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Brian Willson, professional guide, 021667867, brings us his weekly fly fishing report from Turangi for the Central North Island lakes and rivers.
Hello fellow fly fishers,
Well, the great weather continues and we haven’t received the storm that hit the East coast. The last couple of days saw quite a bit of wind with very little rain but previous to this the weather was fine and calm as it is now and promises to be through Easter.
The Tongariro at present is very low and the fish are fairly wary. There are plenty of them, however, and a good presentation of a fly coupled with patience will bring success. Trout are still rising freely and I have still been using lace moth patterns with success. I suspect this will continue at least to the end of the month.
Went for a bit of a walk down the lower part of the river this morning, off the track a bit, and spotted a couple of very large browns resting on the bottom of a pool. I studied the pool a bit closer and spotted at least 20 browns throughout the entirety of the pool. As usual, these browns were situated in an area that was almost impossible to fish. I was not actually fishing this morning. I was just checking out fishing spots for where I can take clients this Easter as I have a few bookings. This place will not be suitable but I will investigate it more thoroughly in the next couple of weeks and work out the best way to get a fly to these beauties.
The small stream mouths have produced some good browns at night when the moon hasn’t been around. The Omori stream on the western side has yielded some fine specimens and is a good option when the wind doesn’t suit eastern side stream mouths.
Remember, if you are targeting a brown, forget about lumo flies. The browns generally are not interested in them even though the rainbows love them. I have caught browns on a lumo bead head fly before but few and far between.
The Hinemaiaia and Tauranga Taupo rivers are both very low at the time of writing and much stealth and patience is required to catch fish here at the moment. But we are coming up towards May and the Hinemaiaia, in particular, will start to fire soon.
The Whanganui and Whakapapa Rivers are fishing well to all methods. Like the local rivers around Lake Taupo, they haven’t experienced any major floods for some time.
So all the best for Easter fishing and the I Love Fly Fishing Shop will be open through Easter trading hours. Give me a ring 021667867 if you require anything.
Cheers,
Brian Willson
NZPFGA member. Tongariro River Flow Tauranga-Taupo River Flow
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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