Fishing report for the North Canterbury Region Friday 1st December 2017

Hello and welcome to the North Canterbury region fishing report, we have been blessed with some fantastic weather for the last two weeks. 

In fact it has been so hot and still in the back country that the day time heat has created thunderstorms in the late afternoons.

This has caught some anglers out as some of the storms have had heavy enough downpours that they have made streams dirty.

Remember to check the ECan website for up to date river flows and rainfall events.

Above Right: Blaze says hello to a well conditioned brown trout before it was released back into a North Canterbury backcountry stream.

This weekend the weather sees a slight shift to a more westerly flow which at the moment is forecast as light NW winds in the high country while the coast is a mixture of calm and NE winds in the afternoons.

The Waimakariri and Rakaia Rivers had some colour in them yesterday due to some isolated thunderstorms during the week. 

They should be sufficiently clear enough by the weekend to be fishable. 

The Hurunui and Waiau will also be fishable by the weekend. 

There are some salmon around and they are in better conditions than what we have seen for the last couple of years. 

Conditions should be good for salmon fishing this weekend.

It is a great time of year for trout anglers at the moment, there are lots of brown beetles and dragon flies on the high country lakes. 

Green beetles are probably not too far away either, it seems to be green beetle hatches that really get the trout excited and feeding actively on the surface. 

Trout in the high country lakes seem to be in superb condition this year. 

This may be that the higher water levels have created more habitat and therefore more food. 

Lately the weather pattern has been calm in the morning and breezy by the afternoon. 

So if you want a calm lake so you can see rising fish get up there in the morning.

Back country rivers will be clear and fishable this weekend,  anglers have been enjoying great conditions for fly fishing in the last two weeks. 

Trout are responding well to dry flies but are of course fairly spooky and need perfect presentations on the first cast. 

This all adds to the challenge though and just makes it more rewarding when you do manage to land one. 

My guess at the moment is that backcountry numbers of trout are down slightly on last year but I can’t really confirm this until we start our drift dives after Christmas.

Environment Canterbury has notified us that on the Kaiapoi River next week they will be Willow tree trimming  of extended branches on the bend of Smith and Charles streets opposite Murphy Park, if you fishing in the area please take care if the staff are working at the time.

Please remember that we have closed Lakes Sarah and Grasmere as a precaution. 

This was after an angler reported seeing some fish that looked to be diseased,  this was confirmed by Fish & Game staff this week. 

Trout have been sent to MPI for testing but this will take a three to four weeks before we know what we are dealing with.

Until then we thought it was best to close those two lakes, please respect this and help us preserve our fishery. 

Hopefully, it turns out to be something benign and the lakes can be opened again.

In the meantime if you are fishing anywhere in Canterbury, especially in the Waimakariri Lakes, and you see red spotting or rashes such as the examples below please report this to Fish & Game immediately. 

Please Check the Fish & Game website fishandgame.org.nz  for any updates.

Tight lines.

Tony Hawker

Fish and Game Officer

North Canterbury Fish and Game Council