Wellington Weekly Fishing Report - 19 January 2023

Long Weekend Offers Angling Bonus              

Happy New Year and welcome back to our full fishing reports.

Anniversary weekend means we get a bonus day fishing on Monday and it looks like the weather and rivers are going to come right just in time!

While fishing conditions have been a bit all over the place the last couple of weeks, the weather pattern is finally looking a little more settled.

There have still been windows of opportunity to get out over the Xmas and New Year period and reports from anglers suggest the trout numbers, and the condition of the fish, is looking excellent despite the frequent floods earlier on.

This bodes well for those who plan on making the most of the forthcoming long weekend and good conditions ahead. Make the most of it!                                        

Don't forget to grab your licence - we look forward to seeing you out there.          

Here's the outlook for the weekend:

Hutt River and tributaries

Click here for live weather updates.

The Hutt, Akatarawa, Pakarutahi and Whakatikei are all in great shape this morning. With a very good weather window for the next four days the fishery will be firing. We've had reports of good dry fly fishing on the Hutt over the last few weeks, with large browns readily rising to cicada imitations. The Wainuiomata is also well worth a look with the clam conditions forecast.      

The Hutt River at Melling Bridge this morning (Credit: John Miller)  

Kapiti Coast 

Click here for live weather updates.

Stunning conditions on the Kapiti Coast this morning - warm, calm and blue skies. The Waikanae, Ohau and Otaki are clear and good to go. A few showers are forecast over the long weekend but these are only expected to be scattered and should not cause anglers any inconvenience.                           

The Otaki River at SH1 this morning (Credit: Phil Teal)

Wairarapa 

Click here for live weather updates.

The main rivers appear to have finally cleared the extra water from the ex-tropical cyclone that hit the region. The Ruamahanga, Waiohine, Waingawa and Tauherenikau are all looking great with good flows for this time of year, but still running clear. Some of the smaller streams have also benefited from the rain and are holding good numbers - worth a look before flows fall back to summer levels.     

The Tauherenikau River below SH2 this morning (Credit: Hamish Carnachan)

Manawatu

Click here for live weather updates.  

The Manawatu River is struggling to clear the storm flow and carrying plenty of sediment still in the town and lower reaches. Up above the gorge might be viable later in the long weekend, but it would pay to check the latest webcam images before heading out. The Mangatainoka is back to normal flows and fishing well. The Pohangina and Oroua may still need another day to clear.                       

The Manawatu River at Hopelands this morning (Credit: Horizons)

Rangitikei 

Click here for live weather updates.

The Rangitikei River is finally clearing up around Mangaweka but still has plenty of colour. Flights earlier in the week reveal the sediment is coming in from both the Kawhatua and Whakarekou rivers. Up above the latter the river is clear and fishable so Mangaohane or Springvale could be the best bets. There is some scattered rain forecast over the long weekend - please check the flows before heading out on the water.  

The Rangitikei River at Mangaweka this morning (Credit: Horizons) Video Of The Week

Here's something a little different... Argentina, one of the best options for trophy brook trout in the world.

What makes the Argentina fishery unique is that you can catch massive brookies in spring creeks hidden deep in the Southern Patagonian prairie.

Join the Pure Fly team as they explore some of these magic water. Click the screenshot below to watch.

Angler Access - Your One Stop Shop

Click the map below and visit the one-stop shop for all your angling access information.    

Noticeboard

• Treble Hooks - New regulations for the 2022-23 season ban the use of treble hooks on waterways where there are maximum size limits on trout i.e., fish over a certain size must be returned. These rivers are identified in Note 3 on page 39 of the regulations book. This measure was adopted by the Wellington Fish & Game Council to help the survival of large fish, the breeding specimens, when released after being caught. Please consult the Wellington section of the regulations guide, particularly Note 5 which details where trebles are permitted. All other waters only single hooks are allowed. 

• Wellington Fish & Game has been advised of the following dates for flushing flows from the Moawhango Dam:

24 Jan, 21:00-02:00

14 Feb, 21:00-02:00

14 Mar, 21:00-02:00

25 Apr, 21:00-02:00

• River Bulldozing - Don't get an unwelcome surprise by Greater Wellington Regional Council's river bulldozing ruining your day on the river. The upcoming activity schedule can be found here.

• Upcoming fishing competitions:

  January 29-30, 2023: Sport Fly Fishing New Zealand Inc (SFFNZ) Ruamahunga Regional Competition is to be run 29-30 January 2023 from Kokotau Rd (Gladstone) to Te Whiti Rd (Masterton).

 If you have any information you'd like to have considered for addition to the notice board, please get in touch with us.  

​*This report was accurate at time of writing. For your safety please ensure you check the latest weather and river flow information before you head out on the water.