Lake Rotorua is producing some "top notch" trout for anglers who are managing to get out in the tricky weather conditions, Fish and Game officers say.
Officers said the shoreline fishery that focused mainly on stream mouths had been slow to get under way this summer, due to cooler and windier conditions.
Lake Rotorua is sitting just under 20C and has not climbed much higher due to the unseasonably cool conditions.
"Anglers at the stream mouths are catching fish, but having to work quite hard for those they get," Fish & Game officer Matt Osborne said.
"But on a positive note, the Lake Rotorua fish appear to be in solid condition."
The recent Tangaroa fishing competition on the lake produced fish in outstanding shape, he said.
"These fish are as good as any I've seen come from Lake Rotorua, probably in the past decade. The cooler lake conditions and an abundance of smelt to feed on have led them to rapidly pack on body weight."
Mr Osborne said in spite of the harder fishing for lake-edge anglers, there were certainly positives to come out of the rough weather for the fishery.
"Instead of being crammed into cooler stream flows and just surviving, trout are out feeding."
The Rotorua brown trout have wintered well too. Fish & Game's Ngongotaha Stream fish trap caught several 4.5kg plus browns in November, and the average fish for December weighed an impressive 3kg and was 55cm in length.
Some fine fish have also been caught in other lakes.
One was a 5.5kg, 67.5cm rainbow caught from the Hauparu Bay area on Lake Rotoiti.
The fish was a hatchery-bred fish which had been released in May 2014 at Ruato Bay. At the time of release it measured just 18cm and weighed 60g, said Mr Osborne.
"It shows impressive growth and indicates that the lake can still produce trophies when conditions are right."
He said the region's back country rivers were in top condition and Fish & Game staff had received encouraging reports of good fish numbers from the Waioeka River.
"At this stage most are being taken on sunken nymphs, but terrestrial insect activity is on the increase so we're again hoping for some top cicada, beetle, lace moth activity in the Waioeka catchment later this summer."