Stakes raised in hunt for $10k trout

Marcel Schweizer with his son Joshua. Photo/Supplied

The stakes have been raised in the hunt for a trout worth $10,000 with a second angler catching a green-tagged fish - this time in Lake Okataina.

Eastern Fish & Game said in a media statement Rotorua farmer Marcel Schweizer produced the green-tagged trout to staff at the Ngongotaha headquarters yesterday.

He had been trolling on the lake on opening morning when he hooked the rainbow trout.

He spotted the green tag when the fish was in the net and first thought the flash of green was from a lure after the fish had been foul-hooked in the back.

"We had started out having a bad morning catching nothing so when we realised it was a lucky green tag trout the excitement was unbelievable," Mr Schweizer said.

"We're delighted that a second green tag has been caught - adding further to the fun and excitement of the event," said Eastern Region Manager Andy Garrick.

Mr Schweizer is the second angler to hook a green tagged trout after Mark Preece who caught one on Lake Tarawera on opening morning.

The Fish for Gold promotion centres on 30 green-tagged fish which have been put, ten apiece, into lakes Tarawera, Rotoiti and Okataina.

Numbers on the tags correspond to prizes contained in sealed and numbered envelopes and one of them contains the grand prize of $10,000.

The promotion runs until October 9.