Summer is Here - Fishing Heating Up!     

Fish on! The lower Ruamahanga River has been firing and is a great place for anglers of all ages (Credit: Hamish Carnachan).

Summer is officially upon us and while you wouldn't know it by the grey skies, the fishing action is certainly heating up.

Humid conditions have seen excellent mayfly and caddis hatches on some of the main rivers recently, including the Ruamahanga and Hutt.

Further north, anglers report some good fishing this week on the Rangitikei before the rain arrived yesterday.

At the moment we have a tale of two halves for the region - clear rivers in the south and dirty rivers to the north.

That said, those waterways north of the Manawatu Gorge are dropping quickly and could be fishable by the weekend, particularly the smaller feeder streams.       

 Metservice is forecasting light winds and just the occasional shower for most parts of the lower North Island, so a good weekend could be on the cards.   

Grab a licence and get out on the water!  

Here's the outlook:

Hutt River and tributaries

Click here for live weather updates.

The Hutt is low and clear and fishable this morning. The Akatarawa, Pakarutahi and other tribs are all looking great too. Light winds until Sunday mean Saturday is going to be the pick of the angling conditions. There have been some great evening rises lately with fish happily feeding off the surface in the mainstem so consider staying later to catch the hatch.        

The Hutt River at Silverstream this morning (Credit: Steve Doughty)  

Kapiti Coast

Click here for live weather updates.

The Waikanae, Otaki and Ohau rivers are all in good shape at time of writing this morning. They are carrying extra flow from rain earlier in the week, however the rivers have had time to drop any sediment out and are currently running beautifully clear. Fine skies and light winds are on the cards for Kapiti anglers for most of the weekend until a few showers move in Sunday.   

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

Wairarapa

Click here for live weather updates.

Low clear rivers right throughout the Wairarapa offer plenty of options for anglers in this part of the region at present. The Ruamahanga is still fishing very well lower down and some recent reports suggest good numbers upstream and around Wardells Bridge. The Waiohine, Waingawa and Tauherenikau are quite low and will likely start to fish very well in the backcountry reaches with warmer temps and good insect hatches.     

The Waiohine River upstream of SH2 this morning (Credit: Hamish Carnachan).

Manawatu

Click here for live weather updates.     

The Manawatu River is carrying lots of colour this morning in town and will take some time to clear. Most the flow and sediment is coming from the Ruahines becuse the Pohangina and  Orua are both also very dirty, but dropping quickly. The weather looks okay so should give the rivers a chance to return to fishable flows; the Mangatainoka and Makakahi look great this this morning!    

The Pohangina River at Ashurst this morning (Credit: Matt Kavermann)

Rangitikei

Click here for live weather updates.

The Rangitikei is beautifully clear up at Pukeokahu at time of writing but quite dirty further downstream at Mangaweka (image below). The Hautapu is coming down from a fresh but could be fishable by Saturday if it falls at current rate; the Moawhango could be a good bet with controlled flow from the dam.                      

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

Hot Off The Press - Angling News 

Our latest angling newsletter is hot off the press.

It covers fishing prospects for the season, an angling calendar guide, heaps of tips, and information about what we've been doing for our anglers.

If you'd like to download a copy, click the cover image above.   

Armchair Angling

The backcountry fisheries should be coming into their own now that summer is here and more settled weather prevails. 

The Wellington Fish & Game region has some outstanding wilderness fisheries too.

These include the Tauherenikau, Waingawa and Waiohoine in the Tararuas, the Whakaurekou and Pohangina headwaters in the Ruahines, and of course the world famous Rangitikei in the Kaimanawa Range. 

While shot in the South Island, hopefully the short video below will pique your interest in a lower North Island backcountry angling adventure. 

Click the image to view. 

Capital Trout Centre - Open Day   

The Capital Trout Centre is holding an Open Day on Sunday, December 5, 2021.

Children must have a licence to fish for trout and free licences/tickets are available from at the following stores:

- Capital Fishing, 49 Ghuznee Street (off Cuba Mall)

- Hutt Valley Hunting & Fishing, 8 Te Puni Street, Petone

The Centre is located behind the WCC Administration buildings on the way to the Wellington City Council Southern Landfill, on Landfill Road, Happy Valley, Wellington and is open to the public on specific days.

Children do not have to bring any gear as the Wellington Fly Fishing Club members will assist children to catch a trout on tackle provided.

As the Centre is manned and maintained by volunteers, we rely on donations to cover our expenses of purchasing the fish from the hatcheries, fish food and general maintenance.

The Capital Trout Centre is also available for private family bookings.

Contact: Strato (04) 387-7878 (wk) , or (04) 386-3740 (hm).

Webcams

Click the screen shot below to go to Horizon's website showing the list of available river webcams.

Notice board  

• Review Update - Work on implementing the recommendations outlined in the review of Fish & Game continues. The Review Implementation Steering Group has an update for interested licence holders here. 
      
• 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.

  Email Wellington Communications and Field Officer Hamish Carnachan if you'd like any fishing or freshwater-related items posted to this noticeboard.

​*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.