ANGLING NOTES

Taupo Times, Volume III, Issue 108, 19 February 1954, Page 5

ANGLING NOTES

SIZE AND CONDITION OF FISH With the continued hot dry weather fishing has been hard everywhere. Some details of fish taken recently on the fly at the mouth of the Waihah River, on the western shore of the Lake, provide an interesting report on condition and size of fish being taken. These details cover twenty-five fish taken by two rods in three days fishing, done mostly in the evenings. The fish comprised the total catch, and are considered to represent a fair sample of fish taken in the Western Bays area recently. The 25 fish aggregated 107i lbs, giving an average weight of 4.3 lbs, with an average length of 22.14 inches, yielding an average condition factor of 39.62. Two of the fish were brown trout, the remainder being rainbows, the browns being the heaviest, scaling 9f lbs and 6f lbs. Both were hen fish. The heaviest rainbows were two hen fish, both 5f lbs. Of the twentythree rainbows, seventeen were under four pounds. The heaviest brown trout, 9f lbs and 25 inches in length, yielded a condition factor of 62.40, the other 61 lbs an 23 inches, one of 55.40, figures indicating fish whose condition would be considered really good. The rainbows avaraged 3.95 lbs in weight and 21.97 inches in length. The two largest, 5f lbs in weight and 24 inches in length, had condition factors of 41.59. The two best conditioned raibows were hen fish, one 2i lbs and 17i inches, condition factor 48.59. The average condition factor of the rainbows, however, was only 37.24. While it is not suggested that the catch analysed above is large enough to give fully representative average trout weights, lengths, and condition factors in Taupo waters generally today, it is of interest to compare with earlier figures. In his recent report Mr D. F. Hobbs, Senior Fishery Officer, mentioned that a series of samples of rod-caught fish taken in recent years showed evidence of a reduction in size which might still be proceeding, and gave the following average lengths of the samples mentioned:— 1948-49, 23.9 inches; 1949-50, 22.7 inches; 1951-53 22.5 inches; 1952-53, 21.9 inches. The average length of the rainbows in the present catch, as shown above, approximated Mr Hobb's 1952-53 figures. During the winter of 1928 a large number of rainbow trout weighed, measured and tagged, by offieers of the Department of Internal Affairs operating in the eastern streams of the Lake, averaged 5.99 lbs in weight and 23 . 15 inches in length, yielding an average condition factor of over 48.