The best summer weather in years had drawn anglers out on to all of Otago's big lakes, including Dunstan, Hawea, Wanaka and Wakatipu.
Many anglers, both those in boats and those fishing from the lake shore, were successful in catching fish, he said.
One fly fisherman, a visitor from Australia interviewed on Lake Wanaka, reported catching 105 fish in 21 days of fishing and releasing all his catch.
Officers and rangers were out during the peak holiday period interviewing lake anglers, collecting information on their catch, and monitoring compliance with regulations.
''It's been a superb summer season with sunny, settled conditions and with anglers delighted to spend quality time on the water.''
It was pleasing to see almost all anglers in boats that were interviewed were wearing life jackets.
''The boat safety message really seems to be getting through,'' he said.
General compliance with fishing regulations had been very good but many anglers were not carrying their fishing licences.
''That creates a significant workload for staff that could be simply avoided by anglers remembering to take their licences with them,'' Mr Halford said.
