Fishing Reports

When we do get a bright sunny day, insects of all descriptions come out to play.  The best part of this, from an anglers point of view, is that most of the insects that we see flying around are actually born in water, be it a puddle, stream or lake.  As the hatching insects move towards the surface they are preyed upon by very hungry trout, trout that have lost a lot of condition due to their annual spawning experience.  Last Monday was a cracker as far as fine days go and trout were rising with gay abandon, taking newly hatched insects from the surface of the water.  Unfortunately I wasn’t prepared for this event but I did manage to get a few small trout interested in my offering.  The Kaituna River lends itself to dry fly fishing both with the fly rod and bubble and fly on a spinning rod.  From mid October there will be plenty of opportunities to try out this exciting form of fishing.

The lake bed off the Dump at Lake Rotoiti still seems to be visited by spawning trout as there is evidence of fresh redds there, this past weekend.  The wind coming near to onshore made it impossible to see if there were trout there but I would think that there will be.

Lake Okareka continues to provide some awesome fishing opportunities after dark.  Size 10 or 12 flies seem to be preferred, just as long as they glow.  Anywhere along the beach is worth fishing at the moment, though if nothing is happening after 20 minutes or so, slowly walk along the beach, casting as you go.  Fishing off the small stream mouth that enters the lake through a copse of willows is well worth a cast or two as well.  A journey along the walkway to Lake Okareka Outlet is also worthwhile as there are fish still spawning in places.  As the track meanders along the lake edge look for cruising or spawning fish from any high vantage point.

Lake Rerewhakaaitu still has spawning fish along the shore in various places.  Orange bead head hare and copper nymphs work as do most smelt patterns smaller than a size 8.  A dead slow retrieve is best when fishing to spawning fish anywhere, especially at Lake Rerewhakaaitu.  As with most lakes a lot of spent fish are being caught when trolling so choose what you keep carefully as these fish have white flesh and do not taste good.

Early risers fishing on Lake Rotorua over the weekend managed to beat the wind, which came up around 10am.  Fishing off Mission Bay seemed to be successful for a couple of boats that I saw there.  I saw a lot of smelt feeding on the surface around the delta of the Ohau Channel so perhaps there is a run going through the channel this week.  Trolling or jigging, if the weather allows, along the drop-off outside the channel entrance in Lake Rotorua through to Mission Bay or even the Pins may be successful over the next week or so.

Even with a night of rain the Ngongotaha Stream is fishable and fish are being caught throughout the day. There have been quite a few anglers on the stream today though they have moved between the Ngongotaha and the Waiteti Stream on a regular basis.  This stream is also fishing well.  The mouth has been a little slow, though some fish have been caught during the evening.

The Utuhina is carrying some colour but is just fishable.  A fresh run of fish has moved into this stream over night.