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fishing.net |
New Zealand’s Major Sportfish
New Zealand offers some of the most spectacular sport fishing
opportunities in the world, hosting a wide variety of different game
fish that often reach their maximum size in our waters. The following
is a brief summary of our more popular sport fish including where and
when to target them.
Fresh Water
Trout:
The New Zealand trout fishery is undoubtedly as good as it gets. Almost
every freshwater system hosts both browns and rainbow trout that grow
exceptionally large by world standards. The North Island has
predominantly rainbows, with lake Taupo and the Rotorua lakes being the
most popular places. The Fish and Game Council control the stock levels
in these lakes superbly, ensuring anglers are satisfied with both the
number and size of fish. A multitude of guides are available in both
regions to ensure you don’t go home empty handed.
The Tongariro River is the major spawning river for lake Taupo.
During the winter months of May through to September, rainbows
averaging around the 5lb mark pour up this river in there thousands,
making it a favourite destination for a lot of anglers.
For a backcountry experience close to Taupo, the central plateau
offers some of the finest fly-fishing in the world. Gin clear waters
and trophy trout attract anglers looking for the trout stalking
experience of a lifetime.
Other hot spots are Lakes Aniwhenua and Waikarimoana where you can
have a crack at the spawning rainbows in the winter or fish for both
browns and rainbows cruising around the edges during the summer months.
The East Cape and Hawkes bay have hundreds of excellent rivers and
streams that can be fished all year round and host resident fish as
well as sea run fish in the lower reaches.
In the South Island, the brown trout is the predominant species,
with the majority of its rivers and lakes holding good numbers of them.
The Southern Alps run the length of the island and feed a multitude of
rivers of varying sizes. This provides numerous options and makes it a
superb destination for those wanting to get into the backcountry and
stalk trophy trout. The entire South Island is a Mecca for trout
fishermen but the favoured areas are Nelson, the sparsely populated
West Coast, Fiordland, Southland and Otago. All areas provide year
round fishing but summer is the prime time when the conditions are
settled and the insect life is abundant.
Salmon:
The South Island has the only sea run salmon fishery in the southern
hemisphere. Quinnat salmon introduced from North America around the
turn of the century successfully established in the major snow fed
rivers, particularly in Canterbury. Salmon have a life cycle of three
or four years, with larger fish returning to the river they were
hatched from as four year olds. They spend their first year of life in
the river system in which they were spawned increasing in size to
around 30g before migrating to sea for the other two or three years of
life prior to return. Size and numbers of fish returning vary markedly
from year to year depending on such factors as river conditions in the
first year of life and currents and feed in the ocean environment, but
typically three year old fish are around 7kg and four year olds around
12Kg at return.
Rivers like the Waimakari, Rakaia and Rangitata have fish returning
from November until April with the peak of the run around February.
Fish are caught throughout the rivers from the sea around the mouth up
to the headwaters, with best fishing just after a flood. Most commonly
quinnat salmon are taken on metal lures like Z spinners, but they will
take streamer type feather lures fished on a heavy fly rod.
Source www.fishing.net.nz
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