Lower North Lowdown Weekly Fishing Report - 18 January 2024

With Wellington anniversary this Monday, anglers in the lower North Island get a bonus fishing day!

There's no better way to ease your way back into the year than having a three-day weekend to hit the water. 

So far the weather looks like it will play ball too, certainly for the first half of the weekend anyway. 

That's great news given how hot the fishing has been running so far this summer.        

We've had an amazing response to our fishing photo competition - see below for details - with heaps of great entries flowing in over the last three weeks.

Clearly people have been enjoying the awesome weather over the holiday period and getting out to cast a line.      

Hutt River and Tributaries

Click the weather icon above for for live updates and forecasts for the Hutt Valley.

Live river flow information for the Hutt and Akatarawa can be viewed by clicking the highlighted river links. If you're after more info on the waterways in this part of the region, find out more about How To Fish the Hutt River here, or check out our dedicated access website where you can download maps and access instructions.

A beautiful stretch of the Hutt in the middle reach/upper reaches. Credit: Andrew Harding.

Kapiti Coast 

Click the weather icon above for live updates and forecasts for the Kapiti Coast.

Live river flow information for the Waikanae, Ohau and Otaki can be viewed by clicking the highlighted river links. If you're after more info on the waterways in this part of the region, check out our dedicated access website where you can download maps and access instructions.   

The Otaki River at SH1 yesterday. Credit Phil Teal.

Wairarapa 

Click the weather icon above for live updates and forecasts for the Wairarapa region. 

Live river flow information for the Ruamahanga and major tributaries - the Waiohine, Waingawa and Tauherenikau - can be viewed by clicking the highlighted river links. If you're after more info on the waterways in this part of the region, check out our dedicated access website where you can download maps and access instructions.

The Waiohine River at SH2 this morning. Credit: Hamish Carnachan

Manawatu

Click the weather icon above for live updates and forecasts for the Manawatu region.

Live river flow information for the Manawatu and its main tributaries - the Oroua, Pohangina, Mangatainoka and Mangahao - can be viewed by clicking the highlighted river links. If you're after more info on the waterways in this part of the region, check out our dedicated access website where you can download maps and access instructions.

The middle reaches of the Mangahao River yesterday. Credit: Hamish Carnachan.

Rangitikei 

Click the weather icon above for live updates and forecasts for the Rangitikei region.

Live river flow information for the Rangitikei and Hautapu can be viewed by clicking the highlighted river links. If you're after more info on the waterways in this part of the region, check out our dedicated access website where you can download maps and access instructions.

The Rangitikei River at Pukeokahu this morning. Credit: Horizons.

Taranaki Ringplain

Click the weather icon above for live updates and forecasts for the Ringplain region.

The latest live flow data for Taranaki Ringplain rivers can be found here. If you're after more info on the waterways in this part of the region, check out our dedicated access website where you can download maps and access instructions.

The Hangatahua (Stony) River earlier this week. Credit: Allen Stancliff.

Waimarino

Click the weather icon above for live updates and forecasts for the Waimarino region.

Live river flow information for the Mangawhero River can be viewed by clicking the highlighted river links. If you're after more info on the waterways in this part of the region, check out our dedicated access website where you can download maps and access instructions.   

A Waimarino region gem looking super fishy this week. Credit: Allen Stancliff.

Trout hot-smoked over a camp fire - it doesn't get much better than that. Credit: Hamish Carnachan.   

The trout are in superb condition this season so it's little wonder anglers have been taking the occasional fish for the table. 

Sports fish are a special food resource – there is no commercial market for trout or wild-caught salmon from New Zealand’s freshwater – only licence holders have the privilege of harvesting these wild animals.

To get the most from your catch, though, there are four key steps we recommend for getting the absolute best flavour and flesh texture.

1. After landing, dispatch your fish ASAP with a firm strike to the top of the head above its eyes with a rock or stick or an ‘iki’ spike to its brain.
2. Once dispatched, immediately bleed the fish by cutting from the bottom of the jab into its gills, and removing the gill plates – when cut correctly, there will be a lot of blood loss.
3. When bleeding has ceased, remove the gills, stomach contents and kidneys which are the dark strips along the backbone in the gut cavity (a teaspoon is super handy for this).
4. Chill the fish immediately by placing in a cooler chilly bin with ice. Alternatively, you could bury it deep in cold-wetted sand or keep it in the river water in the shade of a tree (an old dry bag is good for this as it prevents eels from stealing the fish).

Tip of The Week

With many kids and novice anglers keen to give trout fishing a go this summer, bait fishing is very effective and probably the easiest way for them to have success.  

Bait fishing for trout and perch is permitted in many waterways of the Wellington and Taranaki Fish & Game regions, just check the regulations beforehand.

Here are some of our top bait recommendations:     

1. Prawn and cocktail shrimp – These crustaceans would surely win the award for the most popular bait in the Mackenzie Basin canals, but they work here too. Fish them whole or trim them to suit your hook size.
2. Huhu grub - Dig these large larvae out of rotten logs. They stay on the hook best if you hook them through the mouth. Few trout can resist these large protein packs
3. Scented soft baits – These come in all shapes, sizes and scents and can be fished in all sorts of ways. Check out our instructional video. 
4. Worms – Dig them up from your garden bed or, better yet, around a cattle yard. A favourite of brown trout, worms are incredibly successful when rivers are up in flow after rain. 

Don't get an unwelcome surprise by Greater Wellington Regional Council's river bulldozing impacting your day on the river.

For information on the weekly activity schedule, click here to see where and when they'll be working.

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