North Canterbury Fishing Report 30th September 2020

Tomorrow sees the opening of most of the rivers in North Canterbury, along with a number of lakes.

There are a number of lakes that will now be open all year as of the 1^st October, including Lake Taylor, Lake Selfe, Lake Pearson, Lake Lyndon, Lake Ellesmere and Lake Guyon.

These lakes provide great early season opportunities when the rivers are unfishable, as is common this time of year.

There are also a number of lakes that continue to remain open all year, including Lake Forsyth, Lake Sumner and Lock Katrine, however trolling from boats is no longer permitted on Loch Katrine.

Prospects for opening day look good with a window of calm weather forecast throughout the region.

Lowland rivers are in good condition with the likes of the Ashley, Selwyn, Styx and Avon in good condition for anglers. 

However, prospects for North Canterbury anglers don’t look great for the weekend.

There is a Nor-wester due to hit the West Coast and is likely to spill over into Canterbury’s headwaters which will bring all the alpine rivers down in a fresh this weekend.

Strong winds will also deter all but the keenest of anglers.

The larger snow fed rivers are currently dirty and unfishable and are likely to remain this way for at least the next week following more rain in the alps, with the best option for anglers likely to be the lowland rivers or one of the lakes opening.

Leading up to Christmas, anglers should make the most of any drop in river flows between Nor-westers which can often build on the tail of a previous fresh and cause rivers to remain unfishable for a considerable period.

The Ashley and Selwyn are not usually affected by Nor-west rain in the alps and should hopefully be fishable despite the wind and rain that is forecast this week.

Rakaia River Mouth in high unfishable flow

There have been a few sea-run trout spotted in the lower rivers and this should improve right up until Christmas as these trout follow whitebait and soon the silveries into the river.

Parents and children please note that it is with sadness that the organisers of the annual Take a Kid Fishing day usually held at The Groynes Fishing Lakes, had to make a decision some time ago on whether or not to hold the event due to Covid-19 and unfortunately cancelled the event this year. 

While out fishing this season, anglers are our eyes and ears in the field and are encouraged to report incidences of any illegal activity they may see while fishing, taking note of vehicle registration numbers would be helpful.

Rangers will be increasing their activity over the coming season, so a friendly reminder also to please carry your licence on you at all times when fishing. Please also check the regulation guide below before venturing to new areas to fish this season, as there have been a few regulation changes recently https://fishandgame.org.nz/assets/Uploads/FG-Fishing-Regs-SI-20-21-.pdf. 

Good luck if you are heading out for a fish over the next week.

Steve Terry , North Canterbury Fish & Game Officer