Although a rainy year has been a pain for some, it has created the right environmental mix for high quality trout in
the Rotorua lakes. Eastern Fish and Game say that in many ways conditions in the past 12 months have made prospects for the central North Island as good as they've ever been.
Manager Rob Pitkethley says having more rain than usual discouraged people from going outdoors. However, it produced the right mix of environmental factors.
''In lakes across the region there have been great food supplies and the cooler summer and warmer autumn temperatures have promoted good, vigorous trout growth. In the stocked lakes of Tarawera, Okataina and Rotoiti in particular, the many thousands of fish we released last year will be the majority of what anglers catch this season and will have had the benefit of these great conditions.''
Fish and Game officer Mark Osborne says fish from Lake Tarawera measured in June indicated they would be about 2.5cm longer than the year before, with an average weight of 1.8kg.
''Some of these rising 2-year-old fish do get caught in June around the end of the season, but in general we haven't seen this age group since then, when the lakes close to boat fishing.''