TRM’s Brief History of the Taupo Fishery
1887 – Brown trout introduced to Lake Taupo1898 – Rainbow (steelhead) trout introduced.
1904 – Brown trout of 23 kg (50 pound) speared at Kuratau.
1907 – Rainbow trout of 17 kg caught at Waitahanui. (Typical was Charles Percival [SWMBO's Grandfather?] landing 354 trout av. 3.9 kg – 8.5 pound)
1912 – Koaro population cannot support expansion of trout – size & quality decline.
1913 – Netting undertaken to reduce trout numbers.
1924 – Perhaps the best years of Taupo fishery. (i.e. J Painton catches 11 trout at Waitahanui 10 of which exceed 9 kg.)
1926 – Act of Parliament entitled licensed anglers access along either bank from Delta to Whitikau River. ( Maori Land Claim Adjustment Act)1930 – Trout quality and size deteriorates.
1934 – Smelt released to become main trout diet.
1958 – Largest flood of century reshapes Tongariro River.
1960 – Fishing all year round permitted..
1963 – Trout condition and size improve.
1973 – Tongariro flows reduce from hydro project – TPD.
1987 – Season fishing licences peak at over 83,800.
1990 – Fishery declined to lowest point.
1998 – Minimum size limit increased to 45 cm after Ruapehu eruption. Another “once in 100 years” flood.
1999 – Another “once in 100 years” flood.
2000 – Size and condition best since 1920′s, largest adult population for several decades.2003 – SWMBO buys TRM.
2004 – Another “once in 100 year” flood peaked at 1490 cumecs. (Usual flow about 24 cumecs)
2008 – TRM won the Tongariro v’s Waitahanui fish-off.
2009 – Minimum size reduced to 40 cm. TRM’s best season for most largest brown trout ever. (TRM won the fish-off again.)
2010 – Might be the best season ever. (WG plans to land a 10 pound+ trout again)
2012 – Access tracks extended above Fence Pool to double the length of the accessible fishable river in summer.
2023 – SWMBO retires.
DAILY BAG LIMIT
1926 – 25
1950 – 6
1953 – 8
1960 – no limit
1963 – 21
1971 – 10
1980 – 8
1991 – 3
BASIC RESTRICTIONS:
Taupo fishery requires a separate license from the rest of NZ.
Season is open all year round.
Daily bag limit of three – then stop fishing or catch & release after two landed.
Minimum size 40 cm. No maximum.
No fishing from 12.00 midnight to 5 am.
Maximum 3 flies or lures. Bait fishing prohibited.
Tongariro River is fly fishing only.
TRM smoker maximum capacity is 20 trout per day.
BASIC FISHING FACTS
Taupo is a wild fishery with Rainbow and Brown trout.
Tongariro River spawning runs are usually from end of March to end of November with no distinct pattern.
Rain and falling barometer pressures usually trigger a run.
Average time to run up to winter limit is 30 days, but varies between 18 and 80 days.
Migrating trout hug the bottom so dredging methods (heavy nymphs or wet lines) are the most successful.
TRM fishos are always the most successful on the Tongariro River.
Summer dry fly fishing for brown trout is the Taupo fishery’s worst kept secret.
Winter limit at Fence Pool was to prevent inmates on Rangipo Prison Farm getting too excited if they saw women anglers in waders.
Tongariro River provides the best fly fishing conditions in the world.
Most trout are landed in pools closest to TRM – Major Jones Pool, Bridge Pool & Braids.
(Memorial in Auckland Domain to celebrate the introduction of Rainbow Trout to NZ.
The plaque reads: “THIS CENTENNIAL PLAQUE WAS PRESENTED TO THE AUCKLAND ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY TO CONVEY THE GRATITUDE OF PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE GENERATIONS OF TROUT ANGLERS IN NEW ZEALAND FOR THE SOCIETY’S SUCCESSFUL IMPORTATION OF CALIFORNIAN RAINBOW TROUT OVA IN 1883. ITS HATCHING OF THE EGGS IN THE AUCKLAND DOMAIN POND AND ITS SUBSEQUENT DISTRIBUTION OF THE FISH AND THEIR PROGENY TO MANY NEW ZEALAND WATERS.
Turangi 18 April 1883)
The “thermal lakes region” was at first part of the Auckland acclimatisation Society District and the Society was responsible for the management of game, bird hunting and trout fishing. From 1892 the Society ran a trout hatchery at Waimakariri near Tirau which supplied most of the early rainbow trout liberated to Rotorua and in the early 1900′s to Taupo.
Management changed in 1907 to the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts (DTHR) and an unsettled period followed while claims and counter claims were sorted out. Management of the practical aspects passed on the the Marine Department (MD) and in 1913, to the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). Administration and licencing remained with the DTHR until 1930 when DIA gained full control.
From the early 1920′s suggestions and discussions took place between government and various acclimatisation societies and individuals over the need for a hatchery at Taupo. The current thinking is indicated in a report to government by the Conservator of Fish and Game for the 1920-21 period in which he reports receiving a consignment of 250,000 rainbow trout ova from Lake Hawea hatchery “for the purposes of improving the strain of rainbow trout in the rivers and lakes of the thermal district, especially in teh Lakes Taupo and Rotorua….” In 1924-25 “100,000 rainbow trout ova were received from Lake Hawea and liberated as fry in Lake Taupo”.
In 1923 LF Ayson, the Chief Inspector of Fisheries (MD), was asked to look for a suitable site for a hatchery in the Taupo District. In May 1924 he reported “To my mind the eggs obtained from fish in the tributaries of Lake Taupo are superior to what can be procured in any other streams in the thermal district, and if for no other reason I would recommend an ‘eying station’ somewhere on Lake Taupo, where eggs could be collected ‘eyed out’ and distributed from there. I found a very good site for a hatchery on the Waihukahuka Creek which flows into the Tongariro River 12 miles from the Lake.”
The 1924-25 conservator’s report: “Recognizing that the Taupo trout are of exceptionally fine quality, it has been decided to erect a hatchery in teh vicinity of Tokaanu, and it is hoped at an early date to commence taking ova from trout in that locality.”
The NZ Gazette dated 21 january 1926 proclaimed the ntention to take land for the purpose of a fish hatchery. The land taken on 14 June 1926 and the Native Land Court awarded the owners 120 pounds in compensation for the land in October 1927. On 8 June 1926 the first eggs were taken from the Waihukahuka Stream (20,0000 rainbow). The season total was 3,428,000.
The Conservator’s annual report to Government for 1926-27: “A trout hatchery has been constructed in teh vicinity of Tokaanu, and will be in full operation during the next spawning season. This hatchery, it is believed, will be of very considerable benefit not only to fisheries in the thermal district, but to fisheries generally throughout the Dominion, as the fish from ova will be taken cannot be surpassed in any part of New Zealand. “However, elsewhere in the same report is a record of 250,000 fry from Lake Hawea being liberated in Lakes Taupo and Rotoiti – “in continuation of the policy of improving teh fishing in lake waters”. A quid each way if ever I saw it.
Errol Cudby – DoC Hatchery Manager 2005.