About Us

The Sport Fishing For Youth Trust was established in 2012 by a group of trout fishers who were keen to encourage youth to experience the outdoors and, hopefully, develop a lifelong interest in the outdoors and the environment.

The Trust has established fishing ponds inside the Waimea river berm park at Appleby. These ponds, originally formed by the extraction of gravel, have been adapted and are now managed to provide a fishing opportunity for youth. The Trust stocks the ponds with trout and salmon and organise a number of “fishout” days for youth. On these days it provides the equipment for youth wanting to try their hand at catching a fish and experienced fishers are on hand to provide assistance. Not all fishers are fortunate enough to pull in a trout or salmon. Catch rates on fishout days vary with between 60% and 90% of the children catching a fish .

Fishers , defined as the person holding the fishing rod , are required to be between 5 and 17 years old .

From the 1st of October until the 20th December and from the 1st of April until the 30th May each year the use of the ponds is restricted to the Trust and authorised groups  ( we provide fishing opportunities for a number of special needs and other groups ). For the remaining periods of the year the ponds are  available for youth to use with parent / caregivers supervision.

Conditions of use for parent/caregiver periods of use include :

• no burley or other bulk feed ( eg bread) can be used.
• the use of spinners , soft baits etc is restricted to the large pond only. this is to enable those fishing with fly rods , stationary bubble and floats , etc to have undisturbed fishing.
• fishers must be between 5 and 17 years old.
• the permitted methods of fishing are fly rods and spinning rods using either lures or baits . Baits can include naturals such as worms or artificial baits such as “jimmy’s baits”.
• each fisher can only catch one fish on any one day. Once they have caught a fish they should stop fishing. Catching a fish is defined as bringing it to the bank even if it is  then released.
• each fisher should have a fishing licence. these can be obtained from the Nelson Marlborough Fish and Game website . Licences are free for children under 12.

Assistance

If you are interested in volunteering as a guide or can provide other assistance please send us a message via the form on the Volunteer page or contact the Trust phone 03 5445556.

The Trust works with Nelson Marlborough Fish and Game who have complimentary programs to assist parents and caregivers and enable them to have the knowledge to take their children fishing. For details of these programs consult their website fishandgame.org.nz/nelson or contact Fish and Game at 03 5446382 or email nelsonmarlborough@fishandgame.org.nz.

There is also some excellent advice and information for young fishers as well as parents and caregivers on our “Tips” page.

Donations

The Trust depends on support and donations from our sponsors and from the public. You can donate for fish to our Bank account 06-0705-0407652-00.