Reel Life February 2021

Help us with the Sterile fish project at the Arapuni fishing contest!

The 27^th annual Lake Arapuni Fishing Competition will be held at Bulmer’s landing starting at 6 am Saturday the 20^th of March with the prize draw at 2:30 pm on Sunday 21^st.

Although there are some great prizes to be won at the contest the real gold is the data the Te Awamutu Fish & Game Association collect.

With over 20 years of fish health data from the same location Fish & Game staff have been able to see the impact of changing water quality on Waikato River trout with cleaner water producing bigger fish.

Fish & Game’s first release of sterile rainbow trout nationally was in Lake Arapuni last October and those fish are now being caught by anglers.

Although the fish will be small the data is still very valuable in terms of monitoring the success of sterile trout in the lake.

Fish & Game are asking all anglers to report the tag number and length of any tagged fish even if the fish is released.

To help motivate anglers to report tagged fish there will be a $100 Wrights Fishing & Outdoors Te Awamutuvoucher drawn at the Arapuni Fishing Contest with one entry given for every tag number reported.

Above Right: Paula Munro with her 2020 winning rainbow.

Drift dives reveal ideal fishing conditions in Waikato streams

Staff have reported ideal fishing conditions in the Mangatutu, Waihou and Whakapapa Rivers.

The summer drift dives have just been completed and fishing conditions could not be better with some sections of the Mangatutu overwhelmed by the sound of cicada and some impressive mayfly hatches on the Whakapapa.

Overall, the rivers are in good shape with low water conditions perfect for sight fishing.

Please be cautious of fish health as our streams heat up.

Water temperatures above 19°C can be deadly for trout even if released carefully.

Tight Lines

Adam Daniel, Auckland Waikato Fish & Game Officer.