Fast, shallow water. There are plenty of fish in there.
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, this week has seen some good action on all rivers in the area. My fishing has been pretty limited recently due to having a pretty nasty flu. I had a flu vaccination recently but obviously it didn’t stop the strain that I got. I had recently been to the AGM of the NZPFGA in Christchurch and am picking I contracted it on the plane coming home. Never mind, I am much better now and decided to check out the Hinemaiaia River mid-week. It was a beautiful day and surprise surprise there was hardly anybody on the river. The river looked good and as I had one of my favourite spots available, I decided to start there. On the second cast I was hard into a strong Hinemaiaia Jack that leapt all over the place and wasn’t at all happy about being hooked up. It was quite a dark fish obviously having been in the river for some time but in good nick.
Unfortunately for me he spat the hook therefore winning the battle which I was more than happy with because it saved me having to release it. The day was to be full of action throughout with some lovely fish landed (and lost). I was fishing a tandem nymph rig with a bomb at the front and a cleardrift egg at the back and I was getting hooked up pretty much 50-50 on both offerings. Contrary to what a lot of people think, there are a lot of fish in the fast shallow water. I often get told by my clients that “there can’t be any fish in there, the water is too fast” where in actual fact it can be some of the best water (and under fished) in the river. Trout know where the quieter water is in rapids and they will rest there as they make their way upstream, gobbling up any goodies on the way. The biggest test is, if you hook up, how are you going to land it if (and it invariably does) decides to bolt downstream. It pays to have a landing plan before you fish a stretch of water and on the Hinemaiaia River it pays to up your breaking strain on your leader a bit because there are plenty of instances where you will not be able to follow a fish downstream, rather you will have to hold it and try and turn it into a side bay ( as small as it may be) and get the net under it.
You will still lose your share of fish; they are strong and generally in top condition in this river. I also find that the Hinemaiaia seems to have the biggest fish of all the rivers with a high percentage of large Jacks. The Tauranga Taupo has also been fishing well after a fresh earlier on in the week. This river, as well as The Tongariro and Hinemaiaia still has not a lot of angling pressure, but this will surely change soon. The forecast for the next few days is rain, perhaps a lot of rain which may muck up the fishing for a while but will surely be excellent on the other side when the river levels recede as there will be a lot more fish in the river.
Remember, the ideal time to be on the river is when it is on the drop. If you can get onto it not too long after it drops because this can be a really exciting time to be fishing. The wet liners this week have been doing quite well on the Tongariro River and I’m picking sometime next week this method will be the one to use initially until the rivers clear up a bit.
While I am not selling, I Love Fly Fishing gear from the store in Turangi now, I would recommend you look at the products online, www.iloveflyfishing.kiwi and order what you need. Feel free to call Barrie, 021-925006. You will receive your goods in quick order and at a great price.
Well, that’s it from me this week. Keep those lines tight -Brian.
