Smelt are a small almost translucent fish that inhabit many North Island waterways. They are a particularly important trout food source in the central north island especially around Taupo and Rotorua. They spawn around the edges of lakes and in the lower reaches of rivers in autumn  / winter. Although indigenous to NZ, many of the populations now found around the country were introduced to provide a good reliable food source for trout who feed voraciously on them.

They are small fish that can grow up to 8 cms though most are in the 3 - 4 cms range. They prefer cold water and temperatures  between 15 - 17 degrees is ideal, They prefer to live in large shoals.

Imitating the smelt

Due to its importance as a food source, smelt have a wide range of patterns developed to imitate the darting nature of this fish. When fishing around Taupo and Rotorua it is a great pattern to have. Many fish are caught harling with a smelt pattern and lately they have also food their way onto jigging rigs.