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Barrie (ILFF) with a Whanganui River rainbow.
Brian Willson NZPFGA member, professional guide and I Love Fly Fishing shop partner, 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 and if you want to call to the shop – 8 Wiremu Street – call Brian on 021667867. Brian fishes Euro/Czech, Dry Fly, Trout Spey, Nymph and Wet Fly.
Greetings fellow fly fishers,
Well, we are now well into July, and it certainly has been a bit colder this week. By now everyone should have their new licences for the 23/24 season and the best of the winter fishing is still in front of us so make sure that you are compliant. Doc rangers are inspecting more often these days, it seems, and that is not just at carparks or easy access points so, you have been warned. Noncompliance penalties are very expensive. A mixed bag of results this last week with generally all rivers in the area very low.
I had an AGM to attend last Saturday for the NZPFGA at Turangi. It was a good turn out and I thought, a very productive meeting. Guest speakers included Doc ranger and fellow NZPFGA member Peter Wilton who did an excellent talk on the local fish traps and their importance in collecting data for the sustainability of the local fishery. Barrie Barnes (Chair) and Corina Jordan (CE), two heavyweights, from Fish and Game NZ, gave a great presentation on the importance of F&G and the great work the organisation does around the whole country. I was privileged to have Barrie stay with me for a few days and we managed to get in a bit of fishing together. We had a crack at the Whakapapa River as the season here closed at the end of June but did not have much success. The same can be said for a number of other anglers that we spotted in the area. I figured the fish must have moved further upstream from where we were.
The Whanganui proved to be a little bit better but surprisingly both rivers were very low for this time of year.The main rivers in the Turangi area are also reasonably low and clear. All rivers are producing fish, but certain areas are proving better than other areas and it pays to move around a bit to find where the fish are as this changes daily. All methods of fishing seem to be working at the moment with more and more glo big and egg style flies now being used by the nymphers and eurostyle fishers while the swingers are using woolly buggers, rabbits and tube type flies.
The rivers are getting quite busy now with the school holidays underway but, if you are prepared to go for a bit of a walk, you will find ample water available away from easy access points.
The I Love Flyfishing shop has been fairly busy this last week with some very particular shoppers. I had one customer come in with a small weigh scale so that he could check the precise weight of every weighted nymph that he purchased. Another customer was insistent that the colour blue be of a particular shade on a bead head otherwise it would fail to catch fish. Fair enough, however, I believe that if you fish with your own favourite fly, and own favourite colour and fish with confidence, then you will catch fish. Remember the saying and this is key- If you Believe it, you will almost certainly Achieve It!!
As always, all your fly fishing and fly tying needs call and see me at the I Love Fly Fishing Shop in Turangi, 8 Wiremu St, phone 021667867. If there is anything you need, give me a ring and I will open up anytime (within reason of course 
), just call me and I’ll sort you out. 021667867.
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Brian
My name is Brian Willson and I have been a fly fisher for over 50 years. I am a professional fishing guide and current NZPFGA member of which I have served at executive level and have guided anglers of different skill sets, ages and gender from all over the world. I have also written two books on fly fishing and am a keen artist. I am passionate about fly fishing and the therapeutic qualities it offers and enjoy sharing this experience with people on and off the water. Over the years I have made some amazing friendships that continue to this day. I have partnered up with one of these friendships, Barrie Barnes from I Love Fly Fishing, and I sell exclusively, quality, affordable fly fishing gear at my premises at 8 Wiremu Street, Turangi, the designated I Love Fly Fishing shop in Turangi which is open all hours— just ring 021667867 anytime. I take a serious interest in my clients and freely offer advice when asked and am happy to talk fishing anytime. Tight lines, Brian Willson
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