Reel Life April 2026 - Nelson Marlborough

May Is Not All About The Ducks

While the first Saturday in May heralds the start of the game bird hunting season, there are still plenty of fishing opportunities around.  Most of our rivers will close for fishing after April 30^th and won’t reopen until October 1st – mostly to protect spawning fish, but also to build anticipation and create opportunities for the new season when they reopen. 

We have plenty of winter fishing options, and the good news is that May is still a good month to target trout. While some fish would have started their upstream migration, there should be reasonable numbers of larger fish around the lower reaches, and it’s usually a good time to fish for medium-sized maiden trout, which can be abundant in faster water and provide some exciting fishing. Of note are the Branch and Leatham Rivers, which remain open until 31^st May. These rivers are a fantastic option and offer a good backcountry mission before winter sets in. Remember that you can now fish the Motueka up to the Baton (Woodstock) Bridge all year.

Nelson Lakes and the Cobb Reservoir are also worth fishing, and its wort noting that you can now fish within 100m of the tributary rivers, as long as you are not fishing under motorised power.

It’s business as usual for Lake Argyle and Waimea Park, with releases to take place here over the winter months.

With a usually settled weather pattern, May provides that final chance for some decent fishing before winter, when many of us hang up our waders and dream ahead for the new season.

Image above: Jacob Lucas with a rainbow trout from the Branch River.

Volunteer Group To Look After Waimea Park

We are seeking interest in forming a Waimea Park volunteer group. The aim of this group will be to manage and enhance the adult/family pond at Waimea Park, which is currently looking a bit rough and needs some attention.  We are proposing that the group meets for a couple of hours each month to manage weeds and grass (mowing/line strimming/spraying), enhancement of the area with low-growing native plants, and management of surface-reaching pond weed, which is affecting the ability to fish, as well as other possibilities like predator trapping. 

If you are a regular user of this fishing resource and want to give back through some voluntary work, email Jacob Lucas here.

Waimea Park is a great fishing destination, but it needs some attention.

Nelson Trout Club Builds More Traps for Catchment Group

Recently, Nelson Marlborough staff member, Jacob Lucas, along with members of the Nelson Trout Fishing Club, completed the construction of 100 rat traps for a Motueka Town trapping project. The project is in partnership with a local catchment group and Predator Free NZ, and aims to reduce predator numbers and enhance birdlife in the coastal Motueka area – a nationally important ecological hotspot. It’s fantastic to see anglers giving back to conservation, and the Nelson Trout Club has been doing this in spades over recent years, getting involved in many environmental initiatives. They have now built over 300 DOC200 and rat traps for this catchment group, with more to come in the future.

These traps will be used for a Motueka Town Trapping project to help protect native bird and insect life.