Taupo trout there for the taking

Grab your fishing rod and head for Lake Taupo - it's expected to be a boomer season for trout over the summer holidays.

The Department of Conservation is predicting good fishing, with lots of big fish up for grabs as long as the weather plays ball.

Taupo fishery area programme manager Glenn Maclean said a recent count of large trout in the lake using sophisticated acoustic equipment indicated the population was in very good shape.

Mr Maclean said that when the surveyed was carried out, the highest densities of trout were measured at the southern end of the lake.

However, trout may move from one side of the lake to another in a single day so that could have changed, he said.

The most-travelled trout among 35 fish followed over a year-long research project was one which swam at least 5750km over 251 days - 23km a day.

Mr Maclean said research suggested that if you were out fishing and not catching trout, the best strategy was to move to a different part of the lake where there may be more fish on that particular day.

He said it was important that small trout - below the minimum legal length of 45cm - were released carefully so they had a high chance of survival.

Ideally the fish should be left in the water and long-nosed pliers used to unhook it.

- NZPA