Greetings fellow fly fishers.
Firstly, I apologise for the lack of reports in recent weeks. I had the misfortune of losing my phone in the Tongariro River somewhere, and it has taken me a while to get everything back to normal—or near normal. What a hassle it is when you lose your phone. I have an idea how it happened and I was onto it quickly, but to no avail. When retracing my steps and asking the many people who were on the river that day, I got the usual helpful questions like "Where did you lose it?" "What colour was it?" and "Did you try ringing it?" Of course, I rang it at least 100 times with my wife's phone, and the best reply I got was a muffled sound that could have been Flipper!
Anyway, back to the fishing. The rivers generally remain pretty low and clear. The Hinemaiaia has been fishing pretty well but, as usual for this time of year, has plenty of pressure. The Tauranga Taupo is fishing OK with a lot less pressure but will fish better with more rain. The Tongariro will reward you if you are prepared to put the time in, but like the TT, will improve with a good fresh. The truth is, we haven't had a good deluge of rain for some time, and all rivers have been running at summer levels for most of the winter. At present, the Tongariro is running at 21 cumecs, the Whanganui is 14.5 cumecs, and the TT is at a height of 0.2.
The Cleardrift Eggs are working well and will continue doing so for some time yet. Check out how to tie these in the video below. It is important to tie the glo bug yarn correctly on these to stop the Cleardrift Egg sliding down to the gape of the hook, which will result in several lost fish. A size 10 scud hook works pretty well here and is available from I Love Fly Fishing. I have found that all methods of fishing are worth a go at the moment, and if nymphing is a bit slow, consider a change of tack and swing a streamer around the tail of the pools. I like to use a short leader with a quick-sinking tip line on the Tongariro. The TT and Hinemaiaia can also be very good with the wet line.
It has probably been one of the coldest winters that I can remember for a while—the amount of firewood I have gone through this winter is proof of that—and another cold snap is coming in the next few days. The Desert Road was closed last night and not for the first time this year. Sometimes fishing in the afternoon sees fewer fishermen, warmer temperatures, and equally good fishing. As it is in fishing, no two days are ever the same. The number of times I go to the river around mid-morning and see other fishermen coming back out, fishing less and freezing cold, is amazing. The main thing is to get out and enjoy yourselves. We are so lucky in New Zealand to have paradise on our doorstep.
Until next time, tight lines.
Regards,
Brian Willson, Professional Fishing Guide.