Kayak fishing for trout in Rotorua

[sj sell]

Hi Everyone
I'm new on here and would love some help. Am staying in Rotorua early October and would really love some advice on kayaking fishing for trout or landbased spin fishing. I have had very limited success in my last 5 or 6 attempts (usually visit Rotorua once a year). I have a spinning rod and a harling rod. Just wanting to know which lake is best to try, what type of techniques works for you and of course which spinners or lures are the go at this time of year (so basically everything). I live on the Coromandel and do heaps of sea fishing from my kayak, catch my limit in snapper almost everytime so happy to swap knowledge.
Cheers
Scotty

[Telecaster]

Have you got a sounder? I haven't fished Rotorua but have done a bit of trout fishing from the kayak. I usually look for smelt (usually show up as a faint row of dots in mid water) then try to lower my flies to around that depth and just jiggle them slightly every 30 seconds or so.

I use a woolly bugger on the bottom, then smelt patterns like a jack sprat or grey ghost on the other two droppers.

[sj sell]

No unfortunately I don't have sounder or a fly rod, cheers for the help though, I often wondered about giving jigging a go.

[MikeAqua]

I grew up there. Haven't fished there for years and years so take this with grain (sack) of salt ...

I used to launch my dinghy at Hamaurana and troll tassies (white or pink) up and down the drop off. It was rare not to catch a keepable fish or two during an early morning session. Very early morning when water temperatures were low enough, harling also worked with a grey ghost or parsons glory.

My other favourite dinghy-fishing possie was the dogger bank in Lake Okataina. Just used to take a light spinning rig and fish a glo-bug. Could be bit hit and miss, but bagged some of my best trout that way.

There used to be a regular fishing report in the local paper, which provided a good update on what lures were working where.

[AndrewRawlingson]

Rob Fort has done some great videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGXI0FuC7kk

Personally, I would want a fish finder if I was going to try this.

[noaddedfluff]

For my two cents worth fishing taupo, we used to harl - went home hungry.
Switched to jigging - anything from 15 to 60 metres in depth. Huge difference in results, if your spinning rod is soft enough try jigging with as light a touch as you can go.
I usually tap the button with the sinker (no proof but believe it must loosen nutrients for bait) - and smelt-like flies have always worked for me.

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[sj sell]

I grew up there. Haven't fished there for years and years so take this with grain (sack) of salt ...

I used to launch my dinghy at Hamaurana and troll tassies (white or pink) up and down the drop off. It was rare not to catch a keepable fish or two during an early morning session. Very early morning when water temperatures were low enough, harling also worked with a grey ghost or parsons glory.

My other favourite dinghy-fishing possie was the dogger bank in Lake Okataina. Just used to take a light spinning rig and fish a glo-bug. Could be bit hit and miss, but bagged some of my best trout that way.

There used to be a regular fishing report in the local paper, which provided a good update on what lures were working where.

Cheers Mike will def try Hamaurana and the tassies. When you fished with the glo bug do ya just tie it straight to main line or do you need some kind of weight to get it down a little? and then do ya troll in the shallows around the edge of lake??

[sj sell]

Rob Fort has done some great videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGXI0FuC7kk

Personally, I would want a fish finder if I was going to try this.

Cheers mate great vids. I don't have a sounder but looks like from the advice so far that jigging is the way to go

[BFIST]

I went to Tarawera in February a few years ago. Launched at a little ramp right at the end as far as you can drive. Then paddled out a couple of kms towards the left to where the bush comes right down to the lakes edge and it is 20m deep right in close.

My fishfinder decided this was the time to shit itself (could still just read bottom but no fish) but I still did some drifting with some flies under a sinker and managed to get 3 fish with 2 nice ones around 6lb.

[Jordan_jh]

If your interested the ebop kayak fishing club has club in October at lake rotoiti. Most welcome to come along


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[sj sell]

If your interested the ebop kayak fishing club has club in October at lake rotoiti. Most welcome to come along


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Cheers Jordan will be there over the weeknd so might just do that

[Jordan_jh]

If your interested the ebop kayak fishing club has club in October at lake rotoiti. Most welcome to come along


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Cheers Jordan will be there over the weeknd so might just do that

Will let you know details as soon as I know


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[sj sell]

I grew up there. Haven't fished there for years and years so take this with grain (sack) of salt ...

I used to launch my dinghy at Hamaurana and troll tassies (white or pink) up and down the drop off. It was rare not to catch a keepable fish or two during an early morning session. Very early morning when water temperatures were low enough, harling also worked with a grey ghost or parsons glory.

My other favourite dinghy-fishing possie was the dogger bank in Lake Okataina. Just used to take a light spinning rig and fish a glo-bug. Could be bit hit and miss, but bagged some of my best trout that way.

There used to be a regular fishing report in the local paper, which provided a good update on what lures were working where.

Cheers mate thanks for the great advise. Tried Hamaurana at dawn on the pink Tassie and got these beauties, couldnt find any drop off but just paddled out about 2km and then paddled back

[MikeAqua]

I grew up there. Haven't fished there for years and years so take this with grain (sack) of salt ...

I used to launch my dinghy at Hamaurana and troll tassies (white or pink) up and down the drop off. It was rare not to catch a keepable fish or two during an early morning session. Very early morning when water temperatures were low enough, harling also worked with a grey ghost or parsons glory.

My other favourite dinghy-fishing possie was the dogger bank in Lake Okataina. Just used to take a light spinning rig and fish a glo-bug. Could be bit hit and miss, but bagged some of my best trout that way.

There used to be a regular fishing report in the local paper, which provided a good update on what lures were working where.

Cheers mate thanks for the great advise. Tried Hamaurana at dawn on the pink Tassie and got these beauties, couldnt find any drop off but just paddled out about 2km and then paddled back

I'm glad (relieved) the advice paid off.

The drop off from memory was a few hundred metres from shore along Hamaurana Beach. Satellite imagery in google maps seems to support that recollection. Not a steep drop off, just an obvious steepening of the lake-bed on the FF.

Anyway you caught a couple of nice trout which is mission accomplished.