A short walk along the shore opposite the old Refuse Transfer Station on Lake Rotoiti was rewarded with the sight of several large rainbows. While there doesn’t seem to be as many fish spawning along the shore here, there are a couple of large areas of the lake bed that look like they have been turned over by a rotary hoe and it was there that I spotted the fish. A couple of anglers had pitted their skill prior to my arrival without much success so I wasn’t too confident that I would do much better. I chose a green marabou that I had been given by a local angler who did well with it over the closing days of the Ohau channel and flicked it out. A couple of small rainbows came out of nowhere and had a half-hearted swipe at my offering and few casts later I hooked one of the larger rainbows that had been milling around a redd in front of me. Unfortunately for me, it turned out that the double figure fish that I landed was also foul hooked so a quick photo was taken and it was released. After a few changes of flies I chose a bright red teaser, the type used for trolling with a tassie or cobra, and there was immediate interest from several fish. Unfortunately, yet again, the fish that took the fly busted off shortly after it took the fly and neither were seen again. There should be another couple of weeks of sight fishing from the Dump, Transformer and Cafe streams and possibly the Pipe before the number of fish coming into to spawn tapers off. Fishing after dark should be more successful.

Few fish have been coming into the beach at Lake Okataina, though one would expect that there should be more to come.
Catch rates have been slow at Rangiuru Bay, the Landing and at the Te Wairoa Stream mouth but being such pleasant places to be, they are well worth a visit.
Rainbows are still cruising off the shore at Boyes beach, though they are proving a challenge. Olive woolly buggers and grey ghosts on a floating line are still the most likely rig to catch fish here.

Lake Rerewhakaaitu is starting to fish well for shore-based anglers, especially off the access points on Brett Road. Size 4 long shank green marabou flies have taken fish as have size 10 and 12 grey ghosts. Look for rocky areas along the shore as there should be fish starting to spawn on these areas.
Lake Okaro is continuing to provide good conditioned fish from the shore as well, especially off the boat ramp and the main stream to the left of the boat ramp. The reed bed to the left of the ramp is also worth casting a line along as well. As the lake bed drops away very quickly off the boat ramp a slow sink or medium sink line can be used here.

It seems that the last few days of rain has stimulated plenty of fresh rainbows and they are moving into the Ngongotaha Stream at the moment. The standard terminal tackle of weighted nymph and grey gost is working well, though glow bugs are also catching fish. Most of the fish being caught have been around the village area but there have been reports of fresh fish being caught below the State Highway 5 Bridge, through to the Streamdale Road access. It is fairly tight fishing in this area as there is a lot of vegetation on the banks and the banks are quite steep in places. This area is also open to spin fishing.

Reports of huge brown trout being hooked near the weir at the Ohau Channel have been filtering in over the past week or two. It seems that these fish have been partial to an almost lime green marabou fly during the day. The amount of water flowing through the channel is impressive at the moment so the usual Deep Water Express line and a minimum of 15lb trace is a must when fishing downstream of the weir. Rainbows in the channel seem to still be the smaller Lake Rotorua fish with very little sign of any Lake Rotoiti fish moving in. Few fish have been holding anywhere else in the channel and anglers fishing the Delta have had very little success as well. If you have a small boat or even a float tube there are fish holding about 50 metres directly out in front of the weir. The high lake level makes it impossible to walk out that far at the moment. The large jetty above the control gates on the Kaituna River has provided some sport for hardy anglers with both brown and rainbow trout being caught.

Ruato Bay has provided some fish early morning and late into the evening, though few anglers have ventured out too late with the bitterly cold wind over the weekend. The Dump got a good stir-up from the wind on Sunday and few fish could be seen there because of that. As in past years, there should be fish both spawning and cruising along this area so it is well worth a visit. If not much is happening where you are fishing, try moving 20 metres or so then try a series of casts again. The Cafe and Transformer streams are also worth more than a passing glance, even though they look little more than drains. Several good conditioned fish have been caught there over the past week or so. The average angler caught fish is around 3.5kg so a trophy trout is well within reach of most anglers.

Lake Okataina has been a bit patchy for some so it is a matter of perseverance and plenty of warm clothes, especially with the South- Westerly winds of late. Glow bug and boobies are still catching fish during the day, though that method seems to have slowed up a bit as a fish catching method. Small doll flies and medium sized craigs night times are taking fish after dark.

It seems that the number of fish returning to the Landing and Te Wairoa is down somewhat on previous years. The average size seems to be down a little, though the condition is fairly good from what I have seen. As there is limited fishing area at both of these places it pays to get there early in order to get the spot that you want to fish from. Catch rates at Stony Point are fairly good at the moment though the wind direction and lake level has made for uncomfortable fishing. Fishing from the jetty has been productive after dark if using a floating line and a combination of night fly and lumo. Lake Okareka continues to provide some good fish. A floating line, long trace and a woolly bugger or grey ghost has caught fish. Any type of retrieve seems to work, what is needed is a bit of patience as fish are cruising the shoreline day and night.

The Ngongotaha Stream fished well Monday morning and continued to do so all day. Great conditioned, large rainbows were caught as well as a fair sprinkling of browns. Fresh runs can be expected to move into the river for a while yet though the browns are likely to be tapering off from now on.

Helping a friend to improve their casting can be a perilous exercise at times as it is not ‘the done thing’ to catch a trout while demonstrating. This happened to me last Saturday while fishing at Boyes Beach. I was able to slide out from under any disparaging remarks, particularly about my pedigree, by handing the rod over while the fish was on and blithely saying “that is how it’s done; now it is your turn”. The fish, once landed, turned out to be a superb maiden jack of just under two kilograms and put up a fair scrap. Other fish were seen moving on the surface on occasion but it was a while before next one took the grey ghost. Both the fish that were landed were in great condition even though the flesh was not as pink as expected. This lake is well worth a visit as it is not only picturesque but full of good sized, well conditioned fish that are not that difficult to catch. Keep out of the water, use a long trace and cast delicately on the water.

Sunday saw me out in a torrential downpour at Lake Okaro, where I stood seven metres or so back from the shore at the boat ramp as I cast. It took five takes before I could land a fish here and once again the grey ghost did the damage. With the heavy rain a small stream to the right of the boat ramp was discharging a fair amount of sediment into the lake and there were several fish feeding close into the shore. Most were respectable fish but weren’t tempted by my fly as perhaps they couldn’t see it in the murky water. The stream to the left of the boat ramp provided the best fish of the day, at 2.2kg, a fish that gave me quite a tussel before being brought to the shore. Other fish were seen feeding sub-surface but weren’t that interested in my offering either and it wasn’t until I gutted both fish that I understood why. Both were absolutely full of water snail up to six millimetres across and a few 50mm long smelt. Lake Ngapouri proved a disappointment though perhaps the fresh tyre tracks leading out from the lake meant that someone had beaten me to the only fly fishable spot on the lake edge. Usually I pick up a brace or two of fish here.

Lake Rerewhakaaitu fished well for some later that day as I saw at least five scrappy rainbows up to 2 kg being landed over a two hour period. There were fish cruising along the shoreline at the second DOC Camping Ground Brett Road and one angler didn’t even get his feet wet when hooking his first trout. Several anglers to the right did well also, though they had to wade out a little to get a decent back cast. Egg patterns and green smelt flies seemed to be flavour of the day there. Anglers fishing at Gumboot Point also seemed to be catching fish on a regular basis as well.

Both the Ngongotaha and Waiteti streams have fished well over the past few days, if the number of anglers fishing throughout the day is anything to go by. Fish are still moving in and out of Hamurana Springs with most anglers fishing the stream rather than the lake. Regular rainfall has helped keep fish flowing into the rivers around the region while those without a river to go to have turned up at various points along the lake shore of various lakes in the region as well.

I suspect that something is happening at the Ohau Channel as there are often several cars parked at the end of the road on the true right bank of the channel and a couple in the reserve in front of Marama Resort. I have not dropped in there for a while to see how it is fishing.

With most of the soil surrounding lakes and rivers now at their water holding capacity small streams are forming from the run-off. These streams only run with high rain falls so they soon stop flowing as the rain eases, but while they are flowing trout are attracted to them for a couple of reasons. One is the abundant food being washed down into the lake or river and the other is seen as a potential spawning area. The main thing to remember is that most of the lakes here don’t have many spawning opportunities and the hatchery trout will colonise whatever they can as their need is so great. If any of these streams are not running they will leave a visible scar as they scour their way down to the nearest water and anglers should make sure that they are there when the stream starts flowing again. Lake Okataina has two such streams, one to the left of the beach and one halfway down the beach to the right. Stand well back from the water’s edge, especially after dark, and cast no more than the length of your trace over the water. The rest of the beach is fishing ok too so don’t think that you have missed out on a productive fishing spot. The small point to the left of the beach has been quite consistent as has the inside of Te Koutu Point.

Small streams such as the Transformer and Cafe as well as the Pipe have all produced fish on Lake Rotoiti. The straight where the refuse transfer station was is well worth stalking along during the day as you will gather a lot of information on where the fish are spawning and will know where to start fishing after dark. Hauparu Bay is also worth a visit with all this rain. Any of the jetties, especially to the right of the stream as there is another small stream entering to the right of it.

Blue Lake has a few fish hanging around the point to the left of the boat ramp and fish have been moving along the beach as well so there are plenty of opportunities for rainbows up to 3kg at times. Jigging continues to work well at the opposite end of the lake from the boat ramp. There are plenty of 50mm smelt in this lake so size 4 grey ghosts have been successful when jigging.

Lake Okareka has fish moving into the shallows chasing smelt on calm days. The smelt in this lake are very hard to see as they are a similar colour to the lake bed on top and have transparent bodies with a black line through them. Many of the lighter coloured smelt patterns have taken fish during the day. At night small doll flies have taken their toll on the fish population in this lake as have the standard night patterns such as craig’s night time and scotch poacher.

Rainbows are moving up into the Te Wairoa Stream and are coming into the beach at the landing on a regular basis. These fish are in superb condition and tend to put up a good fight. During calm periods, a slow sinking line works best due to the lack of wake on the water that a floating line has. If nothing much is happening simply change your fly every 20 minutes of so. Stony Point is starting to fish well from the shore, though casting has become very restricted due to the high lake level. Some of the jetties in Rangiuru Bay, to the right of the point, are also fishing well during the day to heave and leave or boobies and at night using a slow sinking line and doll flies.

Lake Okaro continues to surprise with the size and condition of the fish, though with the large smelt in this lake as well, it probably shouldn’t be. Both the boat ramp and the second stream mouth have fished well day or night.

Lake Rerewhakaaitu has been patchy when fishing from a boat as opposed to harling or trolling but shore based anglers have done well at times. One needs to find where the fish are rather than turn up at a spot and start fishing. A good starting place is Gumboot Point or to the right of the DOC camp on Ashpit Road. Some of the islands in the lake may also have spots where trout try to spawn.

A number of fish have been holding in the Haumurana Springs Stream over the past couple of weeks. Those few who have fished outside the mouth have had a lot of fun with smallish but feisty fish, usually later at night though.
 

By Bert Robinson

Lake levels have risen significantly over the past couple of weeks easing the challenges associated with low lake levels, high weed beds and shore based anglers. Lake Okareka has fished very well over the past week with fish in excess of 2.5 kg. The higher water level has created a buffer over the top of the weed bed off Boyes Beach and, in particular, the boat ramp at the end of Benn Road allowing trout free access to the few rocky spots around this lake. Epoxy head UV smelt in sizes six to ten and size 10 ginger mick have taken fish off the beach during the day, with the southern end of Boyes beach fishing best. Several of the trout caught here have been full of 8mm diameter snails so perhaps that pattern could be used successfully. Trout are moving along the lake edge in many places though so don’t just fish Boyes Beach. The boat ramp as mentioned before has a large number of fish coming in after dark and a resident population of trout trying to spawn there as well. A size four black marabou fly coupled with a size 12 doll fly seems to work best when fished out over the weed bed, towards the raupo as seen from the right hand side of the jetty.
Jigging on the far side of Blue Lake has been very successful for some. The smelt in this lake are on average, 10 to 20mm longer than normal and these are what trout are feeding on there. Rainbows in this lake are averaging 2.5kg so far this winter. Care is needed when fishing the beach to the left of the boat ramp as there is a very deep channel just off the shore. The ‘Duck’ has gouged out the channel as it is not allowed on the boat ramp due to its weight. The most productive place to fish from the shore at the moment is off the point to the left of the boat ramp.
Fish have been coming into the bay where the landing is on Lake Tarawera, in droves and some good runs have been recorded in the trap apparently. The stream mouth below the trap has produced some fine fish both during the day and after dark. Stony Point is also fishing well, especially around to the left of the boat ramp where a small stream enters the lake. A floating line and lumo pattern has worked well at times after dark.
The boat ramp at Kennedy’s Bay on Lake Rotoehu has also produced a few fish, though the lake is still lower than optimum for fishing this area. A Smelt pattern on a floating line is the best method.
Lake Rotoma has produced some awesome fish but not from the more traditional areas. The right hand end of the beach at the Whakatane end of the lake is where the action seems to be at the moment. Drive to the end of the beach and walk straight to the water as this is where the fish are. Booby flies and egg patterns cast into the lake and retrieved very slowly has worked well. The small stream entering the lake at the Western end has also fished well.
The Pipe has produced a few spectacular fish over the long weekend. The arrival of fish to this point has been eagerly awaited as they have been in short supply lately. Heave and leave and boobys have worked well as have black marabou coupled with a chartreuse doll fly. Check out the jetty at the boat ramp before you get to the Pipe as there have been some fish hanging around there as well.
Fish are almost constantly moving up the streams entering Lake Rotorua at the moment. The rain over the long weekend discoloured them somewhat but some anglers did well in the lower reaches in spite of that. The mouth has been patchy but most anglers have fished too far out into the lake at times. The pool inside the mouth has held fish and those nymphing it with egg patterns during the early morning or doll flies after dark have caught fish.

by Bert Robinson