Lake Mapourika Trout Fishing

Lake Mapourika is a scenic lake well stocked with good sized brown trout and salmon.

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Fish type	Brown trout and salmon
Situation	Approximately 10 kms north of Franz Joseph
Setting	Lake Mapourika is a pleasant lake in the Westland national park area. It is fed by a number of small streams and one, McDonalds Creek at the northern end is closed for all fishing. The river is drained by the Okarito River which flows into the beautiful Okarito Lagoon and then into the Tasman Sea. Salmon and sea-run trout travel up this river to the lake in early summer.
Maps	Access map Access map with topography LINZ topographic map: (260 Map Series, 1:50,000) G35, H35 & H34 - Franz Josef / Waiau
F&G pamphlet	West Coast Sports Fisheries access pamphlet >>>
Description	Lake Mapourika is a beautiful lake surrounded by pristine antive bush. Large mountains loom nearby making this a beautiful setting to fish. The water tends to be tea-coloured though fish can still be easily spotted in the water. Much of the shoreline is difficult to fish as the trees come down close to the waters edge. There is a boat ramp howeverand this opens up the lake for both trolling or catsing to the fish that seem to rise freely for the insects that land on the surface.
Fish numbers and size	The lake is well stocked with both brown trout and salmon. Expect trout in the 3 o-5lb range and bigger salmon.
Ease of fishing	The lake offers few shore line fishing opportunites but if one has a boat the fish that range over the whole lake become easily accessible.
Access	State Highway 6 runs along the eastern edge of the lake. See the Lake Mapourika 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 rising 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. Small flies such as Greenwell's Glory, Twilight Beauty and Dad's Favourite are good for the evening rise. Wet flies: Large sunk flies such as a Hairy Dog, Mrs Simpson, Hamill's Killer or Fuzzy Wuzzy fished deep so that they skim just above the weed beds. Spinners: When trolling or casting use Cobras, Tasmanian Devils and Tobys in dark patterns which all work well.
Regulations
Applicable to	Mapourika, Lake (except for McDonalds Creek which is closed)
Region	West Coast >>>
Season	Trout: All year Salmon: 1 Oct-31 Mar
Methods	Artificial fly, spinner, bait
Bag limit	Brown trout: 4 Rainbow trout: 2 Salmon: 2
Size limit (cm)	Trout and salmon: 250mm minimum

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