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fishing the Taupo rivers used to be a costly and hit-or-miss affair due to dodgy weather conditions. Nowadays one can obtain from the Internet a fishing report for the main rivers and decide whether or not to go.

Today regulations have changed due to increased fishing pressure and further development in fishing techniques. The daily bag limit for trout is three fish irrespective of species and the minimum length is 45 cm. The rainbow trout average about two kilos and brown trout often double this weight.

The Hydro Pool is noted for its catches of brownies as they spawn in the little stream that flows into the pool, and so congregate in the vicinity. In the 1970s, I remember a fellow-angler catching six brownies mostly of eight pound size from the Hydro in one morning.

During the summer months, most of the trout are feeding on smelt and crustacea in the lake and provide good sport for the boat fishermen. At this time, the Taupo rivers become relatively sparsely populated with trout and the residual fish are not remarkable. Over summer, keen anglers tend to direct their attention to the surrounding more liberal district fisheries using traditional fly, spin and bait fishing methods for brown trout, mostly.

At Taupo by far the greatest yield of trout is from the lake rather than the inflow rivers. Boat fishing has changed considerably over recent years with the use of down riggers for deep trolling. Jigging is also used a lot, often with a lure tied below the metal jig. Depth sounders have enabled anglers to target fish at depth when they show up on the screen.

There is scope too at Taupo for the spin fisherman along the lake shore, away from the river mouths (fly only) and also at the Kuratau hydro dam near Tokaanu, and the Waikato River that flows out of Lake Taupo.

The Taupo trout fishery attracts anglers and tourists from around the world for being very prolific in large rainbow and brown trout, as well as being a fantastic scenic region to visit. No worries here about terrorists but do watch out for when the nearby volcanoes erupt - ash falls like snow and disturbs the fishing!
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