Channel top spot for start of trout season

Trout fishers will waste no time hitting Lake Tarawera. Picture / Geoff Thomas

Anglers will be out in force after their enforced winter break

Come dawn on Wednesday, hundreds of trout fishermen will drop their lures into the water or cast fly lines into the current in the Ohau Channel where a shotgun blast signals the start of fishing in the new season on the Rotorua lakes.

The season starts in many places all around the country, but as a lot of water now remains open to fishing throughout the year the opening has special relevance on lakes which have been closed to fishing for the last three months.

The channel, where it runs out of Lake Rotorua on the short journey to Lake Rotoiti, is the premier fly fishing spot in the district; probably in the whole country for the first day of the new trout season which opens on October 1. The fly fishers will catch rainbow trout of 2-4kg, and occasionally a brown trout of 5kg or 6kg will be brought to the bank. The tackle of choice will involve a sinking line cast across the current with a short leader and a wet fly which imitates the smelt which are running through the channel in thick shoals.

Other anglers will set out in runabouts on the three big lakes - Rotoiti, Okataina and Tarawera - eager to get their lures in the water at 6am. Harling with a sinking fly line and a smelt pattern or a red setter will be popular for the first few hours.

Many anglers also slow troll with lines which sink only a metre or two, but prefer a combination of lures on the end - perhaps a pink cobra with a smelt fly on a short dropper a couple of metres up the leader.

There are different ways to rig such combinations but a swivel is the easiest with the dropper tied to one eye, or even attached to a second swivel which is free sliding on the line.

The boats will follow the contour line where weed beds fall away to the depths, and if the wind chops the surface this method will continue to produce strikes throughout the day.

Otherwise the surface lines will be replaced by lead-core trolling outfits with five or six colours put out, and a long trace. Again, the fly-lure combination can be used effectively on deep lines. The lures will vary from the cobra in different colours, Tasmanian devil or the old stand-by, the black toby. Some anglers will try jigging, drifting outside the drop-off and dropping a trace with a lead sinker or jig on the end, and a couple of flies on droppers above it. For dedicated fly casters seeking solitude many of the back country streams and rivers also open to fishing on Wednesday, but checking water conditions in advance is always a smart move for many waters can be affected by rainfall at this time of year.

Fish and Game hold an open day for young anglers at the Ngongotaha Hatchery, where youngsters can test their skills by fishing in a pond full of trout.

Fly fishing at Lake Taupo has been hot, with a lot of fish in the smaller tributaries like the Hinemaia and Tauranga-Taupo rivers. The Tongariro River is also holding good numbers of trout, both fresh-run from the lake and those which are migrating downstream after spawning.

More fishing action can be found on Rheem Outdoors with Geoff, 5pm Saturday, TV3, and at GTTackle.co.nz.