Fishing in New Zealand

The country of New Zealand is recognized as an outdoorsman’s paradise and the same can be said for the fisherman. With an endless selection of lakes, rivers, and the ocean, fisherman visiting the land downunder can easily find a fishing spot of their dreams.

Trout fishing was first brought into New Zealand in 1867 when British immigrants transported brown trout eggs into the country. Rainbow trout was introduced in 1883 when they arrived in Auckland from California. The eggs were placed into Lake Taupo in the North Island. The abundant sources of food enabled the fish to grow into the right size for sports within three years. Trout fishing has since grown into an extremely popular sport and the New Zealand trout is acknowledged as a top sport fish and frequently found as the featured dish as the dinner table. However, trout is not available at restaurants because there are no commercial trout hatcheries in the country. There are a few unique restaurants in New Zealand who will gladly prepare your trout catch for you.

Both saltwater and freshwater fishing spots are easily accessible and any property that has not been identified as private can be used for fishing. In addition to brown, brook, and rainbow trout, lucky anglers can often catch marlin, salmon, tuna, snapper, kingfish, shark, and kahawai.

Fishing seasons vary between the North Island and South Island. In the North Island, the season typically begins in October and ends at the end of June. The South Island’s season also begins in October but goes only until the end of April. Some of the southern lakes will only be open until the end of May. Lake Taupo and the lower streams on its east side remain open and fished all year around.

New Zealand requires fishing licenses which can be obtained at any of the local sport shops and are good for fishing in any of the twenty-two fishing districts, except Rotorua and Taupo. Special licenses are required for those areas and can be purchased from the sports shops or hotels. A license can be bought on a daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal basis. The wardens do make rounds to check for the proper licenses and the fines are steep.

New Zealand also offers guided tours for fishing. Many companies will include the fishing gear, such as waders, reels, fishing rods, tackle, and clothing that is waterproof. Those fishing on their own should bring with them a medium-weight, two-piece fishing rod. It is also important to note importing fishing flies or lures which are made of chicken feathers are banned and illegal in New Zealand because of the potential to introduce poultry disease.

Another area of concern regarding fishing in New Zealand waters is Didymo. Didymo is also known as “rock snot”. It grows on the river rocks and denies other forms of algae from growing. Since the algae is a food source for the fish, areas where Didymo grow make fishing more difficult. Didymo is not considered to be harmful to humans but it is essential to clean any piece of equipment, including fishing gear and boats that have come into contact with Didymo affected waters to prevent the spread of Didymo spreading to other areas.