Auckland / Waikato News Index

February News

The trout fishing at present is very good, with most rivers holding high numbers of fish. On our drift dive surveys we are seeing large schools of fish. In pools where we normally see 2-4 fish, we’re seeing 10+ fish. So this is an exceptional year for fishing rivers. By contrast the hydro lakes have been a bit slow with the onset of the warmer weather but catch rates should improve as summer comes to an end and water temperatures cool.

Western Rivers: Fish numbers are well up on last year especially fish around 40-45cm, which are present in very high numbers. All the main rivers are fishing well including the Awakino, Mangahoi and Mangaotaki.

Waipa headwaters: The fishing has been superb on most rivers. There are high numbers of fish in the headwaters of the Mangatutu Stream, Puniu River and the mainstem of the Waipa. With the hot weather the best fishing has been in the early morning. The upper reaches of the Waipa have been exceptional and these waters are holding high numbers of rainbows.

Lake Karapiro: The fishing in the headwaters has been good with the warm weather and prolific evening rise. Both the Pokaiwhenua and Little Waipa mouths have fished well with fish moving into the cooler water.

Lake Arapuni: The fishing has been quite slow with the warm weather. Although the Waipapa tailrace has been producing good fish, trolling on Arapuni has been hard. However local angers believe that fishing will improve dramatically in March with the cooler weather.

South Waikato spring creeks: This is the best time of year to go dry fly fishing on the spring creeks. The Waihou, Waimakariri, Oraka and Little Waipa are all recommended.

Whanganui and Whakapapa Rivers: Generally the fishing has been productive in the Whakapapa but the high angling pressure is starting to tell. Both Owhango and Kakahi have seen lots of anglers, even midweek, and thus catch rates have declined from earlier in the season. The upper reaches at Taurewa Station have produced the occasional trophy trout, but flows in the upper river are often too high for safe fishing. Genesis Energy are no longer diverting flows to Taupo so the upper river is usually flowing at 9 cumecs compared to 3 cumecs earlier in the year. Flows are not likely to drop until April/May when Genesis Energy will start diverting again. You can check the flows before you go at www.genesisenergy.co.nz. Reports from the Whanganui suggest that the fishing is quite hard in the upper reaches within the forest park. However, downstream below Kakahi the fishing has been pretty good although again angling pressure has been high.

Ongarue River: Recent reports indicate that the Ongarue is fishing very well after a poor start to the season. Good reports have also been received from the Waimiha and Waione Rivers.