Lake Trout



The rainbow trout and my Okuma combo





After arriving in Queenstown, New Zealand, I immediately approached the local information centres about fishing licences. Queenstown is located on north easterly side of the Wakitipu Lake, which is a prominent location for rainbow trout, brown trout and salmon. The trout species live and feed in weed bed areas and over stony flats while the salmon group in the deeper areas or near drop offs. Since I didn’t have access to a water vessel like a kayak I had to choose a land based fishing area. All of the jetties are located in the boating area which is a no fishing zone so I had to venture along a bank that had a slight drop off and a range of fish habitat features. The spot was on a point that had a stone bottom flat that stretched out four to six metres before dropping away to a grit bottom with weed beds in the deeper sections. After talking to some local fishermen who suggested spinners and spoons, Tassie Devils and minnow lures. They also suggested downsizing lures because of the natural food selection of the fish. I chose my 3-6kg four piece Okuma graphite spin matched with my Okuma Flame F-30 spooled with 4.5kg braid. The braid was attached to a swivel using a cats paw knot then a leader of 50cm of 5.5kg fluorocarbon leader using a locked blood knot. A locked blood knot or lefties loop, depending on the desired action, was used to attach the chose lure. I first used a Rapala original F-7 in the brown trout colour.

Leading the rainbow trout over the stoney flat



Trout natural eat baby trout which is why they respond to trout coloured lures. I started by using a fly fishing method of casting shorter before working my way further out and in a variety of directions. The best retrieve for trout is a standard retrieve with occasional flicks which cause it to have a very appealing body roll which imitates a wounded baitfish. One very important thing is not to pause during the retrieve especially when the lure is being followed as the fish quickly lose interest. After working out the most productive retrieve a nice little rainbow trout had followed the lure out of the weed bed then at the top of the little drop off, smashed the lure. The little trout ran and jumped several times before being safely landed on a stone beach next to the point.



Me and the brown trout taken on an Original Rapala



A few casts later a large brown trout was spotted cruising along the edge of the drop off and occasionally approaching the surface before drifting back to the bottom. The lure was worked just off the edge of the drop off before attracting the attention of the brown trout. Just like the rainbow trout it lurked behind the lure over the first metre of the flat before hitting it before it got too close to shore. Unlike the rainbow trout the brown trout didn’t jump out off the water, instead it did two long runs but violently splashed and rolled trying to twist the line and spit the trebles of the lure. I lead the fish over the shallow stone flat to a beach area at the side of the rocky point. The trout was safely landed then released after a few quick pictures. The fishing activity had become very quiet very fast and the Rapala lure produced no follows and no hits. The fish activity on all other lures had died down to nil so I packed up my gear and left. The main thing I had learnt from that fishing experience was that trout don’t hit lures all the way, the follow them till the last moment. This is why it was so important to work the lure all the way back especially if it is being followed.



 

The brown trout up close with my Okuma travel rod and Flame reel