Salmon season starting to heat up
Hamish Stevens

Salmon fishing has had a slow start in the Central South Island region however things are starting to pick up. Early season salmon activity was poor due to the constant floods making the Rangitata River unfishable for a long time. Anglers upriver are now benefiting with good numbers of fish that went through on the high flows not having seen much silver hardware yet. These fish should take a lure more readily however with a low clear river the fishing will become harder. River anglers should keep their fingers crossed for some more nor west rain to colour the river again as this is likely to increase catch rates. 

On the south side of the Rangitata River mouth a log is kept by a few dedicated salmon fishermen of all fish caught within the lagoon and mouth areas. The overall number caught this season is not spectacular at 166 fish but 135 of these fish have been caught in January and hopefully are a sign of things to come.  Fish size is not quite as good as last year from all reports with the largest weighed in Rangitata fish at 19lb though most fish are around 15lb. There are also a good number of hatchery raised fish being caught which are most likely to have originated from the McKinnons Creek hatchery. These fish are slightly smaller weighing in between 8 and 12lbs.

Hamish Stevens with his limit from the Rangitata River earlier this month

The Opihi River while not as popular as the Rangitata did produce some fish before Christmas. For some reason hatchery fish forgot to read their maps properly and instead of going to the Rangitata or Rakaia turned up at the Opihi. A few anglers scored limit bags of these disorientated fish at the mouth and in the gut. One large fish (26lb) has been caught at the Opihi showing that there are some large fish about this season. The mouth has been closed off and on lately and with dry conditions predicted to continue this situation is unlikely to change. So if you intend fishing the Opihi River it may pay to ring people in the know to check the conditions before heading out. 

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