Nice Tongariro River fish taken on a superior long lasting Cleardrift Soft Egg that are still working well.
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.
Link for Cleardrift Eggs: https://iloveflyfishing.kiwi/product-category/fly-tying-materials/eyes-tungsten-beads-bodies-jarvies-cones/soft-eggs-cleardrift/
Well, it’s been a great week if you are a New Zealander. We won the Constellation Cup, The Indian Cricket Test series and the Rugby Test against Japan. This follows an equally successful week previous when we won The America’s Cup, The 20/20 World Cup and the 1st cricket test against India. Also, this week, the trout fishing in the Turangi district has been fantastic to say the least. I would have to say the number of spent fish I have caught; my clients have caught and any other fish that I have seen caught can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
The pick of the rivers this week for me has been The Tongariro with good numbers of fish throughout its entire length. I have concentrated most of my efforts on the mid-section of the river but have had good reports coming in from the upper and lower areas as well. I had the pleasure of guiding a couple from Utah earlier on in the week. The lady was an amputee which thankfully proved not to be an issue as she was very coordinated. There was one moment that she took a tumble into the water but fortunately I was standing right next to her and managed to get her back up quickly causing minimal water into the waders. We had a great time with some really good rainbows caught. It was last Saturday, and the forecast was terrible but, in fact, it was actually quite pleasant and hardly any wind.
I have spent a bit of time on the Tongariro this week euro nymphing when the wind has allowed and conventional nymphing otherwise. I was on The Tongariro today and was greeted with a very strong westerly which put euro nymphing out of the question. When the wind is really bad, I tend to use my fly rod like a scythe and cut under the wind with my fly line going out not much higher than the river level. This can save an unwanted bomb in the back of the head and surprisingly you can achieve a pretty good distance. I had a great afternoon landing some beautiful fish. Even the dark ones were in great nick showing that trout this year are putting condition back on very quickly after spawning.
Superb Tongariro fish. – The Cattle Rustler’s Pool, Tongariro River. Is there a prettier pool? – The Cleardrift Egg is still working well.
Clearly there is a lot of food in the river, and we haven’t had any major floods to upset nature too much. The Cleardrift Egg was doing the damage today and was responsible for all fish caught. I was using it in tandem with a small terrestrial behind a bomb. I would suspect the Cleardrift Egg will still be a good choice for a we while yet. A bit of rain on the way by the looks of things but this should just keep the rivers in good shape. The “TT” will benefit by a bit of a fresh. Interesting week next week. The fishing should still continue to be excellent; we may clean sweep the Indians in the cricket, the USA are going to have a new president and who is going to win between the AB’s and England. Plenty to look forward to.
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,
