Trout congregate there to chase the smelt which migrate through the channel from Lake Rotoiti to spawn in the shallow banks on the eastern side of Lake Rotorua.
For fly fishers at the channel, a sinking line cast across the current with a short leader and a smelt fly will be the combination of choice. Dark coloured flies will give way to silver, yellow and translucent colours as the sun rises.
And they will catch fish; rainbow trout of 2kg or 3kg, and occasionally a brown trout of 5kg or 6kg will be brought to the bank - particularly at night.
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 lure on the end - perhaps a pink cobra or a toby.
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 through 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.
The lures will vary, from the cobra in different colours to the Tasmanian devil or the old stand-by, the black toby. Other colours which work well in the cobra-devil range are traffic light, green and yellow, and spotted gold.
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. This method will become more effective as lake temperatures rise, peaking in December and January.
Fish and Game officer Matt Osborne said 1040 trout were recorded through the Wairoa trap over the winter - the highest number for six years. Successful wild spawning indicated a healthy fishery and local stream habitat and gravel beds were better than they had been for years.
Fly fishing at Lake Taupo has been hot, with a lot of fish in the smaller tributaries, such as the Hinemaia and Tauranga-Taupo rivers.
A combination of three nymphs works well, with one weighted to take the tackle down to the stream bed. That way a small natural like a hare and copper can be used alongside a glo-bug, with a black "bomb" for weight. The Tongariro River is also holding good numbers of trout.
Salt water
Tides are building as the full moon approaches and the usual pattern of fine, settled weather over the full moon looks likely to greet the weekend, enabling fishermen to get out on the water.
Snapper are moving closer, with reports of fish numbers building up north of Whangaparaoa Peninsula where there are good concentrations of bait like pilchards, with gannets and dolphins also in the area. Snapper up to 8kg have been taken, and this fishing will only improve.
Stray-lining floating baits off Milford Reef has caught a few fish, and in Northland trolling a rapala off the breakers in Bream Bay is bringing in kingfish. Snapper fishing in the bay is also improving, with good catches of snapper up to 7kg coming from small patches of foul in 13m.
The west coast should fish well after unsettled weather and one area that is popular is fishing at 30m, south of the Manukau Bar.
The fishing usually comes on as dirty water starts to clear. This also applies to trout streams, to harbours and inshore waters after stormy weather.
Bite times
Bite times are 10.15am and 10.40pm today, 12.10pm tomorrow.
Tip of the week
It is a good idea to add a fly such as a parsons glory or red setter ahead of the lure when trolling on the lakes. An easy method is to insert a small swivel in the trace a metre ahead of the lure; the fly rests above the swivel. The fly is an extra attraction, and often hooks a fish.
• More fishing action can be found on Rheem Outdoors with Geoff, 5pm today, TV3, and at GTTackle.co.nz
