Egg Rolling - How to Drift Fish the Mackenzie Country Canals

The monsters keep coming. Here's a 27lb Rainbow trout from the Canals. Photograph courtesy of Lance Gill and Fish The Drift NZ.

Egg Rolling – How to Drift Fish the Mackenzie Country Canals – Best Rod, Reel, and Terminal Rig for the Canals

When you consider that a large trout or salmon hen fish can produce as many as 5,000 eggs that’s a lot of fish-bite size protein parcels going into the food chain. Big rainbow trout can produce as many as 8000 eggs. Smaller trout produce fewer eggs. With so many fish eggs going into the canals they provide a substantial food source over winter. The egg rolling fishing method, as it is widely known, is aimed at drift fishing soft bait fish eggs, or Glo-bugs, along the canal close to the bottom. It is essential to use the correct amount of lead weight so that your offering drifts along in the current as naturally as possible.

Trout have no problem eating trout eggs and juvenile trout and salmon. Drift fishing glow-bugs has been a staple on the Tongariro River for decades. In that fishery, the method can only be used with a flyrod as spinning isn’t allowed there.

This salmon, which was quickly returned to the water, can be seen releasing eggs. The bright silver colour of a pre-spawning salmon has been replaced by the darker colour scheme of this fish taken during the month of May. Both jack and hen salmon die soon after spawning. Note the bright orange colour of the eggs! Many of these eggs will be eaten by hungry trout so it stands to reason that the egg rolling technique is certain to work well.

Anglers drift fishing the canals with artificial eggs have been very successful. Known as “egg-rolling” the technique works best when your drifting soft bait egg is moving along at the speed of the current close to the bottom – or at least in the lower third of the water. To be really effective you need just the right amount of lead weight to take your rig down to the ideal depth. The amount of weight needed will change depending on the flow rate. Knowing how much weight to use for the conditions comes with experience.

I have shown a typical rig used for this form of canal fishing below. You can use the very popular orange soft bait eggs. These come in several sizes but 8mm seems to work well. Although everyone was fishing with orange and pink fish eggs there is now a much great range of colours available and in use. You can also get hard plastic eggs as well. I’m sure that Glo-bugs still work too but seem dreadfully old fashioned nowadays.

Here is a typical rig used for drift fishing a trout or salmon egg soft bait in the canals. Egg rolling fishing method. — Here is a typical rig used for drift fishing a trout or salmon egg soft bait in the canals. You can also use a very small three-way swivel in place of the Surgeon’s knot which is perhaps more secure. Dropshot sinkers are more popular nowadays than the old split-shot as they seem to snag on the bottom, less often.

Egg-rolling requires a delicate touch to stay in contact with the lure and to strike quickly when a fish sucks it in. Depending on the speed of the water flow you may need as little as 1/16th of an ounce, or even less. Casting very lightweight rigs requires specialist tackle. Malcolm Bell at The Complete Angler in Christchurch, I guess you could say, pioneered the egg-rolling fishing technique in the canals using lightweight spinning gear.

On this video: The setup I use to catch monster trout in the Twizel and Tekapo Canals by Jacob Fishing. This is a great video that shows you exactly how to set up your gear for egg-rolling or drift fishing with either soft bait or Glo-bug eggs. Just watch this video and you will be on the right track. This is probably the most popular method with anglers for fishing the canals at present.

The egg rolling technique still works well in the summertime too when the fish aren’t laying eggs.

Try to get your artificial eggs as close as possible to the farm cages. The chances of a bite are even better if you can drift them underneath the salmon pens. This requires accurate casting and good nerves. There are a lot of ropes in the way which makes it a tricky business; even more so when you hook a big fish. Anglers often see the cage ropes and nets festooned with the lost terminal tackle from wayward casts have become entrapped. If you worked on one of the fish farms you would never need to purchase jig-heads or soft baits! The technique will also work well away from the farm cages anywhere in the canals.

The one thing you must get right if you are using this egg rolling method is your surgeon’s knot used to tie on a dropper (see dia. below). I have witnessed many anglers lose good fish because their surgeon’s knot breaks. Sure, if you put too much pressure on a big fish something is going to break somewhere! I have also seen many inexperienced anglers use leader material that is too light.

Don’t forget that tying any knot in the line is going to weaken its breaking strain. It is a good idea to practice tying the surgeon’s knot at home and testing it until it breaks so you get a feel for what is happening. It is also good insurance to use heavier 20lb mono or fluorocarbon. It is better to err on the side of fishing a little heavy at the start until you gain more experience with 30lb plus rainbow trout.

Also if you fish really light line you will be totally exhausting the trout which greatly lessens its likelihood of surviving the experience of being caught and released.

The ova that survive into alevins (small fish), fry (having consumed their egg yolk), and parr (under a year old), are all providing prey for bigger trout and salmon. I have also seen shoals of smaller trout and salmon of the least several pounds in the canals. I’ve also observed trout being predated upon in the canals by black shags.

A pleasant surprise hauling this 19.7lb salmon to the bank. Lumo Savage Gear softys and Cleardrift eggs are at the top of the menu for these monsters. Egg rolling fishing method. — *A pleasant surprise hauling this 19.7lb salmon to the bank. Lumo Savage Gear softys and Cleardrift*
*eggs are at the top of the menu for these monsters. Photograph courtesy of Lance Gill and Fish The Drift NZ.*

The mortality rate from the ova stage all the way through to trout and salmon weighing at least several pounds is going to be very high. Nevertheless, all of these eggs and juvenile trout and salmon are providing a rich food source which contributes to the high number of large trophy trout in the canals. Although I’ve seen manks (spent salmon) in the canals I have never seen a trout or salmon in poor condition.

A study of fish life, habitat and prey species, conducted as part of a large-scale fish salvage operation in the Tekapo Canal, by Cawthron Institute biologist Rasmus Gabrielsson discovered that there is a substantial natural fishery in the canals. The study took place over the summers of 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 as large sections of the Tekapo Canal were closed off and drained so that maintenance and repair work could be carried out. The study found there were 105 large fish (between 8 and 14lbs) per kilometre. The study also found that there were enormous numbers of bullies in the canals – many more than was expected.

The surgeon’s loop knot used to tie in a dropper. It is essential to tie this knot well to avoid unnecessarily weakening the line.

Video: How to Fish the Canals with Artificial Eggs – Also known as Egg Rolling – with Malcolm Bell from The Complete Angler tackle store in Christchurch.

*Dropshot sinkers. Photograph courtesy of The Complete Angler tackle store Christchurch.*

Best Rod and Reel Combo for the Twizel Canals

When there is very little flow in the canal you may have to use a Dropshot sinker as light a 1/16 of an ounce. To cast a sinker this light really requires a specialist rod. You want a rod that is long enough to get a good casting distance. This style of fishing will be made much easier if you invest in a good rod designed to cast lures between 1/16 oz and 1/2 oz. If you use a sinker that is too heavy your rig is going to drag the bottom and most likely get stuck in weed.

The best tackle for fishing the canals is a light spinning rod measuring 7-8 feet in length, and a 2500 or 4000 size egg-beater spinning reel loaded with braided line. The braid will make it possible to feel every little touch by a fish on your lure. Use braid up to about 15 lb breaking strain with a monofilament or fluorocarbon leader of at least 2-rod lengths. Be sure to get a neutral colour braid like dark green. You don’t want any of the bright fluoro colours that could frighten the trout.

It is best to use a leader that is lighter than your braid main-line just in case you get tangled around one of the cages, ropes or posts. I use 15lb monofilament for the leader. It is better to lose your leader than half your braid. Tie your leader to your braid with the FG knot. This is the best knot to use because you can hardly feel it passing up through your rod guides when casting. You can also use a double Uni-knot which is still OK but is a little bulkier than the FG knot. Then tie your rig to the end of the mono leader. I use a small three-way swivel for this. You can see the rig in the Jacob Fishing video above. Jacob is using 6lb fluorocarbon for the rig. I use 10lb fluorocarbon for mine.

Twizel Canals Fishing Tips – Ohau, Pukaki and Tekapo Canals, Maps Video

Egg Rolling Rig

For “egg-rolling” tie a dropper at least half a metre or so from the end of your line to attach your sinker. I like to use Black Magic size 8 Extra Strong nymph hooks for nymphs and soft bait eggs in the canals. Keep in mind how big and strong the trout can be there. Avoid using flimsy tackle or you will live to regret losing the fish of a lifetime.

Practice tying droppers so your dropper knots don’t weaken the line too much. If necessary, tie your droppers from heavier monofilament or use a tiny three-way swivel and use Uni-knots. I’ve seen many big trout lost after Surgeon’s Knot droppers have given way under pressure. When the line breaks and a really big fish is lost, the line almost always breaks at one of the knots.