Canterbury Lure Rod In Action

By Allan Burgess

The object is to maximise the time your lures are in the strike zone. Cast upstream on a 45 degree angle and retrieve the line by mending, or short strips, to impart a stop/start action to the feathered lure.  The lures sink down until close to the bottom and swing around to the bank. At which point the angler lifts his rig from the water and repeats the process. Just how this is done is best explained in this short video of the Canterbury Lure Rod in action by salmon or sea-run brown anglers fishing the Rakaia River gut. 

The current near the mouths of rivers like the Rakaia and Rangitata can be so fast that zed spinners simply plane to the surface. Salmon stick close to the stones when entering the river because the water at the bottom flows much slower than at the surface. 

Basic Lure Rod Setup

A Canterbury lure rod is a type of heavy fly rod about ten feet in length. A large capacity single action fly reel is used to store the heavy monofilament line used instead of a conventional fly line. The reason for the heavy mono (30-40lb) is so that it doesn’t cut into your fingers. To the end of the mono is attached a lead weight and swivel arrangement, and to this, about 2 metres of lighter mono (say 15-20 lb) is connected and the lure (also called a streamer fly) is tied at the end. Some anglers prefer the lure traces to be shorter, while others have them quite long. It is important to use lighter line for your traces so as to avoid losing your sinkers should one of your hooks become snagged on partly a buried tree branch for example.

It is almost always fished with two lures (feathered streamer flies). Here are the typical terminal rigs used with the Canterbury lure rod. Many Canterbury anglers also use this two hook rig with spinning gear to fish the surf for kahawai, salmon and sea-run trout when conditions are favourable.

Gear Loses

You must watch to ensure your two traces don’t tangle together or form a knot. If either occurs don’t re-cast until you have remedied the tangle. A certain number of loses is inevitable. With experience fewer gear loses will occur. The ability to tie your own lures is obviously a big advantage in this regard.

The rod is quite specialised because it must have a slow action to be able to cast the heavyweights, up to 2 ounces, slowly enough without tangling the long traces. A lure rod must also be powerful enough to fight 40 pounds of angry salmon intent on heading back out to sea. Your reel must have an equally strong drag system to sustain a potentially long and sustained fight between angler and fish. At the same time because much short casting is involved the whole outfit must not be excessively heavy. 

The rod and reel needed are specialised tackle which you will have to be purchase or borrowed just to try it out. You may or may not enjoy this fishing method. If you don’t like it, the rod and reel won’t be much use for any other style of fishing!

Canterbury lure rod is a local innovation designed for salmon and sea-run brown trout fishing in fast-flowing Canterbury rivers.

• Key technique involves casting a feathered lure upstream at a 45° angle and retrieving with a stop/start motion to keep the lure near the bottom.

• The rod: Heavy, slow-action, about 10 feet long, used with a single action fly reel and heavy (30-40lb) monofilament line.

• Lead weights and a lighter leader (15-20lb) are used, typically rigged with two feathered streamer flies/lures.

• The rod must be strong to handle heavy fish and avoid tangling.

Advantages:

• Effective in milky water and high river flows where other lures struggle.

• Reliable for both salmon and sea-run trout, particularly early in the season.

• Locals and regulars, especially near the Rakaia mouth, often use this method.

Disadvantages and reputation:

• Higher risk of foul hooking, especially in narrow or dirty water.

• Some misuse the method to illegally snag fish, harming its reputation.

• Requires more space than spinning, leading to crowding issues with other anglers.

• Not all anglers enjoy it due to constant casting and heavier gear.

• Lures used: Mostly patterns imitating smelt – Grey Ghost, Muddler Rabbit, Hopes Dark, Yellow Rabbit, Hope’s Silvery, and Brunton No.1.

Lure Rods Sometimes Gets Bad Press

The Canterbury lure rod has had much bad press over the years. I believe there are several reasons for this. Firstly, it is a method that can be used in narrow channels, and milky water, where there is a good chance of foul hooking fish. It is also true that there is probably more likelihood of foul hooking with a lure rod than a Zed spinner.

If a salmon is foul-hooked it is soon obvious. Instead of the typical head shaking, nodding, and solid heavy pull, (not unlike hooking a floating log with its own outboard) a foul-hooked fish is far more likely to perform acrobatics, and shoot up out of the water. It will most likely be side onto the line and will be very difficult to play or lead, so will take a long time to bring in. In this situation, it is best to simply tighten up on your line and break the fish off. It is better to try to hook another legally in the mouth than to waste an hour playing with a fish you are going to have to release anyway.

Some “scoundrels” have given the Canterbury lure rod a bad name by not breaking off foul hooked fish and releasing them, but instead keeping them. Worse still is the quite illegal practice of shortening the leader and ripping the fly across the current in a deliberate attempt to illegally foul hook fish, which it goes without saying, they have no intention of releasing. This practice of “scratching” or “stroke hauling” is quite rightly not on. However, you can’t blame the lure rod angler who fishes his gear properly and releases any foul hooked fish for the actions of a few idiots, any more than you can consider banning cars because they kill people.

Lure Rod Anglers Require More Casting Space

A second reason that lure rods are unpopular with some salmon anglers is that a lure angler needs more room to fish his gear. The lure angler swings his weighted line around behind him and out over the water and upstream, rather than casting as one would with a conventional fly fishing outfit. Obviously, this requires more space if a sharp pain in the ear of a neighbouring angler is to be avoided. A minimum of about 15 feet on either side is needed to fish a Canterbury lure rod. Spinning, on the other hand, allows many anglers to fish in close proximity, with their shoulders almost touching.

days when very large numbers of anglers are crowding the gut, many spin anglers resent the space-hogging antics of some lure fishermen. In this situation, I would either: move somewhere else if I wanted to continue fishing the lure rod: or otherwise change to spinning gear. This is not to say that it shouldn’t be a case of “first up best dressed” in that if you were there first with your lure rod, spin anglers should go somewhere else. But in a crowded situation who needs the hassle of having to check repeatedly that the “coast is clear” before casting? I have witnessed a few arguments on this one. Sometimes when several lure rod anglers fish close together they will synchronise their cast and retrieve so as to avoid casting over the others gear causing a tangle of lines.

Some Anglers Never Master the Casting Rhythm Required of the Canterbury Lure Rod

Thirdly, some anglers don’t enjoy fishing with a Canterbury lure rod. I have spoken to many salmon anglers who have tried it and didn’t like it. The need for continuous casting, combined with the weight of the rod, reel and sinker simply doesn’t appeal! The casting and retrieval method requires takes practice to master. Old hands make it seem effortless as they go into a sort of trace-like autopilot state gradually working their way downstream.

On a trip down to the mouth of the Rakaia River, I noted that of the 100 odd anglers I could see fishing the lower reaches, 90 per cent were fishing a Canterbury lure rod. Many were hut owners and locals. Later in the season when good numbers of salmon begin running, the ratio of lure anglers to spin fishermen will drop considerably!

The Canterbury Lure Rod is a Good Option for Sea-run Brown Trout Especially if the Water is Little Discoloured

A lure rod is the best option when the river is still running high and carrying a bit of colour. Sea-run brown trout will readily take a fly in fast water near the mouths of Canterbury’s big rivers, as they chase the silveries, and are a welcome bonus when fishing the lure rod.

Once you settle into the rhythm of casting with the lure rod it becomes surprisingly easy and enjoyable. You don’t need to cast very far 15-20m maximum. Cast upstream and follow the angle of your line with the rod tip. You can cast overhead style or simply let the lead swing out like a pendulum. Try to keep a reasonably tight line at all times to stay in touch with your lures. When a fish hits lift your rod tip. Even if you only suspect a fish has touched your lure lift your rod tip immediately to set the hook.