Central North Island - Freshwater
fishing report
October 9, 2023
Fishing on the great lake has been reasonably consistent throughout the winter. The advent of some warmer spring weather will signal the return of a lot of post spawned fish looking to regain condition after the winter spawning runs.
We will expect to see more activity for the harlers as the trout will pray on the large shoals of smelt that will gather in the shallow water for their own spawning run from mid October through summer.
Trolling will continue to be the mainstay method through October as there is no thermocline and the fish are all at varying levels chasing food. Trolling with a leadline is a perfect way to cover water at this time of the year. Black and Gold Toby, Traffic Light, Rastafarian, Spotty Gold, Liquorish Allsort tassie devils will all do the business.
Once again as predicted the weather has had a great impact on this winters fly fishing and as expected a lot of the best runs of the year are coming through right now. The Tongariro and Tauranga Taupo in particular are having some great runs of fresh fish coming through on these spring freshes. The rain has been quite sporadic at the moment so it pays to make the effort to get your timing right as the rivers start to recede with the last of the colour before dropping and clearing.
Fishing naturals has been the go to recently as the rivers are clearing and dropping so quickly. This also means that the fresh fish will bolt upriver quite quickly. When faced with lower and clearer water it will pay to walk higher up the river.
The warmer weather has also triggered some pretty spectacular mayfly hatches and a dry dropper rig can be very effective and a pleasure to use after the winter heavyweight outfits.
The 2023 Fish & Game season has started so a reminder to get your licence if you haven’t already. Opening day turned out to be a washout for most anglers targeting the back country rivers, so Taupo rivers tended to be a better bet.
The lakes have also now opened and will take a few weeks to liven up as the invertebrate population begins to activate. The lakes are always a good alternative if the rivers are blown. Bear in mind that the lake fish will not be in 100%order until at least mid Novemberish. Lakes Rotoaira, Kuratau, and Otamangakau are all open for business.
Tight lines from the team at Fly & Gun Hunting and Fishing. Look forward to seeing you in the shop to catch up on the good oil.
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