I use a cast net for small baitfish with small mesh and seen countless others doing so as well,with mullet a common catch and even being targeted.Dont even think you can get a large mesh cast net ?

Far out Lethal, how often did this happen? I've heard a yarn about salmon being hooked in the upper Whanganui by fly fishos (never landed, but far too big to be a trout etc.). I also heard of a trawler getting one off the Mohaka river mouth.

There's a few obstacles to  pass on the way up the Waikato that'd stop them getting to Taupo.

It's the Huka falls that probably pose the biggest obstacle, and that isn't man made. Going on the lack of eels in Taupo, it seems like a pretty effective barrier.  

 

For the purposes of this paper we use the name Taupo-nui-a-Tia as describing Lake Taupo and its watershed. It includes the lake and all the streams running into it, the Poutu Strewn, Roto-a-Ira and the streams running into it. The area is a very large one. It extends from the water-shed between the Rangitikei and Whangaehu Rivers, which flow towards the west coast of the North Island, and the sources of the Waikato Rivers, which flow into the Taupo Lake, on to some distance beyond the northern end of the lake, a distance from north to south of over sixty miles. From east to west it extends from the summits of the Kaimanawa Ranges to Hauhungaroa and Hurakia Ranges, a distance of about fifty miles. Its area would be reckoned at about 2,000 square miles. Throughout the whole of this large area the eel, that great source of valuable food to Maoris in other more favoured districts, was practically unknown. There are stories of large eels having been caught in Roto-a-Ira in days gone by. but none for many years past. Sonic women are supposed to have seen an eel in the Toka-anu Stream quite recently, but it was not caught. Eels are caught in the small streams running in to the Whanganui River which have their source on the slopes of Tongariro. They are plentiful on the side towards Whanganui, but there are none on the side towards Roto-a-Ira. The eels known to have been caught in Roto-a--Ira would be a few enterprising explorers from the Whanganui streams. I have been told of eels having been caught in other rivers and carried alive to Taupo and liberated with the idea of stocking the lake. It is said that some members of the Armed Constabulary caught some eels in a tributary of the Mohaka and liberated them in Roto-ngaio, a small lake that empties itself into Taupo. Of course, all such attempts ended in failure.

 

 

 

And this doesnt sound good for our eels population.

 

There are large numbers of both eels and catfish in the Waikato Rivers and lakes but the catfish are bottom feeders so not often seen. They are the small bullhead catfish and they have clean white flesh and are quite good eating but of course very bony at that size. I understand they were introduced in mistake for channel catfish which are much bigger and grow to over 100lb

How did we get onto catfish anyway?