FISHING AT TAUPO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19510, 14 December 1926, Page 16

FISHING AT TAUPO.

A RECORD OF CATCHES. FINE RESULTS SECURED. THE TIME FOR THE BEST SPORT. , No. 111. BT A. WOODHEAD. My record of catches for the various months are interesting as showing the best time to visit Waitahanui. I am speaking here only to fly-fishermen, for trolling in the lake is successful almost anywhere at any time. In November, 1910, I caught four fish, average 6 gib. The fish are then coming down the stream to the lake, and are not in the best of condition. In December I caught none. In January, 1911, only two fish, average s|lbf; February, nine fish, average, 7 l-61b.; March, six fish, average 7 7-121b.; April, 94 fish, average, 8 5-171b.; and -in May, 243 fish, average 8 4-51b. So that with each succeeding month (excepting March, which was almost a blank for me—the stream was being very heavily fished then), both the number caught and the average weightincrease, until May shows a total almost double that of all the previous months together. The fish are then, or were at that time, pushing up the stream in shoals, and! there is no doubt that May is easily the best month for this stream, and this would also apply to the other streams flowing into the lake.

But Taupo in May is beginning to get colder than many people care about. Still there will be an additional advantage in that the river will not be so crowded with visitors as it is in the earlier months. I have #een days, however, when certain reaches of the stream were literally black with fish, and* one might fish over them for hours and never get a rise. Ked Letter Days.

' Some days stand out above othersred letter days. Here are. a few good day's catches Sixteen fish, average 8 7-81b.t nine fish, average 10 4-91b.; 15 fish, average 8 14-151b.; 12 fish, average 9 3-81b.; 19 fish, average 8 5-381b.; 21 fishj average 8 l-71b—all these in May, except the first. What better could the most ardent angler desire ? These are not records, of course, but where else can Sne get such fishing? Now I am told the glory of the fishing at Waitahanui has departed. The place is, in these days of motors, so very easy of access from Taupo and the "Terraces," that the stream becomes very much overfished. I used to avoid the crowd by getting on to the river at daybreak, and again in the evening half an hour or- so before dusk. These are certainly the best times of the day to fish. • The leading Maoris there told me a year ago that they had made a community law (and that it would be strictly observed is certain) that no Maori was to fish between 4 a.m. and 8 p.m. —this in order to leave a clear field for visiting fishermen ! I doubt if there are many pakeha owners of fishing waters who would have done that. But there are other streams* than the Waitahanui. The- road round the eastern side of the lake has since my tunc been made fit for the now übiquitous motor, and the fishing grounds have extended accordingly. Eight miles beyond Waitahanui is the Hatepe, smaller but more rapid than the Waitahanui, but with ! likely looking water in _ the lower reaches. Beyond this again is a very fine stream, the Tauranga-Taupo, which now, I understand, provides excellent sport, besides having the advantage of being as "fa* from the madding crowd" as one can get nowadays. And there is no doubt that_ when one is on fishing bent there is nothing more "madding" than a crowd. The Tongariro Eiver.

Still further on, and only about four miles from Tokaanu, the weird settlement at the south end of the lake, is the Tongariro, coming down from the great central volcanoes. The Tongariro is by far the largest of the streams flowing into the lake and has a much longer stretch of fishing water, providing what is undoubtedly the finest trout-fishing in "the world. Some wonderful catches have been made there, and Will continue to be made. But here, too, the construction of the new road from the Main Trunk at Waimarino has contributed to the overcrowding so prevalent nowadays. •> » Opposite Waitahanui, round the corner of the great Karangahape Bluff, 1000 ft. sheer from the water, is Western Bay, where there are several streams, notably the Waihaha, that have always provided very fine sport. As Western Bay is easily reached by launch from Taupo it is a favourite spot for those who do not mind camp life. It is, moreover, so far, inaccessible to motor-cars. Food Supply Question. Whether the Taupo fishing will remain as good as it ha 3 been, and as reports this season seem to indicate it still is, depends,* of course, upon the supply of natural food for the trout. I understand the introduction of a small fish commonly called the "bully" has practically solved the problem. But I am told the "bally" in turn is very partial to trout-spawn, which may or may not prove a disadvantage. In my day the trout fed on the "koura," a small fresh-water crayfish, and the "inariga," or whitebait. These, I believe, have long since been .eaten out, and here.the Maoris Certainly had a grievance, since these two native fish, with potatoes—a, precarious crop in that region of frosts—and an occasional 4 -porker," formed their chief food supply. It is for this reason, and it should not be wondered at, that the Maoris claimed the right to catch trout; for food. Anyone who had seen how they used to live in the days I am speaking of, and how very hard-pushed they sometimes were, would not deny them that right. There is much to be said for the agreement recently arrived at between the Government, and the natives, and it should certainly tend to promote a better understanding between the. Maori and the visiting pakeha. Seeing, then, that at Taupo there can be had the finest trout fishing in the world, among scenery as fine in its way as anything in New 'Zealand, not forgetting the thermal wonders of Wairakei, Taupo, Tokaianu and the great volcanoes themselves, there is no better place to spend a holiday, and no wonder that the lake as a pleasure resort is becoming more popular every year.