“I vowed I would come again down across the Pacific to fish in the swift cold waters of this most beautiful and famous of trout streams. It is something to have striven. It is much to have kept your word.“ — Zane Grey, Tales of the Angler’s El Dorado, New Zealand (1926)
Greetings, fellow fly fishers,
Well, it has been another full-on week guiding clients and, for the most part, the fish have been fairly cooperative. The Whanganui River has been fishing fairly well, as has the Tongariro. At the time of writing (Wednesday 14th), the Tongariro is running at 24.9 cumecs, the Whanganui at 16.7 cumecs, and the “TT” is low at 0.1. Tomorrow we are expecting a fair amount of rain (all day), which is going to be a bit of fun as I am guiding an elderly American and bad weather doesn’t help the cause. A fly-fishing experience is always better with the sun out, but if I can put him onto a few fish, that will help.
One thing the heavy rain will do for sure is have a few more fish enter the river, and the weather is supposed to ease off by the weekend, which should allow for some really good fishing. After a good drenching of rain, and if the water does get a bit coloured, don’t underestimate the swinging fly. I always carry a swinging rig down to the river after rain, and often it is the most productive way to catch fish. I target the tails of pools and cast pretty much to the far bank, just slightly upstream from me, and have a pretty heavy sink-tip line to get the lure down fast.
My favourite fly at present is the black Woolly Bugger. If you buy commercial brands of the Woolly Bugger, most of them have tails that are too long. The tail should be no longer than the length of the hook. They are easily trimmed back, but when doing so, try and trim them so the end is pointed rather than just cut off flush. Failure to trim the fly will see many fish lost as they haven’t bitten enough fly to get properly hooked. The good old Hare and Copper has done pretty well for me this week, as have Pheasant Tails and variants of these.
Night fishing has been good at the stream mouths, especially on dark nights. It won’t be long before big browns will rule these mouths at night, so watch this space. Well, that’s it from me for another week, so until next time.
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.
Until next time,
Tight lines,
Brian – NZPFGA Member,
