Fish release for July School Holidays in Christchurch

Are you looking for an outdoor activity for your kids these school holidays?  Why not try fishing? 

North Canterbury Fish & Game have released 200 catchable sized salmon into the Groynes children’s fishing lakes.

The salmon have been kindly donated by Mount Cook Alpine Salmon and The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust.

To celebrate this generous donation of fish from these two organisations, Fish & Game are donating some prizes.

Four fish will be tagged with their own unique numbers, this will be located by the dorsal fin and will be easy to see and can easily be pulled off.

Young anglers can bring the tag into North Canterbury Fish & Game at 595 Johns Road, Harewood to claim their prize.

The Groynes fishing lakes are located in western part of the Groynes Reserve next to Clearwater golf course, these lakes are for junior anglers only. 

We remind parents that since there are never any guarantees with fishing, it’s a good idea to bring a few treats to make sure the kids have a good day out regardless.

They are small ponds that are easy to move around, making them ideal for beginner anglers.

Salmon are aggressive feeders and will readily take bait or artificial spinners and they like anything silver in colour, only small light lures are needed as the ponds are not very large. 

A popular method is to use shrimp suspended a metre below a plastic bubble, this set up is easiest for the very young anglers. 

The bubble and shrimp can be cast (with some help from mum or dad) out into the pond and left for the fish to find. 

Spinners such as Veltecs or Tobys work equally well for kids who can cast and retrieve the lures without getting snagged. 

Evenings and mornings are the best time to fish although being winter the fish could take at anytime during the day as the ponds stay nice and cool and the sun is not too bright.

The bag limit is two fish per angler, salmon make excellent eating either smoked or simply cut into fillets and fried in some butter. 

The Groynes is an important stepping stone for young kids to try fishing with a reasonable chance of success, especially after a fresh release of salmon. 

Young anglers can then go on to enjoy the other fishing resources on offer in the North Canterbury region. 

Lake Lyndon is an ideal choice for a family day trip, it is only an hour drive from Christchurch on State Highway 73 to Arthurs Pass.

Abundant with small to medium size rainbow trout, and with a two fish bag limit, Lake Lyndon can easily be negotiated by foot and fishing or trolling from boats is also allowed. 

There are also plenty of other opportunities in the region, as the North Canterbury Fish & Game Council approved a winter fishing season on many of our lakes and rivers. 

The extensive list can be found here https://fishandgame.org.nz/northcanterbury/news/canterbury-anglers-get-covid-19-bonus/.

These areas offer a wide variety of opportunities to explore and fish our outdoors, ranging from high country lakes, large and small foothills to coast rivers and a couple of options close to Christchurch.