Reel Life February 2025 - Nelson Marlborough

Fishing Clinics Coming Up

After the success of last year’s soft bait clinics, we are pleased to bring you some fishing events in the Tasman region next month:

Motueka River Fly Fishing workshop

Saturday 8 March (10am-1pm) @ MacLeans Reserve – Motueka River

Find out how one of Motueka’s top anglers consistently catches fish on the Motueka. The session will cover reading the water, rigging your gear, fly selection, how conditions/flow affect fish behaviour and stripping back the complexities so you can succeed on this fantastic river.

SUITABLE FOR: intermediate anglers (anglers who have their own gear, understand the basics, and know how to cast a fly line).

Max 20 people

Soft bait clinics with Josh Ponder – Waimea & Motueka

Saturday 8 March (5pm-7pm) @ Waimea Park

Sunday 9 March (10am-1pm) @ Motueka River – MacLeans Reserve

Josh Ponder from Henderson’s in Blenheim will be delivering the sessions, alongside Fish & Game. Josh is one of the region's top soft bait anglers and has an excellent knowledge of local fisheries and how to catch trout in them. For these clinics, Josh will be showcasing the best lures to use, how to fish them, and how to read the water to maximise your chances. We’re sure you will learn a heap of great tips from Josh.

SUITABLE FOR: anglers of any fishing ability.

Please register here to attend: https://forms.office.com/r/1i6Y13DqnU

Above image: Josh Ponder will be delivering sessions at Waimea Park and the Motueka River.

Drift dive update

Your local Nelson Marlborough staff have been making the most of the good conditions and low flows to monitor trout numbers in local rivers. Drift dives have been completed on the Kaituna, Travers, Branch, Leatham, Motueka, Wangapeka, Upper Motueka, Wairau, Tutaki and Mangles. 

The Motueka and Wangapeka showed another great count due to the stable two years prior, and it was encouraging to see so many small fish in the system. The Motueka should fire next season if we get another stable winter/spring. Despite the lower Wairau count (which was likely affected by the presence of seals), most other rivers showed promising trout numbers with plenty of small/medium fish coming through.

Coming up next: Rai, Pelorus, Buller, Wairoa & Waimea

Most rivers that were dived since January have shown healthy numbers of fish.

March - The best month to fly fish the MOT?

We’re fast approaching what many consider the best month to fly fish the Motueka River. The month of March is characterised by settled weather, suitable flows, abundant food and optimal water temperatures for fishing. After what has been a couple of warm months, trout will be on the chew right through the day as the water temperature remains ideal from morning through to evening. Added to this, passion vine hoppers are prolific and trout gorge themselves on these as well as other terrestrial insects. Don’t be afraid to throw a cicada into ripples too, these large protein snacks become clumsy as the nights get cooler and many find themselves at the mercy of the river and the opportunistic trout below.  If fishing a cicada, it often pays to suspend a small, weighted nymph a foot or two below, this will generally be grabbed if the cicada imitation doesn’t do the job. 

The Motueka is a fantastic fishery, but many anglers struggle on this river. Once you have worked out its intricacies, the fishing becomes easy and your success rates increase markedly. In light of this, we are running a Motueka River fly fishing workshop on Saturday 8 March, which will provide great tips about the best times and conditions to fish and what flies to use. This course is aimed at anglers who have the gear and know how to cast a fly rod, rather than novice anglers. 

You can register for this event here.

Branch/Leatham - Fish the fast water

During February’s dive of the Branch & Leatham Rivers, staff noted that the larger rainbow trout were absent from the great-looking pools and residing in the fastest water possible where oxygen levels are higher. This is not unusual for rainbows who love faster water, however, where you would find fish in pools and runs during the early and late season, these areas were now largely devoid of fish during the warmer summer months.

As an example, throughout one of the dive sites where zero fish were seen in slower pools, nearly all of the 30 large/medium fish were condensed into 3-4 turbulent (whitewater) runs. This may mean 200-300m of walking between the best ripples that fish are occupying.  Here are a few tips to consider:

• Don’t spend much time in the slower stuff unless you see a fish, find the fast water and fish this well
• Usually, where you would see one, there would be more – perhaps up to six medium/large fish in the ripple. 
• These fish are nearly impossible to spot, so cover the water well blind fishing
• Use large buoyant and colourful terrestrials as a dry fly.  Increase your odds by trailing a small weighted nymph.
• The turbulent pool heads also held fish

As water temperatures get cooler, some fish will move back into the runs and pools – and great fishing is on the cards right to the end of the season on May 31.

Rhys Barrier is locked in a battle with a Branch River rainbow, caught on a cicada blind fishing the turbulent pool head.