Lake Coleridge Fishing Competition

The Lake Coleridge Fishing Competition is back for the 2026 High Country Opening!

When and Where

Saturday 7th November 2026

Location: Harper Campground

Fish entries from 9 am – 1:30 pm

Prizegiving starts at 2 pm  

This year, the competition is being held at the Harper Campground at Lake Coleridge. Just look out for the big blue Fish & Game tent!

We’ll be there for entries starting from 9 a.m. until 1.30 p.m. We’ll also have a FREE SAUSAGE SIZZLE going on at the tent from 9 am till the prize-giving has finished (or we run out of sausages!).

How to enter

The Lloyd sisters, Charlotte (left), Lucy(middle) and Hannah (right) from Rangiora with catch from Lake Coleridge in 2025.

No pre-registration is required; just turn up at the Fish & Game tent before 1:30 p.m. to enter your fish caught in Lake Coleridge with a current 26/27 licence!

If you don’t have any luck or don’t enter a fish, you can still present your 26/27 licence at the tent any time before 1:30 pm to go into the draw to win some great SPOT PRIZES (adults and junior categories). 

Note: You MUST be in line by 1.30 p.m. Anyone arriving after 1.30 pm will not be able to enter their fish. One of our Rangers will jump in the line to mark the cut-off! 

The Lake Coleridge competition is proudly sponsored by your local Hunting & Fishing stores (Christchurch, North Canterbury and Ashburton) and ARB 4x4.

They’ve given us some great prizes up for grabs, with a total value of over $8,000!

Prize categories

There are adult and junior categories, with prizes for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd for rainbow trout, brown trout and chinook salmon caught only from Lake Coleridge.

Anglers will only be able to enter ONE fish from each species; make sure you enter your biggest catch! This will help keep things fair and reduce the wait time at the weigh-in tent. All fish* that are entered need to be harvested and remain un-gutted until after the weigh-in. *See tagged trout category for further info

Adults: 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd - rainbow trout, brown trout, chinook salmon

Juniors: 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd - rainbow trout, brown trout, chinook salmon

Tagged Trout spot prize draw

Photos accepted, as we would recommend releasing tagged trout to help our research. 

Entry Requirements for this category:

???? A photo of the fish
????️ The tag number
???? The length of the trout
???? Approximate capture location
⏰ A visible timestamp on the photo

(Alternatively, if you decide to keep the tagged trout, please enter the harvested & un-gutted trout as normal)

Adult spot prize draw

Junior spot prize draw 

 

How to get there

This year, we are holding the event at the Harper Campground. Here is a bird's-eye view of where you need to go if you are not a regular at the Harper Campground. 

 

Please check out the links below:

1. Harper Campsite at Lake Coleridge - Lake Coleridge High Country

2. Harper River Campsite | Selwyn District New Zealand​

Accommodation

The Harper campsite is free, but there will be limited space.

Some of the stations in the area may have accommodation available.

No camping is allowed around the smaller lakes.

For more information on accommodation in the Selwyn region, check out: https://selwyn.nz/stay/ 

Where to fish

This year, only fish from Lake Coleridge can be entered into the competition; there are boat launching areas at Ryton Bay and where the Wilberforce Diversion enters Lake Coleridge. Many areas around the lake are accessible to anglers who are fishing from the shore. 

Cellphone coverage

There is reasonably limited 4G or 5G cellphone coverage; however, satellite works with the appropriate phone plan in the Lake Coleridge area. Please be prepared.

There is some cellphone reception around the Harper Village area.

Fish & Game will have coverage maps for Spark and One NZ at the tent, and will also have emergency communications with them.  

A VALID SPORTS FISHING LICENCE IS REQUIRED TO ENTER THE COMPETITION OR SPOT PRIZE DRAW.

RANGERS WILL BE IN THE AREA CHECKING LICENCES THROUGHOUT THE COMPETITION.

Contact Infomation

For further information, please contact the North Canterbury Fish & Game office 03 366 9191 or [email protected]