Fishing season opens for 2016/17

1 October 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Anglers in their thousands hit the waterways of New Zealand today as the 2016-2017 fishing season got underway.

Anglers in North Canterbury had an opening day for the first time in years because of the urgent winter closure implemented in May.

North Canterbury Fish and Game had closed off the rivers east of the State Highway One bridges in May due to angler concern about the state of the fishery.

At a public meeting in March over 100 anglers voted to close off the fishery so that the salmon and trout had a better chance to get through to the spawning grounds.

With the arrival of October 1 the closed fishery is now open for anglers to enjoy and enjoy they did.

They weren’t put off by the thick fog that was enveloping the Canterbury plains and hit the waterways in their dozens in that elusive hunt to try and catch the first fish of the season.

Angler Dean Hood from Kainga said “that whilst not being able to pop down to the Waimakariri was a bit of a nuisance it was for a good cause” and “the fact that we haven’t been fishing should mean the numbers should be a lot more”.

As the fog burnt off, more and more anglers took advantage of the sunny day to try their luck on the river.

Video Available Here: https://youtu.be/FhtbE8EIMUY

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