GUIDING LINE

Lake Brunner's elusive brownies

The native forest reaches right to the lake???s edge, providing cover for the brown trout population.

The drift boat Brent uses for around the lake edges, as well as on some of the larger rivers.

Affable host and guide Brent Beadle.

For trolling ad sightseeing Brent has a purpose-built Ward Watercraft seven-metre pontoon boat. Note the ladder on the roof for comfortably accessing the shoreline.

Brent???s ???secret weapon??? when trolling in summer ??? a Kicktail articulated lure purchased in the USA (www.ngesports.com).

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Regardless of what the weather throws at you, the legendary West Coast hospitality always shines through.

I arrived in Greymouth in the last week of July with two missions in mind: the first was to enjoy some beer and food matching (as well as sample the new brew put down by Monteith’s Brewery Company to celebrate 140 years of beer production); the second was to catch a bluefin tuna.

While the first was always a given, the second became less likely as a third weather ‘bomb’ approached the country. The day before we arrived as a group of journos hosted by Monteith’s, winds to 140kph-plus ravaged the area, denuding the landscape and doing a great deal of property damage in certain areas.

Mother Nature had once again pushed the pause button in my bluefin tuna pursuit.

This led to ‘plan B’, which was to catch a West Coast trout – another first. Charged with that responsibility was Moana Trout Fishing Safari’s Brent Beadle, who, along with his wife Madeline, operates a guiding service and homestay that has spectacular views over Lake Brunner.

We had a couple of options, although time was tight. After a brewery tour to watch the bottling of Monteith’s 140, we left for the short trip to Moana. Accompanying us was local charter boat skipper Leigh Kelly (who was to have taken me chasing bluefin aboard Mistral) and Monteith’s marketing man Malcolm Everts, a keen angler himself.

Our choices were to take the open riverboat and fly-fish the edges, or go trolling in the bigger, fully covered craft. Being the ‘wuss’ that I am, I opted for the comfort and room of the bigger boat!

Brent is one of those types of people that most of us take an instant liking to. Nothing is ever too much trouble, and his affable manner makes him a great host. A publican and salmon fishing guide in previous lives, he’s a bloke’s bloke who enjoys the outdoors and appreciates the hunting and fishing opportunities offered by the region.

By the time we climbed on board the seven-metre, purpose-built Ward Watercraft pontoon boat, Madeline Ruth, the drizzle was steady, and despite the gentlemen’s hours we were hopeful of catching one of the many browns that populate the lake. Brent says these fish average around 44cm (20”) in length and are just over a kilo (2.5lb) in weight, although he has caught fish to just under 4kg (8lb) here.

Trolling is a good opportunity to have a bit of a chin-wag, particularly in this case, as the Honda 130hp motor was barely audible.

It turns out Brent came to lake Brunner for a weekend’s fishing 17 years ago, and ended up purchasing the Moana Pub. Added attractions were pig, deer and duck hunting on his doorstep, not to mention the trout fishing in the lakes and rivers, with sea fishing close by.

After a number of years the hotel was sold and the bed and breakfast established. A good share of his work comes from offshore. It was Americans in the earlier years, but is now mainly Australians. They are offered a guiding/accommodation package, mainly in parties of six, and stay in the cottage he has adjacent to the B&B. He says Kiwi anglers are also beginning to feature in his guest book.

“New Zealand anglers are now prepared to pay for the services of a competent guide who will help them maximise their success on the water,” Brent says.

Trolling and sightseeing is probably what Brent enjoys the least. His forte is fly-fishing, especially drift-fishing the rivers and lake edges in a small alloy boat suited to two anglers, appropriately named Sneakuponem.

As to waters, Brent and his clients are spoilt for choice. When they are all open, there are five lakes and 30 rivers within an hour of home base. His favourites include the upper Grey, Crooked, Rough and Arnold Rivers, as well as several spring creeks. There is also a heli-fishing option for those wanting to go further afield.

There is plenty of opportunity for sight fishing, especially when the cicadas are about in summer. Brent describes fishing at this time of the year as ‘phenomenal’ and catching 20-plus fish in a day is not unheard of.

West Coasters are proud of their history. Our bus driver, who brought us from Christchurch to Greymouth, proved to be a mine of interesting information – and so too is Brent. One of his more interesting stories as we puttered around the lake at Pa Point involved what is thought to be some of the last acts of cannibalism among Maori.

“The locals always posted a sentry on a lone rock just offshore. Any raiding parties coming around the lake would scare up the roosting kotuku (heron), thus warning the pa of the impending danger, resulting in an ambush to repel the enemy. Any prisoners brought back were taken to a nearby island for kneecapping, preventing them from escaping. Then, when the villagers needed a feed, they would go to the island and knock off a prisoner or two for dinner!”

I wonder what beer Monteith’s would recommend as a match for that meal?

Trolling past another part of the lake, Brent pointed out to a patch of bush where, during the roar several years ago, he had 18 stags replying to his bellows.

“Unfortunately, they dropped 1080 poison and I have hardly heard one since – but they will come back.”

His answer to the opossum problem was to use trappers, which not only targeted the possums specifically, but provided gainful employment for a number of people.

By the end of the afternoon we had all enjoyed an interesting history lesson, seen some fantastic country and enjoyed some great hospitality. The lake, regardless of its mood, is a fascinating, haunting place.

Its surrounding bush-clad cloak tumbles off steep mountainsides and the overhanging flora is a great hiding place for the local piscatorial population.

But as for the Lake Brunner brown trout, they ended up in the same basket as the bluefin mission – so what a shame, I’ll have to come back!

Grant Dixon - October 2008

- © Fairfax NZ News