Quote for the week: I continually read of men who said they would just as happy not catching trout as catching them. To me, that even then sounds pious nonsense, and rather more of an excuse that a statement of fact. No, I want to catch them, and every time I slip on my waders and put up a fly, it is with this in mind. ( Brian Clarke, from his bestseller ‘The pursuit of the Stillwater Trout’ – 1975.)
Jacoby from Colorado with 'fish on', on the Tongariro River.
Greetings fellow fly fishers,
Well, another week has come and gone, and I must say there is some good news to report although we won’t dwell too much on the All-Black’s effort on Sunday morning. There is a number of fish in the rivers at the moment, especially the Tongariro where I have seen big numbers especially in the lower river. The Hinemaiaia River has been hit and miss and the “TT” much the same.
There have been a number of mini freshes throughout the week which has kept the fish moving. While there are an increasing number of recovering fish turning up now there are still enough fresh fish coming through and these are always welcomed on the end of a line. My favourite nymph pattern this week has been the pheasant tail and variants of the same with flashbacks and gold bead heads working pretty well.
I had the pleasure of guiding economist Gareth Morgan last Saturday. He was a real interesting character, and I really enjoyed my time with him. He did well and had some good action throughout the session. I also had some local clients as well as a couple from Sydney and a lone American from Colorado. The American was quite an experienced fisherman and had a good amount of action fishing blind and to sited fish. He couldn’t get over how big our trout were compared to what he catches at home. He caught some good fish but not what we would call big in NZ with the biggest of the day probably going about 3lb.
Another nice fish & Guiding Ange from Sydney on the Tongariro
The river level at time of writing in the Tongariro (Thursday afternoon) is 35cumecs (down from 120 cumecs on Wednesday) and the Tauranga Taupo River is sitting at about .8 down from 1.3 on Wednesday.
Prospects for the weekend look good and there is not too much pressure on the rivers.
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 Barrie, 021-925006 or barrie@iloveflyfishing.kiwi. You will receive your goods in quick order and at a great price.
Brian – NZPFGA Member,
