Central South Island Fish & Game (CSI) has established a ballot system (lottery) to control angler numbers on the river between lakes Ōhau and Ruataniwha.
Fish & Game officer Rhys Adams said controlling angler numbers on the Ōhau River helped to "maintain its high-country fishery aesthetics during the popular September and October controlled period, also known as the spring season".
The spring season is considered a one-of-a-kind high-country trophy trout fishery, opening two months earlier than nearby high-country river fisheries, allowing anglers to access the later part of the rainbow trout spawning run.
CSI Fish & Game research has revealed that all brown trout and two-thirds of rainbow trout spawning is completed by September, so spawning during September and October was unlikely to add appreciably to annual production.
"The 2023 spring season was something special. Our monitoring revealed about one in three trout caught were ‘trophy’ size — 4.5kg or more," Mr Adams said.
The ballot is open for entries until July 15 at 5pm.
A ballot draw will be held on July 17 to randomly allocate a limited number of the highly sought-after controlled-period licences to anglers.
The ballot is free to enter via the www.fishandgame.or.nz website and is restricted to anglers holding a valid whole-season sports fishing licence.
Winning a controlled period licence allows an angler to fish for a specified two-day period.
Anglers who miss out can fish the river in the open season, starting on November 4.
