Weekly Fishing report - North Canterbury 28 Feb 2019

Hello and welcome to the North Canterbury region fishing report. The weather looks good this weekend. 

Temperatures are slightly cooler, but it is going to be fine and sunny everywhere and the most important thing - no wind!

Above Right: Bill Hayton casts out into the Waimakariri River on a chilly Thursday morning.

There was some much needed rain earlier this week which caused a small fresh in the foothill streams. 

The Upper Selwyn, Waipara and Ashley got a very timely fresh. 

The Ashley is now continuously running to the sea but will probably go subsurface again next week. 

This time of year the rivers tend to drop out quickly in the drier conditions.

All of the main alpine rivers also received a small fresh last weekend. 

They have all dropped again very quickly and will be running low and clear again by the weekend. 

The good thing is the temperature of these rivers is now nice and cool, the temperature of the Waimakariri this morning was 16^oC which is perfect conditions. 

Salmon are being caught in the Rakaia and the thinking is with the cooler temperatures that the salmon will not be far away from coming into the Waimakariri.

High country lakes are fishing well lately. 

Some nice rainbows being caught at Coleridge recently. 

A lot of fish are cruising lake edges on all the lakes as the water has cooled down compared to the hot February days. 

With the lack of wind this weekend the lakes would be an excellent choice. 

Should be lots of surface activity at this time of year.

All of the back country rivers will be clear and fishable this weekend. 

Rivers will be at ideal flows for spotting trout. 

Fly anglers will enjoy some calm days in the back country. 

In calm conditions such as these I quite often go down t a 4-weight fly rod. 

I can present smaller flies with a more delicate presentation, but the main advantage is it is just a pleasure to cast with and I don’t get the opportunity very often.

Spin anglers should target the middle reaches of the larger rivers such as the Waimakariri, Hurunui or Waiau. 

These areas often have greater numbers of smaller fish that are easier to fool than the upriver cousins. 

Covering lots of water fishing blind can produce good results. 

The main thing is to keep moving and explore lots of water. 

Make the most of the low flows and move through the gorges.

A notice to anglers that Environment Canterbury will be carrying out their annual clearing of weeds in Silver Stream. 

This can take six to seven weeks depending on the conditions. 

A weed barrier will be in place but inevitably some weed will continue downstream and into the Kaiapoi.

Tight lines 

Tony Hawker

Fish and Game Officer, North Canterbury Fish and Game Officer.