Lake Tarawera still the pick of the lakes

The fishing over the last couple of weeks has been a little patchy out on the lakes; the pick of them has still been Lake Tarawera with some nice fish up to 3.5kg being landed with a high average weight of approximately 3kg, which is fantastic.

Both jigging and soft-baiting has worked well. The great thing about Tarawera is with the bush-clad hills you can always find some shelter out of the wind which has been a problem over the last two weeks. Lake Okataina has also produced some lovely fish for those that have managed to get out. Okataina is very scenic and gets protection from both the westerly and easterly winds.

Lake Rotoiti has fished harder of late, and the top end of the lake is where the most consistent catches have come from. Around the narrows and the West Bank are the spots to target. The thermocline is not yet defined, so the fish are still well spread out. In the morning the fish will often be up on top of the shelf then as the sun rises they will drop down into deeper water. You need to find the shoals of smelt and try and get on the edges of them – this will be the best place to concentrate your efforts.

Pat Swift with a nice Rotoiti fish caught jigging.

Lake Rotorua is starting to produce some cracking browns for those who are fly fishing up on the flats. The browns are chasing and following the shoals of smelt that have moved through Ohau Chanel. The best conditions here are when the wind is light, and there is lots of sun and very few clouds. This will aid in spotting your quarry from as far away as possible.

The rivers are all starting to clean up. Angler pressure has been low because we had so much rain, so get out and explore the many good options on offer.

This long weekend is looking good on the weather front. I am heading across to Bowentown to chase some snapper. Have a fantastic and safe long weekend and hopefully you have many good fishing stories to come back with.

Mike Davis
Rotorua Hunting and Fishing New Zealand
360 Te Ngae Road, Lynmore Junction, Lynmore, Rotorua 3010
07 349 6303
https://www.facebook.com/RotoHF/
www.huntingandfishing.co.nz