Brian does it again!
Brian Willson, NZPFGA member, is a professional guide and I Love Fly Fishing close friend and Ambassador, brings us his weekly fly fishing report from Turangi for the Central North Island lakes and rivers. For up to date info, for what flies are working call Brian, 021667867. Euro/Czech, Dry Fly, Trout Spey, Nymph and Wet Fly.
Greetings fellow fly fishers,
Well, a lot has happened in one way or another this week. Earlier in the week the evenings were very mild and then towards the end of the week when the southerly kicked in, it got quite cold. In fact, we had our first frost mid-week which has made me put an extra blanket on the bed. I went fishing on one of the mild evenings at a small stream mouth and was joined by another angler. The night was very pleasant, and conditions were perfect, a dark night after a day of rain and a good flow coming out of the stream. The fishing was, for some reason, quite hard and I had only caught a couple of fish (as had my Comrade), by 9:30 when I decided to pull the pin (On my second fish).
Surprisingly the fish were not in the best of condition, and this can happen this time of year when some very early spawners are returning to the lake. Not to be discouraged by this I tried my luck again a couple of nights ago on a similar type of night, although much cooler, and the action was a big improvement. Once again, I was joined by a keen fisher and we both caught and released a number of trout and most of them were in great conditioned. This time I pulled the plug at around 9pm on, probably the fish of the night, a good size, plump Rainbow hen that put up a good battle. My comrade caught a fairly reasonable Brownie of about 5 lbs earlier, but all the other fish caught were rainbows.
It would be fair to say, the big number of brownies that were congregating around the small stream mouths a month ago have slowly diminished as they have made their journeys up the streams and rivers to spawn. The rainbows, however, should remain in good numbers at the stream mouths for a month or so yet. I have found the ever-reliable woolly bugger to be as good as anything out there at the moment either olive green or black or a combo of the two. Don’t be afraid to use a big fly, the trout will hit it. More rain scheduled for this week, and I note that the “TT” s carpark is getting a bit more use lately. Not overcrowded by any means but a month ago the carpark was often empty. I will check the “TT” out this week as it is just about time for me to investigate this excellent river.
Selection of good fish taken at night.
A number of fishermen have been fishing the Waitahanui River mouth during the school holidays with mixed results. I can remember, in days gone by, seeing 20 rods standing side by side, at this mouth. That is when the river used to flow parallel with the road for some distance before turning into the lake. That is when it was plainly obvious how it got the nick name, “The Picket Fence”. Since the erosion protection works have been done, the river runs pretty much straight out into the lake. Be careful when wading out here. The current is deceptively swift and also moves around a lot.
Well, that’s it from me again this week so, as always, tight lines.
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,
