Otago Weekly Fishing Report - 15 October 2026

Promising prospects for the weekend

New Zealand field hockey player and Maniototo farmer Tessa Jopp and her daughter Isabel Blakely (3)  check out the yearling rainbow trout about to be released at Rutherfords Dam by Otago Fish & Game officer Steve Dixon yesterday. Photo: Rachel Easson.

Barry Sloper (left) hooked this 5 and a-half-pound jack rainbow, cheered on by Mike Weddell, in a Maniototo stocked reservoir. Photo: Steve Dixon

An Otago Fish & Game ranger in the Maniototo turned up recently just at the right moment to help fly angler Barry Sloper net a 5.5-pound jack rainbow trout in one of our put-and-take stocked reservoirs.

Barry hooked the fish on a small bead-head nymph below a dry fly indicator. Angler Mike Weddell has also been having success on the Maniototo reservoirs with Damselfly Nymph and Water Boatman imitations.

These rainbows don’t appear there by magic. They are the result of a 21-year hatchery partnership between Otago Fish & Game and OceanaGold’s Macraes operation.

Each spring, Otago Fish & Game liberates yearling rainbows from Macraes into put-and-take fisheries across the region. These young fish, weighing 60-80 grams, will grow to catchable size for future seasons.

Otago Fish & Game officer Steve Dixon releases yearlings into Rutherfords Dam yesterday. Photo: Rachel Easson

We’ve completed liberations at the Maniototo put-and-take fisheries — Blakelys, Coalpit, Mathias, Hamitons, Rutherfords Dams and McAtamneys Head Pond. Most of these fisheries are on private land and we are grateful to local farmers for generously allowing anglers access to these waters.

Over the next couple of weeks yearlings will be liberated in Central Otago at Pinders Pond, Butchers and Conroys Dams, and Lakes Johnson, Moke and Dispute.

All of our hatchery fish are rainbow trout. We only stock small lakes, ponds or reservoirs where there are little to no self-sustaining trout populations. Wild trout in our rivers and major lakes and dams are self-sustaining.

Practical tips and techniques for anglers of all experience levels.

Want to catch more trout, salmon and perch? Soft baits are an effective spin-fishing method worth adding to your tackle box.

Join us with Lance Gill, from Okuma NZ, for a free clinic at Lake Waihola and Butchers Dam. Each session from 6.30pm-8.30pm includes a one-hour talk and demonstration, followed by a chance to try your luck catching a trout or perch. Learn about lure types, rig setups, braid-to-mono knots, casting techniques and retrieves that trigger strikes. 

• LAKE WAIHOLA: Wednesday, November 11
• BUTCHERS DAM: Thursday, November 12

  Click here for more details and register now

Lake Hāwea and Wānaka producing trout

The head of Lake Hāwea near the Hunter River mouth has been fishing well, says Nathan Dell at Southern Wild in Wānaka, who has heard good reports from the area.

A young angler also caught a “nice, fat” rainbow trout near the Timaru Creek delta, while a charter operator has been catching rainbow trout while trolling Lake Wānaka.

Tassie-style lures have been working well for the Wānaka trolling, Nathan says.

Remember to check the official 2026–27 Otago Sport Fishing Regulations before heading out. AI tools and other unofficial sources can give incorrect advice about season dates, and many upper Clutha rivers and streams remain closed until November 1.

Bibbed lures finding trout around weed beds

Trout are being caught on bibbed lures around the weed beds and in deeper water at Lake Dunstan, says Tim Johnson of Central Otago Hunting & Fishing.

Tim recently fished from the shore, working Shimano bibbed lures along the top of the weed beds. When a lure caught the weed, he paused the retrieve and let it float back up, often prompting a strike.

He caught several trout, including a couple around 4lb. Some fish were in lean condition, despite their size.

Tim says anglers do not necessarily need to cast a long way out or use heavy lures. Trout will hit close to the bank, so working the weed edges can be productive without fishing the deepest parts of the lake.

There have also been reports of large schools of trout in the lower reaches of the lake. One boat angler reported seeing substantial numbers of fish at depths of around 15 to 20 metres while trolling.

Big brown trout from lower Clutha/Mata-Au

Hadlee Edmunds caught this brown trout while soft-bait fishing in the lower Clutha/Mata-Au. Photo: Supplied.

Soft baits have been producing some good trout in the lower Clutha Mata-Au for Hadlee Edmunds of Dunedin Hunting & Fishing.

Fishing the river's backwaters on Friday, Hadlee caught two brown trout, including one estimated at 8lb — although his net scales read closer to 9lb. He reckons it was probably the biggest trout he has caught from the Clutha.

Another brown trout weighing an estimated 3–4lb was caught near the river mouth after being spotted chasing smelt. It took a soft bait almost immediately.

Both browns were dark-coloured fish that appeared to be resident estuary trout rather than silvery fish moving in from the sea. Hadlee was using a baitfish-style paddletail soft bait with a white belly, black back and blue and green flecks.

He also caught a rainbow trout of about 1lb and had follows from several others. All fish were released.

Hadlee was fishing with workmate Harry Stafford on an incoming tide. There has also been a report of the odd sea trout being caught at Taieri Mouth.

Have your say - Clutha/Mata-Au catchment action plans

If you fish or hunt in the Clutha/Mata-Au catchment, have your say on the proposed 10-year Catchment Action Plans and help ensure the values of freshwater anglers and game bird hunters are reflected in its future.

Otago Fish & Game staff have been turning up to ORC-led workshops with other stakeholders and community representatives to develop plans for the Clutha/Mata-Au. The plans cover Central Otago and Clutha districts.

Have your say now:

Central Otago: orc.govt.nz/inlandcapsurvey

Clutha District: orc.govt.nz/lowercapsurvey

Surveys close Monday, October 26.

Keen to learn more about the health of local waterways?

Join WAI Wānaka, Otago Fish & Game and other freshwater specialists at Bullock Creek, near Speight’s Ale House, on Saturday, November 21, from 9am to 11am. Volunteers will learn how to assess stream health and collect environmental data using NIWA’s Stream Health Monitoring and Assessment Kit (SHMAK) protocols. No experience is necessary, but spaces are limited to 12 people, so registration is essential. Sign up here.

Club updates

We welcome updates from Otago angling clubs.

Good to see so much interest around Wānaka in learning to fly-fish.

The Upper Clutha Angling Club’s introduction to fly casting course has attracted 28 students over the past two weekends, with 12 club members helping out as tutors.

Otago Fish & Game is looking forward to joining the group for the final session this Sunday to talk about our local fishery and the work we do.

Bryce Wise, a regular winner of the Glenorchy Fishing Competition, caught this beautiful brown trout in his last 20 minutes of fishing recently.

Otago Fish & Game attended the weigh-in of the 45^th Glenorchy Fishing Competition organised by the Glenorchy Collective Trust two weekends ago. We collected 15 salmon heads for future otolith research.

Competitors noted the wind picked up in the afternoon, which is a good reminder to have a look at conditions not just for when you launch but for the entire time you plan to be on the water.

Why not join a local fishing club? Select here for a list of Otago fishing clubs.

If your club has any news or photos for inclusion in the Weekly Fishing Report, please email [email protected] by the Monday prior to publication on Thursday. 

A screengrab of the Lake Wānaka webcam taken at the time of writing.

Want to know conditions at Lake Wānaka? Check this live webcam from the Wānaka Watersports Facility.

Here’s the weekend outlook:

After a couple of days of unsettled weather, the weekend outlook is looking good once rivers settle. Friday will become fine in the morning as cloud clears. Southerlies will turn westerly at night. Saturday and Sunday will be fine, with southwesterlies on Saturday and light winds on Sunday.

The Taieri River at Outram was rising, at 25 cumecs this morning. The water temperature was 13.7 degrees C.

Click here for live Dunedin weather updates.

Rain over the past couple of days will have pushed up river levels, but the weather outlook is promising for the weekend. Friday will be fine with southeasterlies, followed by fine weather on Saturday and Sunday, with generally light winds.

Click here for live Wānaka weather updates.

The fishing outlook is good. Friday fine, light winds. Saturday fine, northerlies developing for a time in the afternoon and evening. Sunday mainly fine, chance of a shower in the afternoon with light winds.

Click here for live Central Otago weather updates.

The weather outlook improves for fishing this weekend. Friday, chance of a shower until afternoon. Southerlies, dying out in the evening. Saturday fine, southerlies developing for a time in the afternoon and evening. Sunday fine with light winds.

The Pomahaka River is at 9.3 cumecs at Glenken this morning, rising. Check updated river conditions before heading out.

The lower Clutha River at Balclutha was flowing at 704 cumecs.

Click here for live lower Clutha weather updates

For more ORC water monitoring and alerts information click here.

Grab your licence online and let the angling adventures begin.

Got any Otago fishing news?

Send your fishing news and photos (with anglers’ names) to [email protected] for consideration in the weekly report.