Trout Trout Everywhere by Bryan Beecher

Lake Rotorua is a large shallow lake, which suffers from summer warming with summer temperatures reaching the mid to high 20's. 1998 with it's accompanying El Nino weather pattern has enhanced this problem for the fish but has made it a paradise for the fly fisherman.

Lake Rotorua is fed by a number of very cold <10degree's c springs and Hamurana Springs is the largest with over 1 million liters per hour flowing into the lake. In the warm summer months the Trout move into the cooler Spring stream mouths to seek this cooler water they can on occasion congregate in very large schools and provide some awesome fishing action this is a true story about such an occasion.

On Sunday 22 February 1998 the lake water around Hamurana springs was BLACK with trout. I mean the size of the school that had congregated was 60 Meters long and 60 Meters Wide. Between 9 - 11AM a feeding frenzy was on and there was Wall to wall fish all anglers present getting a hook-up on at the most EVERY second cast. At one stage all Ten anglers in the line were all hooked up At the Same Time.

One young fellow from Thames caught his limit it was the first time he had tried out Fly-fishing!. Another angler from Australia (also his first time fly-fishing (and it looked it)) had an awesome morning. His mate was so busy catching fish he was left to his own devices as to how to dispatch and store his trout. His priest was his hand and he was Karate chopping them and stuffing them down his waders. His water thrashing attempts to cast his fly line caused the trout to become even more feeding aggressive and they were snapping at the line as it hit the water and taking his fly's as soon as they hit the water.

This huge school of trout when on the move was not angler shy with hundreds of trout passing even between your legs it was a sight to behold.

By Lunchtime the school had been driven by the southerly wind change down the lake, but no doubt will return

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This page is copyright to Bryan Beecher 1998