North Canterbury Fishing Report Friday 5th October 2018

Reports from anglers since opening day have been great. With the stable flows we have had recently, fish have taken up residence wherever the conditions allow, with good numbers of trout seen throughout the region.

Above right: Last light fishing on the Waimakariri  River has been popular this week.

We are still a few weeks away from seeing the first salmon caught, with keen anglers hoping the season ahead is markedly better than the last few, of which last season was one of the worst recorded.

Prospects for the weekend look good for North Canterbury anglers, with light winds forecast for the region both days.

River conditions are low across the region and we could do with a fresh or two to clean out the main braided rivers.

Good numbers of sea-run Brown trout should have entered Lake Ellesmere while the lake was open to the sea recently, and as usual, the lake tributaries will fish better in the evening and at night over the next month or so.

Sea run trout fishing at the Rakaia Mouth has been relatively quiet recently, however silveries and whitebait will have started showing up in the lower river by now, so this should bring the trout in and the fishing will continue to improve right through to Christmas, with late evening again the preferred time to target these fish.

High Country Opening

Anglers are reminded that high country lakes in the region do not open until Saturday the 3^rd of November, and rivers flowing into these lakes do not open until the 1^st of December.

Please note, anglers are encouraged to report incidences of any illegal fishing activity they may see and a note of vehicle registration numbers etc would be helpful.

Rangers will be active over the coming season and anglers are advised to carry their fishing licence when fishing.

Waimakariri River keys

Anglers who have last year's Fish & Game key for the Waimakariri river and want to get this year's key need to follow the instructions on this pamphlet.

Take a Kid Fishing day

A reminder to parents that the annual Take a Kid Fishing day is just over a week away on Sunday the 14^th of October at the Groynes Lakes.

The Isaac Wildlife Trust will be donating hundreds of trout which will be released in the Groynes fishing lakes for this event.

Bring all the family and enjoy a fun kids fishing day. It’s free for all children, including the fishing licence for the day.

Please note; the Groynes will be closed for fishing from Thursday 12^th Oct until the Take a Kid Fishing  event at 9am on Sunday.

Good luck if you are heading out for a fish this weekend.

Steve Terry, North Canterbury Fish & Game Officer.