Kayak fishing RotoitI

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    Posted: 16 Mar 2016 at 11:50am
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Spent three days kayak fishing Lake Rotoiti for 49 fish landed.     Best one 7lbs 8 onces weighted by a guy in a boat since I did not have any scales on me.    Judging from that size I would have landed about a dozen over six pounds with quite a lot of smaller ones, including 2 year old maiden fish.    Three fish had tags in their backs.     All fish killed were in magnificent condition with fat around their gut and deep orange flesh.
In fact I never caught a slab or even lean fish.     What a great fishery.     Tried to fish Okataina but struck a vicious southerly so never put the kayak in the water.

What a difference from the poor quality that is currently coming out of Taupo.    Heard from a reliable source that the smelt in Taupo are not doing well this year, hence the number of  slabs still being reported. Not a good sign for the winter runs.

Rainbow


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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Clifftastic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Mar 2016 at 12:02pm
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Awesome to hear Rainbow, well done! I usually fish Ruato or Ngongoahi depending on wind direction. Did you get about the lake or concentrate around a certain area?
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Redfinger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Mar 2016 at 12:45pm
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Well done Rainbow - great result.
Lighter coloured smelt flies doing the trick?

Maybe its the Kayak - I know someone else from this forum that regularly kicks arse using a Kayak - should be banned!!Smile
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Rainbow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Mar 2016 at 1:19pm
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Fished mainly at the western end and the northern cliffs.    However tried off the top end out from the Vercoe ramp and paddled for over two hours without seeing any arks on the sounder    Looked all over the place including around the island and along the steep cliffs     Pulled the plug and headed for Ruato where I found the fish in 20-25m of water.     As I was staying at the hatchery I mentioned that to the boys there who confirmed that this was a common complaint during summer as the water coming out of the Ohau channel is about 2 degrees warmer and the fish don't like it and gravitate to the western end of the lake.    On my best day with nearly 30 fish landed I had an offshore wind that defined a strong thermocline and a high concentration of smelt.     The next day with a strong westerly the lake mixed and the thermocline was barely visible at 20 m.    Far fewer smelt and trout on the sounder that day as the food had moved away.   I  found them again between Gisborne Point and Ruato.

Rainbow 
Ps i only used two flies; the smelt and the bully flies I put on the fly tying thread.    Most fish were caught on the smelt flies.     Will tie the next patch with silver bodies. 

 
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Clifftastic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Mar 2016 at 3:31pm
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Nice one, cheers for the info. 
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Rainbow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Mar 2016 at 3:41pm
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Just when you think you have seen it all out comes a new mode of catching fish.     I was fishing near a swept up boat with two guys sitting in comfortable padded seats drinking beer.     The boat had an electric motor mounted on the stern that with the help of a GPS programme kept the boat right over the fish.    They fished two rods stuck in horizontal rod holders, which were mounted on the boat’s hard top.     As the boat gently rolled the flies jigged up and down.     Sure enough every now and then one of the rods arced down under the weight of yet another fish.      As if this was not effective enough when they finished their beer or out of sheer boredom they grabbed another rod and started jigging.     On several occasions I saw four sets of gear in the water, which according to the F&G staff is relatively common but hard to police as it is cheaper to quickly cut the line than to face a $300 fine.

Now in fishing there is always something new one can learn even from the above example.       As I was stuck in a strong westerly that even the sea anchor could not tame I stuck my rod in a rod holder and kept the kayak over the fish and the line relatively straight up and down with the help of my paddle.     To give it more action I rocked the kayak from side to side.     That worked as I caught several fish with this unconventional method.      One of the boaties who saw me doing that thought I was mad and seriously risked turning turtle.       

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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Redfinger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Mar 2016 at 4:20pm
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Evenings better Rainbow?

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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Rainbow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Mar 2016 at 9:14pm
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Sure, with most fish change of light is usually better than bright daylight.      One evening I fished for an hour after dark and hooked a couple of good fish.     However, with a wet backside I got quite cold in the relentless wind and called it a night.    I used my bully flies that had a lumo after burner but any lumo flies would have done alright whether fly fishing or jigging.   The most useful tool is not an expensive reel or a high modulus rod but a good sounder.    Mine has a chart plotter, which was handy to quickly relocate fish sign when the wind pushed me off course.   The most important trick is using the sounder to find fish and to correctly interpret what else you see on the screen.    With smelt being the main food source I can't see the sense in using any other flies except a general bully pattern on the bottom.    This is not the Tongariro, where truly garish flies, including big globugs attract strikes from generally non-feeding fish.    It seems that at Rotoiti there is so much food that the trout are quite fussy.   Seeing lots of fish on the screen does not guarantee bites.    This said I must have had several double strikes because when I landed a fish one other fly was missing.    I suspect it was taken and ripped off while the first hooked fish was swimming around. 

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Calm weather with little wind waves results in well defined thermocline at 15m    
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Rainbow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Mar 2016 at 10:07pm
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What you see on the sounder.



Hot spot with trout stacked on a dropoff between 20-25m    Broken thermocline above



Flies moving through band of fish



Trout above smelt.    Trout still holding in a band between 20-25m everywhere I fished

Rainbow




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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Accident Prone Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Mar 2016 at 9:53am
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Nice work Herb, I fished yesterday arvo for 11 fish up to about 6lb. Yep totally agree with your sounder being the most valuable tool. Fish can certainly be fussy things. Quite frustrating watching them follow your flies up and down but no bites. I have caught a few recently by leading the fish up to the thermocline and its here where I have managed to get a few of the fussy ones to bite.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Rainbow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Mar 2016 at 11:46am
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Trout have big air bladders and show up well on the sounder as defined arcs.    However, arcs are a sign that the fish or the kayak is moving.     When both are relatively stationary arcs become a straight line.      I never use the Fish ID option because it shows up all manner of "non fish" thingies as fish symbols.    Trap for young players, really.

Rainbow 
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Accident Prone Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Mar 2016 at 12:51pm
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Yep, I've never used symbols ever.

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