Trout fishing season under way in Rotorua

It's been a great start to the fishing season for (from left) Guy Veitch, Greg Stichbury, Steve Gatenby and Mark Spence. Photo / Ben Fraser

The wait is over for keen anglers. Hundreds converged on lakes Tarawera, Rotoiti and Ōkataina as fishing season officially began. There was plenty of fun banter among the boat crews but also a touch of friendly rivalry as they were desperate to find the prized $10,000 trout which has been planted in one of the three lakes as part of the Fish for Gold competition. Journalist Kelly Makiha headed out to Lake Tarawera to talk to some of the anglers about how their first day went.
As the sun slowly lifted over Rotorua's lakes, hundreds of anglers were eagerly waiting with fishing rods in hand.

They weren't disappointed. The trout came biting and the wait was all worth it.

Fishing season is officially under way as of 5am todayand Lakes Rotoiti, Tarawera and Ōkataina are now buzzing with activity.

The break from fishing during the winter patch has done the trick and the word on the water is the fish are fat and ready for the taking.

Lake Ōkareka's Guy Veitch and his three mates on board the boat "Hard Work" weren't disappointed to have taken the morning off their day jobs to hit Lake Tarawera.As they arrived off the lake at The Landing, they were chuffed to show off their eight trout.

"It's pretty good for just three hours of fishing," Veitch said.

Along with Greg Stichbury from Matamata, Steve Gatenby from Tarawera and Mark Spence from Ōkareka, the group headed out at 6am and were impressed with how quickly they were reeling them in.

Over at Boat Shed Bay on Lake Tarawera, Dion Kerley and his friends were coming off the lake having had a good night out.

It's been a great start to the fishing season for (from left) Guy Veitch, Greg Stichbury, Steve Gatenby and Mark Spence. Photo / Ben Fraser

They didn't have any trout because they didn't actually fish. Instead, they were there just for the occasion of being out on the water and having a few laughs and beers with friends on neighbouring boats.

One of the reasons Michelle Samuels and Jade Christian hit the water was to be in to win the prized $10,000 trout.

Each year Eastern Fish & Game run the Fish for Gold competition where competitors try to catch one of 30 tagged rainbow trout - 10 in each of lakes Tarawera, Rotoiti and Ōkataina.

Anglers will wet their lines to catch trout carrying special white-coloured tags - one of which is the key to a $10,000 prize. The other tagged rainbow trout carry prizes including a Yamaha 2HP outboard motor valued at $950 and tackle prizes valued at $200.

The aim of the competition, which runs for 13 days, is to encourage anglers to get their licences while adding some friendly rivalry between the participants.

Samuels said although they hadn't snagged a tagged trout, they still managed to catch three fish.

"It's more than we got all of last year."

Fish and Game senior officer Matthew McDougall said the opening of fishing season was always a nerve-racking time.

He said he usually waited nervously on the lake edges to hear how the fishing had been, hoping that what they had done during the rest period to spawn more fish had paid off.

"If they are skinny, it is 'oh no' but this year it's been a 'yes!'.

"The 2-year-old fish, which are the ones we are most interested in, are looking quite fat and in good nick. I'm really pleased with what we have been seeing. What it means is the lake has been performing in the past year."

He said the number of anglers hitting open day was slightly down this year, probably because the weather forecast looked "foul".

However, the hail, heavy rain and thunder didn't eventuate and most of the morning saw sunshine.