Reel Life - October 2016
It's spring and that marks the re-opening of well, a swag of waterways around the country. And hungry trout are on the hunt.
On the Rotorua lakes, the season started with a bang as around a thousand anglers registered for the opening week fishing competition with the chance to win ten thousand dollars if they could catch a specially tagged trout.
While the golden trout wasn't hooked, some good fish were still landed.
Lake Rotoiti took the honours with solid rainbows tipping the scales at over 3kg with one more than 4kg.
But throughout the country, there is good spring fishing available.
If you're holidaying up north, remember that Northland rivers are open for business and there's more places to fish than just Kai Iwi lakes.
In Taranaki the mayfly and caddis have been hatching and the trout are feeding…
Auckland anglers take note that the Waikato River is fishing well - the annual fishing contest proved it with over 100 trout weighed in.
Down south eager anglers are gearing up to fish high country lakes in North Canterbury and Central South Island (CSI) which re-open on November 5.
In CSI lakes Alexandrina and Mc Gregor are described as 'must fish' destinations.
And "healthy browns” have already been hauled from the lower Clutha and other Otago rivers.
Even further south, there are positive reports of good numbers of trout in the lower reaches of West Coast rivers.
P.S. - Thanks to a proud father who provided this month's cover pic – of daughter Emily Craig and her 21.5lb rainbow hen hauled from one of the South Island canals.
P.P.S - If you think you've got a freshwater fishing image worthy of featuring on our 'cover', email it to Richard Cosgrove for consideration.
If you haven't firmed up your holiday plans, there's no better time than the present to mark some fishing time on the calendar. Holidaymakers now have plenty of choice – in particular a Short Break licence ($45) that sets you up perfectly for a long weekend. These licences allow you to fish for three days in a row, just is ready made for a long weekend. A Long Break licence ($88) covers nine days – in other words you're set up for some serious fishing covering two weekends plus the five days in between. If you're completely new to the sport but want to have a go with a minimal outlay, a $20 One Day licence represents a great option. Click 
From now, the public are able to have a say on how best to manage what is arguably New Zealand's most important and complex river system. The ground-breaking plan change aimed at restoring and protecting the health of the Waikato and Waipa rivers has been publicly notified by Waikato Regional Council. People have more than four months to make submissions on the Healthy Rivers Wai Ora Proposed Waikato Regional Plan Change 1, with the council providing an extended notification period to allow people time to understand the proposed changes and make informed submissions. More details 
Catch Fish & Game staff talking about their patch – on Radio Live's Fishing Show from now until late December. The Fishing Show aims to be a 'how-to and where' guide for recreational fishers around New Zealand. It airs every Friday night from 7-8pm and is repeated on Saturday morning from 5-6am. The three hosts are Peter Elliot, Terry Williams-King and John Echelsheim who aim to give listeners an idea of what fish are biting and where, and what the conditions are like. Tune in! Click 
Kids 'fish out' days are a not-to-be-missed perfect way to introduce children to trout fishing. The programmes have been run in different parts of the country for more than 20 years. Anglers clubs and other volunteers provide one on one tuition, showing youngsters how to catch and keep a trout. The events have become hugely popular so that bookings are essential. The next KFOs are in Rotorua on 6 November, at the Eastern Region hatchery, and the Central South Island Region's is at Twizel on 12 November. Taranaki is holding another kids' event at the Scout den pool on the Patea River in the heart of Stratford on Saturday 10 December.
