Central South Island Weekly Fishing Report - 9 April 2026
- Central South Island
- 9/04/2026
Persistence Pays Off – Thomas Nets his First Trout
Son and father fishing team, Thomas and Hayden Jackson, kindly sent in a report from Easter weekend of how Thomas caught his first ever trout! Congratulations Thomas.
“My son Thomas and I have been reading the weekly fishing report since he got his first rod for Christmas. We have been wondering where we've gone wrong after many unsuccessful outings over a very wet summer.
I had given up on fishing years ago as my luck (or skills) didn't seem up to the challenge. But, young Thomas (8 years old) has a fresh enthusiasm that is impossible to ignore.
With a bad weather forecast, the dinghy was left behind in Christchurch, and "Mum's car" was chosen for the Friday trip to Twizel. Trying to get ahead of the worst of the rain, we were at Lake Ruataniwha at 8am on Saturday. A scramble down some slippery rocks above the Salmon farm at the outlet of the lake placed us in a spot that other anglers had probably avoided for a reason. In long grass between a bush and a securing cable for the salmon farm Thomas managed a few casts with a black and gold Toby before switching to a "Trout Nugget".
On his second cast, after patiently soaking the hook he felt a gentle tug. The line didn't move so we'd figured there was nothing on, but Thomas wanted to reel in to check. Without much of a struggle the line wandered towards another angler, and we were convinced that we had hooked his line. I saw a nice brown trout right by Thomas' feet but decided not to mention it while he was contending with a potential tangle, then we both realised the line was closer than we thought and the fish was, in fact, on the hook.
It was all on Thomas to land it, which he did, and delivered it to a landing net offered by a nearby angler so it didn't become his first "one that got away" story.
Having never tasted trout, Thomas opted to keep it, and, with some salt, brown sugar and lemon, we had a tasty feed on Sunday.”
Late Season Low Country Rivers Still Producing
Rio Anderson with a nice late season brownie, caught and carefully released.
Local keen teenage angler, Rio Anderson, caught and carefully released a healthy brown trout from a local low country river over Easter weekend on a Panther Martin Rainbow Trout Holographic lure.
With only three weeks left of the season make the most of our low country rivers before they are rested until October.
Hands-on at Lake Alexandrina
LACT volunteers all set to grub out some wilding pines at the North End huts.
On Saturday 28 March, CSI joined Lake Alexandrina Conservation Trust (LACT) for their latest working bee at Lake Alexandrina.
Twelve volunteers rolled up their sleeves to spray pest plants, remove wilding pines, plant stream-side carex, and service some of their 147 predator traps that they monitor in the area.
To round out the day, CSI Fish & Game put on a BBQ for the Trust to thank them for all the work they do. Special thanks to Kevin and Maureen Ancell for the use of their backyard.
LACT hold multiple working bees annually and fund many conservation projects around Alexandrina.
Their trap line is monitored year-round and has taken out over 1,174 predators in the Alexandrina area, 18 of those being in the last 30 days. You can check out their trapping progress in real time on the trap.nz website.
If you’re keen to be part of the great work they do, feel free to get in touch with the Trust Secretary, Mark, on 0275956459, or come along to their Annual General Meeting on 19th May at 7.30pm at 32 Richard Pearse Drive, Temuka (CSI Fish & Game).
Weather and Water Outlook
A relatively mild and overcast weekend is predicated currently.
High country rivers have had a mid-week freshen up from rain on Wednesday along the main divide. Options are a plenty during school holidays this weekend, so get the kids out there!
The Wind
According to YR.NO the winds in Temuka (low country) the predicted long-range forecasts for Saturday is that it will have light to moderate east to northeast breezes. Sunday sees a calm morning and then light air from the southeast in the afternoon.
Winds in Twizel (high country). Saturday will see light air from the south in the morning before changing to the east in the afternoon. Sunday is predicted to have light breezes from the north, north-east.
The Flows
As of Thursday morning, the ECan River flow data website shows the following river flow rates read in cubic meters per second (m3/s). Click on the river name to go to the ECan website for more information.
- Ahuriri - 19.329
- Ashburton - 12.545
- Hakataramea - 6.437
- Ōpihi – 17.883
- Otematata - 4.038
- Rangitata - 128.822
- Tekapo - 8.464
- Twizel – 4.099
- Waitaki - 378.358
Please always check the weather and waterway conditions yourself before heading out to ensure an enjoyable day on the water.
NOTICE BOARD
IMPORTANT - Return Your Sea-Run Salmon Bag Card
If you have finished your sea-run salmon fishing for the season, please remember to return the details of your salmon bag card to us. Even if you didn’t go fishing, or catch or keep any sea-run salmon, your information is very important.
You can do this online by clicking here, give us a call on 03 615 8400, or email [email protected] or post the card to us at P.O Box 150 Temuka 7948.
Please Send us your Fishing Reports!
Whilst this report is crafted by the CSI Fish & Game team, it’s your stories that truly bring it to life. We’d love to hear about your own fishing adventures. Please share your short trip reports, photos, go-to lures, or favourite recipes etc.
Email your reports to Fish & Game Officer Jase Van Beers at [email protected]
Click here for Central South Island Fish & Game on Facebook
For any questions, please email [email protected] or call 03 615 8400.
Disclaimer:
The information presented in these news items is based on the context and regulations in place at the time of publication. Please note that some articles may include reference to laws and regulatory standards that have since changed. For the most current and accurate information please check our Fishing Licences & Regulations pages or our Hunting Licences & Regulations pages.