North Canterbury Reel Life August 2018

Brush up your fishing skills before Opening Day

Although winter can produce some stunning still days that are ideal for getting out onto lakes, September can be a very windy unpredictable month.

Some anglers prefer to wait until Opening Day but it can be good to get out in September, if for nothing else than to test out your gear before the 'proper' season starts.

Above right: Not long now until the sun rises on a new fishing season.

For lake fishing, there is still the option of fishing lakes Self, Pearson, Taylor, Katrine, Sumner and Forsyth.

Please remember that Coleridge is closed for the months of September and October to protect the rainbows that gather at the stream mouths in preparation for their migration to spawn.

For river anglers, there are still some options but it's catch and release only.

This applies to the middle reaches of the Rakaia, Waimakariri and Ashley rivers from State Highway One upstream to the Western Zone boundary.

Catch and release is also the rule for the Hurunui and Waiau rivers over the winter months.

This applies from the mouths to Western Zone boundary.

Note that the catch and release winter season on all these rivers is for trout only, salmon cannot be targeted until the October 1 opening.

At the time of writing, all these rivers are low as most of the upper catchments are locked up in snow and ice.

This will probably change in September as the snow melts and adds colour and heavy flows to the rivers.

This will make conditions ideal for spin anglers.

Fly anglers will need to use heavier nymphs to get down to the fish as the flows will be faster.

Recent stable flows should mean there is some good-conditioned trout out there.

Brown trout will be coming on the feed during September.

Rainbow trout will be largely preoccupied with spawning and may be be absent from their traditional feeding grounds.

As for Opening Day prospects, it's a bit early to tell.

Another Reel Life will be out at the end of September and the email fishing reports will start up again on the last Friday next month.

So rest assured we will put out updated information on Opening Day conditions in those reports.

Play your part - be sure to vote

Our Fish & Game council elections are on again.

This is a chance for anglers and game bird hunters to stand for council and have an influence over how our sports fish and game bird resources are managed.

Traditionally voter turnouts have been poor and there are still lots of anglers who don't register to vote.

To get on the register you need to tick the box for this when you buy your licence.

If you're not sure if you're registered to vote you can simply ring our North Canterbury Fish & Game Office.

If you are not on the register this can done over the phone.

Below are key dates for the rest of the election and voting process.

August 30 – Nominations close

September 12 – Electoral roll closes at 5pm

September 20 – NZ Post begins distributing voter packs. Online voting begins.

October 12 – Voting closes at 5pm

October 16 – Postal votes close. The official results are produced and candidates advised.

October 20 – Official declaration and public notice of results published in regional daily newspapers

October 31 – Elected members take office

Tight Lines,

Tony Hawker, North Canterbury Fish & Game officer.

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