Greetings fellow fly fishers,
Today (Wednesday) is a beautiful day in Turangi with light winds and low river levels. At present the Tongariro River is running at 21.4 cumecs, the Whanganui at 20 cumecs and the “TT” is flowing at a height of .175 meaning they are all low and clear. There has been a bit of company on the river this week with school holidays amongst us but still plenty of areas where there is plenty of room to cast a line. I have just come off the Tongariro after a successful afternoon fishing catching a number of excellent rainbows. There are more spent fish turning up now but still plenty of superb fat silver rainbows. Amongst some of the spent fish are some real battle-scarred Jacks that have put on condition pretty quick after spawning and are still very active on the end of a fly line despite their injuries.
I was greeted by Steve (local ranger) and his assistant today (in photo). They were checking licences and doing surveys so make sure you are compliant and assist them with their data collecting with a smile because they do good work, are fishermen themselves, and need good reliable data so that the fishery remains in good shape for years to come. For the record the road between Taupo and Turangi will be closed for a week from tomorrow night (October 1), due to maintenance on the Waiotaka Bridge, therefore the only river in the Taupo district that will be able to fish will be the Tongariro. If you are coming from the North you will need to access it from the highway on the western side of the lake. Remember tomorrow also opens up several other waters including the Whakapapa River and Lake Otamangakau.
I have found, despite the very clear conditions, the fishing has generally been very good although as is often the case with fishing, for some unknown reason, the odd day can be pretty tough. This is possibly due to some areas being hammered and the fish have become a little bit shy. The last week has seen some pretty strong wind (although today was merely a stiff breeze). This will probably continue until Christmas. My favourite nymph for the week has been the gold bead pheasant tail nymph size 14.
Well, that will do me for this week and remember to get your Fish and Game licences from tomorrow if you intend to try some of the rivers outside the Taupo district.
Until next time,
Tight lines,
Regards,
Brian Willson
Professional Fishing Guide
I Love Fly Fishing friend and ambassador
Phone 021667867