Today starts the few days of rain here in Turangi but the fishing is still red hot! Variable wind speeds are predicted over the weekend but with plenty of sheltered spots along the Tongariro & around the lake edges, there are some great options.
Rosie who you may have seen here and there on our page since the early winter season, has joined the awesome team at Sporting Life earlier this month. I'm here to pursue my fly fishing addiction and learn as much as I can - as quickly as possible! So, hi everyone!
Having been living in Turangi for a few years now, and with one of the most beautiful fishing rivers in the world on the doorstep, it was feeling very rude not to fish it! My passion of fishing began when I could hold a rod & at 5 years old, I caught my first sea fish in Scotland and have predominantly fished the ocean of the UK in my homeland along with lake & river coarse fishing & ocean boat fishing & surfcasting here in New Zealand. Having met & befriended our wonderful Theresa, Tarn & Andrew in the early winter season this year, it took all of a few days to book up regular fly fishing trips with the gang which continue on the regular! These wonderful knowledgeable people have taken me under their wing and got me out there on the fly, having an absolute blast! It's incredible to get out & fish nearly every day, as I am always being called to the water... it's my calling, as it is for so many of us.
I started nymphing with very basic cheap gear & quickly found myself let down & struggling. I knew I needed to invest in some quality Sage & Rio gear which has improved my fishing & enjoyment massively!
I fish a 6 weight Sage R8 690-4. Sage Spectrum C reel in copper with a Rio Premier Grand Floating Line for nymphing & dry fly. I use a Rio Powerflex Trout 4x 6.4lb Tapered Leader for both nymphing & dry fly, which I really enjoy for various reasons. It presents your dry fly nice & delicately, along with it being long lasting and getting many fishing sessions from the one leader. When nymphing deeper pools, I tie a Rio tippet ring at the bottom of my Powerflex leader and then use Umpqua 4x 7lb Deceiver X Fluorocarbon to my heavy point fly and the Umpqua 5x 5.5lb Phantom X ultra Fluorocarbon from my point fly to my natural dropper.
When wetlining (which I am newly obsessed with at the moment!) I use the Rio Fathom Sinking Line WF6S5 on my Sage R8 rod, which is perfect for swinging deeper faster water in the big river, stream mouths and lake edges. These Rio lines have changed my life! I use the 10lb Maxima Ultragreen Monofilament as my tippet for swinging & you can haul the fish in nicely.
I also love using the Category 3 flies that we have in store for their high-quality tungsten beads & high strength hooks which last multiple fishing trips very well (unless the snags take them from me!) I am happy to talk fishing all day long & would love to see any faces who are wanting to start fishing and don't know where or how to get started. Come in and say hey!
There are plenty of lovely conditioned recovering fish in the river system as they have had limited environmental pressures like floods, so they are sitting pretty feeding hard out with all the rich insect life in the water! And my favourite method to target them at the moment is with the dry dropper in shallower water, a Parachute Adams or Royal Wolf trailing a natural red bead Hare & Copper, Pole Position or a Pheasant Tail.
See you on the water!
Rosie