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Around Rotorua while fishing for that trophy trout, you'll be enticied by the lakes, rivers and crystal spring fed streams. Rotorua's stunning scenery offers endless possibilities for relaxation, fun and adventure in, on and around our waterways.
Rotorua has 14 lakes, Their shapes have been formed and altered by cataclysmic volcanic activity in times past. Many are steeped in Maori legend and history - you'll hear stories of phantom canoes seen gliding in the mist, and of lovers who swam the lakes to secretly meet upon their shores. The lakes are ringed by forest and farmland and most are easily accessible to visitors.
The lakes and rivers have good populations of Rainbow Trout, a few have mixes of Rainbow and Brown trout and some have mixes of Rainbow, Tiger or Brook Trout. There are 3 lakes regarded as trophy lakes, Tarawera, Rotoiti and Okataina. Jigging and trolling are the most popular methods but at certain times fly fishing excells. In fact you're likely to find Rotorua is the easiest place in New Zealand to hook up the best trout of your life. From the boat, harling on Lake Rotorua has probably the highest catch rate of wild trout of anywhere in the world with an average of 3 fish an hour and average weights of 1.5kg for Rainbow trout and 3kg for Brown trout. During the summer months Lake Rotorua stream mouths have fishing that will leave you stunned at the amount of fish that hang out in the clear oxygenated water. A limit bag and an excess of catch and released fish will leave a smile on your face that will last a lifetime or till the next time you do it.
Catch and release is practiced by most anglers but the ability to keep a fish is still up to the angler’s discretion in most of our waters.
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The stream and river network is so vast that you often have a delema as to which way to go. Just over an hour or a 20 minute flight from Rotorua, the world of opporunity awaits you. Put yourself in the picture and come and explore our part of New Zealand.
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As mentioned on our home page sight fishing best describes the nature of our style of Fly fishing. The water generally is crystal clear, so therefore the best method of fly fishing is to stealthily stalk up the river and spot your fish first before tempting it with a dry fly or nymph. If you were to 'fish the water' you'll spend a lot of time fishing barren water, a bit like fishing dirty or coloured water. The sight fishing style of fly fishing means that the more river that is covered, the more fish that will be found. So be prepared to walk. The rewards to this effort is that when everything falls into place seeing large fish rise to suck in dry fly or watch your nymph indicator disappear and you are hooked up on the fish of your dreams. The average fish in New Zealand is wary and cunning. They won’t give you too many chances so success comes from understanding how to deceive them and in being able to get the fly in the right place at the right time. On an average day you can expect to have the opportunity to catch a reasonable number of reasonable sized fish. How many are landed depends on the skill of you the fisherman! A good day may see up to 10 or more fish landed. Most fish will be in the 3-6 lb range with some up to 8lbs or larger.
Our Seasons and what to expect: October to December offers some great spring and early summer fishing. The Backcountry Rivers throughout the Central North Island open on October 1st after the winter months and the fish are active, hungry, and haven't seen anglers since the end of April for some and June in others. Dry fly can be limited, while nymph fishing yelds best results. On the lakes the smelt are spawning bringing trout into the shallows for some exciting action along the beaches and stream mouths. Lake Tarawera can be the best place to be for this action. January & February are usually our best summer months. Giving you the best of our dry fly fishing and making it the day to remember. Cicada and hoppers are the delicacies and trout just love them!! If you really want to get away, my recommendation is overnight trips into the wilderness. Check out our wilderness helifishing options and our Fly Fishing Helifishing Special or for the many options that this type of fishing can offer, please email us or call. We promise a day to remember!!!! Stream mouths on Lake Rotorua go ballistic with fish seeking cooler water as the lake warms, making for some awesome fishing. It is not uncommon to catch and release fish till you are tied in a morning then do it all over again in the evening. These fish average 1.5kg (3.5lb) with surprises up to 5kg plus. These fish are mostly Rainbows with the bigger ones being Browns. March & April, dry fly action begins to slow down especially towards April but hatches are still about. You will get some great nymph fishing, fish are in peak condition and ready for spawning, making for some of the biggest fish of the season can be caught. May to September Autumn and Winter fishing at its best, Migratory runs start on all tributaries and to the beaches on the lakes. There are some very big trout to be caught but you should expect cooler temperatures but generally very pleasant days (10 - 15c). Expect to see plenty of anglers as temperatures don't deter those chasing trophy fish in full spawning colours. Night fishing on the Rotorua lakes provides some exceptional entertainment. |
