Reel Life October 2026 - Auckland/Waikato

The Season Opening

Thursday the 1^st of October signalled the start of the new trout fishing season, and the weather played its part in providing terrific fishing conditions. Many anglers happily took a day of annual leave to hit the rivers, but even more waited till the Friday and made a long weekend of the event.

Auckland Waikato staff and rangers were out chatting to anglers and checking licences and didn’t come across any licencing issues over the opening period. It was great to see several anglers completely new to freshwater fishing out giving it a go. Our rangers are always happy to give tips and lend a hand getting the business end of the tackle correct and show the spots in the river where the trout are most likely to be sitting.

If you have any cool photos from your early season adventures, we’d love to see them!

Stream Monitoring Continues

Auckland/ Waikato Fish & Game staff joined up with Waikato Regional Council Staff in a collaborative effort to survey the Mangauika fish population Stream on the eastern side of Mt Pirongia. This stream took some major damage from the February and April storms. Despite the evident damage to the stream banks and stream bed, now a braided channel, we picked up trout fry, which is a clear indicator of some successful spawning taking place upstream.  Invertebrates were low in number and likely a result of the amount of sediment in and around the rocks. Plenty more flushing is required. It’s quite probable with the wider channel of water and shallower level combined with removal of riparian cover that the stream temperature will creep up this summer placing extra stress on the system.

Tagged Fish Reporting

Just a reminder that there is a wild trout tagging programme in place within Auckland/ Waikato rivers to monitor the growth and survival of trout in our waters. Over the past 3 years trout have been tagged in the Mangatutu, Waipa, Puniu, Mangaohae, Ongarue and Whakapapa rivers. If you do happen to catch a trout with a tag from the Auckland/ Waikato Region, please take note of the tag number (very carefully, or take a photo) and the length of the fish from nose to fork of tail, contact the Auckland/ Waikato Office or email [email protected] to report the capture date, details and location.

Lake Karapiro Family Fishing Day

Auckland/ Waikato Fish & Game are holding a family fishing day at Lake Karapiro on Saturday the 21^st Of November. Our staff will be based around the Karapiro Domain boat ramp (near the Don Rowlands Centre) from 9am to provide helpful tips to anyone that needs some pointers. The comp is free to enter but contestants must enter by 12pm Friday 20th November.

Sign up to the Karapiro Family Fishing Day here.

The main intention of the day is to target perch which are a recent incursion into the lake and will impact other species including trout through direct predation and through consuming prey species. Anglers are encouraged to spread around the lake (from boat or shore) and fish around structures, weed beds and deep drop offs. The weigh in will be at the Domain by the boat ramp area from 2 pm to 3:30 pm and we have some prizes kindly sponsored by Hunting & Fishing, spot giveaways and are putting on a sausage sizzle with Hamilton Anglers Club. Remember to follow the Check, Clean, Dry principles and the CAN orders in place around Golden clams.

Keep an eye out for updates on our Facebook page.  

Leaving Intentions Forms

We have received several queries from anglers regarding ‘angling intention’ forms to leave on their vehicle dash to let other anglers know which way up or down river they have gone. This would provide the ‘second’ party the knowledge that if the ‘upstream intention notice’ has been left then they won’t necessarily be fishing recently disturbed water when heading downstream. Conversely, the initial angler having gone upstream hopefully won’t have another angler appear on top of them and push further upstream.

If you would like a form such as ‘Angler gone Upstream’ or ‘Angler gone downstream’ you can download them here or pick them up from our office.