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The constantly strong south earlier in the week, coupled with cold rain did nothing to encourage many anglers to go fishing. The few boat based anglers that did venture out had trouble finding a large enough sheltered area to try trolling or harling in. An almost two degree drop in the water temperature of Lake Rotorua allowed the few fish that were basking in the cooler temperatures off the mouths of Hamurana and the Awahou to return to deeper water in their hunt for food. Prior to the cold snap there were fish rising to caddis and green beetle off both of these mouths, though both insect species outnumbered the fish by a very large margin. The majority of the fish that usually come into these mouths were out by the drop-off into deeper water, judging by the number of fish being caught by one boat that was trolling off Hamurana.
With a couple of days of hot weather over the past couple of days Lake Rotorua’s surface water temperature hit 21.5 degrees C, though in the depths of the lake the temperature stubbornly refused to get much above 17.8 degrees C. The weather forecast is not the best for Thursday, Friday and Saturday but the lake temperature will continue to rise, albeit slowly.
For those who would like to sharpen up their boat fishing skills, Eastern Fish and Game are holding a free boating seminar at Stony Point, Lake Tarawera on January 7th 2012. The action starts at 10am and will cover topics such as thermoclines, lure selection, trout food and life cycle and the added bonus of learning to bone and cook your fish. The best part of all this is that you don’t need to book, just bring a chair and an open mind.
A good run of fish moved into both the Waiteti and Ngongotaha streams over the weekend, though most moved through the lower reaches fairly quickly. Prior to the Ngongotaha Stream discolouring, some nice brown trout were caught by spinning from the reserve at Streamdale Road. Both veltics and zed spinners seemed to the favoured lures. As usual there was a good run of brown trout into the Ngongotaha and Waiteti Stream mouths in late November with a significant number of these fish being in excess of 4.5 kg. The run of browns will continue into January and most of February so there are still plenty of chances to catch trophy browns in either of these two streams.
A few fish are hanging around the Okere Falls Arm with the drop in water temperature though they are proving a bit of a challenge during the day. With the water being reasonably discoloured the use of olive or brown flies should pick up a trout or two. Using doll flies after dark is an almost sure bet as they can be seen a lot easier as they swing across the reasonably swift current above the control gates. Once the temperature of the water flowing out of lakes Rotoiti and Rotorua consistently reaches 18 degrees C there will be huge numbers of insects hatching in this area. There is enough residual light from the street lights to allow for some great dry fly fishing to be had after dark although most of the fish will be under one kilo in weight. It is still great practice if you haven’t done much dry fly fishing.
Fresh rainbows have moved up into the Utuhina as well, though most of them seem to be small spawning fish. The browns that have moved in are large, in very good condition and quite willing to take a fly most of the time.
Most of the outlying streams have been out of action for a couple of days but have cleared enough to fish. Caddis, mayflies, green and brown beetle and cicada are hatching, providing plenty of options when fishing these streams. Take a selection of dry flies as well as nymphs as well as wet flies to cover any eventuality. A combination of dry fly and a small nymph slung about 30 cm under it is a great way to see what trout are after on any given day from now to the end of summer.
Catch rates have decreased somewhat from Lake Tarawera, though early morning and late afternoon fishing has been better than during the middle part of the day. The fish in this lake are still in top condition and should get even better as the summer progresses.
Dec 22 2011 |
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There was some fairly frenzied action off the mouth of Hamurana Springs earlier the week as caddis and green beetle were in abundance on the surface of the lake. Most of the fish that were feeding on these insects were rainbows but there were also a couple of large browns sipping gently off the surface. Gold bead hare and copper, prince nymph and various stonefly imitations proved to be acceptable to the rainbows. After dark a reasonable number of mixed size rainbows have been caught on size 12 pink or yellow doll flies as well as some of the larger nymph patterns. The better catch rate was had where the majority of the water was warm, with only a 30 cm band of cold water flowing across the bottom of the lake. Trolling well out into the lake off Hamurana has been fairly successful, judging by the number of times a few boats fishing there stopped to play fish that were hooked over the weekend.
As of Wednesday, Lake Rotorua was holding between 18 and 19 degrees C and should be able to hold that temperature even with the expected heavy rain. Even on overcast and rainy days there are fish rising off the mouth of the Hamurana Stream. They seem to be to the left of the main current and about 30 to 150 metres out from the shore.
The Awahou mouth is also producing fish during the day as well as after dark, though the condition factor of the majority of fish being caught is the same as at Hamurana, pretty poor. The few brown trout that are lurking around both of these stream mouths are in top condition though and are well worth targeting. Trolling off this mouth has been ok during the day, but it is early morning that seems to be the better option. Fishing from an anchored boat has also been fairly successful at various times. With the lake temperature being, on average, about 17.5 degrees C throughout the water column there is still a few degrees to go before fishing really starts to get to the point where the catch rates are awesome.
The Ngongotaha and Waiteti streams both had reasonable runs of fresh browns, mixed with a few rainbows. The majority of the rainbows are in better condition than those at the previously mentioned stream mouths as they are virtually all spawning fish. A decent drop of rain should improve the fishing, especially in the Ngongotaha Stream, should the upper reaches become a little discoloured.
Green beetles have also brought fish to the surface at Rangiuru Bay, particularly on warm sunny days. A green beetle imitation, drifted under the surface and with the wind is a little better for one’s catch rate than having the green beetle drifting on the surface. Doll flies in pink or orange work well after dark.
A few out of town anglers have caught some very good conditioned fish at Rangiuru Bay, mostly at night, though fish have been caught during the day as well. Once this weather pattern shifts and we get a few sunny days there should be a higher catch rate from this area, especially when using still water nymphing techniques. A long trace is usually required so that either a single or double nymph can get down close to the weed bed. Retrieving until you feel the touch of the weed at the drop off is recommended as well as there will be fish cruising there. Trolling and jigging have been productive though with the predominantly Nor-East wind of late most of the jigging has been over towards and in Humphry’s Bay and down towards the Tarawera River exit.
The Rangitaiki and Whirinaki rivers have fished well to a dry fly at times though fish don’t seem to be holding in every pool. When you do have a fish rise to your dry fly, it is almost certain that there will be other fish holding in the pool. Caddis fly imitations have taken fish as have cicada when the sun is bright in the sky. Other streams in the area are holding fish as well, though they are getting a bit of a hammering, especially on the weekends.
Otautu Bay at Lake Rotoehu is due to have an application of weed spray applied sometime over the next few weeks. This shouldn’t affect the fishing in other parts of the lake. Fish are cruising between the inside of the weed bed and the shore around this lake and has provided some fairly good fishing for the few who have got out there. The wind has been a bit of a challenge but sticking to the Northern side of the lake has helped as this side is somewhat sheltered.
Dec 20 2011 |
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With so many great places to fish around the Bay of Plenty it is always good to hear of yet another place to fish, especially one that doesn’t get large amount of anglers fishing it. Tucked away near the end of the Rangitaiki River is a little known dam called Matahina. Fishing from the dam wall has been fairly productive over the past couple of weeks with brown trout seemingly in reasonable abundance. This lake also offers some of the more scenic views of any lake in the area as well when out on it in a boat. Trolling can be very productive as can casting a sinking line from a drifting boat. Once on the lake access is available to some fairly good river fishing as well.
The opening of the upper reaches of the Ngongotaha on December 1 saw large numbers of anglers converging on this stream. It didn’t take long for fish to become rather timid and bolt for the nearest hiding place. In saying that, there have been quite a few fish around and with many of them spawning the opportunities were there for some. Once the stream started to colour late on Sunday fresh browns started to move upstream.
The upper Waiteti was holding some very large brown trout in amongst quite a few rainbows but they too soon learnt that any movement in their field of vision spelt danger. For both of these streams those who were amongst the first on the stream did best. White glow bugs seemed to be flavour of the day for anglers fishing inside the mouth during the week. Most of these fish are moving into this stream for spawning rather than for the cooling effect.
There seems to be a lot of fish moving into the Hamurana Stream over the past couple of days. Unfortunately they are still not holding off the mouth of the stream in any great numbers and it often requires a few hours of casting to get a few fish there during the day. A trace of at least four metres will help with the catch rate, especially when coupled with a ginger mick or muddler minnow during the day. After dark the length of trace is not as important, especially if the surface of the lake is rippled by the wind. Unfortunately with the variable wind direction and strength over the past few days the cold water plume has spread out over a huge distance out from the mouth, keeping fish well outside the range of wading anglers.
A few boats have been harling off the Awahou mouth with mixed results. This stream mouth usually has fish coming in well before Hamurana due to deep water being close to the shore there so anytime now is a good time to start fishing there. Start fishing with larger flies such as a size 6 dragonfly nymph or ginger mick but be prepared to change flies every 20 minutes or so if nothing is happening. Try various speeds of retrieval as well, from a dead drift to a short sharp constant twitch. Trolling and harling between Kawaha Point and the Waiteti continues to produce both rainbows and browns, though casting a wet fly or nymph along the edge of the weed bed has probably been more successful. To get the right conditions for trout to move into Hamurana and the Awahou in large numbers, Lake Rotorua needs to be above 18 degrees C throughout the water column and this has not happened as yet. The surface water temperature has reached 19.5 degrees C at time over the past week but with the deeper water being at least one or two degrees cooler fish are able to stay in the lake. Those with access to a boat with the ability to find the interchange between the cooler water from the streams and the higher lake water temperature should target that area as there should be rainbows holding in that area.
Dec 08 2011 |
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Subject: Rotorua Lakes Update for 30/11/11
The very cold wind during the latter part of last week dropped the water temperature of the lakes in our region fairly quickly. With Lake Rotorua being well under 17 degrees C there has been little chance of fish moving into Hamurana and the Awahou, though they have moved back into Okere Falls Arm in reasonable numbers. Rainbows under one kilo are fairly common still but there are fish two and three times that size holding out from, and downstream of, the jetty. With the flow of water being quite a distinct green, olive woolly buggers and green orbits seem to catch well. Large numbers of fry can be seen in backwaters and in amongst any vegetation that is drooping into the water in this area so almost any smelt pattern should work. The flow through the gates is quite restricted so the use of a slow sinking line is best, though a weighted nymph and smelt pattern when used on a floating line should also be effective. As of Wednesday, the lake temperature has risen quite quickly and fish are moving into Hamurana and the Awahou, not in any great numbers but most are in quite good condition.
Jigging in some of the more sheltered bays of Lake Rotoiti has been very successful, especially when drifting, rather than at anchor and in water around the 30 metre mark. Trolling has also been successful for some.
With the drop in water temperature the Ohau Channel, earlier in the week, produced a few fish, mostly from outside the weir, the main challenge there is to beat the swimmers. Brown trout have been caught out along the drop-off at times so trolling in that area is worthwhile as long as the wind allows.
Other areas to produce reasonable numbers of fish have been between Kawaha Point and the Ngongotaha mouth, especially for large brown trout. More browns have moved into the Ngongotaha and Waiteti Streams and a fresh run of rainbows should arrive with the rain forecast for the earlier part of this week. Fish the deep, dark pools as accessed from Streamdale Road. With opening day upon us there should be some awesome brown trout fishing in the Ngongotaha and Waiteti streams. Trap reports in show that the annual brown trout migration has begun in earnest and many of the browns are in the upper size for their species.
With Lake Rotoma still being well above its normal level, shore based angling has been a challenge over most of the lake. The main exception has been the beach area at the Eastern end of the lake. Bugging just inside the weed bed or casting a dragonfly or damsel over the weed bed has been successful, though the strong westerlies have made long distance casting almost impossible. Trolling and jigging have been quite successful on this lake, with rainbows up to 3kg and the occasional tiger around the one kilo mark, though the latter have been caught close to the shore.
Damsel flies have been hatching on a fairly regular basis in most of the lakes but have been found mostly in sheltered bays, out of the direct wind. Cicadas have also been hatching and can be heard on occasion in sheltered areas as well. Smelt have started to move into the shallower margins of most lakes for spawning, particularly on the leeside of a lake as water temperatures in the shallows can be up around 18 or 19 degrees on a hot sunny day.
Lake Rerewhakaaitu is also very high still though some fish have been caught from the shore. Green orbit, olive woolly buggers or similar are catching over the weed bed as are damsel and dragonfly nymphs. Casting a sinking line from a drifting boat has been fairly successful from the deeper channels and holes, though overall fishing has been slow.
Lake Tarawera is still the best lake to fish if looking for great conditioned rainbows. Trolling early morning has been successful, though wire lines or jigging has been best through the hotter part of the day. Smelt are moving into Rangiuru Bay and many other spots around this lake and trout are following them in fairly large numbers at times.
For those preferring fishing with less angler activity around them, try out the Waikato streams, some of the best are less than 45 minutes away from Rotorua. Some of the smaller streams like the Rapurapu and Kakahu are struggling from the lack of rain but the Waioumu, which they feed into is still carrying a fair amount of water. The Pokaiwhenua Stream is another within 45 minutes or so from Rotorua and carries a good population of brown trout in the lower part of the stream and many of these browns rise freely to a dry fly at this time of the year.
Dec 02 2011 |
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