Fresh Trout For Labour Weekend Dinner

Labour weekend is providing holiday makers with a great opportunity to get out and try catching a trout or salmon for the family dinner table.

Fish numbers are good in many parts of the country and are feeding voraciously as they regain condition after a successful spawning season.

And Fish & Game is offering new anglers the chance to try freshwater fishing with a special long weekend option among the wide range of licences available.

The new range, introduced last year, now offers nine different licences to choose from. The new options were introduced following surveys to find out what anglers wanted when they were selecting a freshwater fishing licence.

Fish & Game’s national communications manager Don Rood says the “short break” licence category is specifically tailored for holiday weekends like Labour Weekend.

“The short break category allows people to fish for three consecutive days, which is a great option for people going away for the long weekend.

“There is also a longer nine day licence which covers Labour weekend, the following week and the next weekend. This allows people to get the most out of the short working week by taking four days leave and going fishing,” says Don Rood.

“On Tuesday, they will be out on the water while everyone else is back at work.”

Fish & Game is advising anglers that there are some great opportunities waiting for them this weekend.

“While the weather may not play ball over the whole weekend, there will be enough good days to get out with your family and friends and put fish on the table for dinner,” says Don Rood.

In the North Island, anglers should consider targeting trout at sheltered spots on the Rotorua lakes.

Fish & Game staff say that lakes Rotoiti and Tarawera offer some great sheltered areas for deep trolling and jigging, and there are plenty of sheltered arms on Lake Rotoehu. Lake Rotorua also has some productive spring trolling runs.

Auckland residents are being reminded they don’t have to travel too far for good fishing.

Fish & Game’s Auckland Waikato staff say Labour Weekend is the perfect time to fish the Waikato River and the hydro lakes.

“The weather for the fishing season opening was so bad that fishing pressure has been minimal, so most of the region’s rivers have either not been fished yet, or have had only very light pressure,” says Auckland Waikato’s Fisheries Manager Dr Adam Daniel.

“The Waikato River will be in good shape for fishing this long weekend and spending an evening casting small wedge-tail soft baits under trees along the bank would be worth a go.”

The South Island is renowned for the quality of its trout fishing.

In Otago, recent rain in the headwaters has clouded a lot of the southern lakes and while the Clutha is running rather full, the Taieri River remains clear. Anglers are advised to use a bright lure or flies that have a bit of flash to grab the trout’s attention.

Whitebait are still running in the lower reaches of coastal Otago Rivers attracting good numbers of great tasting sea run trout.

Sea run trout are also evident over on the West Coast and the long weekend provides good opportunities for anglers venturing there.

Many people from adjacent regions will be making the most of the extra day to head across to the West Coast to fish the likes of Lake Brunner. Brunner is always a good producer of brown trout at this time of the year and a favourite for families.

At this stage, Saturday is the pick of the day’s weather wise for the Coast.

In the Nelson and Marlborough regions, Saturday and early Sunday are tipped as the best days to go fishing before the forecast bad weather arrives.

Rivers in these areas are the lowest they have been in weeks, and with the current warm temperatures, fish should be actively feeding. Local rivers such as the Wairau and Motueka have been fishing well with good numbers of feisty medium sized fish around