| Fish type |
Rainbow
trout in reasonable numbers in the middle and upper reaches. |
| Situation |
The Kauaeranga river rises in
the Coromandel ranges and flows westward to enter the Firth
of Thames near the township of Thames. |
| Maps |
Access
map
Access
map with topography
LINZ
topographic maps: 1:50,000 (260
series)
|
| Check conditions |
View the MetService
weather forecast for Thames
|
| F&G pamphlet |
Coromandel
Ranges Trout Fishing |
| Description |
The Kauaeranga river is a
small water with generally clear water flowing over a boulder
and gravel bed. It rises in the forests in the Coromandel
ranges and provides the angler with a very scenic vista.
In the upper reaches the water is very clear and fish numbers
high. Fish in this section are generally very small however
In the middle reaches the numbers of fish increase but are
fewer in number but are in the 0.75 to 1 kg weight range.
During the summer the river flow can decrease quite dramatically
and at times the river suffers from an algae bloom. When the
weather cools however the fish can become very active and
late in the season feed voraciously on both nymphs and terrestrial
insects.
The middle reaches also has good fishing though the lower
reaches are tidal and offer poor quality water. |
| Access |
There is excellent access from
the Kauaeranga River Valley Road which runs alongside the river
providing easy access to most of the fishable water. |
| Methods |
All methods are legal on this
river though it is an ideal water for both dry fly and nymph
fishing. During the warm weather fish will offten go quite deep
and take shelter under vegetation and so a deeper sunk lure
may be necessary. |
| Recommended tackle |
As this is a very small river,
light tackle is recommended. Rods capable of casting a weight
five line using very fine leaders (preferably with a flourocarbon
tippet) are ideal. |
| Recommended lures |
Dry
flies: Adams,
Royal Wulff,
Blue Dun, Klinkhammers
and Caddis
patterns, Coch-Y-Bondhu
thoughout the year. Brown
bettles (Nov) and green
bettles (Dec / Jan) and cicada
and hopper patterns
from mid-summer.
Nymphs: Small
lightly weighted or unweighted Pheasant
Tail, Coloburiscus,
Halfbacks
and Hare
and Coppers in sizes 14 to 16.
Wet flies:
Small soft hackled wet flies such as spiders
fished just subsurface especially during the evening rise
can be very effective on warm evenings
Spinners: Small
bladed spinners preferably in red and gold patterns such as
a Veltic fished
through the pools or upstream into the faster water can be
effective during the day when other methods fail.
|
| Tributaries |
There are no tributaries of
note. |
| Regulations |
| Applicable to |
Kaueranga River |
| Region |
Auckland/Waikato
regulations |
| Season |
Oct 1-Jun
30 |
| Methods |
Artificial fly, spinner |
| Bag limit |
5 |
| Size limit (cm) |
30cm |
