The Capital Trout Centre is now in its 26th year and many of those that visit the Centre often ask how it originated.

During the 1990s the club decided it wanted to develop a fishing experience for young children, similar to that offered by the Turangi Hatchery.

Using Whitby Lakes as a venue, the club hosted an annual event whereby the trout were purchased from the Ngongotaha Hatchery and released into a netted enclosure which enabled the children with the help of club members to try and catch a 2 year old rainbow.

This attracted numerous children on the day, but without any booking system in place many children had to wait in line for their turn for some time, and some were not successful.

When the waters of Whitby Lake became toxic it was decided to discontinue event and to try and find another venue.

Discussions with Wellington City Council originally centred around the use of the lakes forming part of the Wellington water supply in Karori and which subsequently became part of The Zealandia complex.

Despite receiving Council approval for the use of the lakes, Zealandia was adamant that only native species would be allowed and the trout already in the lakes were subsequently eradicated.

The club however was determined to find an alternative and with the help of the Wellington City Council were given permission to create the ponds which became the Capital Trout Centre in behind the Council offices on Landfill Road. The main driving force in the project at that time was Chris Anastasiadis and with the help of club members, the Capital Trout Centre was opened in September 1999.

Originally this was programmed to be an Open Day every six weeks, but soon due to demand was made available for family outings such as birthday parties and children’s groups such as cubs and scouts and school holiday programmes and groups which supported special needs children.

Based on the Fish & Game regulations that children under the age of 12, must have a licence which are free, the Centre was granted permission by Fish & Game to develop its own licence for this purpose and introduced a booking system which allowed much better control of children numbers for each event.

Since that time well over 10,000 children have experienced the thrill of catching a trout and the smiles on their faces and excited cries of “I caught one” are what it’s all about.

The Centre has become the passion of Strato and Carmen Cotsilinis with the help of a dedicated group of club members who attend not only to the numerous events each year but also to the daily feeding of the trout and any maintenance required.

Once a year the ponds are emptied and a group of club members ensure that over a weekend, the Centre is made ready for the new season. The Centre does not operate over the winter but generally receives its shipment of 1,000 fish from the Ngongotaha Hatchery in late July.

During 2025 the Centre was offered some trout ova from Wellington Fish & Game to see if these could be raised and form part of the education programme for the children that attend the Centre and for school groups and other children based community groups.

The Centre could not operate without the significant support of Wellington Fish & Game and the donations (Koha) from Open Days and club members and the groups hosted in the administration building.

Wellington City Council has continued to be an excellent supporter providing the land and administration building.

To date, every child who has attended the Centre has caught a fish and we regularly hear stories from parents that their children still remember their experience and forms part of the child’s story telling for weeks after the event. For those that take the fish home (which is the vast majority), recipes are also provided for those that have the job of turning the experience into a meal for the table.