One man’s pest is another man’s poundage

November 10, 2014

Over the past few months, we’ve been waiting to see if the mouse and rat plague predicted by the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) will eventuate.

I can now state with a reasonable degree of certainty that although it’s taken longer to manifest than originally thought, we are definitely in the midst of a mouse and rat plague throughout many parts of the top of the South Island. Over the last six months, mice have taken advantage of a glut in seed from native beech trees and rapidly increased their numbers.

You might wonder why a 5-star fishing lodge would want to draw attention to a pest plague in its area but there’s an upside to everything: many of the local fishing guides are reporting trout with very large bellies. Whilst guiding on one of the rivers in Nelson Lakes National Park, Craig’s guest caught a 6 lb brown that had the length and head of a 4 lb fish. Suspicious of its eating behaviour, Craig “knocked” the brown on the head and gutted it, discovering five mice in its stomach. Its gorging had added 50% to its body weight in a matter of weeks.

David from Sydney, on his ninth trip to Owen River Lodge, landed the largest brown of his fishing career. Check out his stunning 9 lb catch. You can almost see the mice bulging in its stomach. Now before you rush out to book your flight, there is a word of caution: the mouse plague hasn’t affected every river or indeed every fish. However, this season certainly presents a fantastic opportunity to land your trout of a lifetime.

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Jan 6 2021

Wow, what an amazing stay we had at Owen River Lodge! Felix and Kylie are fantastic hosts, nothing is too much trouble and Ryan’s cuisine is divine! I would definitely spend… Read more

Kate & Steve Auckland NZ : TripAdvisor

Oct 5 2021

The Owen River Lodge advertises itself as “New Zealand’s finest luxury fishing lodge” and lives up to its promise in spades. Felix and Kylie are gracious and superb hosts.… Read more

James: Ruby Bay NZ TripaAdvisor

Awards & acknowledgements

Owen River Lodge NZ: “Fly fishing at its very best”

Ph: +64 3 523 9075 Address: Owen Valley East Road, Murchison, Nelson, South Island, New Zealand

Email: fish@elevenangling.com