Rotorua Fly Fishing Report - 21st January 2012

Some pretty impressive catch rates have been reported by anglers jigging on Lake Rotoiti over the past week or so. Fish seem to be moving around quite a bit so visiting areas where you have jigged the day or even week before is well worth while. With significant numbers of juvenile smelt appearing in the Ohau Channel, prospects for catching trout at that end of the lake look great over the next week or so but check out Vercoe’s and the cliffs down at the Hinehopu end of the lake as well.

Even though there has been a fair amount of discoloured water pouring through the Ohau Channel at times, due to strong westerly winds catch rates have been reasonably high, particularly during the evening and late afternoon for those using small smelt patterns or nymphs. The high lake water temperature doesn’t seem to be deterring trout from entering the channel in search of smelt, though most of the rainbows being caught seem to be around the one kilo mark. Fish larger than that are starting to put on condition and will be well worth targeting over the next few weeks, especially outside the channel entrance.

With the high water level of Lake Rotorua continuing to be a challenge, especially when waves of half a metre or larger are breaking close to shore. Hopefully the level of the lake will drop over the next few days, allowing anglers easier access to where the fish are holding. Smelt are hanging around Hamurana Stream mouth in large numbers and though rainbows are feeding on them, smelt patterns don’t seem to be working quite as well as some of the nymphs are. A woolly bugger, stripped quickly has accounted for more fish than almost any wet fly but it is the exception at the moment. Size 10, 12 or 14 tan coloured nymphs, especially when tied with a small black head seem to be the more favoured fly but almost any other nymph will take fish if presented the right way. A tungsten bead nymph tied on first and an un-weighted nymph trailing will encourage rainbows to take more than a passing interest in the combination. One of the things that I do is to cast across the wind or current line, where the lake water meets the spring water, and allow the nymphs to drift. A small twitch of the line every now and then lifts the fly combination up off the bottom briefly in a life like manner. The use of an intermediate line will allow you to reduce the weight of the leading nymph and will also reduce the bow in the line when fishing across a current. In either case a short, sharp sideways strike is far better than a vertical strike, when you feel more tension than normal com on the line, as the line stays on or in the water and has the full value of the tension caused by both the fish and the water. Brown trout seem to be conspicuous by their absence around Hamurana.
The lower Ngongotaha is still discoloured so there must have been a sizeable slip somewhere between the village and above the Agrodome. Browns are still moving through as are rainbows so the use of large black marabous should take fish after dark.

The lower Waiteti is also carrying a fair bit of sediment, the upper reaches are clear as a bell. In the upper section both browns and rainbows are in abundance but are easily spooked. There has been some significant erosion of the bank in certain areas up there as well so be aware that there may well be some under-cut banks close to the edge.

The Utuhina is also carrying colour in the lower reaches but it is also holding brown and rainbow trout. The area below the Lake Road Bridge is probably not the best place to fish at the moment as the Lake Road widening project gets well underway. The pool below the bridge is not likely to be easily accessible for some months with the new bridge being built.