“All there is to thinking is seeing something noticeable which makes you see something you weren’t noticing which makes you see something that isn’t even visible.”
— Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It
Fly Fishing the Tongariro River Delta
Greetings fellow fly fishers,
Well we are now well into December and it would have to be said that the fishing, generally speaking, has been pretty good and more importantly, the quality of some of the fish caught this week has been superb.
Just yesterday I was out with a former client, Simon, from the UK and now fishing buddy when he visits NZ, and we decided to have a look at the Tongariro Delta. Because there has been so much wind about, I have not been out there for a while, but yesterday there was no wind all day except for an occasional minor zephyr every now and then which was greatly appreciated as the day was very hot, probably getting close to 30 degrees!
Except for a lone angler for a brief time in the morning, we had the Delta to ourselves and had some good action at different times right throughout the day. We were joined by a very large Brown Trout on the right side of the boat that was there all afternoon and, while I tried to offer my goods to him, he flatly rejected it, of course. He was accompanied by a large brown hen and every now and then a rainbow was swimming amongst them. I guessed the big brown was probably 8 inches longer than the hen and had to go ten pounds plus. His tail was huge.
I also had the pleasure of guiding 2 Americans from Idaho who were basically beginners but certainly not bunnies. As I set the 1st man up by throwing the nymph out into the selected area, a trout pounced on it immediately and I handed the rod over to him and he played it well enough and we had the first fish, a good fresh hen, in the net.
The rest of the day was pretty hard going as we hit the lower river. I had one of the men swing a woolly bugger and he was doing OK but no fish were interested. It was almost time to go and I suggested that I have one attempt at swinging a fly past a willow tree on the opposite bank. I had one cast and, as luck would have it, a big trout hit hard. I handed the rod over to the other American (Lou) and he expertly landed the fish.
Eric yelled out, “That’s insane, that doesn’t happen,” and he kept repeating that all the way back twenty minutes to the vehicle. I told them, “I normally get 2 on when I have 2 flies,” (with tongue in cheek). The truth is, I was jammy.
The Tongariro River Produces Again
If you get time to get down to the river now, make sure you apply plenty of sunscreen as you will fry out there. All fishing methods are working well so fish with confidence. I have noticed an increasing amount of litter on some of the tracks, which is disappointing. There are several good Samaritans that clean up our tracks regularly (like Didymo Dave) but we could make their jobs easier if we ensure litter goes home with us.
Well that’s it for another week, so until next time, tight lines,
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 Johan, 021-02209719 or johan@iloveflyfishing.kiwi. You will receive your goods in quick order and at a great price.
Brian – NZPFGA Member,
