Mixed Results on the Tongariro River

It has certainly been busy on the Tongariro river over the last few weeks with lots of anglers trying their luck for the fresh run rainbow trout.  Reports coming into the shop have been very mixed with some people having great success and others not even getting a touch.  Most of the good reports are from fisherman who are getting up early and being on the water first thing and the fishing seems to get very hard as the sun comes out.  There have been some very well conditioned fish getting caught although the size is a bit smaller than what we would expect for this time of year.

I have been tying up a new colour of glo bug for this season and it certainly has been very successful.  The colour is called watermelon and orange, it is a deep bright pink with a dark orange dot and I am having trouble keeping up with production of this very successful colour combination.  Other flies that have been working well are the white caddis grubs in smaller sizes as the conditions are low and clear at the moment.  Also remember to use longer leaders and small dull coloured indicators as the fish are a bit spooky.

On Tuesday I went for a fish with my friend and fellow fishing guide Mike Hughes on one of the small streams.  I decided to have some fun with my #4 weight fly rod.  This proved to be a wise decision as the stream was very low and clear and we were fishing to sighted fish, the delicate presentation you achieve with such light weight rods really increases your chances on these small streams in low and clear conditions and once I hooked a fish it was all on with the rod bending double and the fish taking me a 100m down stream!  Catching fresh run rainbows in a small stream on such light tackle is great fun !!!

We are expecting rain over the next few days so the fishing should be very good over the weekend.  So gather your waders and pack your fly rod and see you down here.

Cheers Marcel