Reel Life October 2025 - Wellington

Season Under Way – Great Fish Being Caught!

The weather has been temperamental for the start of the new season, but the fish and fishing has been consistently good when windows of opportunity have allowed anglers to get out on the water.

Image above: Greg Smith with one of many good Hutt River browns he caught early season.

Despite a blustery October and occasionally rainy weekend, the 2025-26 fishing season is off to a flying start in the Wellington Fish & Game region and hopefully the weather is now on the improve.

Earlier this season we noted that both regions have been lucky to avoid any major floods over winter, and how that has been beneficial to recruitment in our fisheries as well as allowing trout to recover quickly from the rigorous spawning period. The catches we’re seeing early on are proof with trout in superb condition.

While a reasonable spring flood went through in mid-October, fry and mature fish appear to have survived with no noticeable impact on the fisheries that were subject to the rain event. 

Some of the mainstem rivers in our region have been up quite high frequently tis past month as a result of repeated fronts rolling in from the Tasman Sea, however, those anglers who have scouted around have found clear water and excellent fishing, particularly  in the smaller feeder tributaries.

A beautiful rainbow from a small Manawatu River tributary

Don’t overlook these smaller waterways. Early season they hold good populations of trout that are slowly moving back to the mainstem waterbodies after spawning. And because they are often sourced from smaller catchment areas, they tend to clear quickly after rain.

Although inconvenient for anglers, an upside to the regular rain is that it will set the rivers up well once summer and the dry weather arrives.

As well, all the ranges – including the Tararuas, Ruahines and Kaimanawas – received regular doses of snow over winter and into spring which is also important for sustaining river flows over the summer.

What makes 2025-26 so exciting is that many anglers regard the previous season as one of the best they’ve experienced in years, so the stars seem aligned to keep building on that – expect some sensational fishing in the months ahead!

Grab Your Ticket To Adventure

Your freshwater fishing licence is a ticket to adventure, offering amazing value and angling quality unsurpassed anywhere else in the world.

The Whole Season and Family Licence offer angling throughout the entire country (except Taupo) for the entire year. Grab your licence and rewild yourself and your family this season.

Photo Comp – Win a $300 voucher

Once again we’re running our photo competition, generously sponsored by Wairarapa Hunting & Fishing who have put up a $300 voucher.

To find out how to win, make sure you’re signed up to our weekly fishing report – ‘The Lower North Lowdown’. Click here to subscribe if you aren’t already receiving it.

Online Access Maps – Plan Your Next Fishin’ Mission

The team at Fish & Game have developed an awesome angler access tool to help you plan your next fishing mission.

Our Angler Access App is fully interactive, allowing you to fly around the region and zoom in to all our angler access sites in the lower North Island… or the rest of the country if you choose to fish further afield.

You can even download the maps and information to your mobile device so you can use them when you’re out and about but don’t have data connection.

Click here to check it out and start planning your next exciting angling adventure.