This lake cannot be seen from the Hakatere Potts Road and so is easily missed. The turn off is 5 km from Hakatere Corner on the left when heading towards Lake Clearwater. The track can be a bit rough in places so a 4x4 truck is always a great thing to have. Otherwise Lake Emma is approximately 1 km from the main road.
Good spinning lures to try are Johnsons Super Kobras no. SK 10 and no. SK 32. Black and Gold Glimmys or Tobys also work well. On the fly rod Mrs Simpson and Hamills Killer are always worth a try.
Lake Emma is quite shallow. During the summer months the water quality can be very unattractive. Strong winds stir up the bottom, and this combined with a large bird population and warm summer temperatures can turn the water a horrible greenish brown. That said Lake Emma is usually one of the better fish producers of the Ashburton lakes.
Lake Emma is both a spin and fly fishing water. Lake Roundabout is fly fishing only. For both lakes the bag limit is two trout per day. The fishing season runs from the first Saturday in November to 30 April. There is no winter season for the Ashburton Lakes. Fishing from boats in Lake Roundabout is prohibited. Fishing from boats in Lake Emma is permitted provided the boat is moored.
In all nine lakes make up the area known as the Ashburton Lakes. These being: Lake Clearwater, Lake Camp, Lake Denny, Lake Emily, Lake Emma, Lake Heron, Lake Roundabout, Lake Spider and the two small Maori Lakes. Ashburton Lakes Trout Fishing MAP. |
