Trout fishing in New Zealand

[cruisecraft]

Hi Raiders,

I went to New Zealand for 4 weeks and managed to fish both islands for 3 days. My big fishing day was supposed to be from a charter out of Whitianga for "kungfish"(kiwi for kingfish), but it was cancelled due to strong winds. Anyway I had bought a new travel rod from that 3 alphabet shop, to fit in the luggage and took 2 reels and a few lures for trout fishing with me if the opportunity presented. Needless to say, I managed to create opportunities on those 3 days .

For non residents, the fresh water fishing licence fee for a day is NZ$35, easily done online but it is very important to read the local regulations carefully as there are many different rules for different places.

I had heard about hydro canal fishing for trout in the South Island, and tales that the trout are monster size. My first spot was at Tekapo canal near the salmon farms about mid morning. Due to the excess feed from the salmon farming that makes its way through the netting and into the waters of the canal, the trout in the canals are huge. Unfortunately, this spot near the salmon farm was unproductive that session. We(wife/me) went off to do some sight seeing for the rest of the day. After an early dinner, at about 7pm I headed back to Tekapo canal but closer to Tekapo A power station. This time, I could see some trout jumping out of the water as well as cruising about, just metres away. around 8pm , I heard that beautiful sound, zzzzzzzzzzz from my reel. I knew it was a good fish and 20mins later, a 72cm, 5.5kg rainbow was landed.

 

Without a landing net and in the excitement of landing the trout onto the bank of the canal, I broke the rod tip of the new travel rod. But I didn't feel any pain from the damage, as  it was all smiles from me for a very, very long time.

The lure was a 7cm  jointed Rapala

The next night, my wife put this on for dinner and with some Central Otago pinot, it was a top meal.

Oh, after we caught the trout, we gave most of it away to a German couple(tourists) fishing nearby, as it was too much food for us.

The next morning about 8am, I was back at the same spot, with the same lure and on the 2nd cast, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. That beautiful sound again . This fish was much bigger, it took > 200 yards of line and and it was smart. It swam into the middle of the canal and used the flow of the current to assist itself. After about 20 mins, hardly getting any line back and the drag nearly on lock, the hooks pulled. However I was not upset as I was still on a high, and I would have released the catch anyway. It was a top experience fishing the hydro canal at Tekapo.

Later in the holiday when we were at Wanaka, I checked out Deans Bank. This spot is the Mecca for fly fishers, and it is about 3 km of fly fishing heaven. Closer to Albert Town Bridge, there is a 600m zone for spin fishing which I did do but I did not have any hits or follows. I also did not see any trout at Deans Bank orat the spin area.

At Whitianga, after the kungfish trip was cancelled, I went to the Whangamaroro river and tried my luck there. Driving up 309 road, yes that is the actual name, and most of it is gravel, we pulled into Gamers Hole reserve and fished 2 of the pools there. I had many hits with hookups but only landed the one 35cm rainbow trout. I believe this was due to my rod being shorter and losing that vital extra flexibility of the tip and letting the fish throw the lure due to the stiffer rod tip. One of the fish lost was probably about 50cm visually

I threw this one onto the BBQ hotplate at the park.

New Zealand is a great place for a holiday and for a fish. People there are friendly and polite.

Cheers

 

Regards Kit

ps The first photo was taken close to darkness and hence the wife's camera work can be forgiven as part of the fish is missing

 

 

[Yowie]

Bugger about the cancelled kingie trip, however, that trout is a chunky one and worth the effort. Sounds like a fun time when you had time to fish.

[LuckyFil]

You weren’t kidding when you said “monster trout”!

Great report and pics.

[bessell1955]

Great fish, how well did it eat?

[Houdini]

Great catches there Kit.

How did your wife prepare the "sashimi" trout?

It looks partially cooked is that right?

[GordoRetired]

What a great fish. Well done

[Rebel]

Super report & Top photos.

Great trip.

[R E G I C Y C L E]

Awesome report... those hydro canal fish are monsters.

[Volitan]

Great fish and something I’d love to do too.

I’ve heard that those salmon farms will be moved soon. Did you hear that?

[cruisecraft]

23 hours ago, bessell1955 said:

Great fish, how well did it eat?

20 hours ago, Houdini said:

Great catches there Kit.

How did your wife prepare the "sashimi" trout?

It looks partially cooked is that right?

The section we kept was about a 7cm cross section slice of the fish at the belly. The belly part(otoro) was sashimied and the upper part of the fish was pan fried but only cooked with the skin side down so it is crispy but the flesh a bit under cooked so the meat was moist and juicy. It was coated with some salt and pepper prior to cooking. It was great eating, yum

 

10 hours ago, Volitan said:

Great fish and something I’d love to do too.

I’ve heard that those salmon farms will be moved soon. Did you hear that?

That's news to me. Those canal trout are monsters.