We started with some chilly weather in Turangi this morning and there was a veneer of ice across the windscreen of the car but that's to be expected when it gets into the low single digits. It turned into a nice sunny day but a keen southerly breeze kept the air temps down, the rest of the weekend is looking much the same and will make it well worth the effort to get into some Taupo rivers action.
After the rain earlier in the week there was a slight blip in the river flows up to 29cumec but has now dropped back to 21.3 and cleared nicely today. There will been a few early runners that took advantage of the pressure drop and extra flow to shoot up the streams but we are still a ways off seeing any numbers of these silver bullets. Brown Trout are still a feature and the nice sunny days give the best chance to spot these fish but a good pair of quality sunglasses make this even easier. Sporting Life can get you into the Tonic range of eyewear with a great range of frames fitted with either the Neon or Photochromic lenses.....the fish just don't stand a chance and can't hide any more. Check them out in store or online.
As Autumn rolls on there will be more Rainbow Trout begin the run up the rivers and I can't wait to see what we'll encounter this season. If the quality of the fish seen over the Summer is any indication it could urn out to be even better than what was seen last year. Upping the breaking strain of tippets and leaders could well be on the cards in order to have some chance of landing some of these beasties......bring it on I say.
There is another side to this fly-fishing life that can be just as captivating as the world of freshwater and Trout and has been bubbling along here in NZ for a number of years. Saltwater fly-fishing isn't new but has started to hit it's straps with some stunning options available to help pull the kinks out of your flyline or help you to remember what the colour of your backing was when wound onto the reel.
There are saltwater guides out there now that have put in the hard yards to work out their fisheries and fast track your chances of getting a grip and grin from these intriguing targets. It's hard to go past the iconic Yellow Tail Kingfish as the premier flats fishing trophy to had and they can be found in selected areas in both the North and South islands. I was invited recently to spend the day searching the Tauranga flats so that I could scratch the itch of adding a ray riding Kingie of my capture list. In the capable company of keen fisho Gian Booysen who guides under the moniker of "Kings To Be Found" we had a fantastic day in brilliant conditions and scored a couple of stunning fish. I've been known to talk at length to anyone eager to try their hand at this game but nothing beats getting out there and actually getting some salt in your system.
The team here at Sporting Life can help get you kitted up and pointed into the right direction with the right gear to enjoy some quality time out on the water whether fresh or salt.
