Fishing Season opens on Lake Otamangakau and Kuratau

The fishing season for Lakes Otamangakau and Kuratau re-opens on Monday 1st October 2007.

The Department of Conservation has just recently finished operating a fish trap on the Te Whaiau Stream this winter for the 14th consecutive year and the results this year were very encouraging. The Te Whaiau Stream is the main spawning stream for adult trout in Lake Otamangakau. Taupo Fishery Technical Support Officer Mark Venman says that the run of both brown and rainbow trout were the highest on record. However, this increase in numbers is partly due to a lot of small young fish and as a result the overall average size for both species is down this year although these smaller fish were in excellent condition.

Anglers can expect to catch smaller fish again this summer as has been the case over recent years and care needs to be taken when releasing these smaller fish to maximise their chances of survival. These smaller fish could be the potential trophies of future years and so need to be handled carefully before being released.

Lake Kuratau is well-known for producing smaller trout but it provides high catch rates nevertheless due to the large population of trout that it contains. “This is perfect for those anglers wishing to try something a little different and get away from the crowds often seen elsewhere over summer” says Mr Venman.

Rangers will be out conducting licence checks and angler interviews throughout the season and Mr Venman reminds anglers that they must carry their licence upon them at all times while fishing.

On nzfishing.com:

- Information about Taupo fishing licences

- A summary of the Taupo fishing regulations

- View the Taupo fishing regulations (a 22-page pdf document)

- Taupo region fishing map

From the DOC website:

- View a map showing the boundaries of the Taupo fishing region

- See a full list of Taupo licence agents

- Request a printed copy of the regulations by emailing fishinfo@doc.govt.nz.