Taupo For A Change
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Freshwater Fishing
Forum Name: Freshwater Fishing reports
Forum Description: Post your report here
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=130685
Printed Date: 27 Jan 2026 at 12:47pm
Topic: Taupo For A Change
Posted By: Redfinger
Subject: Taupo For A Change
Date Posted: 01 Apr 2019 at 1:17pm
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Fished Taupo for a change in their very friendly Taupo Fishing Club Competition. Shirley was very helpful in sorting us out and great company - awesome club. Friday Barry Stevens and I launched Kinloch and fished for 3.5 hours - l was lucky enugh to hook 8 and land 7 to 53cm. Barry got one - bigger lake than Rotoiti and fish a bot hard to find - fish marked in anything from 28 to 60m! Better arounD 30m. Day 2 - Fished whagamata bluffs, kawakawa bay, whakaipo bay - covered a lot of territory - I hooked 17 landed 12 to 53cm, barry hooked 6 landed 3. Smelt flies in smaller sizes worked for us - finding one or two fish - dropping on them and slowly minkota creeping got us quite a few bites and plenty of action. Kept plenty for smoker - went home with 7kg of fillets!  
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Replies:
Posted By: Fishb8
Date Posted: 01 Apr 2019 at 1:51pm
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Great fishing!👍 ------------- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken |
Posted By: Reel Deal
Date Posted: 01 Apr 2019 at 2:02pm
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Top fishing!!! I thought Taupo was now the poor cousin of the other lakes for good catches like that!. I like the idea of dropping flies and slowly trolling them...hmmmm ------------- The gods do not subtract from the allotted span of men's lives the hours spent on fishing - Assyrian Proverb |
Posted By: Redfinger
Date Posted: 01 Apr 2019 at 2:11pm
I think we use the term when creeping very very slowly working the fly moving just with minkota as Jarling...  cross between jigging and harling. Also we would sometimes turn off spot lock and drift - same thing moving fly - especially if dropping on fish that wont bite but obviously visable on sounder steering at your fly- just a wee bit of extra movement would attract a strike. The biggest fish of the trip hit the smelt fly while winding up at some speed - ala kingfish styles! |
Posted By: The Tamure Kid
Date Posted: 01 Apr 2019 at 4:46pm
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Nice work, big fella. Looks like stunning countryside in the background, love the central plateau. From the reports people have been posting at Rotoiti, it looks like a frustrating season there. Hot or very cold. So it's great that you got amongst some nice fish at Taupo. Traditionally, the smelt at Taupo are smaller and lighter in colour than the ones in the Rotorua catchment, but having said that, the Ginger Mick has always been a popular harling fly at Taupo.
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Posted By: Redfinger
Date Posted: 01 Apr 2019 at 4:52pm
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Hi Lester - yes haven't fished that area much before - stunning all right. Pat really struggling at Rotoiti - landed 68 in police tournament last week - Pat is part Rainbow trout though you know that. Smelt in Taupo that we observed in fishes guts were tiny compared to Rotoiti smelt - maybe just area we fished but doubt it. All my fish bay 4 were caught on grey ghost. |
Posted By: Far Quirk
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2019 at 9:05pm
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17 on day 2 is top work for Taupo. Well done RF!
------------- Far Quirk - I'm goin' fishn! |
Posted By: Fishb8
Date Posted: 18 Apr 2019 at 5:22pm
As trot's food was severely diminished, smelt from Rotorua lakes were introduced to Taupo and they thrived. Maybe another dose of Rotorua smelt...or is it too many small smelt due to their lessened food?? ------------- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken |
Redfinger wrote:Posted By: Rainbow
Date Posted: 18 Apr 2019 at 10:41pm
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Lake Taupo is nutrient poor, hence the clear water Taupo trout are always starving. Too many trout and not enough smelt Only solution is more harvest to bring the two into a better balance. That is why the limit has been increased to 6. No point putting slabs back. To get a better idea of what is really going on you need to talk to DOC's fishery scientist Michael Dudeal. Cheers Rainbow
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Posted By: Far Quirk
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2022 at 9:47am
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3/1/22 7:30 to 10:15am Harled off the Waitahanui mouth in about 7m, ginger micks catching both trout. Then went to Horomatangi reef for some jigging, starting our drift at about 47m and drifting up the contours. First fish within 5 seconds of hitting the bottom, and another before we got to 35m. Second drift 60m to 35, and my mate caught 2, one at 58m, another around 45m. Last drift 60m to 40m, got another 2. Kept 3 all up, good condition, best about 3 1/2 pounds. Small ginger mick and grey ghost flies caught most, and one on a green marabou bully imitation with a red flash. ------------- Far Quirk - I'm goin' fishn! |
Posted By: Redfinger
Date Posted: 10 Jan 2022 at 4:11pm
| Nice going Mr FQ - Still to do a first on Rotoiti this season - give me a yell if in for a mad day mission |
Posted By: Fishb8
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2022 at 1:11pm
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Planned to have 3 days at Turangi. Drove down early from Hamilton and got to the TT at 07.00and did a bit of exploring. Using my 4 wt CD GHR with red bead H&C and soft egg. Didn't take long to land a nice hen then spent time just looking and decided I'd be back on day 3. Spent the next few hours visiting spots off Grace Road with 8wt CD GHR and a much bigger bomb to go with the egg pattern. Haven't used that outfit since 2009 and only used my 4 wt with small nymph or dry fly and smacked my head and back a few times before getting my casting rhythm. Moved to Major Jones for a look around - quite a few anglers so moved to next access track and saw a likely spot just 20 metres from car park. The shrubs made the back-cast a bit of an issue and caught a few of them. Scored 3 sets of flies that other anglers had lost!! After a few good casts got a decent jack on a small pink fluffy with white veil. Then the action ramped up when a trout hit my fly so hard it almost jerked the rod out of my hand - game on! Off it took across and slightly downstream. I had a brand new reel so was careful to up the drag but further and further it went away until I had a fair bit of backing out and heading much closer to the white water downstream than I was comfortable with. A couple of anglers on the opposite bank were much closer to my fish and were yelling encouragement. Not sure if that was for the fish or me! I had a 10lb tippet so it was sh*t or bust and I upped the drag until the fish stopped. Started to get some line back but very slowly and it would take off again. This to & fro carried on for a good while then I got flyline back on the reel. After a big struggle and 20 minutes, I got it to the net. It was a beautiful, silver hen, well over 6 lb but it had been foul-hooked just below its left pectoral. I know the rules are that foul-hooked fish must be released but I was severely tempted. I released it and it took a while for it to get it's act together and swam off. Still had 2 days to go. Unfortunately, next morning woke up feeling awful and it had started raining so make the decision to go home. Got home and went to bed and slept for 14 hours. Glad I'd made the right decision. Went onto Google Earth and together with a DOC river map worked out that I'd been fishing the Stag Pool and using the ruler tool approximated that I'd had 90 metres of line out. I'll never forget that fish. Edit - not Covid but just a head cold and rivers rose quickly at the lake and I'd never get much fishing done, anyway.
------------- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken |
Posted By: The Tamure Kid
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2022 at 8:41pm
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Nice one. Good report. I did that Tron to Turangi drive many times when I lived there. Great to be able to fish the rivers on a day trip if you feel like a big mission.
The Stag is a beautiful pool. Tricky from the SH1 side if you're right handed. You always feel like you need to get another metre further and then the damn flies catch in the brush behind - but if the fish aren't too disturbed they sit surprisingly close, particularly nearer the tail of the pool. I've lost a few which were hooked lower down and then took off into the fast water, so you did well to get that one back up to the net. Looks like one of the better seasons in recent times. Great to see. I know a lot of people favour 6 wt rods on the Tongariro these days, rather than the 8 or 9wt used back in the day. So it's interesting you went with a bit heavier. it must allow you to put more heat on the fish in what is still fairly big water in places. |
Posted By: Uncle
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2022 at 8:58pm
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Good one Roy, hooking a decent one in the Tonga can be quite interesting. Lots of water & big flanks can give them a fair bit of leverage. The Stag was one of my fav haunts when I lived in Taupo so I can envisage the battle you described. I have one hangin' on the wall that came from that very pool & I consider it one of my best ( lucky) efforts . I have to concede I was damn lucky to land it, skill was at a low ebb, lol |
Posted By: Fishb8
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2022 at 9:26pm
I've fished the TT following a flood using my 8 wt and landed 20+ in a session with dirty water on the Wire pool. If you're catching fish and landing, then you are using the right gear. ------------- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken |
Posted By: Redfinger
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2022 at 1:56pm
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Good report - i was fishing thur frid - tonga and TT , waiotaka and waimarino all flooded out and chocolate - water on sh1 just b4 turangi!
Fished Hinemaia that was up quite a bit and discoloured - so was the rest of the fishing population of the north island by the look of it - all car parks nearly full and lots and lots anglers. Still fishing was pretty good - in 2 sessions landed about 13 and lost that many or more - fish were very average im afraid lots of dark jacks mostly but was plenty of fun in the quicker water. Nymphing and all on small glo bugs. All good.
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Posted By: Rainbow
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2022 at 4:45pm
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Fished the Tonga during the week between the last two floods and had a good time fishing. The first part of the week was mostly rain and high wind while at the end we had a couple of good frosts. Surprisingly few people considering the last week of the school holidays. Fish still in very good condition with only one slab for the whole week. Did mostly wet lining with my new Guideline ULS 3D shooting heads. Fished places with little back cast room and had them mainly to myself. Back there for the Trout Fest 13th of Aug. Not surprised the Hine had dark fish as they run early there I never fish there too small for me!!! Some Taltac members found the TT full of fish and fishers. This is shaping up to be a cracker season with well above average fish weights. Long may it last. Cheers Rainbow
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Posted By: Fishb8
Date Posted: 04 Aug 2022 at 4:32pm
 Nice fish this year but would love another Bg Fish year like 97/98! Foul hooked fish, just under the dorsal ------------- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken |
Posted By: Far Quirk
Date Posted: 25 Sep 2024 at 6:55pm
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At the risk of trying to inject life into a "dead thread" I'll post a couple of reports, 1 of them woefully late. April 2024 Launched Kinloch and motored over to a spot recommended by Redfinger. Drifted up the contours jigging with mainly smelt flies and it started quietly, but turned out to be quite a good session. We boated about 10, lost about 5 and took home 3. The best condition ones were in excellent condition. Sunday 22/9/24 Looked at an old video by Alex Waller (Trippin on Trout) where he has marked both Acacia Bays, and Mine Bay as good spots. We launched at Wharewaka (bit to the north of the point) and headed over to the northern Acacia Bay. Same trout jigging, drifting up or down contours, same mainly smelt flies. We caught several undersized ones, then about a 2 1/2 pounder on a silicone smelt in average condition, all put back. The fishing was a bit slow , so put the rod in the rodholder and got another jigging string ready. I didn't notice, but a good trout over 3 pounds grabbed the bully imitation at the bottom of the string in the rod holder and gave a good account of itself when I woke up. Very good condition, so into the bin. We worked our way south stopping at the southern Acacia Bay, and a couple of points, until we got to Rangatira Point. My mate caught another nice trout close to 4 pounds and when filleted later it had the reddest flesh I've seen in a long time. He got most of his on small grey ghosts or ginger micks. We released a couple more undersized ones. Last stop we went round the corner to Whakamoenga Point. No bites here, so that was it. We haven't solved the "where to jig in winter/spring" question. Any pointers? ------------- Far Quirk - I'm goin' fishn! |
Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 26 Sep 2024 at 6:02am
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Thanks for the report, I don't go trout fishing these days but always interesting to see what's going on.
------------- Best gurnard fisherman in my street |
Posted By: The Tamure Kid
Date Posted: 26 Sep 2024 at 8:35am
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Good one, Geoff. Have a look at the YouTube vids posted by 'Ricks Fishing and Leisure. He appears to be the owner or a senior staffer at the ITM in Taupo. He nymphs the Tongariro in winter, then does a fair bit of jigging in the warmer months - launches at the ramp in town and fishes mainly off the likes of 5 Mile Bay by the look of it. The landscape in the background is fairly recognisable. He doesn't go into much detail about his rigs etc, but you can't go wrong with whatever pre-made Pat Swift ones that the local shops recommend - remembering that the smelt tend to be a different size and colour than in the Rotorua lakes. I always used to tie up some Parsons Glory flies with a fluoro green body, which was an old favourite of some of the Taupo harling stalwarts. I would think the contours across the whole bay off the mouth of the Waitahanui would be a good spot to try, it's always been a highly recommended area for harling (keeping in mind the legal distance you have to keep from the river moouth). My feeling was that the fish running up the Waitahanui are a bigger average size than some of the other rivers, and there are some decent browns living in that bay too.
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Posted By: Far Quirk
Date Posted: 26 Sep 2024 at 5:11pm
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Cheers Lester. Good intell. I'm just about to check some "Rick's Fishing and Leisure" videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc4AqhNc8Yg" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc4AqhNc8Yg This one is from February 2024 from a SeaDoo. Mostly 5 Mile Bay across to the point near Horomatangi reef. Did pretty well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc4AqhNc8Yg" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc4AqhNc8Yg First posted Feb 24 but from a kayak. Mainly 5 Mile Bay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyidM6Dmi48" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyidM6Dmi48 March 23, kayak, similar area. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aJEyXtmdh4" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aJEyXtmdh4 March 23, Stabi, gets at least 2 very good fat rainbows. 5 Mile Bay and Acacia Bay? All the above are jigging stylz. ------------- Far Quirk - I'm goin' fishn! |
Posted By: The Tamure Kid
Date Posted: 28 Sep 2024 at 2:53pm
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That's it, Geoff. Looks like a general line between Wharewaka Pt and the end of the cliffs south of Waitahanui. Maybe shallower first thing, deeper later.
You might get a few spent fish this time of year as they start feeding after spawning, mixed in with a few maiden fish. I'm heading down to Turangi for the first part of the second week of the school hols, hopefully still a few fresh fish coming through. Usually in spring the little naturals can work quite well, and I have a special little caddis that will be my go to.
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