Northland Fish & Game manager Rudi Hoetjes releasing fish into the Opouteke River.
Northland's trout fishery stocks have been boosted with the release of 2000 trout fingerlings into lakes, rivers and reservoirs across the region.
The 2000 young trout arrived this week from Fish & Game's hatchery near Ngongotaha in Rotorua. Fish & Game's Northland manager Rudi Hoetjes said 300 1-year-old fingerlings were
released into Wilson's Dam and another 100 into Whau Valley Dam. While boats were prohibited on both reservoirs, they offered excellent shore-based winter fishing, he said.
He said Fish & Game decided to release rainbow trout into Wilson's Dam in an effort to make it more attractive to anglers. "Previously we'd only stocked the dam with browns [trout] but anglers have found them difficult to catch, so by adding rainbows we hope to encourage more anglers to use the reservoir," Mr Hoetjes said.
Fish were also released into rivers and streams that already hold trout, "but they've have been affected over the past few years from drought and significant flash floods that followed".
Between 200 and 500 of the young trout were released into five Northland streams.
