Reel Life September 2022

Regular rainfall and a wet summer meant many of the rivers remained in good health for trout even through the normally dry months.

This will be beneficial to the coming season with what we expect to be good spawning and recruitment.

The Manawatu River was a standout.

Consistent flows and frequent freshes limited weed build-up and generally kept water temperatures at tolerable levels for trout.

Above Right:A beautifully-conditioned brown trout from a Wairarapa small stream (Copyright: Hamish Carnachan)

When summer drought hits the region, the Manawatu River often suffers from low flows and algal blooms, which combine to cause low dissolved oxygen levels.

Resultantly, trout move out of the mainstem as a survival mechanism, leaving it seemingly depleted.

That didn’t happen this year, and it fished consistently overly the season with both excellent catch rates and trout condition reported.

Local anglers boasted some of the best fishing in years in the reaches along the Manawatu walkaway in the middle of town.

While our fish counts for the Hutt catchment were down slightly, the fishery remains in excellent health and some superb catches were had on what can often be a challenging river.

The weather also made fishing our other major river system – the Rangitikei – trying because it takes a long time to clear following rain.

When favourable conditions prevailed, however, the fishing was on fire and trout counts in the mid-reaches were described by one staffer as “staggering” and some superb fish landed right the way down to Tangimoana.

If you haven’t fished these middle reaches before, hit it this season!

Tight Lines

Hamish Carnachan, WellingtonFish & Game Officer / Communications