Greetings fellow fly fishers,
Well, nearly into August already and the winter runs are full on. We had a bit of rain last week and all the rivers had a good flush through them. I decided to have a good look at the "TT" which had risen to a level of about 1.2, but on Sunday it had dropped back to about .6. I always like fishing this river when it is running at a level of between .6 and .4. My hopes were high therefore as I headed for the long walk up the track from the car park at Oruatua, just south of the Gull service station. There were about 12 vehicles at the car park, but this did not concern me as the "TT" has a lot of good fishable water along the track and one can always find a place to fish, sometimes in isolation.
I was pleased to find that the river was full of fresh, hard-fighting bows that were particularly aggressive, in particular with the Cleardrift Egg, and sometimes they didn't mind having the "Tonga Bomb". Both these excellent nymphs can be obtained from I Love Fly Fishing, as well as pretty much all your favourite patterns and more.
The week has been very cold with Turangi getting down to -6 degrees one morning, and the temperatures are forecast to remain cold for at least the next week. This weekend sees another belt of rain and high winds followed by settled weather. At time of writing (Wednesday evening), the Tongariro is at 22 cumecs, the Whanganui is at 20 cumecs, and the "TT" is at a height of .3.
I took time out yesterday in my boat to check out the Tokaanu Hole. While the day started off at -5 degrees, it turned out to be a very acceptable 10 degrees with little to no wind, which is always a perfect time to be out on the water. The Tokaanu Hole is home to a lot of trout — literally, as you travel from the boat ramp at the Tokaanu tailrace and just beyond the poles that lead out into the lake, there is a large crater on the lake floor where the lake level drops from about 1 m to 30 metres quite sharply. The idea is to anchor up right on the drop-off at any point suitable (the wind might dictate the most comfortable spot). All sorts of methods are workable here, with fast-sinking lines being the most popular, although fishing with a floating line or slow-sinking line with very small midge flies to trout you can see (size 16–18) can work a treat. Target the edge of the weed beds for best results. I have a trio of Australians coming over next week so I'm hoping the fishing remains excellent, as I'm sure it will be.
Well, that's it from me, so until next time,
Tight lines,
Regards,
Brian Willson
Professional Fishing Guide.