“Fly-fishing is the most fun you can have standing up in cold water, unless you’re standing up in cold water fighting a fish.“ — Poul Jorgensen
Greetings fellow fly fishers,
Apologies for no report last week, but I have been down the South Island (Twizel) attempting to catch some mega-sized trout. Although I did catch some fish, the big one eluded me this trip. I did manage to capitalize on a few salmon, as one of the salmon farms had had an escape of fish a couple of weeks earlier and increased the stocks, especially around Ohau C.
If you ever intend to do some fishing down here, ensure that you have your NZ fishing license, as you will more than likely have a visit from a Fish & Game officer. Access for fishers is very easy, and I think I have met up with rangers nearly every trip. The weather down there wasn’t ideal; no rain, but incredibly thick fog that didn’t lift all day. The mornings always started with a heavy frost, with -7°C being the coldest.
Anyway, back on the central North Island, I was to find that there had been no rain up here either. At present, all the rivers are quite low and very clear, making fishing testing, to say the least. At the time of writing (Friday morning), the Tongariro is running at about 26 cumecs, the “TT” at about 5 cumecs (or a level of 0.1), and the Whanganui at 17 cumecs.
All is about to change, however, as the long weekend is forecast to bring a fair amount of rain, and this is set to continue next week; this should get the fish moving. The fish in the rivers are in superb condition, and with winter almost upon us, I am excited about the fishing to come. That will do for this week, and so, until next week, tight lines.
For all I Love Fly Fishing gear, check it all out online 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,
