1919.] 
Fletcher.—Lake Taupo and its Trout. 
367 
LAKE TAUPO AND ITS TROUT. 
By Rev. H. J. Fletcher, Taupo. 
Lake Taupo has become famous throughout most of the fishing world 
for its giant rainbow trout. The existence of trout in the lake is taken so 
much as a matter of course that some people can hardly realize how 
extremely recent the advent of these beautiful fish is. It seems almost 
incredible that the swarming myriads of fish in the lake could be the result 
of only a few years’ increase, yet such is the fact. The prospect of what 
must happen in the near future to the fishing in the lake, unless something 
is done, is exercising the minds of a good many people just now, and the 
few notes contained herein, it is hoped, will lead to steps being taken to 
prevent the spoiling of the best trout-fishing in the world. 
There exists some slight confusion as to the time when the first successful 
introduction of trout took place. The late Major Scanned, when stationed 
at Taupo, interested himself in this matter, and obtained ova for a small 
hatchery across the Waikato River from Taupo. This small building was 
standing on the edge of the Waikato River about 300 yards above the bridge 
at Taupo and opposite the house where the Major lived. The failure of 
his attempts is inferred from the fact that no fish were reported in the lake 
or rivers for long after he left Taupo, a period of at least twelve years. 
There are other stories told of private individuals liberating trout-fry, 
but again without visible result. In 1894 the Postmaster at Taupo, Mr. G. 
Park, obtained a few thousand trout-ova from the Masterton hatchery. 
These were hatched out in one of the cold springs that gushes out of the 
ground at the Maori pa at Taupo. Most of the young fry were liberated 
in the Waikato and streams flowing into the lake on the eastern side, but 
a few were kept in the small stream that flowed from the spring into the 
Waikato. Mr. Park used to take visitors over to see these young trout 
darting to and fro in the clear water. In February, 1895, they were active 
little fish, varying from 5 in. to 8 in. long. In August of 1895, 100,000 ova 
were sent up from Masterton to the care of Messrs. Crowther and McCauley, 
Napier. They were forwarded right through to Taupo and placed in the 
boxes that had been prepared to receive them at the spring. Mr. Park 
and a number of volunteers took charge of them. Every morning one or 
more of the band went over the eggs carefully and removed all bad ones. 
Notes were kept of the number of those removed, and when added up it 
was found that over 80,000 had been hatched. As soon as the yolk-sac 
had disappeared they were sent out to the streams. Mr. J. Crowther, who 
was then driving a coach between Taupo and Tokaanu, placed some of them 
in every stream between those places. A steam-launch belonging to Mr. D 
Fernie conveyed the writer and about 20,000 fish to the streams between 
Karangahape, on the western side of the lake, and Tokaanu. None of these 
fish were placed in the streams between Karangahape and Rangatira. Within 
two years fish were seen in all the streams on the eastern side. This one 
fact seems to prove the failure of the other experiments. These trout were 
