Five-minute read: Alan Tomas finds the Milford Track a thoroughly satisfying – and tasty – experience.
"My son and I decided to walk the Milford Track and the thought of fishing also entered my mind. On checking in at the rangers station I made enquiries as to whether it was worthwhile taking a fishing rod and was promptly told I'd be disappointed if I didn’t. Well, weren’t those words true.
With trusty graphite spinning rod in hand, we had our first fish within 20 minutes of hitting the track at Glade House. Next day we only walked a short distance and found another promising spot on the Clinton River and within a very short time I had my second fish, a rainbow trout of around 2kg. As we cleaned this fish a school of large friendly eels turned up to tidy up the scraps.
Just up the river a little way we found the perfect spot and I directed my son where to land his lure. After repeated attempts and a few retrievals out of the trees, he landed the lure on a sandy spot on the opposite side of the river and proceeded to wind in the excess line that the fast flowing river had taken down stream. On doing this we noticed the line coming back to where the lure had landed and next thing we knew a large rainbow had thrown itself into the air upstream of our position. I really didn’t think my son would get it landed but you should have seen his face when he did.
We travelled along the track towards Mintaro Hut and found a spot where we could see many fish, so my son proceeded to place his lure in front of the nose of the biggest fish he could see until it struck. On retrieving the fish he broke my rod, to my displeasure. We let this fish go as we had two in the bag and after completing that day's trek, we shared our fish with the other trekkers that night.
Luckily fishing was off the cards whilst traversing Mackinnon Pass and the only other spot to catch fish was on the last day, where, if I didn’t have a broken rod, I would have been too tired to bother anyway. With 18km that day and a ferry to catch, time was short. What a great trip and experience with my son, a memory to last forever and story for my grandchildren.
Points to remember: A fishing licence must be obtained and your equipment must be clean and inspected by Parks and Wildlife before starting the track. Your gear must be cleaned also before fishing on the other side of the pass to stop the spread of disease in the waterways."