“The brown trout is the only trout that probably has a sense of humor. He is the only trout that will watch your fly for several minutes, then look up at you and laugh.“ — Robert Traver (pen name of John D. Voelker), author of Trout Madness and Anatomy of a Murder.
Greetings, fellow fly fishers,
Well, another week has passed and shortly the holiday crowds will be gone. With the long weekend of Waitangi Day upon us, the crowds are bigger than ever, but there will be a mass exodus next week with students back at school and all holiday weekends exhausted—at least until Easter. Fishing conditions at present are good, with a week of fairly settled weather in front of us and all rivers, including the Whakapapa and Whanganui, at good fishing levels: the Whanganui at 28 cumecs, Tongariro at 27 cumecs, and the “TT” at .3 as at time of writing, Thursday evening.
Plenty of trout are being caught at all river mouths on smelt flies. A number of these fish are recovering and are obviously returnees from the rivers, eager to put on condition again, which won’t take too long. Strangely, about a month ago there were more fat, fresh-run fish around the mouths—obviously late spawners—and since then there has been an increase in returning fish to the lake. Dry fly fishing is picking up, with dry/dropper a good way to approach the trout in some of the shallower, ripply water.
As from tomorrow, I have a client from Perth for a week, so there will be plenty to talk about in the next report as I will be trying out a variety of water. I went to the Tongariro Delta a few days ago and was joined by a couple of other boats and also had a visit from the local fisheries officer. He didn’t do a manual license check as it would have involved everyone winding up their lines and, as there was a bit of a chop on the lake, travelling around anchored boats on the lip wasn’t really practical. He was happy to take our word that we all had licenses, and I think he would have known who I was anyway.
Good to see them out and about, though, as they do a good job looking after the fishery, generally being passionate anglers themselves. I know because I used to be an honorary ranger many moons ago. They collect useful data which is very helpful to the healthiness of the fishing industry. We all caught a good number of different conditioned fish and the day was very pleasant. Well, that’s it from me this week and more to talk about next week, so until then, 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 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,
