Auckland / Waikato News Index>July 2007

Auckland/WaikatoJuly 2007

Waikato River fishing competition

The boating, fishing and outdoor expo will be running a trout fishing competition in Hamilton on the weekend of the 25/26 August. Fishing will be limited to the Waikato River within the boundaries of Hamilton City. It has been a long time since the last competition in October 1981 when 44 brown trout and 5 rainbow trout were entered, so we will be very interested in the results. From angler reports, there would appear to be a lot more rainbows in the river now, partly due to improvements in water quality but also because of our annual releases of rainbow yearlings. Data from the competition will be very useful for the management of the Waikato trout fishery so hopefully there will be a good turnout of anglers.

Trout kill

A trout kill was investigated in the Rapurapu Stream near Matamata. Seven dead trout were observed by an angler downstream from the Rapurapu Reserve. A site visit by F&G officers revealed that trout were still present in good numbers above the reserve, but below the reserve only dead trout were seen despite the evidence of much recent spawning activity (trout redds). It would appear that some type of toxic chemical had been released from the reserve. During the spawning season this section of the Rapurapu usually holds a lot of fish and is a popular stream for local anglers. Although only seven dead fish were observed, clearly many more were either washed downstream or became lodged unseen amongst the willows.

The reserve is a popular rest spot for travellers, including truck drivers travelling between Tauranga and the South Waikato. We would be most grateful if anglers fishing the Rapurapu, or merely driving past the reserve, would keep an eye open for any suspicious activity. We would appreciate any information, which could lead to the prosecution of the ratbags who carried out this heinous crime.

Fishing conditions

We have received a lot of enquires about winter fishing opportunities. Although there are only a limited number of rivers open to winter fishing, there are still good fishing opportunities available throughout the region. The Ohinemuri and Waitawheta rivers have been in flood, but most of the southern rivers have been experiencing low flows. The heavy rain that thrashed the Coromandel and Northland didn’t have much affect on the King Country and South Waikato. Consequently the Waikato, Waipa, Whanganui, Waihou and Waimakariri rivers were all fishable during the first three weeks of July.

For Auckland anglers it is a good time to fish the local waters especially Lake Pupuke and the Waiuku lakes.

The following rivers are open for fishing over the winter months:

Mangawhio Stream, below lower falls

Waipapa River, below lower falls

Hikutaia River, below Whangamata track

Mangaotaki River, below lower bridge on Mangaotaki Road

Marokopa River, below Mangatuahaua Stream

Ohinemuri River, below Victoria Street Bridge in Waihi

Puniu River, below Seafund Road

Waihou River

Waikato River

Waimakariri River

Waipa River, below Toa Bridge

Waitawheta River, below end of Franklin Road

Whanganui River, below confluence with the Whakapapa River

All lakes remain open over winter.

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