| Fish type |
Brown
and rainbow trout |
| Situation |
30 minutes from St Arnaud, 1
hour from Nelson. |
| Setting |
Lake Rotoroa
is a remote and very beautiful deep water lake within the Nelson
Lakes National Park. While it can easily be reached by road,
most of the lake is surrounded by virgin native forest requiring
anglers to either walk or take a boat or water
taxi to reach the many wonderful fishing opportunities it
offers. It is the source of the boisterous Gowan River and has
two top quality wilderness rivers, the D'Urville and the Sabine
at its head. A small settlement is found near where the Gowan
river leaves the lake but otherwise this is a truly wilderness
area offering excellent fishing for wild brown trout that can
grow to impressive sizes. |
| Maps |
Access
map
Access
map with topography
LINZ topographic maps: (260 Map Series,
1:50,000)
M29
Murchison |
| Weather forecast |
View MetService
weather forecast for Nelson Lakes National Park. |
| F&G pamphlet |
Buller River access pamphlet
>>> |
| Description |
The lake is very deep and has
very cold clear water throughout the year making it an ideal
fishing venue even in the hottest months. While a boat will
open more venues to fish and more ways to fish, shore based
anglers will also find that they will see plenty of action especially
where the D'Urville and Sabine enter the lake and where the
Gowan leaves. Other than these areas however there is very little
scope for the land based anglers as the water shelves away quickly
fro m the shore providing no platform to stand and fish from.
Good fishing can also be found where-ever any small tribuatary
enters the lake. |
| Fish numbers and size |
There is an
excellent head of fish in the lake (and the surrounding rivers)
Fish average between 3-4lbs but bigger fish are often caught,
some reaching impressive sizes. |
| Ease of fishing |
Ther are plenty of opportunities
for those fishing from boats while the shore based angler may
be required to walk some distance on well defined paths around
the lake. |
| Access |
Access
is via the Gowan Valley Rd which is of State Highway 6 between
Nelson and Murchison.
See the access
map. |
| Recommended lures |
Nymphs:
Large heavily weighted nymphs in sizes from 8 - 14 work best.
Any Pheasant
Tail, Hare
and Copper or Green
Stonefly patterns work well.
Dry flies:
Fishing terrestial flies around the shore line can be productive
in the warmer months and particularly in the early morning
or evening. Patterns such as Humpy,
Coch-y-Bondhu,
Royal Wulff
or any large sedge pattern can work if the trout are near
the surface.
Wet flies:
Usually large streamer flies are fished in the lake. Trolled
or harled flies such as Parson's
Glory or a Rabbit
fly work well. Use dark colours at night and lighter colours
during the day.
Spinners: Spinners
either cast or trolled are very popular and effective. Toby
patterns, Tasmanian
Devils or Cobra
work well. |
| Regulations (1) |
| Applicable to |
Lake Rotoroa except for the
areas defined below. |
| Region |
Nelson/Marlborough >>> |
| Season |
All year |
| Methods |
Artificial fly, spinner and
bait.
Down riggers are permitted |
| Bag limit |
4 of which only 2 may be salmon |
| Size limit (cm) |
None |
| Regulations (2) |
| Applicable to: |
Within 100 metres from the
centre meeting line with Lake Rotoroa of:
- Sabine River
- D'Urville River
- Gowan River |
| Region |
Nelson/Marlborough >>> |
| Season |
1 October -30 April (closed
1 May - 30 September) |
| Methods |
Artificial fly, spinner and
bait.
Fishing from a boat is prohibited at all times. |
| Bag limit |
4 of which only 2 may be salmon |
| Size limit (cm) |
None |
