Weekly Fishing Report — Central South Island — 06/01/2021 – Holiday Edition #2

The holidays roll on for many of us and there is some fantastic fishing to be had.

Feature image 'summertime is perfect for fishing adventures and quality time with family and friends' Credit Richie Cosgrove

If you’re looking for a fishing location idea why not follow the crowds to two of New Zealand’s most popular sports fisheries, Lake Benmore and the Hydro Canals! Or check out a regional gem – The Opihi River.

Lake Benmore

The country’s second most popular lake fishery offers trout and salmon fishing for all anglers.

The Lake Benmore access pamphlet shows you all the classic access points and some tackle tips and can be viewed and downloaded by clicking here.

Benmore Tip: The easiest access locations for bait, spin and fly anglers are Pumpkin Point (access #4) on the Ahuriri Arm and around the Ohau C PowerStation outflow into Lake Benmore.

Lake Benmore is home to tens-of-thousands of sockeye salmon. If you want to have a go at targeting them  click on this video of trolling tips and tackle for targeting Lake Benmore sockeye salmon.

The Hydro Canals

the canals are a favourite summertime destination Credit R Adams

If you don’t know your way around the canals, check out the Hydro Canals fishery pamphlet here.

This video covers heaps of super important information you need to know before fishing the canals.

Canal tip 1: If the water is clear, walk up the canal bank and sight fish for 2-4-pound brown trout that live well-away from the salmon farms. Flyfishing or bubble-and-fly are good methods for targeting these fish.

Canal tip 2: If the glacial canal water is silty, use a cooked prawn/shrimp for bait. Rig it with a ¼ ounce sinker and let it bounce down the middle of the canal while you walk along the bank beside it. 

Canal tip 3: On a rainy day try search YouTube for tips on canal fishing – there are some detailed videos put together by the local experts- well-worth watching.

Opihi River

A contestant for New Zealand’s best lowland brown trout fishery with lots of access options.

Check out this Opihi River Access pamphlet when exploring the area. 

Tip 1: Fly fishing is the method of choice for sight fishing the Opihi River, but bait (worm) and spin fishing can be productive when the flows are up after rain.

Tip 2: Fly anglers - Opihi River brown trout diet is based on horn cased caddis and small may fly larvae, have a few small #16 and #18 size imitations in your fly box. 

Exceptional voluntary service recognised

Daniel Isbister and Matthew Hall were presented medals to recognise their voluntary service to licence holders as Councillors on the Central South Island Fish and Game Council photo B Dolan

At the recent Annual Public Meeting of the Central South Island Fish and Game Council, two former Fish and Game Councillors were awarded medals in appreciation of their exceptional voluntary service to licence holders.   

Matthew Hall of Ashburton was awarded a gold medal for his 30 years of service on the Council and Daniel Isbister of North Otago was awarded a silver medal for his 12 years of service on the Council.

Relax and read – a Fish & Game project report

If the Nor Wester cuts up rough or you just need a day out of the sun, how about relaxing and reading a Fish & Game project report.

If the following headlines spark your interest, then click on them to link to the associated project report.

• More massive fish and lots of satisfied anglers ahead of the winter closure of the upper Tekapo Canal!

• The upper Ohau River Spring Season a one-of-a-kind trophy fishery!

Wet day activities

If wet weather forces you indoors and you or the kids need a little screen-time-out, then you might as well watch some top-quality fly fishing shows from New Zealand filmed by the Pure Fly NZ crew.

Two episodes in the most recent series feature CSI Region waters, click on the below links to view them and the other episodes in the series.

• Ohau River – early opening episode
• Lake Pukaki – fishing the stone zone episode

Perch Fishing – how-to

West Coast Fish & Game had put together this helpful video on how to target perch – a great option for the family over the summer holidays.

Perch can be found in CSI waterways like these: Lake Hood near Ashburton; lakes Clearwater, Camp and Lake Emma at the Ashburton Lakes; Saltwater Creek in Timaru; Waihao River Lagoon near Waimate; and Island Stream near Maheno in North Otago.  

Catch and Release

Whether your fish is too small, too big, too ugly or too beautiful at some stage and for some reason you will catch and release your fish.

Careful catch and release is a skill you must learn to ensure your fish doesn’t come to any harm.

Go check out this helpful video and this informative webpage put together by Fish & Game to guide you to release with care.

In CSI it an offence to cause undue injury to any fish intended for release (see page 36).

The most common occurrence of this offence happens when anglers fishing from dam walls winches small fish up the wall, dehook it on the concrete or gravel and then release it by throwing it off the wall into the water.

The simple and conscientious solution to this scenario is to walk around to the bank and land and de-hook your unwanted fish in the shallow canal margins.

Notice Board

Want to catch a sea run salmon?

New regulations and requirements apply for sea run salmon in the CSI and North Canterbury Regions.

Click here for all the information you need.

Tekapo River spill flow advisory

Genesis Energy are currently spilling water to the Tekapo River via the Lake George Scott Weir.

Spilling is likely to occur over the holiday season.

Tekapo River flows may rise rapidly during spilling and all river users are urged to take extreme caution to avoid rising river flows.   

Spill flows can be viewed at the Genesis website here.

Tekapo River flows in the lower river, downstream of the Mary Burn confluence, can be view on the ECan website here.” 

Tight Lines,

Rhys Adams

Central South Island Fish & Game Officer