Jigging, trolling spinning, lures and flies. The trout fishing jargon is extensive but if you spend too much time trying to decipher it you'll miss the boat on what trout fishing is all about.
And that's enjoying the outdoors, quality time with family or friends, camaraderie, and the scenery.
Former Rotorua woman Kathy Field now lives in Levin but returns to the city every year for the opening of the trout fishing season.
She was parked on the shores of Lake Tarawera this morningwhile her partner was out fishing on the water.
'It's fun to catch and nice to eat. It's nice down here in the evening."
Gus Cantlon travelled from Paengaroa and slept on his boat overnight. He was fishing by 6.15am and caught three trout before 9am.
"It's nice being on the water and being with your friends. If you catch something it's good, if you don't it's not a worry."
Bay of Plenty Regional Council had a presence at lakes Rotoiti, Ōkataina and Tarawera.
Biosecurity manager Greg Corbett was at Tarawera waiting to speak to those getting out of the water about the risks of pest plants and fish.
"We want to talk to them about lake weed, and make sure they've got awareness of catfish and what they can do to prevent the spread. We want people to have good practice."
Corbett said catfish had only been found at Lake Rotoiti but the council didn't want them moving.
"The main thing is the boats really need to have a good look over their gear and boat trailers and make sure there's no weeds attached."
Fish & Game council chairman Lindsay Lyons was also fishing on Monday morning, hoping to snag the $10,000 fish released by the organisation as part of the Fish for Gold campaign.
"There's a $10,000 fish out there somewhere. I don't have a clue which lake it's in."