The expansion of salmon farms has increased the potential for large-scale escapes of farmed salmon as it only takes one net hole for a whole school to make it to freedom. This era of large escapes of may not last as cage technology will likely improve, but this year multiple break-outs have boosted angling opportunities for recreational anglers. We might as well make the most of it, writes Peter Langlands.

As the Mackenzie break-out in the winter of 2019 certainly got a lot of publicity, resulting in a ‘gold rush’ mentality and over-excited harvesting taking place, this article will focus on the multiple escapes from the Akaroa Salmon Farm. The last escape involved around 4000 fish in the 3kg range, which is a significant amount of salmon. This escape was the last of three that have taken place this year. As I write, in late September, catch rates are still high for those anglers putting the time in. Typically, you will encounter two to six fish during a good session, but bear in mind that even for farm-escaped fish, there is a recreational limit in the marine environment of two fish per person. The salmon are now actively feeding on wild food sources, so are likely to keep their condition on for a while. I predict that solid numbers of good-conditioned salmon will continue to be encountered in Akaroa Harbour up to Christmas time (and maybe beyond).

The salmon now appear widespread through the entire harbour and escaped fish are still gathering around the cages of the salmon farm, which is located on the outer south-western corner of Akaroa Harbour. But overall, most catches have been in the upper half of the harbour as the salmon are actively feeding in shallow water, no doubt where they can herd up baitfish. Small yelloweyed mullet, wild anchovies and shrimps are all found in the salmons’ stomachs – the escaped salmon must be having a big impact on the harbour’s marine ecology! Salmon do tend to move in schools so you may, if landbased, have to be patient and wait for a few hours before you encounter some fish.

Wharf fishing

All of the wharves in the harbour have been fishing well for salmon, with the main Akaroa Wharf being the most consistent. The slack low-tide period, and to a lesser extent the slack high tide, provide the best fishing for salmon at the main wharf. Other wharves higher up in the harbour tend to fish well on the slack high tide. For some reason the salmon feed most actively on days when the sea is calm and there is little tidal movement. Overall, float fishing has been the most effective method for fishing off the wharf, with anchovy, pilchard and yelloweyed mullet strip baits working well. Prawns and other baits also work at times.

You are allowed to fish up to four rods, so depending on how many other people are around, fishing multiple rods is a good option. However, I have found it most practical to fish only three rods when float fishing with different baits and using a stopper knot to fish the baits at different depths. Placing a lightly- weighted bait about 1.8m below the surface is most effective but on high tides, dropping the baits down to 3m can also work. It is important to let the salmon swim away with the bait for three to five seconds before striking to give the fish a chance to swallow the bait. For that reason, I like to use as small a float as possible, as salmon are sensitive to feeling pressure and will potentially drop the bait. Bait elastic helps with keeping the bait firmly on and I like to keep the shiny silver skin showing, when fishing baits under the float, to attract the salmons’ attention.

Jigging paddle tailed soft-baits off the wharf is also highly effective. The salmon like feeding around the wharf structure at times, so jigging around the wharf pilings can be effective. Jigging a soft-bait in mid water works well. At times, casting and retrieving soft-baits, especially towards any surface activity, will work, as salmon actively pursue baitfish to the surface.

Akaroa Harbour has a good range of wharves to target salmon from.

Boat and Kayak Fishing

Akaroa Harbour also provides lots of kayaking and boating options for targeting salmon. A good tactic is trolling to cover the water and then jigging once you have located some fish. The spotted shags, often accompanied by white-fronted terns flying above, are good markers of where the salmon are feeding (along with shoals of kahawai and barracouta which are also frequently encountered in the harbour). The upper harbour is ideal for trolling and you should start in shallow water and work deeper until you find the salmon. Over time it is likely the salmon will spread out over larger areas, so boat fishing will come into its own – as fish numbers decline, the wharf fishing will probably slow down. But the salmon do show a tendency to hang around structure, so trolling and soft-baiting while drifting around boat moorings is also worthwhile.

When targeting salmon, I like to use long sensitive rods, 20lb braid as a mainline and an 18lb fluorocarbon trace. The fish are powerful and will do lots of head shaking and erratic powerful runs, so having a long sensitive rod that cushions these movements and allows you to keep steady pressure on the fish will improve your landing rate. At times the salmon can fight dirty and head in under the wharf, which is always a nerve-wracking experience, and I once lost five fish in a row. When the fish behave like this, trace lines up to 25lb are required. Finally, having a good hoop net to lower down is the best way to land the salmon from the wharf.

Hoop nets are required to land fish when wharf fishing.

It is likely there are still at least several thousand fish remaining in the harbour from the last escape (and from previous escapes). Akaroa Harbour is a very scenic location with lots of holiday homes available and a great escape for a relaxing weekend, being just over an hour from Christchurch. So, make the most of this escape and come down for a visit!