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The Judges Pool, Tongariro River.
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,
Firstly, apologies for being absent for a couple of weeks. I have been down south and have also been tied up with business other than fishing and haven’t spent a lot of time on the local water until recently. The news is all good as there are still good numbers of fish in the rivers. A lot of these fish are mending but there are still a good number of plump fresh fish in the rivers.
I was down at the Twizel canals for a break after guiding some Australian anglers for 8 days. I was looking for a big trout but unfortunately didn’t land one although I did manage to land some nice brownies whilst swinging large wet flies. The weather down there was very windy and, at times, quite cold, but the break was good, and I did spot some real horses in the canals.
One extra experience I had down there was receiving an unwanted speeding ticket while travelling along one of the many straights down there. The trouble was, I was in a rental car and in my personal Subaru All Wheel Drive the speed dial in a vertical position registers 97km/hr and the Mitsubishi I was driving, the vertical position of the speed dial is 110km/hr +. No excuse I know but it was a trap. The cop was pretty good about it and didn’t ping me too hard although get pinged I did. It really is a trap even though I was consciously aware that the configuration of the speedometer was different earlier on. Cruise control next time 😤.
Strangely, the next day I was parked up by the Twizel River Bridge and the same cop came roaring up the road, lights madly flashing, and I thought, “What now?” He was pulling up another vehicle on the same stretch of road that he got me yesterday. I thought that it was a dream strip for a cop to pick up revenue with the road at this point being around 5km of straight. So, be careful down here when driving. The roads are good and straight and there is a high cop population!!
Back to the central plateau and all the rivers still have some good numbers of fish. At time of writing, they are all low and clear and sight fishing is a great way to catch fish. I caught a number of fish in very shallow water that were feeding in the shallows. Many of these fish were behind other fishermen that were standing too far out in the water. I found egg patterns are still working very well and I would suggest this should continue right up to Christmas.
A few days ago, I took a Texan couple for a day on the Tongariro River, and we had some good action throughout the day. All fish caught (and lost) were on cleardrift eggs. A lot of fly tiers in the shop this week purchasing various materials that we have in abundance.
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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