DOC to patrol the Waitahanui eh ??

[tie1on]

Hey there everyone - i read in your report there Shane that DoC is going to give the Wai its fair share of patrols this winter - i will be waiting with bated breath or should i say licence in hand to see what happens. Maybe while they are cracking down on people without licenses they can crack down on people spin fishing in there too & using roe ..... where do i stop - i hate to be negative but i think they just tell everyone what they want to hear !! Thanks for the reports - its always good to read a good local report .

[taupof]

Hey Tie1on, always good to hear from you mate. Yeah when we lived at the Waitahanui Lodge, I was always going down to the bridge pool and stopping the tourists from spinning in the bridge pool, I must have done it two dozen times!! One day some local kids came into the shop and asked if I could weigh the HUGE Rainbow Jack they had caught, I went out with my scales, and it pulled 7.5 pounds. I noticed a spinning rod sitting there on the bench and asked where were they fishing, they quite blatantly said in the river!! When I asked them if they had read their license, they just laughed and said what license. Now the way I see it is that if DOC was on there at least three times a week, these incidences would drop right off.

I tried to explain to Glen, (from DOC) that over Christmas I was driving from Taupo to Hamilton and then over to Tauranga, in the first 40KM I must have seen well over 5 Highway Patrol cars, from then on there was no way I was going to go over the 100 km mark. Patrolling works, its that simple, and if you do break the rules then there is a bloody good chance you will get caught!!

You can guarantee Tie1on that if I don't see a massive improvement on the Nui this year, then it will be reported and DOC will get told. In the mean time guys, (and I can't stress this enough) if you see dodgy stuff going on, RING DOC. They may not patrol the rivers to the extent that we would like but they respond to phone calls!! A bit like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted, but better than nothing. 

[taupof]

Hey Tie1on. You can beat that if I don't see DOC on there that I will beat their arse!! I didn't pull wany punches there and they know what the public expects. I actually believe they will patrol it though as their name is NOW on the line.

[taupof]

I was thinking about this the other day and would like everyone who fishes this river to get in touch with me, (please) if they DO see a ranger on the Nui.

[geoff_fishie]

never seen a ranger apart from david cade on the nui, and we just had a chat no liscence checks or anything really although he did spray all my gear really well just to make sure. man this guy is passionate about didymo and keeping it away from our rivers