Fishing Reports

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 of 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.