'Reel Life' Newsletter
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Reel Life April 2023
Due to the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in the Hawke's Bay region, we regret to inform our readers that there will be no regional news report for this issue.
Reel Life March 2023
Due to the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in the Hawke's Bay region, we regret to inform our readers that there will be no regional news report for this issue.
Reel Life February 2023
Due to the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in the Hawke's Bay region, we regret to inform our readers that there will be no regional news report for this issue.
Reel Life January 2023
Welcome to 2023, It’s continued to be a wet month, but we can only hope summer finally shows itself toward the end of January.
Reel Life November 2022
The cicadas are just beginning to sound off and rivers are steadily dropping by the week, between intermittent rain.
Reel Life September 2022
As I write, a freshly hatched dragonfly is hovering in front of my window; spring has sprung!
Welcome to the first Reel Life issue of the 2022/23 fishing season
Your new season fishing licence will unlock the wonderful New Zealand rivers and lakes to you for a fishing season that is looking awesome.
Read more about 'Welcome to the first Reel Life issue of the 2022/23 fishing season'...
Reel Life April 2022
March has really delivered this year, with great fishing had by both fly and spin anglers across the region.
Reel Life February 2022
Happy new year! It looks like a lot of anglers have been out over the break and got into some of the great fishing the Bay has to offer.
Reel Life January 2022
With the Christmas/New Year break looming, many people will have their minds wandering to the holidays and family time ahead.
Reel Life December 2021
Spring has well and truly sprung. October has come and passed, and with it, some excellent early season fishing.
Reel Life October 2021
The start of Hawke’s Bay’s new trout season is only days away, on Friday, October 1st.
Reel Life September 2021
Here we go again! Covid is back and the familiar jingle of the 1 pm updates provide us with an unwanted sense of déjà vu.
Reel Life April 2021
With all waters still open until the end of June, the next few months are a great time to fish as trout start to move upriver in preparation for spawning.
Reel Life March 2021
Autumn is here and with it, a significant change in temperature; something the trout really will be enjoying.
Reel Life February 2021
Bar a series of very hot days where the mercury reached into the mid-30s, the Hawke’s Bay summer has been a bit milder than recent years and anglers in the...
Reel Life January 2021
We hope everyone had a great Christmas and a happy New Year and are looking forward to another year of fishing!
Reel Life December 2020
Temperatures in the Hawkes Bay have reached the high 20s during December as we enter early summer.
Reel Life November 2020
This season took a bit of a twist with the flooding and higher flows that have given the rivers a clean out and the trout a bit of a shake-up.
Reel Life October 2020
The weather was not too kind on the days leading up to Opening with a cold snap bringing snow to the tops, some rain and some wild wind.
Reel Life September 2020
The start of Hawke’s Bay’s new trout season is just over a week away, with opening day on Thursday October 1st.
Reel Life August 2020
The new fishing season is only five weekends away and your new season fishing licence will unlock the full fishing potential of New Zealand for you to explore.
Reel Life February 2020
The temperature is hot and the cicadas are singing their chorus which means there’s bound to be great fishing!
Hawke's Bay Reel Life January 2020
We hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year holiday and took the time to get out on our rivers and lakes to do some fishing.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life December 2019
After no significant rain for the past month the rivers are low and extremely easy to find fish in.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life November 2019
It’s that time of year again when the temperature starts to rise and weather becomes increasingly steady.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life October 2019
It’s another year gone by; a great season was had by many Hawke’s bay anglers in 2019.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life September 2019
With a new season upon us, Hawkes’ Bay anglers are spoiled for choice when it comes to choosing a stretch of water to try their luck on.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life August 2019
Winter has settled in the Bay bringing a few frosts, heavy rains and high rivers and trout throughout the region have started their spawning runs up the rivers and tributaries.
Hawkes Bay Reel Life April 2019
As the days shorten and you think about lighting the fire, Lake Tutira becomes the destination of choice for many Hawke’s Bay anglers.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life March 2019
Summer conditions are still holding on and rivers are still in want of some much-needed rain.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life February 2019
Anglers were able to enjoy a month of clean rivers in February, which has made it a lot easier planning trips to the local rivers.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life January 2019
Well, the last month has been a crazy one for the Hawke's Bay region when it comes to fishing conditions.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life December 2018
In the last Reel Life article we prayed for rain to top up our region’s rivers…. we certainly got what we asked for!
Hawke's Bay Reel Life November 2018
Hopefully, by the time you’re reading this, we’ll have had some decent rain in the region to top up the rivers.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life October 2018
The new fishing season has arrived and thankfully the Hawke’s Bay region has been experiencing a good spell of fine weather which has seen most of our rivers stay fishable...
Hawke's Bay Reel Life September 2018
The new season is only moments away and no doubt you are all just like us and can't wait for it to begin.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life August 2018
Winter fishing has been up and down in Hawke's Bay the last couple of months.
Reel Life May 2018
We’ve got a simple message as May rolls into June and the start of winter…there is still some terrific fishing out there!
Hawke's Bay Reel Life April 2018
April has been a mixed month so far with some wet and windy weather mixed in with some warm and settled periods.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life March 2018
March was a relatively wet month for the region with some quite localised flooding early in the month affecting the Esk and Tutaekuri catchments in particular.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life February 2018
The first half of February has been relatively wet with a return to some cooler temperatures.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life January 2018
The busy holiday period between Christmas and New Year saw air temperatures drop to single digits overnight with some unseasonably cold and wet weather descending on the region.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life December 2017
Temperatures in Hawkes Bay have already reached 30OC during December as we enter early summer.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life November 2017
Good numbers of brown trout have featured among anglers’ catches on the Mohaka River during November.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life October 2017
The rain thankfully held off so that Opening Day of the new trout fishing season wasn’t a washout for anglers this year.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life September 2017
Spring has certainly arrived here in the Hawkes Bay with a notable decrease in rainfall and some very warm days approaching the mid-twenties.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life August 2017
In stark contrast to the dry winter of 2016, this winter has been exceptionally wet with consistent rain events and even the odd cyclone.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life May 2017
May has continued to be a wet month for the Hawkes Bay region with periods of weekly showers and over 40mm recorded over two days in the middle of the...
Hawke's Bay Reel Life April 2017
April has largely been a wet month for the Hawke’s Bay region with many of the rivers in flood or too coloured to fish.
Wellington Reel Life Mar 2017
[Use image: A backcountry beauty for Peter de Boer]Okay, the weather has been crazy, and at least in some rivers that normally fire the fish have been fickle...
Auckland / Waikato Reel Life Mar 2017
An ambitious tagging program has been started on the Whanganui River by Fish & Game councillor Nigel Juby.
Hawke's Bay Reel Life Mar 2017
After another hot dry summer, it was refreshing to get some decent rain in early March to give the rivers a flush out and add some volume to their flows.
Taranaki Reel Life Mar 2017
With only one significant fresh in the last month, Taranaki ringplain streams and rivers have been very fishable – and there’s even been a nice period of settled weather to...
Nelson Marlborough Reel Life Mar 2017
Trout flying bright green streamers were released into the Riuwaka River during a day long operation in mid-March.
West Coast Reel Life Mar 2017
Conditions have certainly come right recently, with great fishing available.
Both opportunities for salmon and trout fishing have been excellent this month, as the weather has settled down and the river flows have stabilised.
North Canterbury Reel Life Mar 2017
Late March and early April often brings settled weather to the Canterbury region.
Southland Reel Life Mar 2017
Finally, in a clear patch of weather Southland staff were able to get out and undertake drift diving surveys as part of their annual trout monitoring program.
Central South Island Reel Life Mar 2017
April is the last month of the ‘summer’ fishing season.
Read more about 'Central South Island Reel Life Mar 2017'...
Northland Reel Life Mar 2017
Autumn has arrived – with the mornings noticeably cooler and some heavy dews happening.
Eastern Reel Life Mar 2017
Autumn has rolled around quickly and seasonal changes are evident in the Eastern Fish & Game region.
Southland Reel Life FEB 2017
In this month’s Reel Life article, field officer Cohen Stewart interviews retired fishing guide and honorary ranger Len Prentice to find out how the average angler can make their fishing...
West Coast Reel Life FEB 2017
Over the past week and a half, weather conditions have improved significantly on the West Coast, with a period of excellent settled weather.
North Canterbury Reel Life FEB 2017
High hopes for March fishing
Nelson / Marlborough Reel Life FEB 2017
'exhilarating' cicada season in full swing
Read more about 'Nelson / Marlborough Reel Life FEB 2017'...
Northland Reel Life Feb 2017
With warm temperatures and a “medium adverse event” declared in Northland, water levels have been getting very low.
Taranaki Reel Life Feb 2017
At last...after a long period of westerly conditions bringing cool winds and lots of rain, we've finally enjoyed some settled summer weather in Taranaki, not a moment too soon!
Hawke’s Bay Reel Life Feb 2017
With February air temperatures peaking at 33OC at the airport, it was nice to receive some decent rain in the middle of the month to give the rivers a good...
Eastern Reel Life Feb 2017
Lake Rotoiti has been one of the top performers so far this summer, serving up some “solid” catches.
Auckland / Waikato Reel Life Feb 2017
The weather has been less than ideal recently but the heat has brought out the cicadas – and the trout that feed on them.
Southland Reel Life JAN 2017
As mentioned in previous Reel Life articles, there have been isolated increases in mouse populations in some parts of Southland.
North Canterbury Reel Life Jan 2017
As I write this report, the East Coast rivers in Canterbury have peaked in flood, with flows higher than seen for some time.
Northland Reel Life Jan 2017
We hope everyone has had a good summer break...or are still enjoying your holidays.
Eastern Reel Life Jan 2017
Lake Rotorua’s shoreline fishery has been slow to get underway this summer due to cooler and windier than normal conditions.
Otago Reel Life JAN 2017
It’s fair to say that the summer holiday period has been severely interrupted by some abysmal weather over the past month and leading up to the New Year.
Central South Island Reel Life JAN 2017
It has been a fickle summer weather-wise, with welcome small but regular rainfall events occurring across the region.
Read more about 'Central South Island Reel Life JAN 2017'...
West Coast Reel Life Jan 2017
Large numbers of hunters turned out in the West Coast Region for Opening Weekend this year, both local hunters and many from other regions.
Nelson/Marlborough Reel Life JAN 2017
The Taylor River fishery is in good shape after a 50 medium to large brown trout were released before Christmas.
Wellington Reel Life Jan 2017
Spring and now 'summer' continue to be a real mixed bag when it comes to weather and fishing prospects.
Taranaki Reel Life Jan 2017
Regular freshes, persistent westerly winds and even an early dump of snow have conspired to provide great conditions for the trout, but not so flash for the anglers.
Hawke’s Bay Reel Life Jan 2017
December and early January have seen many of the rivers running low and clear as we progress through the hot summer months here in the Hawke’s Bay.
Auckland / Waikato Reel Life Jan 2017
Fish & Game staff were recently on the Whakapapa and Whanganui Rivers monitoring water quality and witnessed some amazing hatches in the late evening, and heard cicada sounding off all day.
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