“I’ve gone fishing thousands of times in my life, and I have never once felt unlucky or poorly paid for those hours on the water.”
— Best selling crime writer and fisherman William Tapply {1940-2009} was also a regular columnist in Field and Stream.
Greetings fellow fly fishers,
Well, what a rough old week we have had and at time of writing (Wednesday) it is still blowing a gale out there. The whole country has experienced some extreme weather and here in Turangi we weren’t spared. The wind has been diabolical, and we have had our fair share of rain. Last weekend the Tongariro River rose to about 570 cumecs and the “TT” rose to 1.6. At present the Tongariro is around 40 cumecs and the ““TT” is .6, both fishable and looking good for the weekend when the long-range weather forecast is looking pretty good. This fresh will see a lot more fish entering the rivers and there are some quality trout gathering at the mouths at the moment.
I did get out and had a flick at a small stream mouth a couple of nights ago. It was a stormy night with a lot of moisture in the air, perfect for a big brown I thought. On arrival at the stream mouth, surprise, surprise, I was the only one there. It was a pretty rough night to be fair and there was a good chop on the lake, difficult but certainly fishable. The stream had a good bit of colour due to recent rains and fishing the inside edge of the current was the plan. I have found with most small stream mouths in Taupo, fishing the rip is not always totally necessary as if the bay the stream runs into is reasonably shallow, the fish will be manoeuvring around the bay and will find your fly even if you are some distance from the rip. Larger river mouths like the Tongariro and “TT”, it is essential to be in the rip.
Anyway, I was fishing away, and as the night drew in, the wind dropped a bit and the lake settled down to have a nice gentle roll on it. Conditions were now perfect and even pleasant as it wasn’t even raining where I was although I could see it all around me. I was soon into a strong Rainbow Jack that put up a great scrap and was in absolute mint condition. My fishing night was cut short however as the skies started to glow with lightning and I reasoned that it was time to get out of there. Strangely, as I drove back to Turangi, SH1 was flooded, and I had to be very careful indeed. I hadn’t experienced a drop where I was fishing just 10 km away. Now is a great time to catch a prime condition trout. I always reckon a good Autumn trout will fight better and be in better condition than a winter trout although, to be fair, there are some very good trout caught in the winter.
I was fishing with an olive woolly bugger which I often use at this time of year (or black), and I tend to not use the lumos because, although they are good rainbow catchers, the browns generally aren’t interested in them, and I always like to think I can catch a brown at night.
Well, that’s it from me for another week, all looks good for the weekend in all rivers (including the Hinemaiaia) so until next time.
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,
