YOUTH FISHING – Sport Fishing for Youth Trust

Providing opportunities for youth to enjoy outdoor activities

Sports Fishing For Youth Trust is a charitable Trust with a goal of providing youth in the Nelson/Tasman region with an opportunity to go fishing, enjoy the outdoors, and hopefully to develop an appreciation of the outdoor environment. With the support of sponsors we have built a facility of three fishing ponds at Appleby and with assistance from Nelson Fish and Game we stock these ponds with trout and salmon.

Trustees and volunteers use the ponds to provide youngsters with a guided fishing opportunity at designated fishout days. These fishout days occur on selected days in two spells . The first spell is between 13th October and the 20th of December each year and the second spell is between the 1st of April and the 31st of May. During these two spells fishing is only permitted on the designated fishout days and no fishing without a Trustee guide is permitted.

We also, from time to time, make the ponds available for other groups and provide fishing opportunities for special needs groups, the disabled, the elderly, and groups such as Casting for Recovery, cancer kids etc.

It is essential to book children in for a time slot for the guided fishout days. Parents should check with this webpage and the Trust’s Facebook page for announcement of the dates of fishout days. The actual dates depend on matters like fish availability , maintenance requirements , and weather forecasts. The process for booking is contained elsewhere on this site.

Between the 20th of December 2019 and the 31st of March 2020 we will make the ponds available for children to fish with parent supervision. Please note there are conditions of use that apply during this period and these must be observed. Details of the conditions are available elsewhere on this website however conditions include : a maximum of one fish per child on any one day , only children can be a fisher ( the person holding the rod ) , no burley or feed to be used , restrictions on the use of spinners and soft baits, and all fishers must have a licence from Nelson Marlborough Fish and Game (free for 12 and under).

latest news . There were about 6 families fishing on the morning of Saturday 21st of December. A few trout around 1 – 1.5 kg were caught. In the big pond the fish were reluctant to take spinners/lures but a number were caught using a bubble float rig with “Jimmy’s baits” about 1.6 metre below the bubble.

The ponds are now open for parent supervised fishing until the 30th of March 2020

For fishout days our policy in the event of wet weather is NOT to cancel the event but leave it to the children/parents/caregivers to decide whether to attend, most do attend. We will cancel if the river is in flood and threatening the access road. In this case there will be a cancellation sign at the entrance from River road and we will endeavour to notify attendees by email.

Please take care when using the access road and comply with any restrictions or road closures. Some of the potholes are challenging at the moment.

read more about the Trust »

Fish Out Days

The Trust has designated “fish out” days. On these days our volunteers guide the young fishers in 50 minute fishing sessions. Fishing gear and tackle is provided. There is a small charge of $2 per child on the designated fishout days but this may be waived for special needs groups.

Fish out days are usually carried out in two spells. There is a spring spell with fish out days in November and early December and a second spell in April/May.

The public fish out days for the 2019/2020 summer season are :

Sunday the 10th of November from 8 am until 11.50 am
Wednesday the 27th November from 5.30 pm until 7.30 pm
Sunday the 1st of December from 8 am until 11.50 am
Sunday the 8th of December from 8 am until 11.50 am

Bookings for the fish out days are essential

Book now

Our Fishing Ponds and family fishing opportunities

Family fishing opportunities – The Trust also makes the ponds available for children to fish with parent / caregiver supervision for limited periods over the year. A licence issued by Fish and Game is required to fish the ponds during these times. The Conditions for use of the ponds apply to these family permits and the children must have a licence. The licence from Fish and Game is free for children 12 and under and $20 for children between 12 and 17 years old. There is a link below to the Fish and Game web site to order a licence.

The ponds will be open for family fishing opportunities when kids can fish with adult supervision from the 20th of December 2019 until the 30th April 2020.

For advice on how to use the ponds and where to fish go to our tips site . There is also an excellent youtube video produced by Jim Jobe of Jimmys bait company at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbiRLRRvMbk

Order Licence

We also, from time to time, make the ponds available for other groups and provide fishing opportunities for special needs groups, the disabled, the elderly, and the groups such as Casting for Recovery. If you wish to arrange a visit by such a group send us a message.

Finding the ponds »

Access to the ponds is off River Road via a gravel track . To access the track turn into River Road from Highway 60, approximately 150 m on the Motueka side of the Appleby bridge. Approximately 1.4 km along River Road from Highway 60 is an entry track that goes up onto the top of the stop bank for a distance of about 100m. Stay on the gravel road when it drops down off the stop bank. Follow the gravel road upstream for about 2 km and you should see the ponds. Drive slowly and with care on the track , it is narrow and quite rough in places. The attached map will also assist.

Volunteer

We rely on volunteers to run our Fish Out days. Maybe you can help us?

Volunteer

Book Now

Advance booking for Fish Out days is required.

Book Now

Tips, Resources

Handy tips and useful online resources for our budding little fishers.

View Resources

Our Sponsors

We get great support from the Nelson Trout fishing club ( http://www.nelsontroutfishingclub.com/) and from Nelson Marlborough Fish and Game. We are also greatly appreciate the assistance provided by the Corrections Department who maintain the grounds around the ponds and to ITM Nelson who have provided the timber to build and repair the disabled fishing platforms.