Cold change sparks action at streams

Tony Lolaiy scored an early autumn trout at Lake Tarawera. Photo / Geoff Thomas

Frosts bring first trout to tributaries ahead of spawning runs.

The first trout have started to congregate at stream mouths in the Rotorua lakes, as temperatures plunged after this week's cold snap.

The runs into tributary streams are triggered by weather conditions, and with a frost in Rotorua on Wednesday morning it now only needs a good bout of rainfall to trigger the movement of spawning trout.

Usually one of the three big lakes - Lakes Rotoiti, Tarawera and Okataina - will shine in terms of the quality of the trout, for this is the time of year anglers expect to hook the biggest fish of the season. The trout, which are usually three years old, return to their natal streams as adults to spawn. Or, if liberated into the lake as yearlings from the hatchery, they return to the beach where they were released two and a half years earlier. Fish and Game has spread the liberations of young trout into the lakes throughout the year which gives anglers a more evenly spread chance of hooking large fish.

The trout will feed actively at this time of year to put on condition which will support them through the rigours of spawning when they don't eat anything, and will be at their peak.

This week the first catches of trout by fly fishermen were reported from popular stream mouths like Twin Streams at Ruato on Rotoiti, where three fish were caught on Wednesday morning. Trout are also congregating off the Landing and the Te Wairoa Stream at Tarawera, and the water temperature in the stream has dropped from 20C to 12C following the cold weather.

Eastern Fish and Game officer Mark Sherburn said the fish trap was installed in the stream on April 1, and one large female in the trap was used as a donor for eggs but there had only been five trout recorded through the trap in the first two weeks, compared to 16 in the first two days last year.

"When spawning is in full swing we can find 10 to 20 fish a day in the trap, and after rain there may be a hundred," he said.

The trap is the main source of eggs which are taken from large, wild trout to be hatched and raised at the hatchery at Ngongotaha. The hatchery, which is operated by Fish and Game, produces about 150,000 yearling trout every year, the bulk of which go into the Rotorua lakes.

All methods of fishing are working at present, and in Rangiuru Bay on Tarawera fly fishermen are doing well. It is a good time of year for fly fishing and harling the margins of the lakes, for smelt move into the shallows to spawn. Experienced anglers watch for the activity as trout venture into the shallows to chase the schools of smelt. Either wading and casting out over the drop-off, or harling a parsons glory or red setter in the evening and early morning should work well. Small stream mouths fish best at night or before dawn, and the better fishing is usually during cold and wet weather.

During the day deep trolling on the lakes will catch fish and it is not necessary to go as deep as in mid-summer. A lead-core line with six to 10 colours out will work, and the traditional lures like black toby and gold cobra are hard to beat.

Ruato Bay on Rotoiti is closed to boat fishing from April 1 out to 200m offshore, and fishing is restricted to fly fishermen wading the beach. Other popular spots for fly fishing on the lake are the Pipe and Transformer at Hinehopu, the outlet at Okere and in the Ohau Channel as trout migrate through from Rotoiti to spawn in the streams feeding Lake Rotorua like the Utuhina, Waiteti and Ngongotaha Streams. These are the only streams where fishing is allowed, and nymphing with small natural patterns or glo-bugs will be popular until fishing closes at the end of June.

At Lake Okataina the Log Pool and the two streams at Rainers Bay will be worth visiting. Fly fishing from an anchored boat at the Log Pool is one of the traditional methods of fishing Okataina, and a fast sinking line with a booby pattern during the day and a black fly at night can be rewarding.

While Lakes Tarawera and Rotoiti close to fishing at the end of June, shoreline fishing on parts of those lakes continues through the winter, and some other lakes and rivers also remain open to winter fishing.

Saltwater

The large snapper caught on the Manukau Harbour by veteran Manukau fisherman Barry Warrander has been eclipsed -- by his son. Barry hooked his 8.4kg (18.5lb) snapper on a bait of a mullet head. Barry's son, Scott, went out early last Sunday with a couple of mates and used a similar approach. This time he put a trevally head on his 8/0 circle hook on a long trace, and pulled in a snapper which pulled the scales down to 8.63kg.

Bite times
Bite times are 10.45am and 11.10pm tomorrow, and 11.40am on Sunday.

Tip of the week
When targeting large trout on the lakes watch the weather and as soon as some rain or wild weather arrives head for one of the stream mouths. Dark nights with no moon are best, or at 5am when fishing starts.

More fishing action can be found on Rheem Outdoors with Geoff, 6.30am Saturday, TV3, and at GTTackle.co.nz.