Weekly Fishing Report – Central South Island Region – 26/10/18

I hope you all enjoyed a Labour Weekend of fishing. The weather was stunning in Temuka, maybe a bit windier elsewhere.

The first sign of summer dry fly action turned up in my tunnel house too, a cicada.

I haven’t heard any on the river and it seems a bit early so I’m making an uneducated guess that the furnace like micro-climate in my tunnel house is related to my early encounter.

Finn Stevens (pictured above right) made it out to his local, the Opihi below State Highway One over the weekend and caught his first fish of the season.

His dad tried a bit of fly fishing but just spooked every fish.

Finn drifted and tweaked his favourite bait through a run and pulled out a sea-run like three pounder.

They saw over twenty fish in two stretches of water and shared the river with 3 other anglers, a motorbike rider and some horses and their riders.

They said the river was low but had very little algae and lots of aquatic wild life.

Jayde Couper went camping and fishing at Lake Waitaki over the weekend.

He said it was windy but on Monday morning when the put the boat on the lake it was calm.

He maintained his zero fish tally for the season, and zero fish tally for his boat which carries over from last season.

He said there were quiet a few anglers about and some had luck spin fishing the flowing water at the head of the lake above Fisherman’s Bend.

Logan Van Rooy caught a nice wee brown on a storm soft plastic and witnessed a big brown taken.

Jayde said that he observed about 15 trout cruising in the shallows as he trolled around the head of the Lake.  

I’ll let you predict the weather this weekend, I’m sure there will be opportunity to get out for a fish.

I’ll be fishing at Lake Tekapo if all goes to plan.

It’s a great time of year to target salmon from the shore.

With the lake levels being at about their annual low point the drop offs which salmon love to patrol can be reached with a half decent cast.

You’ll catch trout too, but anywhere you can find a weed bed is probably a better bet.

I was down the Waitaki River on Tuesday and have some access info related to the southern side to pass on.

The flows were at about 290 cumecs, the flows change here daily depending on the managed flows from the Waitaki Dam and how much flow is coming from the major tributaries the Hakataramea and the Maerewhenua rivers.

The water clarity at 290 cumecs was great for spin fishing.

Ferry Road provided some rough access for cars and some limited fishing in the first small braid reached.

If flows drop a bit you could probably wade to the main stem.

Jardine and Wilsons Roads offered semi-rough 4X4 access, or a 5-10-minute walk to swift main stem flows and very limited side channel water. Best fished if the flows drop well below 290 cumecs.

Access points associated with the Otekaieke, Otiake River and Kurow rivers offer mostly 4X4 access via dry riverbeds and multiple formed and bulldozed tracks to the main stem and stable side braids.

It’s a follow your nose and finds the river style of access.

Some side braids are small enough to wade across to reach the main stem, so there are more expansive options here.

Without a 4X4 you’d probably require a 10-30-minute walk to reach the river at these spots.   

For those less adventurous, Kurow Island offers some easy vehicle and walking access.

It also offers the best boat ramp on the river.

Keep in mind if you are fishing this area, didymo is a real feature so expect to catch it and regularly check you lure and remove it.

This is also a good reminder to clean, check and dry all your gear if you are transferring between water ways to help stop the spread of unwanted organisms like didymo.

This website has all the info you need for cleaning fishing gear, boats etc. 

We are close enough to use fingers and thumbs to count down the days to high-country opening.

Please remember, our neighbouring region, Otago, has waters opening on November 1, while in the CSI Region and North Canterbury high-country opening is the first Saturday in November (November 3, 2018).

Lake Heron anglers should be aware that the permitting system to access Harrisons Bight is now online and it is super quick to get your permit. Click here to visit the Department of Conservation website and get your permit.  

Tight lines

Rhys Adams, Central South Island Fish & Game Officer.