Lake Poerua is a small lake in a stunning setting giving anglers the chance to fish for a very large population of brown and rainbow trout.
| Fish type |
Brown and rainbow trout. (Sockeye salmon were released in the lake in the mid 1980's. A few of their descendants may still remain) |
| Situation |
20kms from Moana on Lake Brunner |
| Setting |
Lake Poerua is a beautiful lake with bush lined hills on its northern shore and open land on the southern shore. It is not a deep lake and fish tend to rise very freely making it open to a range of fishing methods. There are boat launching facilities at Te Kinga Reserve. |
| Maps |
Access map
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| Check conditions |
View the MetService weather forecast |
| Description |
The northern bank tends to be the favoured spot for fishing as the bush comes down to the waters edge (though a boat is a necessity for this section). The Southern and Eastern banks are shallow and can get weedy over the summer but do offer excellent shoreline based fishing. Be careful when wading however as the bottom can be soft mud in places. Trolling, spin fishing and all forms of fly fishing work well. |
| Fish numbers and size |
Very high numbers of small to medium size fish in the 2 - 3lb range. The fish from this lake have beautiful orange flesh from their diet of freshwater crayfish (Koura). |
| Ease of fishing |
An easy lake to fish if you have a boat. There is limited shore access and the bottom can be muddy making it difficult to wade. |
| Access |
Access is via the Inchbonnie - Rotomanu road which passes near the soutern shore of the lake. |
| Recommended lures |
Nymphs: Suspended nymphs that are just below the surface work well during the evening when fish are crusising the shallows. Fish will alos take nymphs of the Hare and Copper or Pheasant Tail variant which can be cast in front of a cruising trouts path and twitched as they get close.
Dry flies: The fish are often feeding on windblown terrestrial flies and so flies such as a Green Beetle in early summer and cicada patterns from mid summer on work well. Wasp patterns can also work well in the summer months. Otherwise try an Adams, Greenwell's Glory, Humpy or similar pattern.
Wet flies: Large sunk flies such as a Hairy Dog, Mrs Simpson, Hamill's Killer or Fuzzy Wuzzy fished deep can work well especially over the weedbeds. Koura patterns such as a Red Setter can be effective when twitched just above the lake bed.
Spinners: When trolling use Cobras, Tasmanian Devils and Tobys which all work well when trolled along the deeper northern shore. |
| Regulations |
| Applicable to |
Lake Poerua |
| Region |
West Coast |
| Season |
Trout: 1 Oct-30 Apr
Salmon: 1 Oct-30 Apr |
| Methods |
Artificial fly, spinner, bait |
| Bag limit |
Total sports fish: 2 |
| Size limit (cm) |
No limit |
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