Trout - fishing Canterbury in winter

While the main trout fishing season has just ended (30th April), it's definitely not time for the keen trout angler to put away his, or her, trout fishing tackle. Winter fishing offers the chance to escape the crowds. Sometimes fishing is as much about getting out into the outdoors and simply relaxing.

The weather is more settled and allows you to stalk trout along the lake edge, without worrying about gale force nor'-westers which persistently blow across our high-country lakes over the spring and summer.

In some cases there are fishing opportunities that are only available over the winter months: such as targeting trophy-sized rainbows using luminous flies around Lake Coleridge's stream mouths. Just lighting a fire on the lakeshore and cooking a hot meal or smoking a trout, accompanied by a hot cup of coffee, can be a magical experience.

Learn and experiment

Winter is a great time to learn fly fishing skills in preparation for the upcoming season, and the more experienced anglers can take time-out to experiment with new techniques. (Personally, I will be experimenting with fishing lures on various sinking lines so that I can put these new skills to good effect over the main season.)

Winter is also a great time to explore new locations and check them out prior to the main season. Low flows in winter allow you to get a good look at the streambed and any potential fish-holding lies.
Before you head out winter fishing, it is important to consider the method you are going to use and have some knowledge of the fishes' behaviour at that location.

Firstly, there are a few cold facts that you need to be aware of. In particular, the resident brown trout in our lakes become relatively inactive in the middle of winter. Therefore the opportunities for catching browns in late June until mid -August are quite limited. If it is a mild winter (such as those we've experienced in recent years), then it can be possible to stalk cruising browns and sight-fish them on a calm winter's day.

Presentations need to be made delicately with light leaders (say 6x) and small flies (#14-#18). The trout are not going to waste a lot of energy looking at the fly, so accurate presentations on the fish's 'nose' are important. You may see a hundred trout, but only catch one or two. Still, the challenge is there and it keeps you in practice for the main fishing season.

Rainbow trout are a lot more active in our lakes over the winter months compared to browns, and are a better candidate for the lake angler. Also, unlike browns, which spawn in winter, rainbows spawn later on in spring, so they still tend to actively feed over the winter. Landlocked salmon are also a late winter fishing option, especially in August on lakes such as Coleridge as the fish move into shallower water.

As far as the rivers are concerned, most of the ones open during the winter season in Canterbury are brown trout rivers. While most browns will be away spawning, pre-spawning or 'maiden' fish are still actively feeding, especially around the river mouths, so become a likely target. The mid- and lower reaches of the Waitaki and Waimakariri river also offer the opportunity of chasing small rainbows over the colder months.

Winter Tips

Some of the more successful winter techniques and tips are as follows: Tasmanian Devil spinners can be very effective at river mouths for maiden brown trout. Traffic Light and yellow/black patterns are effective.
Sometimes a little extra weight is needed to place the lure into the strike zone. Look for an area where a pocket of slack water joins the river current, and retrieve your lure just on the edge of the slack water, letting the lure drift through the faster water at the end of the swing. Soft rubber lures could also be worth a go.
As the winter ends in late August, the streamer-type patterns (such as Parson's Glory, Jack Sprat and Grey Ghost lures) are effective when fished on a sinking line around river mouths. Browns will be chasing the whitebait and 'silveries' in to river mouths in late winter.

The start of the outgoing tide from the high tide offers the best time for fishing lures. Further up the river, red and silver Veltic spinners get the trout excited and can be weighted with split shot to get them in the strike zone.

Upstream nymphing can also be successful. Use 'attracter' nymph patterns such as gold bead-heads.
As far as lake fishing goes, the number 10 King Cobra is a great rainbow trout lure, especially when fished through shallow water. While trolling can be successful, I have had more success casting a spinner from a drifting boat. The King Cobra and Tasmanian Devil lures are effective on rainbows in Lakes Pearson, Lyndon, Coleridge, Selfe, Alexandrina and Bemnore over the winter. Brightly coloured bibbed lures, such as Rapalas, are also highly effective for rainbows when trolling deeper water such as Coleridge. The fluorescent Rapala sinking lures (green, yellow or pink) also account for many landlocked salmon over the late winter and early spring on Coleridge.

For those who enjoy flyfishing, lure-type flies tend to be the best approach over winter. Hamill's Killer, Mrs Simpson, Woolly Buggers and Rabbits are all successful winter patterns. Lures can be cast over the lake shallows with a floating line, or harled behind the boat on a slow sinking line. If you are fishing lures, it is important to make sure that the lure is taken down close to the lake bed where most of the trout will be holding and feeding.

Casting lures from a drifting boat can be very effective and allows you to cover lots of water. Lake Alexandrina especially, has a reputation for large rainbows (and browns to a lesser extent) which are caught by anglers harling feathered lures from a boat. Yellow Rabbit lures are favoured when fishing for rainbows at locations such as the Ahuriri arm on Lake Benmore.

Personally, my favourite winter fishing is done with a Woolly Bugger (with a luminous bead placed near the tail for added effect) around the river mouths of Lake Coleridge at night. If it is calm you can use a floating line and long trace to place the lure in the strike zone, but if the wind is blowing strongly then a Type-II sinking line helps to get the lure down.

You really have to be on the ball with this type of fishing as the rainbows often gently pluck the lure. You may only get one to two hits a night, but the fish can be trophies. Rainbows from 3 to 9-pounds are taken regularly by anglers fishing the Ryton and Harper rivermouths on Lake Coleridge.

Many rainbows are taken on luminous fly patterns. The largest rainbows are generally taken in the middle of winter as they mill around the river mouths prior to their upstream spawning runs.

The following locations are just some of the options that anglers have available to them over the winter months in Canterbury.

Lake Options

Lake Taylor has a good population of brown trout which can be caught on dragonfly patterns and small feathered lures over the winter. Browns can also be stalked along the lake edge.

Lake Lyndon provides good winter fishing, especially in late August as the rainbows move close into the lake edge prior to spawning. Lake Pearson offers great sight fishing along the edges on a calm winter's day for brown trout. Water Boatman patterns or a small Hamill's Killer are deadly.

Lake Coleridge would have to be my favourite location. Watching the shooting stars reflecting off the lake's waters while fishing lures at night for trophy rainbows makes Lake Coleridge a real wilderness fishing experience - and it's only one and a half hours' drive from town, too.

Lake Alexandrina offers outstanding fishing for large browns and rainbows. Harling and fishing small, feathered lures from a dinghy over the deep holes on the northern part of the lake is effective. Lake Benmore offers both outstanding boat fishing for rainbows (off the Ahuriri rivermouth) and for browns (sight fishing along the edges using water boatman or snail patterns).

River options

The lower reaches of the Clarence, Waimakariri, Rakaia and Waitaki Rivers all offer great spin fishing for small trout (1 to 3-pounds) over the winter. Spin fishing, upstream nymphing and fishing wet fly lures down and across on a sinking line are all proven winter techniques.

At the end of the day, fishing is all about an enjoyable outdoor experience. Make sure that you take lots of warm clothing, a pair of neoprene waders, lots of hot food and a thermos of hot drink. Taking time to prepare all the comforts will not only add to your enjoyment, it will also allow you to have better concentration while fishing - and that's important.