a go,’’ Moss said.

“We’re hearing from people who fish some really popular places, like the upper Mataura for example, who are saying there is just no-one there, especially during the week.’’

Southland’s rivers and lakes are on many overseas anglers bucket lists.

In a normal year, non-resident anglers account for about one third of all fishing licences sold in the province.

“That’s more than any other region and accounts for about 12,000 angler days a season,’’ Moss said.

“We are the destination that overseas anglers want to come to, to have that classic, iconic angling experience, and now we have it all to ourselves.’’

Great South general manager tourism and events Bobbi Brown said it was difficult to determine what impact the Covid-19 pandemic and border restrictions would have on the freshwater fishing industry in Southland.

“The number of anglers is difficult to fully document when you consider local people going fishing as well as visitors coming to fish, and many of those hire a guide. Of this latter group, we do know they are usually a high value market and often repeat visitors,’’ she said.

She said the domestic travel industry was not behaving as it had in the past and the region was recovering differently. Fiordland was quiet, while Stewart Island had recorded its busiest winter on record for tourists.

“While there are international travel restrictions, we expect there to be less demand for fly-fishing guides as this is traditionally an international market. However, there’s nothing stopping Kiwis trying something new and booking a day out with an expert which could very well happen and which we would encourage.’’