Weekly Fishing Report – Central South Island- 28-01-2021

After the heatwave, this week we are heading into a weekend of mild temps, light-moderate winds and a mix of brilliant sunshine and benign overcast cloud.

All-in-all it should be a great weekend to get out for a fish.

A decent amount of rain (`30mm) fell on the main divide Thursday morning so rivers like the Ahuriri and Rangitata may be a bit high but receding this weekend.

I cannot confirm, but I’d guess that lakes Aviemore and Waitaki and the Waitaki River are still holding a touch of colour from the floods earlier in the month but are clear enough to fish.

If you are heading out for a troll on the lakes this weekend, our tip of the week for those that are struggling to catch a fish is to slow down – while out ranging on the lakes we encounter heaps of unsuccessful anglers simply going too fast.

Most low country rivers are holding useful flows but are heading back towards lows flows after the very wet start to January.

For those anglers that fish the surf at river mouths for sea-run salmon there looks to be a bit of size to the swell to deal with on Friday and Saturday and it may linger through to Sunday.

There have been rumours of sea-run salmon caught at all the main rivers now, but they are yet to be confirmed.

I have fished the Opihi ‘gut’ a few time lately and haven’t seen any salmon or trout caught but there were a few kahawai about. 

If canal salmon are more your thing, word from our ranging team is that the Tekapo Canal near the salmon farms is still the pick of the spots to target.  

Above: Keep an eye out for Tekapo Canal trout with yellow colour tag - each with a unique 4-digit number to report' photo credit J Craig.

We have had very few reports of catches of the tagged trout in the Tekapo Canal. 

Nevertheless, the most interesting finding so far is that a couple of the tagged trout, within a week of being released just above the salmon farms, swam 20-odd kilometres to the top of the Canal near the Tekapo A Powerhouse.

If you have caught a tagged trout recently please get in touch: email csi@fishandgame.org.nz or phone 03 6158400. 

The key pieces of information to report are the 4-digit tag number, location caught and whether it was kept or released. A measure or estimate on length and weight would be helpful too. 

If you did not manage to identify the tag number, we would still like to have your catch report. 

Adam Daniel with a 'fish of a lifetime' caught in the Upper Ohau River, September 2020

In other “news”, I’m currently stuck in the office writing-up the creel survey report from the 2020 Spring Season at the upper Ohau River. 

This is a special fishery really, a one-of-a-kind.    

In the coming months the CSI Council will review the report and decide on the future management of the Spring Season in the 2021/22 sports fishing season and beyond. 

The one thing I can confirm currently is that the upper Ohau River is not open in September for 2021. 

See for yourself on page 41 of the 2020/2021 sports fishing regulation guide. 

That decision was made last year to give us time to review the 2020 season and to address the perception that the popularity of the fishery would increase dramatically. 

What it all boils down to is that we are figuring out the best way to sustainably manage this unique fishery for years to come. 

Tight Lines

Rhys Adams, Central South Island Fish & Game Officer