Fishing  Report  June 22nd  2010:

The winter is now with us and the last few days have seen good frosts with cool days. There have also been some wet days with plenty of snow on the mountains. At this time fishing is limited to the Lakes and Hawea and Clutha Rivers.

The most popular locations are mouths of the rivers flowing into the lakes. Fishing these with a streamer is proving productive. Spin fishing and boat trolling these areas is also very popular. Evening fishing the Clutha River is also good value for the hardy fisherman.

With little fishing just now it is time to reflect on the past season. October saw some good fishing in both Lakes Wanaka and Hawea . For the fly fisherman streamers and nymphs were productive. Spin fishing was also very good on these waters. At river mouths and small areas on rivers flowing into the lakes there were good quantities of rainbows.

For the beginning of the season in November the conditions were excellent and some excellent catches were had in the rivers. The lakes were low and fishing well for both fly and spin fishermen. The weather later in the month and early December was at times wet and windy making fishing difficult. Rivers were at times discoloured but when suitable fished very well. Fish were taking dry flies on the lake edges and a sheltered bay can always be found. This proved to be an excellent alternative and very productive.

Late in December, some rain and strong winds made fly fishing difficult. Those anglers who were prepared to be adaptable still achieved success. January was a mixture of good and bad weather with plenty of wind but fishing was very good with dry flies, humpy patterns being the most successful, and on bad day streamers and nymphs also getting results.

Much of February was unkind to the fly fisherman with wind, cloud cover and some rain.

Fishermen that were prepared to be adaptable were able to experience good fly fishing on Lake edges with humpy patterns again and cicadas.

March was excellent for dry fly fishing with rivers and streams mostly in good fishing condition. Lake Wanaka and Hawea were also great with this method.

In April as is usual white bait and streamer patterns were very productive at the river mouths when conditions allowed. Heavy rain at times raised the rivers and lakes to high levels.  Dry fly fishing was still going well on the lakes.

Fishing in May was at times difficult due to weather conditions. Once again there are large numbers of browns up the rivers spawning and again this looks good for the future. Apart from conditions being difficult at times I found it quite a good season.

Enjoy unique New Zealand's remoteness and scenic beauty. Wanaka is a mountain resort and recognised as offering some of the best fishing in New Zealand. The rivers that feed the lakes carry excellent stocks of brown and rainbow trout. The lakes also have quinnet salmon. Our clear Alpine rivers and lakes offer superb sight fishing.

Tight Lines - Richard       Back to main page