Families are expected to flock to the water today, as the annual fishing season begins.

Thousands of anglers are expected at lakes and rivers across the country.

Fish and Game spokesperson Richie Cosgrove said it was great the season coincided with a weekend and the school holidays.

"When it occurs on a weekend, it means the whole family can go," he said.

"It's not like you're having to take time off work, you can whip out there on Sunday with the whole family.

"And with another week of school holidays, it's a great day for the first family fishing adventure of the new fishing season."

Cosgrove said it was also the first year with a new five day-limit for overseas anglers in designated fishing regions, which he hoped would reduce the pressure on the water systems.

He said many tourists flocked to fish in New Zealand waters, which had affected fish populations in the past.

However he says he hoped to see a mixture of foreigners and locals on the water today.

"I'll be out with my colleagues and our honourary rangers, we'll be checking the fisheries and checking anglers for compliance, checking they've got their licences in the Canterbury area," he said.

"So we hope to see a lot of families out there, the weather's looking like it might clear and give anglers a good chance to get some fishing in."

He said many guides were also looking forward to increased tourism numbers, which had a flow-on economic impact for regional communities.

Fish and Game expected to sell around 130,000 licences over the next few months.

Cosgrove said anglers should be flexible about where they fished, as some rivers would need time to settle after heavy rainfall.