American client with a strong fish on in the Tongariro.
Brian Willson, NZPFGA member, is a professional guide and I Love Fly Fishing close friend and Ambassador, brings us his weekly fly fishing report from Turangi for the Central North Island lakes and rivers. For up to date info, for what flies are working call Brian, 021667867. Euro/Czech, Dry Fly, Trout Spey, Nymph and Wet Fly.
Greetings fellow fly fishers,
Well, it has been a busy few weeks with Christmas and New Year now out of the way but still a lot of people around which will remain right through January and up to New Zealand Day so if you are coming to the Central Plateau, be prepared for a bit of company on the rivers and that can include the odd swimmer or spectator.
The Tongariro and indeed all rivers are running low and clear. I went up the “TT” the other day for a look and saw a few fish, but they are very spooky indeed. The Tongariro River has had its moments with some days fishing quite well and other days quite hard, so patience is the key and walking to find fish is going to be the order of the day.
I have managed to have a couple of days fishing in the Whanganui/ Whakapapa Rivers recently and have had reasonable success Euro Nymphing in both rivers. I had a very large trout in the Whanganui River almost jolt my 4wt V Nymph rod out of my hands and break my leader as though it was dental floss. I didn’t see the fish, but it was on the end of a fairly long cast and must have been very hungry indeed such was the ferocity of the hit. I have always found that for some reason the trout in the Whanganui/ Whakapapa Rivers are often the strongest fighting trout that you will find anywhere.
A couple of nice brownies from the Whakapapa River pictured.
I am guiding over that way in a couple of days so look forward to hopefully put an American client on to some good fish. Some very big browns are holding down the lower reaches of the Tongariro River so you can expect to catch a few of them in the coming months especially if you target them. I find, when they are rising, a size 12 Royal Wulff dry fly can work very well. The weather recently has been quite patchy with a lot of wind (It’s more like Spring really), so I’m hoping it settles down soon and allows the dry fly to become a good option. Best nymphs at the moment are small pheasant tails and hybrids of these say 14 or 16. If you want to do a bit of swinging, I have found small woolly buggers are working quite well.
Well, that will do for this week so get out there and do it.
For all I Love Fly Fishing gear check it all out out on-line at www.iloveflyfishing.kiwi and order what you need. Feel free to call Barrie, 021-925006 or barrie@iloveflyfishing.kiwi. You will receive your goods in quick order and at a great price.
Brian – NZPFGA Member,
