Well we moaned it was too dry !!! Rain rain and more rain , light winds though , which has allowed some of the hardier(?) boaties to get out and enjoy some more fabulous fishing out on the lake this week. The western bays have been performing exceptionally well for the Harlers and jiggers. We saw photos of another double digit brown caught over at Kawa Kawa Bay harling a Parsons Glory. This fish was in magnificent condition and is being mounted by the captor.

Harling has again been all on this week with some good extended periods of success till later in the day because of the overcast conditions we are experiencing.
Taupo Tiger , Red Body Green Orbits , Ginger Mick and Grey Ghost have all been successful flies this week.

The Waitahanui will have to be a favourite spot to try for some quality fish this time of year especially with the rain putting plenty water into the rip. Jigging has been exceptional this last week especially over in the Western Bays, T.T river mouth and also the point off Motuapa has gone well.

Once again small Pat Swift smelt patterns are the go, best depths can still vary greatly from 30-50 meters deep at the moment, keep searching to find that first fish and mark that depth and the others won't be far away.

Local fly fishing was pretty much a wipe out this week as far as the rivers go the water table at the time of writing is still very high so all the showers are quickly filling the rivers back up. The rips have been going quite well with some good quality fish coming from Hatepe early morning.

The still waters have all been fishing very well with Otamangakau and Rotoaira going great guns to Damsel and Dragonfly larva patterns. With these seriously fluctuating river levels it is imperative that you check on the weather before you set out especially if your going back country, take a wading staff and use it, it may save your life. Don't take any risks with high water !!

Another very positive week for the fishery both the Great Lake and the local rivers also our back country rivers have all been fishing well.

Out on the lake most methods are working well though White Striker tell us that locally the down rigger has been doing most damage for them possibly because of lots traffic from above pushing fish down a little further. Harling is still going great guns, as usual early birds catch the fish, one or two colours of lead, Ginger Mick, Green Orbit, Taupo Tiger and Yellow Lady all doing well at both ends of the day. Iif conditions are good for harling during the day then a switch to smaller smelt patterns will be the go such as Grey Ghost and Jack Spratt.

Whakaipo Bay, Mine Bay, Waitahanui, Jerusalem and the Golden Mile have all been producing fish for the harlers. A trip over the Western Bays this time of year is always worth a go as they don't get get quite the same pressure as local spots.

Jigging has again been hot this last week with good reports of solid well conditioned Rainbows being caught at most of the local jigging spots such as Mine Bay Point, Maori Carvings, Whakaipo and Whareweka Point also Rangatira Point and the Reef once again with wind permitting has been good.

Local Fly fishing has been quite good with some nice browns being spotted along the Waitahanui odd good fresh rainbows are still being caught, the Hinemaia is still going well to the dry fly both during the day and the evening. The odd fish has even been caught on a Cicada so we're told.

The Tongariro is fishing well and and has very little pressure this time of year mainly mending fish but odd silver bullets amongst them. Dry fly dropper through riffle has been the go with small PTNS and Hare and Copper patterns in size 16# and 14# have been the sort of flies doing the damage. Good evening rises on most rivers still but that cold wind we have experienced this week holds it back a while but still worth the wait.

Back Country is all systems go with positive reports from the Mohaka, Rangitikei, and Whakapapa rivers this week. No excuses now, its all go , get out and enjoy our great outdoors.

No complaints this summer so far with lots of fish being caught round the lake [Lake Taupo]. The most consistent remark would be what good condition the fish are in this year compared to recent summers; still lots of smaller fish around but most limits taken contain some very good looking fish full of smelt.

Last week the top areas would have been Waitahanui round to Rotongaiao and around the White Cliffs. A lot of the local spots have received considerable pressure with the holidays upon us if you want to fish local you need to be out early before the armada !
Many boaties travelled a little further over to the Western Bays and found Waihora, Kawa Kawa fishing reasonably well. [See the Lake Taupo map]

Top methods will be harling Green Orbits and Ginger Micks very early at 5.00 am start.
Small Cobras have also been doing well at depths between 8-12 meters.

Jigging has finally kicked into gear with some very good fish being caught at all the usual jigging spots round the lake at around the 35-50 meter mark a little deeper than normal for this time of year.

Mini Green and Fluo Green Pat Swift Orbits on the bottom dropper and smelt patterns on the higher droppers will do the damage Mine Bay point, Moari Carvings and Whakaipo have been doing well as well as the Reef when the weather permits.

Local fly fishing has been very good over the last few weeks many rivers received a bit of a fresh this week so this should encourage a few of the big browns to move up , quite a few nice silver fish being caught on most rivers. You will need to fine right down to stay in touch once the rivers go low and clear again.

Dry fly sport has been exceptional on the Tongariro and the Hinemaiaia during the da , small Mayfly patterns, Green Beetle, and small terrestrials are doing well , in the evenings hatches of Caddis are giving good rises at change of light.

The lakes are all fishing well, Rotoaira again exceptional damsel activity here and at Otamangakau during hot bright spells. Plenty of fish are being caught at Ota but not the biggies we come to expect this time of year, not yet any way.

Cicadas are more evident now so a couple of weeks of fine weather and we should be in to it.

Tight Lines
Gary Lyttle