Turangi Fishing Report 23March 2023

A lovely fresh rainbow caught by an American lady on the ‘TT’.

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,

Another week has gone by and there is much to report on the local scene. Earlier in the week there was an unfortunate incident which resulted with the death of an elderly resident in The Tongariro River. Consequently a temporary Rahui has been placed on the river meaning there is to be no fishing from the Major Jones swing bridge to SH1 bridge. This Rahui is expected to be lifted on Monday 27 of March at daylight. Fishers are asked to respect this request. As for The Tongariro, the fishing remains tough and this is not aided by the high river flow of consistently being around 55 cumecs. The maintenance work being carried out by Genesis is set to continue until mid-April so maybe when flows get back to normal, the fishing will improve.

Mighty brown caught by a fellow fisher at night at a small Lake Taupo stream mouth.
Not quite as big as the other brown but not a bad fish all the same. Same night, same stream mouth.

The early runs are just around the corner anyway and I suspect this alone will greatly improve the fishing regardless of what Genesis are up to. The Tauranga Taupo River on the other hand is looking promising. I guided an American doctor up there last Tuesday on a very wet day but that was a minor problem as the fishing was very good. Even more encouraging was that all fish caught, (and lost), were bright silver fresh run fish in superb condition. It helped that the lady angler I had knew how to handle a rod and had a great personality so between the two of us, we had a great day. The river was running at about 0.4m, (my favourite height is 0.5m), so it was close to being perfect. There was obviously an early run going up this river as I sighted several other good looking fish. This river is one to watch in the coming weeks. The Hinemaiaia River is still relatively quiet but watch this space.

This lady could fish!
And cast a great line.

This river is well known to have early runs so good, fast action is just around the corner. Small stream mouth fishing is steady with some big browns (and some well-conditioned rainbows), being caught. I fished with an Englishman client last night at one of these small stream mouths and had a reasonable night. One fellow fisher, that had joined me and my mate in the rip, caught a brown that must have been getting close to the 10 lb mark. I caught a pretty good brown myself along with a handful of generally very good rainbows. I don’t believe it matters much which stream mouth you fish at night. The wind direction will dictate which stream will be best. Ideally, you want that Lake to have a nice ripple . You don’t want to be punching your line into big rolling waves that are trying to fill your waders with water.

 

As always, Marabou style flies including woolly buggers, olive green, black or a combination of these, will do the trick. If you want to try a luminous fly, consider just a lumo bead head. The brownies will still go for these but if you choose an entire lumo body you will still catch fish but they will more than likely just be rainbows.

The I Love Fly Fishing Shop in Turangi has been quite busy this week with a number of rods sold and plenty of other miscellaneous tackle and fly tying gear with everyone should be ready for the winter runs.

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.

Brian Willson - NZPFGA Member & I Love Fly Fishing Partner Store Turangi.

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

all author posts
Join Waitlist We will inform you when the product arrives in stock. Please leave your valid email address below.