Rotorua lakes trout fishing season opens

Rotorua lakes trout fishing season opens on Thursday 1 October

Three of Rotorua’s best fishing lakes, Lakes Tarawera, Okataina and Rotoiti, are open to fishing from 5am Thursday, 1 October.

The three lakes are closed to winter fishing to allow fish to spawn, or grow pressure from anglers without anglers to ensure high numbers of good sized fish for the new season in spring. 

Opening day on the 1st of October is the day of the year when the angler gets to target the maximum number of large trout during the season and Fish & Game, the organisation that manages most of New Zealand’s freshwater fisheries, expects thousands of anglers to out on opening day morning.

“Most people take the day off. It is the classic sick day,” says Rob Pitkethley, manager of Fish & Game’s Eastern Region.

“The other lakes in the Rotorua region remain open all year round and still produce good winter fishing, but the start of the season on Tarawera, Okataina and Rotoiti is where the celebrations of the new season is focused.  The other hot spot is the Ohau Channel, and this typically produces the largest fish on opening day with some 7kg, or heavier, brown trout being caught.”

The fishing season starts with a shotgun blast at 5am at one of the most popular fishing spots, the Ohau Channel connecting Lakes Rotorua with Rotoiti but with Daylight Savings starting early this year the traditional routine of many anglers will be affected.  The official 5am start will be too dark for most people to attempt to fish and the likely start time for the majority will be 6am.

“If the day is good, catch rates can be brilliant as the fish are naïve to the methods of anglers. The boat traffic is something to watch out for as many thousands of anglers get out and enjoy the start of the season,” says Rob.

The Fish & Game trout hatchery at Ngongotaha is having an open day on Wednesday, 30th September with kids fishing, demonstrations, filleting and cooking displays. Hatchery tours will be held to give visitors an insight to the work Fish & Game does to keep New Zealand’s lakes and rivers clean and stocked with fish. At midday, local experts will be giving tips on how to catch trout on Rotorua’s lakes. A Blessing of the Boats ceremony will be held on the shores of Lake Tarawera at 5pm on Wednesday, 30th September. For the past ten years, this ceremony has attracted hundreds of participating boats.

ENDS

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