Fishing: Lodge offers troutfishers slice of heaven

By HARVEY CLARK

Aniwhenua Lodge at Lake Aniwhenua, on the Rangitaiki River in the Bay of Plenty, is the troutfisher's dream.

In my book it beats any other lodge for its affordability, accessibility, communal facilities, for the constantly high catch rate and superb condition of the trout, and for the expertise of the owners, Graeme and Joan Ryder.

The lodge is also a handy base for anglers exploring the rivers, streams and lakes of the back-country within a 45-minute drive.

The good news for anglers is that Lake Aniwhenua has been fishing extremely well lately since the early new year floods washed down silt and debris containing plenty of food and insect eggs, providing a bonanza for the trout, and flushed out much of the weed, opening up a lot more fishing water and casting space around the shoreline.

"We're getting the good end of the floods right now," says Joan Ryder. "There's been a lot of anglers out there trolling or harling or drift-fishing and casting from the shore, and most of them seem to be getting fish. It's been just brilliant lately."

In fine weather, for which the Bay of Plenty is doubly blessed, Aniwhenua can be a delightful and tranquil place, set as it is amid the constant background murmur of abundant birdlife that inhabits the lake. A few hours spent drift-fishing across the weedbeds in gentle currents is indeed peaceful, until shattered by one of those 4.5kg browns or rainbows taking the fly.

When the lake was formed in 1980 by damming the Rangitaiki River, providing a vast new food supply for the fish, it quickly earned a reputation as a supertrout lake and monsters of more than 9kg were caught.

Today, nature has balanced out the trout/food supply ratios and things have returned to something approaching normality since those crazy days. Trout of more than 4.5kg (10lb) are still taken every year, and there are plenty around the 3kg mark.

Fishing is good all year around and attracts anglers worldwide as well as throughout New Zealand. In May and June, the rainbow spawners begin their runs up the nearby tributaries such as the famous Horomanga. The lake's renowned big browns spawn earlier, in April and May, and by July and August they have returned to the lake and are cruising the edges, feeding on anything that moves to regain their condition, and offering great stalking opportunities.

Any bully, killer or woolly bugger pattern should do the trick on Aniwhenua, and if nymphing try bloodworms, snail imitations, small pheasant-tails, damsels and dragonflies or the lodge's specialty, a purple claret nymph of their own making and available at their tackle shop. "Many have tried to imitate this one," says Joan Ryder, "but no one ties it quite like we do."

You need a heavier rod, an 8/9-weight, and trace of at least 2.7kg (6lb), because the trout are usually in great condition and tend to burrow into the weedbanks, and you need heavier gear to pull them free. If you want a boat, the lodge hires small dinghies at $25 a day, $15 a half-day.

The lodge grounds have recently been landscaped and the communal kitchen, which was always superbly appointed, has been extended. The lodge sleeps 36. A cabin is $25 nightly and motel $90 (one or two).

Graeme Ryder's guiding services cost $550 a day (eight hours' fishing) or $350 a half-day (four hours). You can split that among two of you. With a guide of Ryder's international standing, that's good value.