Greetings fellow fly fishers,
Well it looks like there are early signs of summer with temperatures this week getting into the low twenties and the need to cover up with a good hat and plenty of sunscreen a must. This is a funny time of year because it can easily change within a week to make it feel like winter again but it has been a very pleasurable week out on the water.
All rivers remain low and clear as they have been for most of the winter. The fishing has been remarkably good however and I think there have been a good number of pretty happy fishers especially on the Tongariro River which is holding good numbers of fish throughout its length. At time of writing ( Wednesday evening), the Tongariro is running at 20.7 cumecs, the Whanganui is 14.5 cumecs and the “ TT” is still sitting at a height of .1. Yesterday while I was about to enter the upper river via the Blue Pool access, I noticed the road was closed. Originally this was only going to be for one day for road repairs but now it appears this access will be closed for at least 6 weeks while harvesting of adjacent forestry blocks and various trimming is being carried out. Access to the upper river up to the Boulder Pool is still possible by crossing the Red Hutt swing bridge and walking up the track on the true right. This can take you right up to the Boulder Pool.
Small naturals are doing it for me although swinging a woolly bugger through the tails is working very well also. There has been talk of a mixed bag of fish being caught at the moment but I would have to say that I have caught very few sub-par fish in the last month and, indeed, in the last 2 weeks I have caught the odd large trout (dropped a few as well). There are still a lot of fresh run fish in the river. The weather looks pretty settled at least until Sunday and then a depression looks like it may make its way onto the country. A good deluge of rain would certainly help rivers like the “TT” which is tough going at the moment.
Lots of activity coming up with an election not too far away. Also Labour Weekend is this weekend so I would expect to see a few more fishers on the river. Well that’s it for another week so until next time,
Tight lines,
Regards,
Brian Willson.
Professional Fishing Guide I Love Fly Fishing friend and Ambassador.
Ph 021667867.