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The Rakaia River mouth from the south side. You can see just how short the gut is in this view taken on 28 November 2010. |
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Whitebaiters at the Rakaia River mouth. The gut is very short and running straight out to sea. |
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A great setup for whitebaiting and searun trout fishing with this quad bike at the Rakaia River Mouth. |
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Surfers at the Rakaia River Mouth. |
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Searun trout fishing with the Canterbury lure rod. |
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Whitebaiter and his assistant. |
All the talk from the locals at South Rakaia Huts was that the mouth was no good for searun trout and salmon fishing because the river was running straight out to sea and the gut was very short. The often hear comment was that we need a flood to change the mouth.
Generally speaking a fresh, or flood, attracts salmon and trout to enter the river mouth attracted by the freshwater. Some kahawai had been caught days earlier by several mates fishing from the south side but the fishing season seems to have gotten off to a slow start. Searun trout have been taken but there doesn't seem to have been much activity from seabirds chasing silveries as yet. Still, it is early days in the season.
Whitebaiting appears to have been better from the north side of the mouth for a change. The sweep of the river has certainly favoured the north side anglers so far.
I also head from a mate that several salmon had been taken close to the bank on the north side upstream, and down a side-stream off the main flow. My mate was dubious about that report. But such is the talk among Rakaia River mouth anglers went nothing much is happening.
One thing I have noticed on my trips down to South Rakaia Huts this season is that the number of anglers fishing for searuns in the evenings seems to be fewer than in previous years.
One of the luxuries of having a bach there is the ability to fish the first couple of hours at day break then go back home for a sleep. Then later return in the evening to fish for a few hours either side of sun set. First light in the morning is always the best time to fish the surf or river gut for salmon. That way you get first crack at any salmon that have arrived off the mouth over night. Such fish will have never seen a ticer in their whole lives and so are more likely to bite if you can get a cast with in range.
Strangely the Rakaia River mouth appears to me to be in exactly the same place it was a year ago. So I guess we haven't had the heavy rain and floods in the mountains that we often do in early spring. It likes like we may be headed for a dry summer.
I see in a recent report from Fish & Game officer Steve Terry that a 28 lb salmon has been caught above the SH1 bridge on the Rakaia River. If correct that is a very good fish the size of which I haven't seen for some years now.
I well remember back around 1996 when such fish around the 30 lb mark were fairly common. Grant Perry caught the Heaviest Salmon Overall in the last Rakaia River Salmon Fishing Competition 2010 with a fish weighing 8.10kg which by my calculations is just short of 18 lbs. So a 28 lb salmon would certainly be a big fish. Finally, having fished the Rakaia River mouth for 30 years or so, recently I was surprised to see several surfers in wets suits launch themselves on boards into the river and float out through the mouth into the crashing breakers. I had seen surfers before further along the beach but never actually witnessed them float out through the river mouth into the surf.
Related articles include: Salmon, Searun Trout or a Kahawai, also Trout Near Christchurch, fishing with the Canterbury Lure Rod and Selwyn River Brownies. Young salmon being released at Montrose in the head waters of the upper Rakaia River Salmon. South Rakaia is also good for surfcasting. Rakaia River Mouth Trout and Salmon Fishing. |
