North Canterbury Fishing Report Friday 15th December 2017

We wait with anticipation for MPI lab results of the trout in the Waimakariri lakes, hoping for the best but taking every precaution that is necessary to prevent further spread of anything unwanted, and anglers have been very supportive of the lake closures, thanks for your understanding and patience with this.

Further testing in Lake Georgina this week showed no sign of the conditions found in the Waimakariri lakes, which is welcome news.

Above Right: Fish & Game Staff testing Lake Georgina.

It sounds like fishing in these nearby lakes has been relatively quiet, with warmer water sending the fish down to deeper cool water, with surface takes of insects minimal, even though surface insect activity has been good.

Welcome rain on the plains this week has cooled things off a little, and should give some respite to trout that were starting to suffer from warming waters, especially with the lack of winds to mix the waters also.

The prospects for fishing this weekend look great throughout the region, with light winds and no rain forecast.

The Rakaia River was unfishable earlier in the week but is in great condition for salmon this weekend.

Keen anglers should be checking river flows and weather maps such as Metvuw daily to get optimum conditions, however anglers are reminded that Fish & Game produce a recorded phone message, with daily river flows and likely fishing conditions of the main rivers throughout the fishing season.

Please call (03) 366-2986 for this recorded message.

Before the last fresh, anglers had been catching good numbers of salmon in the Rakaia River below SH1 and a few in the surf, with a number of these salmon in the best condition seen for a number of years, with some weighing well into the 20 pound plus bracket.

The lower reaches of the Rakaia had been the preferred area to fish, although salmon have been caught right through to the gorge and this recent fresh will have provided the salmon ample incentive to move further upstream.

There seems to be quite a bit of talk amongst the dedicated salmon anglers that this has been one of the better starts to a salmon fishing season seen for many years.

There have been reasonable numbers of sea-run trout taken in the lower reaches of some of the East Coast rivers before the last fresh and this should continue for some time yet with good numbers of Silveries in the lagoon areas, and as usual, the best activity is around dusk. 

Good luck for the weekend and best wishes for the festive season.