Trout Fishing – It’s Not All About the Fly
Mention trout fishing in New Zealand and most people immediately picture an angler standing waist-deep in a beautiful river waving a fly rod. But while fly fishing is a fantastic way to catch trout, it certainly isn't the only way.
New Zealand has outstanding trout fishing opportunities throughout the country, with brown and rainbow trout inhabiting rivers, streams and lakes from the North Island to the deep south. Best of all, many alternative techniques are easy to learn, making trout fishing a great option for families and anglers wanting to try something different.
Spinning is probably the easiest place to start. A light 6–7ft spinning rod matched with a small reel loaded with Black Magic Hyperglide 13x Braid and around 2–3 metres of Black Magic Fluorocarbon leader makes a very versatile outfit. Fluorocarbon is particularly useful in the clear water often encountered when trout fishing because of its low visibility.
Small spoons, hard-bodied lures and spinners are excellent searching tools. Black Magic Spinmax and BMax lures are great options for covering water around lake margins, river mouths and larger rivers. Another excellent option is the Black Magic Rattle Snack. Its swimming and fluttering action imitates an injured baitfish, while two small internal rattle beads create additional sound and attraction. They can be cast or trolled, making them a very versatile trout lure.
Soft baiting has also become an extremely effective trout technique. Small baitfish-pattern soft baits rigged on lightweight jig heads imitate smelt, bullies and other small prey. They can be cast around lake edges, river mouths where spinning is permitted and drop-offs or worked vertically from a boat. Fish them on a light spinning outfit with Hyperglide braid and Black Magic Fluorocarbon leader and you've got a very sporting way of catching trout.
For boat anglers, trolling and harling open up huge areas of water. Harling generally involves trolling flies or small lures relatively close to the surface and can be deadly around dawn and dusk, while conventional trolling allows you to cover water and search for feeding fish.
The biggest tip with both techniques is simple – fish where the trout are. There's little point trolling a lure at five metres if the trout are holding at 15 metres. A good quality sounder makes this job much easier, allowing you to identify both trout and the baitfish they are feeding on and determine the depth they're holding at. Once you know that, you can adjust your fishing accordingly.
When trout move deeper, downrigging really comes into its own. A downrigger allows you to position your lure at a very specific depth. Use your sounder to locate trout or baitfish, then set your lure at or slightly above that depth. It's an extremely effective way of targeting deeper fish, particularly during brighter parts of the day when trout may retreat into deeper, cooler water.
Jigging is another fantastic boat-fishing technique, especially when trout are concentrated around schools of smelt or cockabullies. Black Magic Trout Terror jigging rigs make this incredibly simple. The rigs incorporate three flies tied on Black Magic Fluorocarbon with a lumo sinker at the bottom. Locate the fish on your sounder, drop the rig to their depth and work it with relatively small, controlled movements.
Another exciting alternative is egg drifting or egg rolling. Black Magic NQ Soft Eggs imitate fish eggs and can be drifted naturally through rivers, streams and canals. The trick is getting the weight right so the egg travels close to the bottom at roughly the same speed as the current. It can be an extremely effective technique when trout are accustomed to feeding on drifting eggs.
Whichever technique you choose, remember that trout are a managed sports fish and you need the appropriate fishing licence. Most of New Zealand is administered by Fish & Game, while the Taupō Fishing District has its own DOC licence. Seasons, bag limits and permitted fishing methods can vary between waterways, so always check the local regulations before fishing.
Perhaps the greatest thing about these alternative methods is their accessibility. Kids can troll a lure from the family boat, cast a Spinmax from the shore or help watch the sounder while jigging. You don't need to master fly casting to experience the unmistakable excitement of a rainbow trout launching itself out of the water.
Sometimes all you need is a spinning rod, a handful of lures and a licence – and there's a whole new world of trout fishing waiting to be explored.
