Brown trout and perch.

Perch up to 1kg abound in the lake and outlet creek. Some trout are present but are seldom caught before hooking a perch.

Access map

A boat is necessary to fish the lake successfully. Jigging or coloured spinners work best.

Fishing from the shore is limited to the jetty and adjacent shoreline. The weedy margins make shore angling difficult but good fishing can be had on the deep side of weed beds.

Access is by turning off SH6 at Mahinapua Hotel 12km south of Hokitika onto the Ruatapu road, then via the Shanghai Bay Rd. Boat launching is available at Shanghai Bay. Foot access is limited to the foreshore at the bay or part way around the Lake Mahinapua Walkway. See the Lake Mahinapua access map.

Nymphs: Suspended nymphs that are just below the surface work well during the evening when fish are cruising the shallows. Fish will also take nymphs of the Hare and Copper or Pheasant Tail variants.

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.

Wet flies: Large sunk flies such as a Hairy Dog, Mrs Simpson, Hamill's Killer or Fuzzy Wuzzy fished deep can work well.

Spinners: Trolling or casting use, Tasmanian Devils, Cobras and Tobys which all work well in darker patterns.

Trout: All year

Salmon: 1 Oct-30 Apr