Canterbury Fishing Report - July 14th, 2022

  • Simon McMillan

Trip to Marlborough worth the effort

It is very well documented that the weather around the whole country this week has been crappy, to say the least. It’s a shame to start the school holidays that way too! 

Saltwater: 
The weather has been against the Canterbury saltwater angler over the past couple of weeks with very little chance of getting out on the water however after mentioning the outer Marlborough Sounds in the last report, I managed a trip up there last weekend myself! I’d almost forgotten what a magnificent part of our country the Marlborough Sounds are. 

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I was invited along with Christchurch’s  Ferrymead Fishing Club - if you’re in the area and looking for a great bunch of guys to join up and fish with, check them out as their annual trip is a cracker. The weather was a little windy on a couple of days, but fishable across the four days we were there. Snapper, kingfish, blue cod, gurnard, john dory, and even a frost fish were caught. The kingies were on the chew in the mornings, with 300gm pink jigs seemed the most productive. We were a little late for the best of the winter topwater action. 

Snapper were taken on various methods, including slider-style slow jigs, slow-pitch jigs and flasher rigs. The frost fish took a slow-pitch jig! Flicking soft-baits in the shallower, more sheltered bays was the method of choice for capturing a tasty feed of gurnard. Without putting too much of a sales pitch in here, I was amazed at how adding a Daiwa Kohga Mega 6 Octopus skirt to any slider-style slow jig enhanced your catch rate!

Simon McMillan with a 9.4kg snapper taken on a slider in the Marlborough Sounds.

Freshwater: 
The school holidays generally see an influx of anglers hitting the canals. That will have been delayed with the weather but the ski fields will be happy.

As a rule, a cold snap will generally bring the fish on the bite, and although it will be bitterly cold down there if the wind gets up, the fishing should be worth it if you layer up! If you are looking for fishing fun with the kids during the holidays, North Canterbury Fish and Game, in conjunction with Mt Cook Alpine Salmon, have released approximately 400 salmon into the children’s fishing lakes at the Groynes on the outskirts of Christchurch. These lakes are open to junior anglers only (under 18 years) and are a great location for introducing young ones to the sport.

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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 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
 

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