Peter with a fine rainbow from the TongariroRiver.
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, we have had a bit of everything this week. Fine at the beginning and another good fresh in the last few days. At time of writing (Thursday), it is raining fairly heavily but the rivers are not overly high. The Tongariro River has been hovering around 38cumecs all day which has been superb for swinging big flies (and OK with the nymph as well). The Tauranga Taupo is probably just a whisker high for me at the moment at a height of 0.8 and probably rising but it will be as good a river as any to be on once it starts to fall and get down to about 0.6. You can be assured that I will be on this river at this time.
All rivers down this end are fishing very well and the trout for the most part are in excellent condition. I had a great scrap a few days ago at the bottom of The Judges Pool on the Tongariro. I was right at the bottom of the pool before it turns into a long stretch of rapids down one side of the island that ends just short of the SH1 Bridge. Well, the fish decided that it was going to take me on a tiki tour down the rapids and I knew that if I didn’t follow it the line was going to break. I wasn’t so worried about the line breaking as much as I was worried about the fish having to escape with possibly too much leader to carry around for the rest of his days. I have caught fish before with an old fly and a reasonable amount of leader in its mouth and it can’t be particularly pleasant.
Anyway, this fish took me halfway down these rapids, around several rocks etc, before I finally managed to get it into some shallow water and finally net it. It took a while for the very well-conditioned hen to recover but it did and was soon back on its way to carry on spawning. If you ever have a long scrap like this, it pays to hold the fish in quiet water for as long as you can before letting it go. Trout don’t mind being cuddled and sometimes it may take a while and they will dictate when they want to go. I have seen too many fish sitting on the bottom of the river, dead, as a result of poor catch and release methods.
The Tongariro at about 40 cumecs. Ideal for swinging. – Tongariro Rainbow, mint. – Tongariro, lower river.
The egg patterns are what are working very well for me at the moment, and I prefer the Cleardrift Egg fly patterns in a range of different colours and sizes. The Cleardrift Egg is available from I Love Fly Fishing and I suggest you have a variety of different types to chop and change as sometimes some work better than others. I saw the weather forecast tonight and my guess is that the Tauranga Taupo may be out for the weekend, but the other two rivers should be alright, I.e. Hinemaiaia and Tongariro. I am guiding tomorrow so I am not sure where I will be heading, a decision that will have to be made in the morning when I can get a better read on the water levels so I will talk to you about that next week.
Well, that’s it from me this week so until next time, 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,
