Auckland/Waikato Reel Life February 2019

Kids fishing day in Cambridge

Hamiton Anglers Club will be holding a kids' fishing day on March 31st, at Lake Te Koutu (Cambridge Lake) from 9am.

Dylan Hall with a perch at Lake Te Koutu (Cambridge).

The event is for kids under 12 but you’re welcome to bring older children along.

Children can learn how to catch perch and use a fishing rod.

Kids need a parent or supervisor present but there will be club members and staff on hand to help out.

Pure Fishing New Zealand has kindly donated some Berkley™ products and kids rods so there will be gear on hand if you don’t have any of your own.

If you do have a fishing rod, please bring it along and staff will be happy to provide some soft bait for your kids to try out.

Fly fishing gear will also be available for kids who want to give it a go.

All children need a free fishing licence that you can sign up for here.

Don’t be put off by the “buy a licence” button on the web page. Kids licences are free, just fill in the information and print the free licence.

For further information, contact Gavin Hall at gavinator_nz@hotmail.com. If you would like to do some perch fishing on your own, the turtle pond next to the car park at the Hamilton Gardens is another great spot to hook lots of small perch.

And with the gardens next door there are good facilities for kids nearby.

Staff investigate fish kill

Staff were alerted to a fish kill in the Karanga River on January 30^th and investigated what appeared to be a sewage or effluent spill upstream of the town water supply.

Reports indicated that the river went from three metres visibility to 0.3 metres in a matter of hours followed by fish gasping for air at the surface.

Staff member Dr Adam Daniel investigated and found that a local camp had “unplugged” their effluent system about the time the spill was detected, although no direct link has been confirmed.

Staff have provided details to the Waikato Regional council who will be in charge of the investigation going forward.

Unfortunately, one of the fish recovered was a 510 mm brown trout (left).

Arapuni dam shut down warning

Fish & Game has been informed that the Arapuni dam staff will be shutting down the powerhouse April 11^th.

Anglers should avoid the Arapuni spillway as it will be taking the full flow of the river during the shutdown.

Please be cautious during the shutdown and expect rapidly changing and potentially dangerous conditions in and around the Arapuni spillway.

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