Reel Life October 2024 - Nelson Marlborough

Opening Day Wrap-Up

Opening Day of the 2024-25 season dawned fine across most of the region and river flows overall were ideal for most anglers, but did the trout play ball?  In the week following opening day we received plenty of reports from fishers all over the region to suggest the fishing was tough.  We had multiple comments saying that it was like fishing for wary end-of-season trout, and it was interesting that many of the region's top anglers suggested the same thing, the incoming low-pressure system and falling barometer meant for inactive or fussy fish, or simply a lack of fish where they would expect to be found. 

Were fish caught? Yes.  Did some enjoy some decent fishing? Probably. There are always exceptions to the norm, and this may depend on your expectations too.

Luckily, we have had some decent weather in recent weeks and rivers (at the time of writing) have stabilised.  Sunny periods have seen some anglers return to rivers they fished on opening day and be rewarded with far better fishing, showcasing good fish numbers and healthy trout in great condition.

We expect the fishing to be very good throughout the region this season, owing to the stable two years we’ve recently experienced – we hope you get out and make the most of the early season!

 

Fishing Workshops Coming Up

Fish & Game is excited to bring you a range of fishing workshops this season in Tasman and Marlborough, starting in November.  These workshops are aimed at both new anglers starting on their trout fishing journey or anglers who already know the basics but would like to further develop their skills and knowledge. 

These are events we have currently scheduled leading up to Christmas:

Softbait Workshop – Lake Argyle – Saturday 16 November (afternoon)

Softbait Workshop – Wairau River – Wednesday 20 November (evening)

Softbait Workshop -Wairau River – Sunday 1 December (morning)

Fly Fishing Workshop – Motueka River – Saturday 7 December (9am-3pm)

Softbait Workshop – Lake Argyle – Sunday 8 December (morning)

Women on the Fly Casting Event – Saxton Oval – Saturday 14 December (morning or afternoon)

Don’t worry if you can’t get along to any of these events, we will be running more events similar to these in the new year. 

Registrations are essential. 

For anyone who has already completed the survey, we will be in touch soon about these events. 

If you are interested in attending any upcoming events, please fill in this survey.

Ideal Conditions for Softbait Fishing

Full river conditions and a tinge of green in the water make for ideal soft bait and spin conditions.  This season has reverted to typical Spring conditions, meaning plenty of incoming rain from the west keeping rivers full but providing optimum conditions for softbait anglers. 

Softbaits are the way to go if you’re into lure fishing, and if fished right, they will arguably catch more fish than conventional metal lures. But it’s all about reading the water properly and then presenting your lures in the best manner to entice trout which determines your success rate – the better you do this, the more fish you’ll catch. 

Bang for buck they are a great option too, and for a reasonably low sum of money, you can kit yourself out with a good range of effective softbaits.  For brown trout fishing, choose ‘earthy’ colours such as green, brown or black, with the black and gold softbait an ideal choice for most occasions.

We will be bringing you a series of softbait workshops, delivered by Marlborough softbait guru, Josh Ponder.   Josh is a weapon on our rivers and lakes and has great knowledge of what water you need to be fishing and how to set up and present your lure. We will be holding these events at Lake Argyle and on the Wairau River before Christmas, and hope to also work in a day on the Motueka River also. 

Fill out this survey to get yourself on one or two of our upcoming sessions.

Josh ponder with a cracking Wairau brown caught on a softbait.

 Check the Flows Before You Go

The 2024-25 season kicked off in typical ‘Spring’ style, with higher flows in most of our lowland rivers.  TDC and MDC have good rain and river flow resources to aid your fishing and help avoid disappointment by driving to a river only to find it unfishable. Check out:

Tasman District Council River Flow

Marlborough District Council River Flows

Remember that Lake Argyle is fed by the Branch River and will become coloured and unfishable when the Branch River is in flood.  Check out the flow graph pictured to make sure you’ll be able to fish Lake Argyle before you go:

Argyle graph.