[keenfisherman]

Are there any brook char in canterbury and where? Also how would you target them?

thanks

[yellowfin]

There are Brook Char in Lake Pearson. They are quite small and not easily caught. There are also bigger Brook Char in Lake Emily in the Ashburton group. They are a very pretty fish.

[keenfisherman]

i thought it was mackinaw that were in lake pearson, are they the same species or are they different?
thanks.

[Miliwolf]

Different. Brookies occur in quite a few south island headwaters, but they are typically small fish.

Maybe both occur there, its in a book I own but its to late. If I remember I would check tomorrow after work,

[yellowfin]

You are correct the Brook Char ([i:1gkgqois]Salvelinus fontinalis[/i:1gkgqois]) are in Lake Emily; and the Lake Char or Mackinaw ([i:1gkgqois]Salvelinus namaycush[/i:1gkgqois]) are in Lake Pearson. The Lake Char (Mackinaw) in Lake Pearson are quite small up to about 1kg, while the Brook Char in Lake Emily can reach 3kg. Was getting my chars mixed up. Should now be clear as mud!

[keenfisherman]

yip, it is.
thanks

[kbel]

Used to catch Mackinaw up to 2KG in Pearson at the Flock Hill end mainly near where the main road meets the lake in the early days when threadlining was first allowed but that’s a few years ago now.They were a sluggish fish with not much fight.

[Miliwolf]

The main brook char fishery in Canterbury (and New Zealand) is Lake Emily in the Ashburton group. It is fly fishing only water, for obvious reasons the char take the same type of flies as the other trout in the lakes. Brookies are schooling fish, which often stay stationary rather then cruise the edges. So slowly work the edge of the lake, if you spot one there is likely to be more around. They are hard to spook, anything short of being caught would often see them return to their lay after a few minutes. It might take a few trips to get onto them. They are not exactly plentiful.

Due to the fragile state of the fishery, I advise not to keep any brookies and release any which is likely to survive. These also Brown trout in Emily, whack them on the head and throw them into the tussock, the brookies do not need such competition.

[Author]

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