A new trout fishing initiative in the rural community of Upper Mataura is building new connections between all ages, developing life-long skills, and celebrating the world-famous natural resources available at their backdoor.

With few opportunities to connect through sports teams and social clubs, local mum Shona Tyler wanted to encourage her community to get off the farm, take a break from farm work, and develop new connections through fishing. The region is known for its trout and salmon fishing, but many in the community don’t have the skills or resources to fish themselves or teach their tamariki and rangatahi to do so.

Working with Active Southland Healthy Active Learning Facilitator Heron Futter, Shona connected with Garston School, Southland Fish and Game, and the Athol Hunting and Fishing Club. Funding has since been secured through Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa New Zealand to provide the school and wider community access to fishing gear and resources to use into the future.

The first meetup took place at Kingston Wharf on Lake Wakatipu in early November 2023. Reflecting the demand in the community, the first event saw an impressive 80 people gathered to connect and learn how to fish – with some catching their first.

Following the initial success, meetups continued throughout the 2024 fishing season. The rōpū has explored wetlands to learn about native fish populations, hosted knot-tying evenings and fishing trips, and built new relationships with the Hokonui Rūnanga. Whether novice or experienced, participants received hands-on lessons in fishing basics, from tying hooks and untangling lines to more complex techniques.

Shona said the programme’s strength lay in its ability to bring families from diverse backgrounds together and cater to the needs and expertise of all ages and skills – including her own.

“For many parents, especially the mums, not knowing how to fish has been our biggest barrier. Now we can take our kids fishing and muddle our way through,” she says.

The initiative is also positively impacting all aspects of wellbeing.

“We have also enjoyed the social aspect, getting outdoors, catching up with new friends, and making new ones,” Shona says.

As for the tamariki and rangatahi involved: “They just want to get their hands on a rod and have a go. Some have been lucky enough to land a fish, and all the kids have loved seeing that.”

Heron says the initiative has been a “total winner” that ticks all Active Southland’s boxes because it gets communities active. It also brings to life the Healthy Active Learning kaupapa: which now supports over 900 schools and kura across the motu to create healthy and active learning environments and better connections to their communities.

Heron says she would also love to see similar programmes rolled out in other areas of the motu and says, “you just need people that want to make it happen.”

Shona agrees.

“It only takes one person to start it. Keep it simple to begin with and let it evolve from there. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Kids just want to have a go. It might be a little chaotic or messy at first, but you have to start somewhere.”

Plans for year two of the Upper Mataura Fishing Connect are already underway, and families have generously offered their boats to explore other areas. There are even plans for the group to enter the local wild food evening where they hope to serve trout they have caught from Lake Wakatipu.

The original team from the Athol, Garston, and Kingston surrounding area who make everything happen lead by Shona.

A version of this story was originally published in Fish and Game Magazine, Issue #59, 2024