Reel Life December 2024 - Eastern

Roger Bowden Okataina

Scorching Hot Fishing!

In the lead-up to the Christmas break, it looks like scorching hot weather will play a major role in the tactics for summer trout.

Lake temperatures during December were well above the previous year's, which was relatively cool. Surface temperatures on many lakes have tipped over 23 degrees C during the middle part of the day forcing fish to seek out cooler water.

Trout can be seen actively feeding between depths of 15 and 25m and are targetable with most methods including lead and wire lines, downrigger and jig/softbait. Early morning and evening are the best time.

Thick clutter visible but it can contain lots of fish

A quick look at the fish finder (sonar) shows large, thick bands of material, commonly known as ‘clutter’ between depths of around 5m and 15m, and sometimes another band below that. This can make spotting fish difficult but the clutter contains lots of food, so be sure to fish lures well through these layers. Softbaits are particularly effective at bringing fish out of hiding as are larger than normal bulky flies that can be easily seen by fish.

Natural colour softbaits have been working well, as have Grey Ghosts, Badgers, Parsons’ Glory and Ginger Mick flies. Tassie Traffic Light and Brown Trout #46, #51 and anything with green and white have been working well also.

Rotoiti, Tarawera and Okataina continue to produce excellent-sized fish with many of the hatchery-released two-and-a-half-year-old fish now tipping the scales around 3kg.

Rising temperatures have the Lake Rotorua scene well underway. Good fish are being caught from all of the popular spots including the Ngongotaha, Waiteti, Awahou and Hamurana stream mouths.

Do the trout keep fooling you?! - Boat Fishing How-To

We are again putting on our popular Boat Fishing How-to, talk and demonstration, from our premises at 1130 Paradise Valley Road (the trout hatchery) on Saturday, January 4^th starting at 10.00am and running for about two and half hours.

The event will provide information on how to be more successful trout fishing from boats, cover some basic trout biology, various methods of fishing, lots of tips and tricks and finish with a demonstration on how to fully de-bone a trout and hot smoke it. It’s all basic, non technical stuff – so if the trout keep fooling you and you want to be more successful fishing from your boat then come along.

No bookings are required, it’s all free, plus we’ll be giving away a few spot prizes! For more information contact Mark, [email protected]

Be more successful fishing for trout

Datawatch tagged Trout

Tagged trout can now be entered online. Entries go into the draw to win one of 10 free whole-season fishing licences: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QCH5ZR6

Eastern Region Fishing Diaries – All lakes and streams

Fill in your fishing diaries here to help us manage the Eastern Fish & Game region. Participants go in the draw to win a $100 voucher from Kilwell: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QRSD7D3