North Canterbury Weekly Fishing Report - Opening Day Report

Welcome to Opening Day and weekly reports of the 2024/2025 Season

With the 24-25 fishing season about to begin, the team here at North Canterbury Fish & Game have decided to change up the weekly fishing report for the season ahead and post them on our Facebook and the website. We are also going to include short videos of tips & tricks from our local fishing retailers.

Season Prospects

Many of the rivers and lakes have got through the winter season well, despite them having low flows and levels. With there being plenty of snow on the mountains this will help our high-country rivers and lakes stay cooler for longer.

After our drift dive program last season, we noticed the abundance of insect life in some of our back country streams which is great for the trout as they can maintain good body weight heading into spawning.

The lowland streams also haven’t been affected too much by winter floods as well, so these provide a great plan B as they hold some good size brown trout.

For resident anglers, early season fishing is great, despite it been a bit cooler than the peak of summer. The fish haven’t had too much fishing pressure, so they tend to sit out feeding for longer which gives the angler a great advantage.

 

Erosion Repair Work

North Canterbury Fish & Game has been notified by ECan that they need to complete some urgent erosion repair works on the south bank of the Rakaia River. These works will begin in early October, and ECan plan to slot and anchor trees into the banks to help with erosion protection and where possible layer existing trees to help. Anglers are advised to take care around any river works while visiting the area.

 

St James Conservation Area temporarily closed to all motorised vehicles. 

The DOC Team have notified us their early October opening date for the St James Conservation Area 4WD vehicle tracks is postponed. This is due to the tracks being too soft to accommodate vehicles without damaging the tracks. DOC expect at least a 2-week delay to opening these tracks, weather dependant.

Anglers wanting to fish the upper Waiau Uwha Designated Water Fishery often use the Maligns Pass and/or Edwards Valley 4WD tracks to access the area. However, there are a number of DOC walking or biking tracks that provide alternatives.

Looking on the bright side ,this means that those extra keen anglers who are willing to put in the time and effort required to walk or bike in there will likely have some great fishing opportunities early season… Given vehicle access into the St James area was closed for extended periods late last season (due to the drought and elevated fire risks) the upper Waiau Uwha River fishery appears to have been very well rested, which certainly makes for some potentially great wilderness fishing opportunities!

 

For more info see these links:

https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/canterbury/places/st-james-conservation-area/?tab-id=50578

https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/canterbury/places/st-james-conservation-area/motor-vehicle-access/

 

Controlled Fishery’s Trial

Unfortunately, there has been some unexpected teething problems with the Fish & Game licencing system running our trial Controlled Fishery Booking System for the Upper Hurunui River.

Fish & Game are working with our licence system provider ESL to fix the IT problems asap and provide an easy-to-use booking system for anglers.

The trial booking system is intended to let anglers see if a specific Control Fishery section is available up to five days in advance (e.g. the North or South Branch) and make a booking on any day there is a vacancy. When anglers secure a booking, they will be able to select up to a maximum of three consecutive days.

North Canterbury Fish & Game is working with ESL to ensure that the teething problems are solved asap.

We will continue to update anglers via our North Canterbury Fish & Game Facebook page as soon as we have any further news.

 

 

Weekly Report Tip

This year we have teamed up with stores around the region to bring you a fishing tips each week to help you grow as an angler. For opening day we just wanted to introduce you to some of the faces you might see this season!

 

 

Opening Day Weather 

 

Want to contribute to the weekly fishing reports?

Here at North Canterbury Fish & Game we are extremely passionate about sharing YOUR angling stories. Whether you caught a massive fish or took you girls and boys out fishing for the first time, want to hear and tell your stories.

When you’re out this season don’t forget to take some photos or videos and send them to jmeecham@fishandgame.org.nz with a little back story on your angling adventures.

 

Tight Lines for opening day!

Jackson, Harry & the rest of the North Canterbury Team