| Fish type |
Rainbow
trout and brook trout. Lake Tikitapu is the only lake in the
Rotorua district that is stocked with brook trout. |
| Situation |
Lake Tikitapu, sometimes called
the Blue Lake, is one of the best-known recreational lakes in
the Rotorua district. It is very sheltered and the angler will
often have to compete with other water users such as water skiers,
swimmers and canoeists. Sometimes the lake is clsoed for an
event: to check, see the Environment
Bay of Plenty website. |
| Maps |
Access
map
Access
map with topography
LINZ topographic map: (260 Map Series,
1:50,000)
U16
Rotorua |
| F&G pamphlet |
Rotorua Lakes access pamphlet
>>> |
| Description |
The Blue Lake is very attractive,
having deep clear water. It is surrounded mostly by forest and,
being very sheltered, means that it is very popular for all
recreation users. It is stocked with both rainbow and brook
trout but has no natural spawning rivers or streams entering
the lake. The water also has no natural outlet and would appear
to drain from a sub-surface aquifer into the nearby Green Lake. |
| Fish numbers and size |
Tikitapu Lake holds a reasonable
population of small rainbow trout and an even smaller population
of small brook trout. |
| Access |
Lake Tikitapu can be reached
via the Rotorua - Tarawera Road. There is a good boat ramp.
See the Lake Tikitapu access
map. |
| Methods |
All methods are suitable on
this lake, with jigging and harling being popular methods during
the day. There is reasonable shoreline fishing around the main
beach area for those wishing to fly fish or use a spinner. |
| Recommended tackle |
For nymph
fishing:
A 4 to 6 weight rod.
A floating line.
A weighted nymph with lighter nymphs tied below.
Leader 4-4.5 metres in length, and 2.5-4 kg strength.
An indicator (to detect strikes)
For wetfly fishing:
A 6 or 7 weight rod.
A medium to fast-sinking line.
A short tippet of 2-2.5 metres.
For trolling:
A short (1.5-2 metre) reasonably stiff
rod.
Lead core line (or LED line) with at least 100 metres backing.
A long leader of between 3 to 15 metres depending on the water clarity.
For trolling using a downrigger:
A downrigger.
A flexible rod with reel set up with around 200 metres of
4 - 6kg nylon with a 3 metre leader of 3kg line.
For harling:
A flexible rod with reel holding a slow
to medium sinking fly line (or between one and two colours
of leadcore line).
A leader of around 5 metres.
|
| Recommended lures |
Dry
flies: During the very warm weather many terrestrial
insects can be blown onto this lake from the surrounding bushland
and patterns that match these can be successful. Try Cicada
patterns and Beetle,
Bumble Bee
or wasp
patterns during the summer months.
Nymphs: Green
Caddis patterns, lightly weighted Pheasants
Tail and Hare
and Copper in sizes 14 - 16 can work well when fished
just over the drop-off.
Wet flies / Streamers:
During the day use smelt patterns such as a Grey
Ghost or Parsons'
Glory, and during the evening and at night dark patterns
such as Scotch
Poacher, Hairy
Dog or Fuzzy
Wuzzy.
Spinners: During
the day use bright spinners such as the gold or silver
Toby and use darker patterns such as Black
Toby or Rapalas in the evening or on overcast days. |
| Tributaries |
There are no tributaries of
note |
| Regulations |
| Applicable to |
Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake) |
| Region |
Eastern
region regulations |
| Season |
All year |
| Methods |
Artificial fly, spinner |
| Bag limit |
Trout: 8 |
| Size limit (cm) |
350mm minimum |
