Rotoiti and Okataina lakes pick of bunch

Darrell Civil with his 5.5kg trout caught on opening morning. Photo / Supplied

Anglers have flocked to Rotorua's lakes in the first few days of the fishing season - with Rotoiti and Okataina appearing to be the pick of the lakes so far.

Fish and Game officer Matt Osborne said so far this season, which opened on Thursday, had been going well.

He said harvest rates - which were the number of fish kept per angler - were up on Lake Rotoiti but down slightly at Lake Tarawera.

Mr Osborne said fish sizes at Lake Rotoiti were "pretty darn good". Lake Okataina had the best harvest rate with 1.38 fish compared with about 1.5 normally.

While Lake Tarawera started off really well with guys "hooking up everywhere" it proved harder for fishing the following days.

"That's just fishing, it's just one of those things."

He said the harvest rate was slightly lower on Lake Tarawera this year.

Mr Osborne said anglers were "definitely happy to be out there". He said the biggest catch of the day appeared to have been on Lake Rotoiti where a solid 5.5kg (12lb) trout was landed.

He reminded people to check boats and fishing gear for weeds and to make sure it was clean before moving between waterways.

Where they're biting

* Lake Tarawera - harvest rate of 1

* Lake Rotoiti - harvest rate of 1.13

* Lake Okataina - harvest rate of 1.38

*Harvest rate is the number of fish kept per angler, provided by Fish and Game.