| Anglers are
reminded that the season opens on 1 October 2009 for those interested
in fishing Lakes
Otamangakau, Te Whaiau and Kuratau.
Te Whaiau trap monitors the winter spawning run
from Lake Otamangakau and it has indicated a promising fishing season
for the Big “O”. “Once again it looks like there
will be very good numbers of fish to catch in Lake “O”
this summer. As with last year, high numbers of fish have moved
through the Te Whaiau trap to spawn this winter” says Programme
Manager Field Operations Mark Venman.
There were 3775 rainbow trout and 1165 brown
trout through the Te Whaiau trap this season. This was a little
down on last year’s record rainbow run but still about 6 times
as high as the mid-90’s.
This year the rainbows averaged 1.9kg and browns
2kg which is up slightly on last season. However there were very
few trophy fish in contrast to 1995 when 20% of the run was 4kg
or larger. “Over the last decade we have seen a shift from
a trophy fishery but with very low catch rates to much larger numbers
of smaller fish” says Glenn Maclean Programme Manager Technical
Support. “Still very nice fish and lots of them, but quite
a different fishery to what it used to be”
Anglers are reminded to be vigilant about spreading
unwanted nasties from one lake to another and ensure they clean
their gear and boat of weed fragments and the like. For example
Lake
Kuratau has none of the exotic aquatic plants that have invaded
so many New Zealand waterways. “It is a special place, lets
keep it that way” says Glenn
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