Fishing Reports index> December 2007

Fishing Report Friday December 14, 2007

Heavy rain in the Alps in recent days has broken a spell of settled weather that had lasted for more than a month.  Prior to the rain the back country rivers were in fantastic condition and plenty of trout were being caught by anglers who were prepared to get off the beaten track.  Fishing in the backcountry lakes had also been excellent.

The low clear state of the rivers did slow down salmon fishing over the last week, with just a few fish being taken here and there.  The Rakaia has continued to produce salmon at the mouth and in the lagoon but fishing upriver has been slow.  The odd fish is also being taken from the surf on the South side.  The Rangitata has been quiet but a few salmon were caught in the surf on the south side after the river came down in flood.  The Hurunui River has also been producing salmon from the surf whenever the sea is calm and clear. The surprise on the salmon fishing front has been McIntosh’s Rocks on the lower Waimakariri, which has been producing salmon earlier than you would expect from this river.  One angler has already had five salmon so far this season from McIntosh’s.

Salmon fishing prospects for the weekend are not great but should improve next week.  The rivers are dirty from the recent flood and the sea is rough from yesterday’s southerly winds.  However the sea swell is only one to two metres so it could calm down and become fishable for salmon at some point over the weekend.  The Hurunui, Rakaia and Rangitata rivermouths are the best prospects.

Sea run trout fishing should hot up as soon as the rivers clear to a grey-green colour, which could be as early as Saturday evening.  There were plenty of fish about prior to the flood but they had become almost impossible to catch.  The Waimakariri, Rakaia and Rangitata Rivers are likely to offer excellent fishing in the latter stages of the weekend and throughout next week.

This is Ross Millichamp from Fish & Game.

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