The school holidays are now over, parents are seeing some normal routines and fingers crossed we will get some more settled weather to help with everyone’s aspirations of getting out and wetting a line this Labour weekend!

Freshwater:  I mentioned in the last report that Lake Ellesmere was open to the sea, it has closed now, but the food that entered the lake must have been phenomenal; the trout are in magnificent condition. The feeder streams are holding good flows and the trout are fat! Targeting these trout is predominantly at its best in the hours of darkness, and fishing smelt or bully imitations on darker nights, avoiding the moon, tends to be the way to success.

I have also had some truly productive early mornings sight fishing to these trout too. Long leaders and small nymphs are often the answer to nabbing these fish during daylight hours.

I haven’t spoken too much about the canals in recent weeks, but as the year rolls on, the spawning fish will be dropping back down the systems and looking for food to put condition back on after spawning. Concentrating around the cages, where these trout will be feeding, and being prepared to use a mixture of soft-baits, eggs, spoons, and bait to suit the conditions on any given day or days is the key to success. Being adaptable will give you an edge for sure!

Saltwater: The whitebait season is coming to an end, and by the time I write the next installment it will be over! East coast catches remain steady when river/sea and weather allows. As previously mentioned, I can now confirm catches of rig on both kontikis and rod and reel from our local beaches. No elephant fish yet, but they must be close!

Rig are hard fighting and great eating. They will be caught right along our coast, best targeted using shellfish baits like mussels or prawns, remembering your bait elastic to keep these baits on the hook longer! Dirtier water or slightly rougher seas are great for luring these guys to your baits, or fishing into darkness can up your catch rate too!

We have a very active team of keen anglers in our Fishing Department, so please fire any questions our way and we will point you in the right direction to keep you on the fish. Please check out our Facebook page for more info on what we are up to in Canterbury.