Fishing: This is as good as it gets

Now that the wind is waning, pack up your gear and head for Bay of Plenty.

Superlatives have been flying all over the place this week as troutfishers home in on improving weather and plenty of action.

"Some absolutely fantastic fish are being caught," says Mike Cotter of O'Keefe's fishing specialists in Rotorua. And it can only get better as the summer comes on.

Lake Rotorua has been described by O'Keefe's as "sensational" for trollers and lakeside flyfishers, likewise Lake Rotoiti for jiggers. The dawn and dusk harling at Rangiuru Bay on Lake Tarawera is said to be "as good as it gets", and across at Galatea, the fishing at Lake Aniwhenua is "awesome".

Back-country streams across Bay of Plenty have cleared after recent bad weather, the cicada is just starting on the wing and the summer dry-fly fishing with terrestrials is getting under way, particularly on the upper Rangitaiki River where the evening rise has been exceptional.

At Rotorua, the Waiteti stream mouth has been the hottest spot on the lakeside, two nymphers fishing side by side catching 20 top-condition fish between 5.30 and 6.30 the other morning.

They were using large hare-and-coppers, but prince nymphs and unweighted pheasant tails on short traces have been successful too. The grey ghost smelt has also been working well here on floating and sinking lines.

Good-size browns are still being landed at night at the mouth of the Ngongotaha, and some "incredibly huge" browns have been spotted further up the stream, where they need to be stalked carefully.

Try large terrestrials, wee wets or small beaten-up scruffys and pheasant tail nymphs.

Top-conditioned trout have been coming out of Awahou night and early morning and good fish are still being taken from the Ohau Channel.

Hamurana has been unusually quiet, mainly because of strong winds, but is expected to fire any day as the lake continues to heat up and the fish come in close for the cold water.

Trollers on Rotorua are having great success off Kawaha Pt, Awahou, Ngongotaha and the Ohau Channel with harlequin, black-and-white and spotty-gold tassies.

On Rotoiti, jigging spots are fishing well with ice rabbits and smelt flies, particularly out from Moose Lodge and the Farmhouse, and a yellow parson's glory has been producing for trollers.

Cotter says some magnificent trout up to 4.5kg (10lb) have been caught on Rotoiti, but the fish of the week was a 5.19kg brown hen caught with a prince nymph on the tiny Utuhina Stream at Rotorua.

At Lake Tarawera, Rangiuru Bay, the Te Wairoa stream mouth and Stony Pt are fishing well to smelt patterns and the dragonfly nymph. But the best fishing at Tarawera has been harling at the change of light, when the catch rate of more than four fish an hour has been brilliant. White rabbits, green orbits and floating smelt are doing the damage, and particularly a grey ghost with a jungle cock eye.

"We experimented with several grey ghost patterns at Rangiuru Bay the other evening," says Cotter. "The only one they would take was the jungle cock."

Cotter also recommends a visit to lightly fished Lake Rotomahana, where forestry access is open at the moment with entry permits obtainable at the Forestry Information Centre at Long Mile Rd. Trollers here are finding success with green orbits and black tobys.

At Aniwhenua, big browns have been cruising the shores, providing heart-stopping challenges for anglers using snail imitations, bloodworm nymphs and green damsels. Cotter recommends trying a large royal wulf dry fly with a small nymph tied behind it. Anglers fishing the Aniwhenua drop-offs from boats have had success with woolly buggers, particularly brown.

Always be aware that at Aniwhenua and the other lakes in the region, a light touch on the fly could well be one of the trophy browns the region regularly produces.

So keep your wits together and your mind on the job, or you'll lose it in a split-second.