Rotorua Fly Fishing Report - 17th November 2011

Trying to write this column whilst in the middle of an amazing thunderstorm was more than a little disconcerting, especially when the time distance between flash and noise was less than a second. My first thought was for my computer so shut it down, disconnected it from any power source and proceeded to watch the show. Unfortunately the huge amount of hail and very cold rain that fell between Te Ngae and Ngongotaha will probably have caused a drop in lake water temperature, putting off the influx of fish to the cold water tributaries of Lake Rotorua. Monday was the first day since last summer when the water temperature reached almost 18 degrees C, prompting a few fish to move into the stream mouths. A pair of spawning rainbows could be observed doing their thing just upstream of the mouth of the Hamurana Springs on Sunday afternoon, though other fish were few and far between. A vast pool of cold water was held over the shallows on Sunday and put paid to any fish being in close. Mayfly and caddis could be seen drifting along in the current as they hatched mid-afternoon on Sunday, a sure sign that dry fly fishing will come into its own very soon.
Today, Wednesday, I saw several rainbows holding inside the mouth of Hamurana Springs, though there wasn’t any sign of fish on the flats outside the mouth. Apparently there are quite a few rainbows and some large browns upstream from the bridge, closer to the spring.

Fortunately the Ngongotaha and Waiteti streams are well known for having spawning fish move into them all year round, an anomaly not found in many parts of the world, so these two rivers should not be affected by any temperature drop. Anglers fishing both of these streams over the past week have had more than a little success with catching large brown trout as well as some great conditioned rainbows. One brown trout, caught in the Bridge Pool on the Ngongotaha, was weighed in at around 5.5 kg and was a superb conditioned fish, other brown trout caught were between 1.5 and 4 kg. With just two weeks to go before the upper Ngongotaha Stream opens to fishing, prospects look great as far as catch rates are concerned as there are plenty of rainbows in the upper reaches. The rain that we had this morning should entice a few more fresh fish into these streams.
Spin fishing while the full moon was high in the sky was very successful for those who tried this method on the Waiteti. Both brown and rainbow trout succumbed to various types of spinners during this period, mostly between 11pm and midnight. For those out of town anglers wanting to get into the action but don’t want to have to drive home late at night there is some awesome accommodation right at the Waiteti Stream mouth. The Waiteti Cottage is so close to the stream mouth that you can almost cast from the doorway. The self-contained unit is an awesome place for those looking for long term accommodation at any time of the year, let alone the peak winter and summer fishing times. Check out the main website while you are online at http://www.waitetilodge.co.nz/

A couple of reasonable rainbows came out of the Ohau Channel during the weekend but overall, fish were few and far between and most were around the one kilo mark. The temperature of the water leaving the lake was higher than the lake temperature in general, around 18 or 19 degrees so fish were not hanging around if the smelt are not passing through. Trolling along the edge of the drop off out from the Ohau Channel was reasonably successful whenever there was fairly heavy cloud cover. Brown trout still seem to be massing between Kawaha Point and the Ngongotaha Stream mouth so that area is well worth a visit if you have a boat

Trolling and jigging on Lake Tarawera continues to produce great conditioned rainbows though bright sunny days tend to send fish deeper than trollers can get to in most cases. Shoreline fishing at Rangiuru Bay has been patchy but should improve as the moon wanes.
Both brown and green beetles have been hatching late in the evening, even the night after our huge hail storm. I also heard cicadas chirping away around midday on Tuesday so it sure looks like a very early summer is upon us already as these insects don’t usually hatch until December at the earliest.