Families lured by fishing

By GEOFF THOMAS

Children can catch a trout on Saturday morning in Rotorua - before the new season starts.

As part of the programme to encourage family participation in trout fishing, the Fish and Game Council in Rotorua is continuing the family licence it launched last year.

"It was a huge success. Eighty per cent of the second adults listed on the family licence hadn't bought a licence before," said council manager Steve Smith.

There were 2500 of the $90 family licences sold last season, compared with 9200 regular adult season licences, he said.

In the coming season the family licence will also be extended to cover all Fish and Game regions except for the Lake Taupo fishery.

Smith said that a children's fishing day would be held at the Ngongotaha hatchery on Saturday morning, followed by a clinic in the afternoon to teach family licence holders how to successfully fish the Rotorua lakes.

The new season would also be celebrated with a piping of the haggis, whisky tasting and blessing of the boats at the Tarawera Landing.

This had become one of the traditions of opening day, and hundreds of people gathered at the Landing to celebrate the Scottish flavour which stretches back to the days of Tarawera launchmaster Con Campbell, 40 years ago, said Smith.

Anglers could expect to catch prime conditioned trout of more than 2kg in the lakes.

"The yearlings which were liberated 12 months ago in Tarawera, for example, have grown from 15cm to about 50cm and these will make up the bulk of the fish caught on opening day."

One major change this year is an increase in the number of yearling trout released into Lake Rotoiti.

"The annual liberation has been increased from 14,500 to 25,000 to see what effect this has on summer catch rates and fish growth.

"The first of these will probably turn up as small fish in late summer next year, and we should really see the benefit in next year's season opening," said Smith.