A school teacher from Canada enjoying a day out on the “Hine”.
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, we are now into the middle of August and nothing much has changed from last week. Once again, we have not had any rain and all rivers are in desperate need of a flush. The fish are there but they are oh so spooky due to the low conditions and also the intense angling pressure that has been the norm in the last month or so. I must say the pressure this last week has eased off a bit, but I would say this is due to the lack of rain which has made fishing pretty tough at times. I spent a bit of time in the Hinemaiaia River this week and had moderate success even though the river level is probably 200mm lower than I would like.
There are plenty of fish there though and they can easily be seen moving upstream on their spawning beat. Sometimes you will see these fish in water so shallow you can clearly see their dorsal fins protruding through the surface while their belly is resting on the bottom. In my opinion you probably should not try and catch these fish as they are actively spawning, and you have a 50-50 chance of foul hooking them. Best leave them alone and let them make more fish for us to catch in the following seasons and concentrate on other areas of the river. When the river is low like this, I like to go very small with my nymphs, down to a #16 for the trailing nymph and even perhaps getting rid of the front bomb altogether.
I then target faster, shallower water and keep the casts quite short. It still amazes me how often this water is left alone with many anglers believing it is too fast for fish to hold up in whereas this couldn’t be further from the truth. There are so many areas at the base of a river that are relatively calm behind and in front of rocks for example), compared to the surface which is very fast. The other 2 rivers Tongariro and Tauranga Taupo, both have plenty of fish but, as already mentioned, catching them will be a lot easier if we can get some rain. Speaking of rain, it is forecast in some quantity this coming weekend and today (Thursday), it is certainly looking a bit gloomier outside. This rain will be welcome so bring it on I say. I have a pretty full on guiding weekend coming up so I could very well be caught right in the middle of it.
Steve from Sydney trying his luck. – The Tauranga Taupo low and clear. – Another school teacher from Canada trying his luck.
The Olympics are now over, and I might be able to catch up on some sleep. I must confess, I watched Lydia Ko in her final round all the way through until about 4am after seeing Lisa Carrington blitz her rivals in the K500 final. It was compulsive viewing, tense, I just couldn’t go to bed. A truly remarkable effort to both those ladies. I couldn’t quite say the same for the All Blacks but. I have faith and believe we will see a better result this weekend.
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 or barrie@iloveflyfishing.kiwi. You will receive your goods in quick order and at a great price.
Well, that’s it for another week so get out there and do it, you won’t be disappointed. -Brian – NZPFGA Member,
