Lake Ianthe Trout Fishing

Lake Ianthe is a small very scenic lake with a moderate number of brown trout that can reach very good sizes.

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Fish type	Brown trout
Situation	43kms south of Hokitika
Setting	Lake Ianthe is in a beautiful setting and surrounded by native forest.
Maps	Access map Access map with topography LINZ topographic map: (260 Map Series, 1:50,000) I34 Harihari
F&G pamphlet	West Coast Sports Fisheries access pamphlet >>>
Description	Lake Ianthe is a beautiful lake surrounded by native bush. It is quite shallow and the weedy margins while offering good trout habitat do make shoreline fishing more difficult. The bush comes down to the waters edge along much of its length making for some frustrating back casting! A boat either for trolling, harling or casting to gently rising fish along the bush fringed shore is recommended.
Fish numbers and size	Moderate numbers of fish mostly in the 2-3lb range though some do get much larger.
Ease of fishing	A moderately difficult lake to fish from the shore though easier from a small boat. There is a boat ramp.
Access	Access is via State Highway 6 which skirts the eastern shoreline. See the Lake Ianthe access map.
Recommended lures	Nymphs: Suspended nymphs that are just below the surface work well during the evening when fish are crusising the shallows. Fish will also take nymphs of the Hare and Copper or Pheasant Tail variant which can be cast in front of any rsisng fish. Dry flies: The fish are often feeding on windblown terrestrial flies and so flies such as a Green Beetle in early summer and cicada patterns from mid summer on work well. Wasp patterns can also work well in the summer months. Otherwise try an Adams, Greenwell's Glory, Humpy or similar patterns and fish to the gently rising fish. Wet flies: Large sunk flies such as a Hairy Dog, Mrs Simpson, Hamill's Killer or Fuzzy Wuzzy fished deep. Spinners: When trolling use Cobras, Tasmanian Devils and Tobys and fish just out from the weed margins.
Regulations (1)
Applicable to	Ianthe Lake (except the outlet)
Region	West Coast >>>
Season	Trout: All year Salmon: 1 Oct-30 Apr
Methods	Artificial fly, spinner, bait
Bag limit	Brown trout: 4 Rainbow trout: 2 Salmon: 2
Size limit (cm)	No limit
Regulations (2)
Applicable to	Ianthe Lake outlet
Region	West Coast >>>
Season	Closed
Methods	None
Bag limit	0
Size limit (cm)	Not applicable

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