Rotorua Fly Fishing Report - 24th June 2010

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.

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