Greetings fellow fly fishers.
Well, while there is still a chill in the air at times and it appears the next few days are going to see a drop in temperature, there are signs that Spring is upon us. The lawns are finally starting to grow, there is plenty of blossom coming out and the kōwhai trees are starting to flower. In the last couple of weeks the tūīs have turned up in abundance on my property in full voice (a sound I never get tired of). Just as cicadas are the sound of summer, tūīs surely are the sound of Spring.
This is a great time to be targeting the Central Plateau rivers, as there are plenty of late-running rainbows about and will be for some time yet. All rivers are low and clear, but there is going to be a recreational release on the Tongariro River this Saturday and Sunday, raising the flow to 30 cumecs. At present (Wednesday), the Tongariro is flowing at 22.3 cumecs; the Whanganui is at 16.8 cumecs, and the “TT” is at a height of .2. I think the recreation release will act like a fresh, and the fishing should be good.
I have not long been off the Tongariro River today and had some good, continuous action as I did yesterday with dropping as many as I caught. A number of fish that I had hooked up I had on for some time before spitting the hook in the shallows. I could handle this to a degree, but I took exception to some of the trout poking their tongues out at me before they sped off 😬.
I am finding that small terrestrial nymphs are the No. 1 choice now, and while the fish will still take egg patterns, their dominance is no longer apparent. Well, that’s it for another week, so until next time,
Tight lines,
Brian Willson
Professional Fishing Guide
I Love Fly Fishing friend and ambassador,
Phone 021667867.