'Reel Life' Newsletter
Keep up to date with all the freshwater fishing action, news, events and comment from across New Zealand by signing up to 'Reel Life' - the official monthly newsletter from Fish & Game New Zealand.
Why not check out some recent editions of our 'Reel Life' newsletter here?
Fish & Game New Zealand believes that email is an important way to communicate regular news, important and timely updates and calls to action. Please help us ensure we can communicate directly with you by signing up for our newsletter(s) using the form below.
Privacy Policy: Your details will at all times be used only for the express purpose of Fish & Game New Zealand email communications and will never be disclosed to a third party.
Reel Life August 2023
It took only 17 minutes for the first licence to be sold last Thursday when the new season’s licences went on sale at midnight.
Reel Life April 2023
The winter fishing season starts on the first of May, and it brings some great fishing.
Reel Life March 2023
Fishing has improved across the coast with recent rain cooling our lakes and river down.
Reel Life February 2023
Autumn is a fantastic period to get out fishing with good opportunities to target all our sports fish species.
Reel Life January 2023
With things really starting to warm up, anglers utilising our larger cool rivers are experiencing some exceptional angling.
Reel Life December 2022
Nothing says a “Kiwi Christmas” more than heading outdoors with the family, and it looks like good numbers of kiwis are planning on doing just that.
Reel Life November 2022
One month into the 2022/23 sports fishing season, we are yet to hear of a single complaint.
Reel Life October 2022
The 2022/23 sports fishing season could not have gotten off to a better start.
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 seen a spike in the number of salmon getting caught with the occasional small fresh really increasing catches.
Reel Life March 2022
Following a dry January, February’s rain has got the salmon moving and the trout feeding.
Reel Life January 2022
Many anglers will be looking forward to their Christmas break to get out fishing and who can blame them, the fishing on offer is fantastic!
Reel Life November 2021
Despite the frequent rainfall experience over October, the fishing is off to a promising start.
Reel Life September 2021
With the weather starting to warm, trout activity will be on the rise and the fishing should pick up.
Reel Life April 2021
The winter fishing season starts on the first of May and with it brings some great fishing.
Reel Life March 2021
The frequent freshes experienced this month have really got some excitement in the air and some salmon to the bank.
Reel Life February 2021
With the temperature starting to cool off after a warm summer and fish trying to pack on condition before spawning, it's a great time to be out fishing.
Reel Life January 2021
Confirmed reports of salmon being caught and cicadas out in high numbers, 2021 sure is off to a great start!
Reel Life December 2020
With forecasted rain leading up to Christmas then a fine break between Christmas and New years its shaping up to be great conditions to get the family out fishing.
Reel Life November 2020
Thanks to fine weather over the last two weeks, the rivers and lakes are really starting to fish exceptionally well.
Reel Life October 2020
Anglers making the most of early season opportunities have found both good numbers and great conditioned trout.
Reel Life September 2020
With border restrictions in place there will be reduced angling pressure this season, anglers therefore can expect to find an increase in catchability of trout.
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.
West Coast Reel Life February 2020
The cicada season is upon us and anglers across the region are enjoying some exciting surface action.
West Coast Reel Life January 2020
After a wet start to the season right through to mid-December it’s been nice to have some settled weather and sunshine.
West Coast Reel Life December 2019
Angling over the Christmas break is looking very promising, with the weather warm but not too hot that the trout are going off the feed.
West Coast Reel Life November 2019
After a very wet spring, I’m sure we are all looking forward to some sunshine.
West Coast Reel Life October 2019
Despite unsettled weather over the last couple weeks, anglers have been seen out in good numbers and reports have been predominantly positive.
West Coast Reel Life September 2019
With the new season comes a lot of opportunity, especially here on the West Coast.
West Coast Reel Life August 2019
It might not seem like it with the recent snowstorms, but spring is just around the corner.
West Coast Reel Life April 2019
The winter fishing season starts on the first of May and brings some great fishing.
West Coast Reel Life March 2019
Salmon season is upon us thanks to recent rain that has triggered their runs.
West Coast Reel Life February 2019
I thought I’d waste no time in addressing the question many are asking - are there any salmon getting caught?
West Coast Reel Life January 2019
The cicadas are well and truly out in force now - a walk through any forest leaves you unable to think from all the racket these noisy insects make.
West Coast Reel Life December 2018
The fishing is really starting to pick up on the West Coast as trout look up and focus on large dry flies floating downstream - that provide a high energy...
West Coast Reel Life November 2018
Even though the whitebait season has finished, there are still plenty of prey fish in our river mouths.
West Coast Reel Life September 2018
Prey fish numbers are increasing, trout are feeding well and improving in condition.
West Coast Reel Life August 2018
A little known secret on the West Coast is that the lower reaches of the rivers fish the best early in the season.
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!
West Coast Reel Life April 2018
Autumn has served up some fickle weather for the West Coast this year, with regular rainfall and strong winds.
West Coast Reel Life March 2018
The past month has seen an increase in wet weather events that have discoloured many of the region's coastal lowland rivers.
West Coast Reel Life February 2018
Despite a few rain events during February, in particular flooding from ex-cyclone Fehi, river conditions have been relatively good over the past month.
West Coast Reel Life January 2018
After an abnormally long dry spell for the West Coast, we had a few days of heavy rain last week, then back to fine sunny weather.
West Coast Reel Life December 2017
The weather over the past month has been outstanding, with low clear waters throughout the West Coast Region.
West Coast Reel Life November 2017
Current weather and river flows have made for ideal spring angling conditions, in fact they couldn’t really get any better.
West Coast Reel Life October 2017
The new fishing season has begun, and with it comes the opportunity to fish a huge selection of West Coast rivers and streams once more.
West Coast Reel Life September 2017
With the spring influx of prey fish, trout activity near river mouths has picked up.
West Coast Reel Life August 2017
Spring-conditions have kicked in over recent weeks, with heavy rain followed by warm settled weather.
West Coast Reel Life May 2017
The ‘Coast’ has remained reasonably mild for early winter, with plenty of fishable water in the rivers that remain open over the winter months.
West Coast Reel Life April 2017
Aside from a period of rain last week lifting river flows, conditions this autumn have been superb.
Wellington Reel Life Mar 2017
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
Much of the holiday season has seen El Nino style weather patterns, bringing large amounts of wet weather to the Coast over the past month.
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.
Categories
Archive
- September 2023
- August 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- August 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- May 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017