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Reel Life North Canterbury Jan 2012
Check out the top places to fish in North Canterbury this February...
1. Dry fly fishing high country lakes and rivers
February is a great time of the year to get into dry fly fishing as trout are looking upwards for food. Warmth is the trigger for aquatic insects to change into their adult terrestrial form, and there’s nothing like seeing the jaws of a trout engulfing a dry fly. February sees cicadas and Manuka beetles become part of the trout’s diet. A good tip is to fish the lakes when there’s a slight breeze that blows these insects over the water.
2. Salmon fishing
February is a great time to chase salmon. If the river is low and clear, fish at the river mouth or in the surf where the fish tend to congregate. If the river is dropping after a recent fresh, fish up river where the odds are better than at the mouth. Look out for good salmon holes: places where the water is deeper and slower flowing than the water around it, but still very close to, or connected to the main stem of the river.
Most of the time deeper, slower water is created by some sort of barrier immediately upstream of the pool, such as a shingle bar or willow tree which slows the flow and acts as something of a ‘breakwater’ to prevent scouring-out of the pool.
Fish & Game have produced angler access guides for the Rakaia, Waimakariri, Hurunui and Waiau rivers. You can find them on our North Canterbury fishing locations and access page.
Upcoming salmon fishing competitions
Rakaia River: 24th, 25th and 26th of February. Refer to www.rakaiasalmon.co.nz for more details.
Waimakariri River: 10 March (backup date 24 March). Refer to www.nzsalmonanglers.co.nz for more details.
3. Watching kids fishing at the Groynes
Fish and Game will be stocking the Groynes Fishing Lakes with salmon through February, so head out there with the kids. And don’t forget to fossick around under the compost heap for some worms to use as bait. If you can’t find any, head to the supermarket and pick up some small pink shrimp. Use a float and position the bait at least one metre below the water. Use a hook about the same size as your thumb nail. If you are spin fishing, use a small spinner with line less than ten pounds and remember the golden rule: dark day –dark spinner, bright day –
bright spinner. Tell the kids to retrieve the lure at a pace that avoids it being dragged along in weed or use a lighter lure. If you don’t have fishing rods for the kids, you can borrow them from Fish & Game. Call 03-366 9191 for more details.
4. Fishing with the kids at Lake Lyndon
A recent change in regulations means kids are now allowed to bait fish at Lake Lyndon. This is a nice place to take the kids for a high country fishing experience, as it’s only one hour from Christchurch and Fish & Game stock the lake with rainbow trout.
