About Cruise and Fish Rotorua
Cruise and Fish Rotorua is a specialist trout fishing charter service operating on the volcanic lakes surrounding Rotorua, with a particular focus on Lake Tarawera. Run by experienced local guides, the operation puts anglers onto rainbow and brown trout in some of New Zealand's most scenic and productive freshwater fisheries — within 15 to 30 minutes of Rotorua city centre.
Fishing methods cover trolling, jigging, soft baits, harling with fly rods, and dedicated fly fishing trips depending on the season and conditions. The Tarawera boat season runs October through June, with shoreline fly and spin fishing available July through September. They also offer helifishing packages that access remote wilderness streams and rivers around the region, plus lake cruises that can be tailored to include barbecues, swimming, and scenic sightseeing alongside the fishing.
The standout experience is fishing Lake Tarawera at the base of Mount Tarawera itself, then pulling into Te Rata Bay to cook your catch in the geothermally heated sands while soaking in a natural hot pool. That combination — world-class trout fishing, volcanic scenery, and hot sand cooking — is genuinely hard to replicate anywhere else. The guides know these lakes intimately and adjust tactics with the seasons, which keeps catch rates consistently high.
