Fishing Reports

The heavy and persistent rain over the past weekend did drop Lake Rotorua’s water temperature a couple of degrees though the lake temperature has risen a little since then.

Overall lake water temperatures continue to stay in the low 20s. and in the deeper lakes a thermocline is forming, though it is by no means stable and fluctuates in depth and width from day to day. Those anglers who have been able to find the thermocline have done well, particularly on day when the sun is full on the water for any period of time. Jigging is still a challenge as the wind has settled in from the West or South-West at 15 to 25 kilometres per hour. Well prior to nine or ten in the morning seems to be the best time to be out on the water as the wind seems to be in full force by then.

Shallow trolling off the Airport on Lake Rotorua has been fairly successful over the past week as there seems to have been a run of smelt through the Ohau Channel and into Lake Rotorua late last week. As the smelt movement through the channel is so sporadic both rainbows and browns have tended to concentrate more on galaxids as their main food source. Those using any of the killer patterns in sizes six down to size ten have had some success. Spin fishing has also been reasonably successful when using a ‘brown trout rapala. Brown trout seem to have no hesitation in taking this particular lure and it has been very successful in the Ngongotaha River prior to the deluge of last weekend. I suspect that this lure will work well in any waterway containing brown trout.

As this river clears so should the fishing dramatically improve. A large number of large brown trout were caught as the river started to flood and in the back waters as the peak of the flood passed. The Waiteti Stream also saw a fresh run of browns and rainbows though they didn’t hang around the lower reaches of the stream for any length of time. Both egg patterns and natural imitations have taken fish in this stream.

Lake Tarawera’s Rangiuru Bay has proven to be a challenge for most anglers. There have been fish caught, both during the day and after dark but they have been few and far between for most. Size 12 flies tied with a small amount of aurora skirt, with a couple of red hackle feathers tied palmer fashion along the shank of the hook seems to have worked for some. Others have used 4mm soft lumo beads pushed on to the head of a size 10 or 12 mrs simpson, craigs night time or rabbit fly that has been tied with an orange body. Trolling has been successful for those using copper lines rigged with two colours of lead, 12 metres of 4.9kg fluorocarbon, a size 10 grey ghost, followed by a size 4 pearl ice chenille rabbit.

Cheers Doug, Malcolm and Bert
Prepared by Bert Robinson for
Okeefes Fishing Specialists
1113 Eruera Street
Rotorua
07 346 0178
www.okeefesfishingspecialists.co.nz