Night Time Lurking – Fishing Lake Ellesmere and its Tributaries

Night Time Lurking – Fishing Lake Ellesmere and its Tributaries; Harts, Irwell, Halswell, Selwyn and the LII 

Night Time Lurking words and pictures courtesy of Timothy Nicol

I’ve been fishing Lake Ellesmere and its tributaries since the mid-’90s, and it’s always been full of life. Some years are better than others, but overall, whitebait and smelt are plentiful. This has to come down to the opening of the lake, especially the timing and duration of the “cutting” at Taumutu, more on that later. The tributaries of Lake Ellesmere are famous for their big brown trout, both resident fish and new arrivals fresh from the sea. The later bright silver sea-run browns run up into the lake when the cutting is opened to lower the lake level.

Trout congregate around the river mouths and move into the lower reaches of the tributaries chasing smelt, whitebait and silveries under the cover of darkness. Hence, fishing after dark has long been popular with anglers fishing the area. Anglers arrive in the early evening and then continue fishing, or nighttime lurking, long after the sun goes down.

Why Night Fishing is a Great Strategy

• High reward: Because the sea-run trout are coming in when the lake cuts open, you’re potentially fishing very productive feeding runs.
• Less competition: At night, fewer anglers; quieter, more favourable for big shy trout.
• Trophy potential: The article mentions very large trout (double-digit), so night lurking can lead to big catches.
• Multi-species opportunity: You might hook not just trout, but eels and other fish, depending on your lure and timing.

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I have a good friend whose family used to own Coe’s Ford when it was a dry sheep station, and back then, the trout population was at its peak. Almost every fish was double-digit, and they were everywhere! Times have changed, the lake doesn’t open as much as it used to, and there are the usual modern-day stresses of dairy farming and lack of floods that cause the lake (and rivers) to become stagnant, not that the eels care about this.

This year, 2021, there have been huge floods. The Selwyn burst its banks and flowed down its “natural flood plain” (narrowly missing the huts!). This flood caused the Selwyn River to come right up to the top of the stopbanks near the upper and lower huts, very impressive, and scary for the residents, I would imagine. This caused the lake level to rise significantly, I believe! 

Location / Rivers to Fish
The main tributaries mentioned are:

• Selwyn River (lower reaches)
• Harts Creek
• Irwell River
• Halswell River
• LII River (sometimes written L2)

Tactics / Gear

• Lure fishing is very common: large, bulky lures that imitate smelt, whitebait, or bullies. 
• Different lure colours are used depending on how dark the night is: e.g. light bodies for starry nights, dark lures for pitch-black nights.
• Use a landing net (telescopic handle recommended) – helpful for night-time takes.
• Wading is possible, but “extreme caution” is needed – it’s dark, and the terrain is hard to see. 
• For fly fishing, a long trace (2 m) with a dropper is suggested, so you can run two lures / two flies.

When to Fish

• Best times: midnight to early morning (some report runs especially from midnight to – 5 am).
• Situational timing when the lake is “opened” to the sea. When Lake Ellesmere is opened (via a cut), water flows out, and seawater + fish (smelt, trout, eels) flood in.
• Flooding or lake-rise events are particularly productive: once the lake opens, fish (trout, eels) move fast into tributaries.

Risks / Considerations

• Light: You need torches, but be careful — too much light on water and you might spook fish or annoy other anglers.
• Snags: The creeks have fallen trees/snags, so casting and retrieving carefully is important. 
• Access: Some river mouths and banks might be tricky; know your way in, especially at night.
• Environmental/regulatory: Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere) is culturally significant, and there are fishing regulations. tewaihora.org

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The lake was then opened to the sea, causing the raging torrent of stagnant and algae-blooming water to flow out to sea. The start of the flow (for hours or days following) is very, VERY fast; nothing could swim upstream against such a torrent into the lake. However, it soon gets wider, clearer, and the flow slows down.

These conditions are perfect for waiting, whitebait, smelt, eels and sea-run trout. If you get the timing just right, you can see these fish come up with enormous speed. Sometimes dozens at a time. I’ve only seen this once, years ago, and it only lasted a few minutes, but in those few minutes, I would have counted 20 or more trout and hundreds of eels. As I recall, the bait didn’t run at the same time trout and eels did (could be wrong?). It’s a sight to see. You can see the stats on the lake opening here: https://www.ecan.govt.nz/your-region/your-environment/river-and-drain-management/opening-te-waihoralake-ellesmere/ 

Then these trout have the time of their lives, chasing whitebait and silveries (smelt) all over the place! Gorging and growing very quickly. It’s their new home! 

All the trout, eels, whitebait and silveries make their way to the fresh, cold flowing water of the various tributaries where they feast! 

Night Fishing

It seems the trout come alive at night, probably because the silveries aren’t as scared as in the middle of the day. Usually, the darkest nights are the best, but sometimes full moons are good too! 

Sometimes on a very dark night, you can hear massive splashes, and you know it’s double-digit trout. Very exciting. 

These trout live in the lake and rivers. If they have only been in the lake for a short period, they are bright silver, but over a season or two, they tend to colour up with some awesome colours. 

Here are some pics of recent years of various rivers: Harts, Irwell, Halswell, Selwyn and the L2. Some of the places you might recognise. I think the biggest in this lot was over 10 lbs. 

 I reckon this coming season is going to be good for nighttime lurking with the number of silveries in the lake currently. More pics are to be added to this story.