Good Weather Window This Weekend

A cracker early-season, small stream brown for Wellington angler Dan Thomas (Credit: Andrew Harding)

The southerly has all but blown through leaving behind a lovely weather window for anglers this weekend. 

Clear skies and light winds across most of the lower North Island on Saturday will see a continuation of the stellar run of fishing conditions at the start of the season.

It isn't just the weather that has been kind to anglers early on either - there are excellent numbers of trout around in the lowland rivers and the condition of the fish is exceptional.

Sea runs are about in abundance in Wairarapa; these stunning silver fish are chasing whitebait from the bottom of the Ruamahanga catchment right up to Martinborough Bridge.  

High flows might make angling tough in the larger rivers early this weekend but look for them to start to clear Sunday before another rain band approaches in the evening.

There are still plenty of trout happily holding in the smaller tribs too so anglers won't be without options over the weekend.      

Get your Whole Season Licence now and get into the action - the fishery is firing.    

Here's the outlook:   

Hutt River and tributaries 

Click here for live weather updates.

The Hutt is flowing high and carrying plenty of colour this morning. The good news is it is dropping quickly. Flowing at 49 cumecs at time of writing means there's still lots to clear but look for suitable spinning conditions to prevail perhaps on Saturday, if not Sunday. Spinning isn't a bad option at present with migratory baitfish about in numbers. If you are hoping to cast a fly, the Akatarawa, Whakatikei, Mangaroa and Pakarutahi are falling back and should be clear enough come Friday.     

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

Kapiti Coast 

Click here for live weather updates.

The Otaki is running high with some colour this morning and carrying 33 cumecs of flow - ideally for fly angling it needs to be around or under the 15 cumec mark. The rain has passed up the Tararua Range though, so all rivers in this part of the region are falling back fast and should hopefully be at fishable flows for fly angling by Saturday. Because of their smaller catchments, the Ohau and Waikanae are going to be fishable first. Don't overlook the lower river reaches for spin angling while the whitebait are about!              

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

Wairarapa 

Click here for live weather updates.

The Ruamahanga has a good head of flow today and a touch of colour but is fishable. Spinning would be perfect at current flows. The river level is dropping very gradually which means there'll be plenty of water coming down over the weekend. As we predicted last week, the recent opening of the mouth at Lake Onoke has seen a big pulse of whitebait enter the lower Ruamahanga and those anglers who timed it right had some awesome fishing for 'sea-run' trout and kahawai last weekend. The Waiohine, Waingawa and Tauherenikau all have good flow but are clear and fishable at time of writing and should be set up beautifully for the weekend.                         

The Waingawa River at SH2 this morning  (Credit: Hamish Carnachan) 

Manawatu 

Click here for live weather updates.     

There's plenty of water moving through the Manawatu system after the southerly front but rivers and tribs are falling quickly in the region. The smaller tributaries are also carrying plenty of flow but the Oroua is almost at fishable levels and the Pohangina is dropping nicely too with Saturday a possibility for fly anglers. The Mangatainoka is clearing the fastest and could be the pick of the larger rivers in this part of the region. There are still plenty of rainbow trout swimming around Hokowhitu Lagoon after last weekend's family fishing event too.                                     

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

Rangitikei 

Click here for live weather updates.

The Rangitikei River is high and holding a bit of sediment this morning meaning it's probably unfishable for the next two days. With the rain gone and the forecast flow falling nicely, however, anglers could be in with a shot using spinning gear around the middle reaches by Saturday - just check the flows before making a long trip. The Kawhatau is apparently cloudy this morning and the Hautapu is still creeping up so watch the flows closely over the next 24 to 36 hours before making a decision about where to target.                                             

The Rangitikei River at Pukeokahu this morning (Photo: Horizons)

Top Tip - Finding Where the Fish Are Holding

Getting to grips with reading water is a steep learning curve, perhaps the steepest any angler faces as it's far more complex and takes more time than simply learning to cast or tie knots.

However, once you get it, you will start finding more fish... and ultimately catching more fish. 

We've got some pretty cool resources to help speed up the process - particularly our Reading Water brochure and accompanying video. 

For those who want more detail, here's an article I wrote some years ago but it's still relevant.   

Whet Your Appetite!  

The latest season of the acclaimed Pure Fly TV series is online.  

In season 4, episode 3, the team are back in the South Island fishing Lake Pukaki. You could pick up some tips for fishing our limited still water fisheries or just enjoy the action.   

Click the screen shot below to check it out. 

Webcams

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

Notice board  

• Capital Trout Centre Open - The Centre is open under level 2 for family groups. Anyone interested should contact Strato Cotsilinis on (04)3863740 for further details and bookings.  

• Paihiatua Trout Carnival - The organisers have made the tough call of cancelling this year's event because of Covid-related restrictions on numbers. It is hoped the carnival will run in October next year.   

• 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.