Weekly Fishing Report – Central South Island 07-11-19

The high country could be a bit windy this weekend as there are several westerly fronts forecast to hit the main divide over the next four days.

In terms of river levels, I’d be keeping a close eye on anything draining the main divide like the Ahuriri and Rangitata rivers – in fact those two rivers are up a bit already.

Low country river levels will be good but remember the Waitaki River is controlled by a dam and flow are essentially unpredictable.

If you want some tip for accessing and fishing the Waitaki River click here, word on the riverbank is that locals have been catching plenty of trout up to 7-pound this season.

Right:Frank Bluch and his 29-pound rainbow caught flyfishing-credit Nicor Sutherland

Low country rivers like the Opihi and its tributaries would be my pick of fishing spots this weekend as they can offer pockets of shelter from the wind, it should be sunny on Saturday and there are some fantastic fishing opportunities there currently.

There could be some widespread rain on Sunday, but it might turn up late so best to check the forecast for yourself and I’m sure you’ll find a window of opportunity to get out for a cast.

Check out the ECan river flows website here.

There are plenty of weather forecasting websites to review, I use metvuw, yr.no and metservice mainly.

The weather won’t matter for the canal clean-up event on Saturday, just dress appropriately.

We encourage young and old to attend this community event and help tidy the place up.

I attended the last clean-up event and can recommend it as a great community event with an epic free lunch.

If you love spot prizes there are usually a ton of those too, thanks to the event sponsors.

Meet outside Jakes Hardware in Twizel town centre at 8:30am for briefing and spot prize registration.

Free BBQ lunch and spot prize giving at 12:30pm. 

If you can’t make it up to Twizel how about getting on board with the concept and picking up some rubbish at what ever spot you end up fishing…

World Record

If you needed an extra incentive to get up to Twizel, maybe a photo of a line-weight world record?

Trophy hunter Frank Bluch got in touch to say that yesterday he caught and released a 29-pound rainbow flyfishing with 2kg tippet, a pending world record.  

Frank used a shooting head-line and a #6 white super flash zonka fly.

The high-country season got off to a great start last Saturday.

Jim Aldridge with one of four 'keeper' lake salmon landed on Opening Day at Lake Heron' Credit R Adams

Rangers where out on lakes Heron, Merino and Poaka and the Twizel, Fraser, Tekapo and Hakataramea rivers.

No offences were detected by the rangers and by all accounts most anglers really enjoyed the opening experience.

Lake salmon numbers were modest at Lake Heron but many locals attributed that to the too-calm conditions and the dozens of hex wobblers smacking the surface of the lake probably spooking them out into the depths.

A good Nor West this weekend will be treated as a good opportunity to test that theory and perhaps try catch those brownies that cruise the shoreline in the wind-whipped waves.

The Hakataramea River was in good condition and fished well.

Rob Sinclair - Opening Day on the Hakataramea River

Rob Sinclair shared a nice pic of a good-sized brownie he got there on opening day.

We have had a couple of tag returns from opening weekend so when fishing the Haka and Waitaki rivers please remember to keep an eye out for yellow numbered tags attached near the trout’s dorsal fin.

Please get in touch with us to share the tag number and other information ph: 03 6158400, email: csi@fishandgame.org.nz 

Central South Island Fish & Game’s Twizel Kids Salmon Fishing Day

Another successful Kids Salmon Fishing Day was held by Central South Island Fish & Game on Sunday the 3^rd of November at Loch Cameron.

Xavier Smith nets a salmon for Sonny Ennis at the Fish & Game Kids Salmon Fishing Day' credit R Adams

70 youngsters and their families attended and gave salmon fishing a go in a relaxed and encouraging environment.

Around 35 fish were landed at the event.

A massive THANK YOU goes out to the teams at Mt Cook Alpine Salmon and High Country Salmon who are keen supporters of young anglers.

These local salmon farms made the event possible with their generous gift of the salmon for the event.

Spot prizes were generously donated by Fish & Game, Jakes Hardware, Southern Alps Outdoors, Meridian Energy and local fishing guide Will Spry.

All the kids went home with a spot prize that will be used on their next fishing trip.  

There are still a fair few salmon in Loch Cameron.

We encourage you to take a child or Junior angler out fishing to Loch Cameron over the next few weeks while this opportunity lasts.

Please be aware that only Child licenceholders, aged 11 and under can bait fish at Loch Cameron. Junior anglers age 12-17, and adult angler are restricted to fly and spin methods only.

The daily bag limit is two salmon.

Please refer to the 2019-2020 sports fishing regulation guide to ensure you are legal. If you need clarification on the regulations feel free to call the office – 03 615 8400 or email csi@fishandgame.org.nz

Tight Lines

Rhys Adams, Central South Island Fish & Game Officer