First outing last night for the winter season to Te Wairoa mouth.  A few fish holding in the stream, and a few in the trap so good signs.  Fished for a couple of hours from just on dark til my rumbling stomach got the better of me.  Landed 2 jacks both around the 4- 4.5lb mark and in pretty good nick, and had a couple of missed takes.  Nothing holding off the angle jetty stream yet, and didn't see anything moving off the beach.

Just returned from Rotoiti.   I jigged from the kayak and after looking for fish during the first day I did not find any around the Pipe or the Dump.    There was a high concentration off the Ruato point, which suggests that night fishing would be more productive on that beach.    All fish were in top conditions with many full with mature eggs.    I would expect them to home into the beach very soon and possibly are just waiting for the next dump of rain that activates the inflow culverts.    

I used to do a lot of night fishing all along the shore release points and found a two fly rig very popular among the locals.    Best combo is a big dark fly with a truck and trailer dropper either a small lumo Doll fly or a very small Craig's Nighttime with a lumo body.   Important to choose flies that don't tail wrap.   This rig is fished on a floating line with a reasonable fast retrieve as the weed at Ruato is only a meter below the surface.    At night fish tend to look up for a silhouette rather than down into the weed .    Also don't try to cast max distance,instead make sure your leader turns over on every cast as only at night you can fish with a tangle for half an hour without being aware of it.

Cheers

Rainbow

Hi Kooza,

Haha, nice one! 

One of the more interesting starts to a nights fishing I've had...arrive Okataina around 5pm and notice some people over at my preferred spot - the small beach/point around from the left hand end of the main beach.  Head down the beach and as I get closer I notice that is a photographer and his assistant taking photos of someone - turns out the someone was young, female...and naked as the day she was born   Not wanting to look like a creep, I decide to give them their space and fish the middle of the beach until they leave - fair to say I could have had fish rising right in front of me and wouldn't have noticed hahaha.

Wonder was it that girl in the pics on top of Taranaki?

Daniel, are you a member of Tga fish & Dive club?

Thanks for the tip guys. I'll keep all that in mind. Most of it seems like good ole common sense stuff, but there are a few things that I'm not to sure of. What is a stream rip? I haven't joined the BOP Fish and Dive club but it sounds like a good idea. Thanks for heads up. 

It occurred to me that newbies may not be aware that winter shore line fishing at the release points is most productively done in the dark either at night or in the early morning.    I have fished at Lake Tarawera during the day over drop offs with a hd shooting head and a heave and leave globug.     When I fished off Ruato last weekend there were shore fishers along the beach in the afternoon.    I came in several times for a cuppa and never saw any fish sign on the sounder anywhere near the beach and not even a fair way out.    Rotorua may be different as fish stack up in the cold inflowing spring creeks.    Another option is the Ohau Channel near the inflow gates.    Most people fish with wet line but we slaughtered them on the far side with small globugs Tongariro nymphing style.

Cheers

Rainbow

Had an hour or two last evening flinging a fly at the Te Wairoa stream mouth to no avail. There were a few others fishing when I arrived but they headed for home about a half-hour before dark and then I had the place to myself.