Fishing Reports index>September 2007

North Canterbury Fishing Report

Well this is an exciting time of year with the full season opening in a few weeks it's time to get the garden in order, mow the lawns and other such tasks that get bonus points on the domestic level. If the weather stays like it is now it looks like a very good start to the season. For Anglers chasing larger backcountry Browns the Lewis Pass rivers {Hope River-Upper Waiau-Boyle River} look to be in great shape and unlike last season have had more stable flows, long walks and clever fish are the order of the day in the most scenic of settings and remember that often smaller nymphs work best , also streamers can be very productive as there is a reasonable number of salmon smolt and bait fish in most of these waters.

During recent scouting missions i am pleased to report there are already some lush mayfly hatches occurring in freestone and spring creek rivers, good early season patterns are Adams and Kakahi Queen and Compara duns in Sizes 16-12. Many of these mayflies hatch between 2-4 pm on larger rivers such as the Rakaia and it should be noted that this would be a good choice of river for October in the higher reaches , remember that most of the spring creeks are now closed due to the didymo threat but the main river above and in the double hill area offers fantastic fishing for decent sized Browns and the odd Rainbow.Like all of these type of fisheries you need to walk a fair distance and avoid Norwest conditions , during October the water is often stable and there does not appear to be a huge amount of snow to melt.

Closer to Christchurch some low land rivers are very good options , north of Christchurch the Cam-Cust-Styx-South Branch offer fun spring creek fishing again small flies and light tippets are the best, South of Christchurch Harts Creek-L2-Selwyn and Kaituna Rivers can be productive for both day time sight fishing and after dark with streamers.Watch also for the Brown Beetle hatches late October-November-December , trout in low land streams seek these beetles on warmer evenings.

All lower sections of Canterbury rivers are worth looking at for Trout feeding upon Whitebait and Smelt during October and fish well with both Spin and Fly. We are very lucky here in Canterbury for most anglers there are more options than time.

This months web site tip is www.trademe.co.nz here in the freshwater section anglers will find a vast range of items often at very good prices, rods-reels-flies-spinners you name it, angling books are also well worth a look.For anglers {anybody in fact} interested in environmental issues relating to Lake Ellesmere and tributaries www.wet.org.nz is well worth a look.

Hope you have some refreshing experiences and fingers crossed for continued good weather in the new season!. martinyy@xtra.co.nz

Martin Langlands is an independent fishing guide; his reports are not officially representative of Fish & Game NZ

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