Prolific gurnard

Autumn has arrived, and with it some hot weather in Canterbury. It feels like everything we wished for in summer with the weather has arrived now! However, we all know that it won’t last, and the roar, duck season, and winter fishing will soon be upon us, and we’ll be longing for spring! But for now, let’s make the most of the end of the season.

Freshwater

As a long-suffering salmon angler, this season has been nothing other than disappointing! The quantity of fish combined with the size has been dismal, but there may be a small glimmer of hope that a few might just surprise us. It has been raining in the Alps overnight, and we are yet to see a fresh through our rivers in 2025, so here’s hoping that we see a rise in river levels, and few fishing scooting up the rivers. Rumours of a handful of fish coming out of the lower Waimak and some smaller fish showing up in the Waitaki are the best I’ve heard in recent weeks.

The trout fishing has been far more productive in the high country though, lakes and rivers have been low, but the quality of fish has been great. The continued warmer weather has seen dry fly action in both the rivers and lake margins, so make the most of this before it cools down. Already we are seeing larger congregations of trout around the stream mouths in the lakes with the anticipation of spawning. It is a great time of year to target this trout as they are in great condition pre-spawning, often aggressive so bite hard, and fight even harder! The same applies to targeting trout around the cages in the canals at this time of year too, with trout focusing on spawning and getting condition on to do so.

Simon with a beautiful Lake Coleridge rainbow trout.

Saltwater

A little bit of rinse and repeat from my previous report sorry. The two standout items again are the prolific gurnard catches around our coast and marlin. It appears the summer of South Island gamefishing is continuing, Marlin reports continue to roll in, and appear to be right along the west coast, with the upper area being the most productive. There are bluefin and yellowfin tuna also, and an unconfirmed mahimahi off Westport. All extremely exciting stuff!

Gurnard appear to have become the mainstay of our coastline for the surfcasters at the moment. I haven’t encountered an elephant fish in my last few trips out, but I haven’t been out without catching a gurnard – a bit like the freshwater portion, make the most of it while you can. Kahawai have still been about our river mouths, and the Waimak has probably had the higher numbers in the past few weeks. Once again, as the cooler weather takes hold our kingie population thins out too. Reports are showing that the numbers have already dropped away a little, but the size of those fish remaining has been solid in many cases – again, get into them while you can!

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.

Simon McMillan

Christchurch Hunting and Fishing New Zealand

75 Clarence Street, Addington, Christchurch

03 3430212

https://www.facebook.com/ballingershf.co.nz

www.huntingandfishing.co.nz