“When a tourist terms a plague of insects, the fly fisher calls it a great hatch.”
— Patrick F. McManus.
Greetings fellow fly fishers,
Well, we are now ending the end of the school holidays and it has been a pretty wild week weather wise although here in Turangi we didn’t get it anywhere near as bad as a lot of the country and all the rivers have been fishable for the entire past week despite the rain. The never-ending wind (we seem to have had a lot of it this year) has certainly been a factor and as I am writing this (Thursday) it is pretty gusty out there.
The rivers do not have a lot of angler activity at the moment despite the holidays, but the trout are certainly moving in. The Tongariro River is running at about 26 cumecs, the “TT” at a good height at .4 and the Whanganui probably running too high at around 40 cumecs. The forecast for the rest of the month is pretty unsettled with a lot more rain and wind expected. I am finding streamers to be working quite well at the moment with the dry fly action tailing off with the cooler temperatures now upon us.
Natural nymphs like the reliable pheasant tail and Hare and Copper and their variants are always worth a shot but the Cleardrift Egg as available from I Love Fly Fishing are just starting to make an impact and soon will be really firing as the winter gets closer. The lake level is very high as it has been all year and the smelting action which has been pretty good is starting to tail off now.
I believe we have a good angling winter in front of us when I look at the quality of fish I have seen and caught in the lower rivers and their mouths.
Well, that’s it for now, 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.
Until next time,
Tight lines,
Brian – NZPFGA Member,
