August 25

Finally we have seen some lovely spring weather this week with anglers enjoying the sunny and warm conditions around the district.
The boaties have been taking advantage of the clear conditions and have produced some great results out there on the lake this week. The lakefront has been fishing really well particularly for those who are trolling at around the 20m mark with a few great conditioned rainbows being plucked from the depths. A King Cobra Baby Brown or Traffic Light lure should do the damage here. It is also worth trolling a lure around the Golden Mile and Rangitira Point areas as they often produce fish when nowhere else will.
Things have been getting a little tougher on the rivers this week as the flows have reduced and the water clearing although anglers are still having some great sport.
The Hinemaiaia River is still holding good numbers of fish however a lot of these fish are in spawning mode at the moment but there are still a few fresh ones amongst them. The flow is still a little high but the water is clear so it could be a good move to put away the glo bugs and start using smaller natural patterns as the recovering fish will start feeding more actively now.
Once again the Tongariro River has been the pick of the rivers this week with anglers catching some great fish in the clear conditions. The more successful fisherman have been using small, weighted patterns such as the Quasimodo Pheasant Tail, Flashback Pheasant Tail and White Caddis in sizes #14 to #16. Also don't forget that when in clear conditions you are best to use smaller diameter leaders as well as smaller sized tippet. Four to Five pound fluorocarbon is certainly heavy enough to land the biggest of fish so do not be afraid to give it a go.
We are expecting a few showers this weekend so keep an eye on the Tauranga-Taupo River flow as this river has been running high so it won't take a lot of rainfall to boost it up again. Hopefully the rain should push another fresh run into this river so we can get some exciting fishing again.
Remember Lake Rotoaira opens up next week on the 1st of September so should provide some great sport. This lake has been improving over the last couple of seasons with fish size increasing so get out there and give it a crack.
Good luck and happy fishing.

By James Clarke