Central South Island Weekly Fishing Report - 24 September 2026

Welcome to the new season, anglers!

One of the most highly anticipated days for passionate anglers across the country is almost here! The 2026/27 sports fishing season opens on Thursday 1 October.

Pictured above: The Lovett and Poppelwell family with their Opening Day brown trout at Lake Opuha last year, ready to be cooked on the barbecue for lunch. Credit: Nikki Dellaway.

With the new season coinciding with the school holidays, we encourage experienced anglers to try to introduce a young person to fishing and pass on the passion!

For practical information on helping to get kids, or anyone for that matter, into freshwater fishing, check out our magazine article Fostering The Next Generation Of Anglers by Anthony Hall on page 12, of the most recent Fish & Game Magazine (Issue 63).

If you haven't done so yet, be sure to purchase your 2026/27 fishing licence. You can easily buy your licence online through the Fish & Game NZ website, here, or from your local licence agent.

If you normally hold a Loyal Senior Fishing Licence or think you may now qualify for one, be sure to mention that up front to the shop staff before they start your licence purchasing process.

We can’t wait to head out on Opening Day and catch up with anglers across the CSI region.

Remember to send in your pictures and reports to [email protected]

Good luck to all!

The Lovett and Poppelwell Family enjoying their freshly caught brown trout (pictured earlier) for Opening Day lunch, as fresh as it gets! Credit: Nikki Dellaway.

Where can I go on Opening Day?

Stephen Brailsford spent Opening Day last year fly fishing the Waitaki River having a lot of success wet lining and swinging streamers. Credit: Harry Graham-Samson.

• Lakes Ohau, Pukaki, Tekapo, Benmore, Aviemore and Waitaki offer great fishing for brown trout cruising the shallows and rainbow trout around stream mouths
• Lake Middleton is a small lake option and offers some shelter when it gets too windy at Lake Ohau
• Lake Opuha, near Fairlie, is a favourite spot for Opening Day and a great spot to take kids fishing in the school holidays.  Use a garden worm for bait and have a picnic on the lake shore while waiting for a bite
• The Opihi River offers small river fishing and is accessible near Fairlie and Temuka
• The Waitaki River holds a huge population of trout and when the flows are right the fishing can be outstanding.  Around the township of Kurow is a great place to fish with several signposted river access points
• Lake Hood holds high number of perch and a few trout that cruise only the shallow edge of the lake, perch love small brightly coloured lures.  A great spot for a school holiday outing
• Child anglers only (11 years and under) can fish for perch at the Tinwald Domain Pond
• The Ashburton River and its tributary streams hold reasonable numbers of brown trout and are best fished when the river is flowing low and clear
• The Rangitata River offers seriously scenic trout fishing above the gorge with the chance of catching a sea run brown trout near the river mouth

Note: Many high-country waters in the CSI region remain closed until the first Saturday in November to protect spawning rainbow trout and sensitive fisheries—check your 2026/27 regulation guide.

The most up-to-date way to find a fishing spot is to use the F&G Central South Island Region Access Map, here.  You can create a shortcut to this map on your phone. This will allow you to quickly access it and view nearby locations while you're on the go.

For more help figuring out a spot, you’re more than welcome to email [email protected] or call 03 615 8400 to speak to one of the team.

Ever considered joining an angling club?

Cullen with one of his two brown trout caught at Lake Opuha when the Grey Ghosts met up with the South Canterbury Anglers Club for a joint trip during the new winter season. Credit: Grey Ghosts Fishing Club.

If you have ever thought about it, now is the perfect time to get in contact with a club.

Joining a club is a great way to meet like-minded anglers, learn new tricks or teach new skills to others. Any age and experience levels welcome.

For South Canterbury Anglers contact [email protected] or phone Grant on 027 338 7594

For those further north, see Ashburton based Grey Ghosts Fishing Club contact Dave on 0279000625

Or Email Mid Canterbury anglers club at [email protected]

CSI sets Sea-Run Salmon closure threshold — 2026 Rangitata count clears the mark

In April, after several months of careful deliberation, the Central South Island Fish and Game Council resolved that if the annual Rangitata River spawning count falls to 200 or fewer salmon (approximately 10% of the historic average) it will recommend to the Minister that all CSI region’s sea-run salmon waters be temporarily closed to salmon fishing for a minimum of three seasons.

Read the options paper here that was presented to Council.

In June, the 2026 Rangitata River spawning count was confirmed at 222 fish — 22 above the new closure threshold — meaning there will be no changes proposed to sea-run salmon regulations for the upcoming 2026/27 season. The season bag limit remains at one salmon for the upcoming 2026/27 season.

While angler harvest is not identified as a principal cause of this long-term decline, reducing harvest through fishing regulations remains the most immediate tool available to Fish & Game to increase the proportion of the annual run that reaches the spawning grounds and contributes to the next generation of salmon.

Setting a threshold that could temporarily close one of New Zealand's most treasured fisheries was not a decision taken lightly. The CSI Councillors and staff worked through the issue on multiple occasions, examining decades of population monitoring, considering several regulatory options, and weighing up the long-term viability of wild salmon populations against the impacts any closure would have on anglers and communities.

A great help to the decision was all anglers who responded to CSI and North Canterbury’s joint consultation to salmon anglers and the wider public. More than 1,000 responses were received in last summer’s survey. This was a remarkable level of engagement, underlining how much this fishery means to Canterbury and beyond. Temporary closure was preferred by more than two-thirds of surveyed anglers at that level of spawning count.

The full results from the consultation can be found here.

The general outcomes were:

• On average, anglers ranked ‘temporarily close the fishery’ and ‘reduce season length’ as their most preferred regulatory options to increase spawning
• Anglers increasingly preferred a temporary closure over other regulatory options as the hypothetical number of spawning salmon declined
• Temporary closure was preferred by more than two-thirds of surveyed anglers at that level of spawning count
• 'Keeping the regulations the same’ was consistently the least preferred option among survey respondents

Get involved in the Weekly Fishing Report!

Finn Stevens with his brown trout caught on a mayfly nymph during the winter season on the Opihi River. Notice how the fish is still dripping wet having been just lifted out of the water for the photo. Credit: Finn Stevens.

It’s your stories that truly bring this report to life. We’d love to hear about your adventures and share your short trip reports, photos, or go-to lures from Opening Day and throughout the season.

Email your reports and a good photo to the team at [email protected]

Photography tips for your angler reports

Kept Fish: Make sure your fish and hands are clean of any blood and put thought into your backdrop.

Released Fish: Make sure your photos show that the fish was handled according to our catch, care and release tips.

Here are our ‘Quick 5’ tips for handling fish with care: 

1. Cool your hands and landing net by wetting them before touching the fish.
2. Keep the fish in the water while removing the hook.
3. Do not squeeze the fish, and never touch the gills.
4. Photograph the fish in or over the water and make it quick - the fish should not be out of the water for more than 5 seconds.
5. Revive the fish facing into the current long enough for it to regain its swimming strength.

An in depth article by Mark Sherburn in the Fish & Game Magazine titled “Catch and Release Making It Count” can be found here along with excellent instructional video, here.

Marc Jensen from Christchurch had some luck earlier this month at the Tekapo Canal. Credit: Nikki Dellaway.

Remember we’re on Facebook and Instagram

A small pod of spawning rainbows in a Lake Alexandrina tributary, captured during a spawning survey this week. See a video from earlier in the season on our facebook page.

Follow us here for another way to keep up to date with the happenings around Central South Island Region.

For any questions or concerns, please continue to contact us by email [email protected] or call 03 615 8400.

NOTICE BOARD

Anglers are advised that next week ECan will be undertaking river works within Bowyers Stream at two sites between Moodies Road/Allan Smiths Road Ford and SHWY 79.

These works are scheduled to avoid salmon spawning season, and while most work will be done from the bank, there is a chance of some sediment discharge where work must be done in the water.