Taupo - May 2010

Fish mass for spawning runs

With no rain and the lake at a very low level, river fishing has been a little tough.

The fish are sitting off the deltas and drop-offs in increasing numbers, and the first decent fresh will have us running for the rivers with buckets of Glo-bugs.

There have been a few small pods of spawning fish in the Tauranga-Taupo and the Hinemaiaia Rivers, but hopefully a deluge of rain will arrive any day. Judging by the condition of the fish being caught in the lake, it should be a cracker of a spawning season.

There are some good jack rainbows coming out of the river mouths, but the talk this year has been about the dominance of the brown trout fishery. The Waitahanui River mouth traditionally puts up good browns late in January to late February, but this year we have been pulling some good 2.7-3.7kg fish out of the rip – along with a smattering of old-fashioned double-figure fish – right to the end of April. The river seems devoid of rainbows at times, yet there are browns to be seen from the lake to Black Fish Pool. This is all very good.

On the lake there is a chill in the air and the lake has dropped to around 17º, but there is still plenty of activity due to the fine weather. Harling is popular for the hardy early-morning risers, and a size two Woolly Bugger, red-body Ginger Mick or Green Orbit are top flies off the weed beds at Hatepe or Whakaipo Bay.

Jigging remains a good option for the late-rising fishos – a Woolly Bugger and Parsons Glory jigged off Chinamans in Kawakawa Bay has been doing the business for me.

Deep trollers are now into winter patterns, with the black and gold Toby and ‘Baby Brown’ being the most popular lures in Taupo Bay.

There is also plenty of excitement around. The Hinemaiaia is open up to the Cliff Pool in winter, but be aware it will still close at the end of May this year, as usual, but not re-open until July 1, with the new licence and corresponding new-season rule changes.

- © Fairfax NZ News