Activity | Fishing | Summer
For the keen fisherman/woman, the Queenstown area has an abundant stock of trout (rainbow and brown) and salmon (Chinook), where you can easily spend a pleasant day by the water.
The Rees, Greenstone and Dart river mouths are considered good fishing spots, and there are numerous quiet hideaways where families can settle in for a picnic while the anglers cast for lunch. Most of the fishing on the West of Lake Wakatipu is accessible only by boat. Boats are available for charter and many tours are available, where the skipper can take you to the best places around.
Background to our fish:
Trout and salmon were introduced to New Zealand during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The successful breeds were rainbow trout, mainly descended from Californian steelheads, European brown trout and Chinook salmon from North America.
Rainbow trout are a beautiful black-speckled silver-coloured fish, with a flash of colour along their sides – hence the name. They are one of New Zealand’s most popular game fish.
Brown trout range from silver to golden-brown, with vivid black speckling. They are more abundant than rainbow trout, but warier and harder to catch (which is probably why there are more of them!).
Our world-famous salmon have an interesting history. The Chinook salmon were imported from the McCloud River in California over 100 years ago, and New Zealand is the only place outside their natural habitat where the fish have flourished. Damming has endangered the original McCloud River salmon population, so in 2010 a group of Winnimem Wintu, a native American tribe with sacred links to the fish, came to New Zealand in the hopes of bringing some of their ancestors home. The delegation was well received, especially by local Māori, and the first shipment of salmon roe should be returning to California in 2017, to a man-made river system which will bypass the dams and take them back to their traditional spawning grounds.
Lake Wakatipu is home to large stocks of both trout and salmon, with good lakeside access in many places. There is good road access to many fishing spots around the lake.
Fishing Season: There is a defined season – the new season commences on the first Saturday in November each year, and scales down on 30 April when most spawning rivers and streams close.
Bringing Fishing Gear into NZ Customs: make sure you DECLARE waders, wading boots and other equipment. MAF/Biosecurity officers may wish to clean, disinfect or fumigate it for you. Felt soled wading boots are now illegal for freshwater anglers.
Bringing Flies to New Zealand – Flies are permitted but they have to be declared to customs. It is inadvisable to bring feathers and fur into New Zealand. They will have to be fumigated and could even be confiscated. Again, it is essential to declare any such item to customs.
Note: Don’t try to catch the beautiful semi-tame trout at the Queenstown underwater observatory – they are strictly for viewing only! You will need a permit to fish, which can be purchased from Fish and Game NZ, and fishing is not allowed in Queenstown Bay.
cost: Licences range from NZ$25 per angler, per 24 hour day
buy a licence online from Fish & Game NZ here