Weekly Fishing Report — Central South Island — 25/11/2021

Just a reminder, I have claimed this season as "big-fish" year in the Opihi River catchment.

What's big? I reckon any brown trout bigger than 4.5-pounds (about 2kg) is big.

Right: another 5-pound-plus Opihi Catchment brown for the author caught during an evening rise-Photo R Adams

I base my claim on consistently catching some of my biggest ever Opihi trout this October and November, and evening/night fishing in the weekend cemented that observation.

The fish pictured was just under 6-pounds: I caught it on a caddis dry fly pattern – a great evening rise and night fishing dry fly.

I bumped into a local on the river too, he gave me a self-tied streamer fly and reckoned I better give it a try on the fish rising in front of us.

Best to take a locals advice, and an aggressive whack had another big brown hooked in a short time.

Unfortunately, I foul hooked it just under the chin, so after an epic battle, I released it asap without even weighing it; I reckon it was 6-pound!

We are now well into the start of the sea run salmon season, and as far as I can gather, there has been two caught at the Rangitata River mouth and two at the Opihi River mouth so far.

Please be aware that you must carry your sea run season bag limit card on you, as you must produce it to a ranger on request.

You are also required to fill in the catch details immediately if you take or kill a sea run salmon, so to do that, you need to carry the actual physical card provided, or the temporary card printed out, and a pen.

Failure to comply with these regulations means you must cease sea run salmon fishing until compliant. Any sea run salmon caught incidentally while targeting other species must be released immediately with as little injury as possible.

All the new sea run salmon fishing rules that apply to the CSI and North Canterbury regions can be read in the 2021/22 sports fishing regulation guide here.

You will receive a sea run salmon bag limit card when you obtain your sea run salmon endorsement.

All the info and resources you need to stay legal this sea run salmon fishing season can be found on our website here.

A list of sea run salmon waters is listed in the first question of our sea run salmon FAQ's here.   

For further clarification, contact the CSI region office: phone – 03 615 8400, csi@fishandgame.org.nz

2021 Canal litter pick-up event a success

Eighty-two participants collected two half-filled trailers of rubbish from the canal banks and roadside areas of the Tekapo, Pukaki and Ōhau Canals in November.

The event was organised by Roger Spicer and volunteers from the Halswell Menzshed and event partners Meridian Energy, Genesis Energy, Mount Cook Alpine Salmon, High Country Salmon and Central South Island Fish & Game.

The canals accumulate litter from activities on the canal, but their setting in a wind-swept landscape means that rubbish 'blows-in' from all surrounding activities.

Trout and salmon anglers are the primary recreational user of the canals and can play a big part in minimising litter at the canals.

We encourage anglers to add a pair of gloves and a rubbish bag to their tackle box and take a few minutes out of their fishing trips to pick up some litter from the canal banks, especially fishing line.

The event was generously supported by many sponsors donating time to organise the event, spot prizes and a BBQ lunch for participants.

A big "thank you" go to these event sponsors:

Mount Cook Alpine Salmon, High Country Salmon, Genesis, Meridian, Hunting & Fishing, Boothy's Fishing School, Southern Alps Outdoors, Jakes Hardware, The Complete Angler, High Country Cabin, Fisherman's Loft, Dead Eggs, Tony Harvey - fishing guide, Love Our Lakes.

If we have left any sponsors off the list, get in touch, and we'll give you a shout-out next week.

Although we encourage a "pack-in pack-out" approach to your rubbish at the canals, Meridian does provide skip bins for anglers to use at the bottom ends of the Ohau Canals.

This includes for fish offal which should be wrapped in newspaper and bagged up in a plastic bag before dumping.

Average "news" follows. This weekend, it looks like region-wide wet weather, but I am writing this on Wednesday morning, so things may change.

I'd highly recommend checking out the Metvuw, Metservice, and YR.NO forecast before venturing out.

There is always a spot to fish in the CSI Region if you are willing to jump in the car and make it happen, but you will probably need a rain jacket.

For example, lakes and canals offer a reliable spot to fish in most weather conditions.

Keep an eye on the ECan rainfall and river flow website to review the magnitude of rainfall and the state of river flows.

To add to considerations this weekend and for the coming weeks, Genesis has advised of potential spilling from Lake Tekapo to the Tekapo River to manage high lake levels. Please see the advisory on the notice board at the end of this report if you intend to spend any time in or around the Tekapo River.

Notice Board

Genesis Energy advises that water will be spilled to the lower Tekapo River via the Lake George Scott Weir anytime from the 26th of November.

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