2010 Recreational Release from the Tongariro Power Scheme

Saturday 18 September      Poutu Intake 9:00am - 3:00pm

Thurs 2  Baro 1009hpa.  Wind, light airs.  Overcast. All rivers are fishable. Looks like some rain could be on the way.  For some unknown reason it seems to skirt all around us here in Turangi.  Looks like the weather could have changed to the SW which usually brings snow to the Central Volcanoes but usually passing showers to us here in Turangi.  If the moisture falls as snow then the rivers generally don't get much volume to them as the moisture is snow rather than rain, still any bit will help as the river is pretty clear at the moment. This clearness is making it harder for some anglers to catch fish.  The pressure drop as the cold front passes should cause more fish to run the rivers.  Just sounds like a few anglers trickling over to Lake Rotoaira at the moment ... wouldn't like to be there today or tomorrow with the weather forecast!!

Thurs 2

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I received this email yesterday which to me is quite interesting.

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To which I responded ( hard to believe there are no fish out there with the number of anglers bringing them into the shop to get pictures taken plus the numbers of nice rainbows I've had on the web this year as well the heap of browns that have been caught as well as the locals saying the fish are in way better condition this year just doesn't seem to stack up)

I am also going to add here that it takes many things to catch a fish. Many I have covered on the website over the last 10 years but the more experience I have gained in fishing and dealing with anglers are the following. No point in beating around the bush:

Don't blame anyone else or anything else for not being able to catch fish - you are ultimately responsible for waving your rod around and it is up to you and you only to determine your success.

Not all anglers will be successful - as the saying goes "10% of the anglers catch 90% of the fish". Liken it to the Olympics - not all athletes make it to the Olympics, only a small percentage are successful in even getting there, but if they do get there, they don't all win gold medals.  Some are exceptionally gifted with their talents (some actually waste those talents), others have worked hard due to practice and effort to get there  - same with the fishing - just because you may have been doing it for 30 years doesn't necessarily mean to say you are an expert !!

Practice, practice, practice

Bite the bullet.  If you "think you know everything" there is to know about fishing, the reality is if you think you know everything then you probably need some form of professional tuition.  Many anglers who tell me they know everything and still don't catch anything really need some help. I know a lot but I am still open to learn new things. There is a hell of a lot to learn.

It is skill not luck that will sort you out from the 1 fish a day versus the 10+ fish a day angler but that comes from PRACTICE

10 years of hard out fishing here in Turangi gives me the edge .... turning up once a year for a few days to then expect miracles just doesn't work

Relax when fishing ... the more worked up you get the worse things get.  I have seen this with fishing competitions.  Anglers turn up a couple of days before the competition and catch fish after fish but come the days of the competition they struggle to catch anything - they try too hard and are too tense! RELAX

Stop waffling to your mates down at the river as this takes the concentration away from actually fishing and watching what you are doing. Waffle all you want after you go fishing with them in the pub or at home. 

Cover the water ... seek out the fish, don't stand there all day and wait for the fish to turn up.  When I fish, I am fishing the water to LOOK for the fish, in terms of LOOK, I mean look with my flies, not with my eyes !!!

Believe it or not ..... age .... you may not be as young as you once were so therefore your eyesight may not be as good, your reaction speed may not be as good and your mobility to access places may not be as good (that is why I say don't wait to go fishing, do it while you still can)

Fishing is also not about catching fish but enjoying your day out and about to relax and enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer.

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Wed 1  Baro 1011hpa.  Wind, light airs. Fine and sunny with some cloud about, possibly turning to showers late afternoon.  All rivers are nice and fishable. Well, time is marching on and that is why I say never wait to go fishing .... if you wait too long you will miss things entirely. Remember that  "Time Waits For No One".  First day of Spring today !!! Yes that is right .... if you have blinked, you have just missed Winter !!!  Am I getting old, or is time flying by? Apart from all year round being my favorite time to fish, Spring is usually one of my more "favouritest" times for fishing.  Usually a good variety of fishing including the beginning of the Mayfly and Caddis hatches where the recovering fish feed hard out just on dark.  Targeting these fish with a dry fly is exciting, although the quality of fish is not that good due to the fact that the majority of fish will have spawned and are wanting to feed to put on condition.  Also there will still be nice fresh running rainbows, and .... but wait there's more ...... the bonus being daylight savings meaning extra time after work to go out fishing !! Life just couldn't be better at this time of the year.  Also, now that it is the 1st of September Lake Rotoaira has opened for fishing, and come the 1st October then Lake Otamangakau opens.  Oh dear !!! Too much to do and too little time !!!!!

Wed 1 - Swirl Pool

Tues 31  Baro 1004hpa.  Wind, moderate Southerly, cool.  Overcast. All rivers are fishable.  The wind has got up today and looks to be coming from the South.  Back to chilly temperatures again.  This will make it harder for the fly fishermen with flies wizzing around their ears!! Seeking a sheltered spot is necessary but from experience you go around the corner out of the wind and it comes from the opposite direction !!!  Murphy's Law !! Looks like the reports from the weekend from the boss indicate things a little hard for most once again to the low clear conditions.  Should also expect more spent rainbows to start turning up now that will take your flies before the freshies and also I would expect more spent or recovering browns to show up from now on.  Best to put these ones back to put on condition for next year.   The good fish will be there but you may have to start weeding through some of the recovering ones to get the good ones. 

Tues 31 - Ivan releasing fat Tongariro rainbow hen today

Mon 30  Day Off. Lot of anglers this weekend found the going a little hard with reports of sighting a number of fish with no hook-ups- to hook-ups with small fish. However the weather conditions were perfect with little to no breeze and the rain showers though heavy didn't change water conditions from clear.

Mon 30 - John Wilton from Bulls

Sun 29  Day Off.

Sat 28  Too busy in the shop to get the web done.

Fri 27  Baro 1007hpa.  Wind light airs.  Overcast (no rain yet - 1:50pm).  At this stage all rivers are fishable. Good reports from some wetliners in the lower Tongariro yesterday.  Possibly some of these fish may have run from the rain of the night before.  Looks like more rain is forecast for the coming weekend so if the rivers come up and colour then we could see some nice fresh rainbows move once again. Not too sure how much rain we will get but if it is a lot then the rivers could possibly flood.  In saying that I can't predict what will happen but if they do come up they may go down quickly and you could experience some good fishing.  Probably today and most of tomorrow should be worth a flick with heavy rain looking likely for Saturday which may colour the rivers.  If this happens and it is not too much then Sunday could also be worth a go.

Fri 27 - Upstream to Breakfast Pool

Thurs 26  Baro 1004hpa.  Wind, light airs.  Overcast with light drizzly rain falling, clearing by the afternoon.  All rivers should be fishable.  Got to keep it short and sweet as I am busy in the shop.  Good rain overnight should have moved more fish into the rivers.  Have to go for a fish to settle the shaking hands !!!!  Roll on the longer days !!!

Thurs 26 - Above Hydro Pool

(Above)  Run data from the Waipa Stream ( a very small spawning stream being a tributary of the Tongariro and probably a quarter the size of the Tongariro) from Target Taupo Magazine July 2010, Issue 61 - the thing to point out here is look at the back of your licence and multiply the many rivers around Lake Taupo to give you some idea of fish numbers !!

Just a heads up if you are going to attend the Lake Taupo Fishery Forum on the 14th September.  Part of it will be that you can have your say in terms of the Fishery Management Plan.  Based on the information from these two graphs - one being a trap on the upper Tongariro and the other the trap for Lake Otamangakau I think that bag limits in the fishery need to be looked at and changed to increase the harvest.  Personally I think the rainbows need to be knocked back a bit as they seem to proliferate and the browns protected a bit and I think possibly something like a 5 bag limit would be good - 4 rainbows and only one brown per angler per day.  Also at Lake Otamangakau if this is supposed to be managed as a trophy fishery then I think an upper size limit needs to be imposed to protect the bigger fish (also if the bag limits are not changed then I think that this lake could be fished for longer to promote harvest ie instead of closing in May then maybe it could be left open year round with the smaller bag limit so long as you had the upper size limit to protect the bigger fish ) .... food for thought but you should really have your say. Remembering in the 1980's it was 8 fish per angler per day.

(Below)  This graph is from the Target Taupo Magazine December 2009 Issue 60 and shows the explosion of rainbows running through the Te Whaiau stream by Lake Otamangakau.  Similar to the Taupo trend?  It looks like the browns stay pretty constant with their numbers. A time to look at changing bag limits?

Wed 25  Baro 1011hpa.  Wind, light to moderate breeze, cool.  Fine and sunny with some cloud about the hills.  All rivers are fishable. The Tongariro looks nice to fish at present.  Anglers are reporting a mixture of fish from some very nice fresh ones, some spent ones and some smaller fish.  Usual story.  It pays to poke around to fish as you may get pockets of the smaller ones and pockets of the super fresh ones.  If you land a hen then a jack may be in the exact same place.  There are some quite "explosive" fish to play when hooked.  They are the jumpers and the flippers and the shakers !!!  Plenty of pollen around the area now, which suggests that Spring is well on the way. It will not be too far away from the Mayfly hatches.  We are coming into quite a good time of year for variety of fishing. Catching freshies during the day nymphing or wetlining and then targeting evening rises with dry flies - probably still a month away yet.  Six (6) more days until Lake Rotoaira opens for the new season ( a reminder that the Poutu Canal flowing into the Eastern end of Lake Rotoaira still remains closed until the 1st of December - check the back of your licence ).

A heads up - just received.  Click here to download " Fishery Forum Flyer " :

Hello Everyone

This is just to inform you that on Tuesday 14 September from 6.00pm to 8.30pm at the Taupo Yacht Club, the Department of Conservation will be running another Fishery Forum. It is part of Conservation Week and an opportunity for agents, businesses and the general public to liaise with the Department about the Taupo Fishery. There will be some brief presentations by the Department and then a question time where people can ask any questions or perhaps express any views they might have about the fishery. Some of you might remember we had a very successful one of these about two years ago. 

There will be light refreshments afterwards.  

Thank you and best regards 

John Webb (Department of Conservation)

Wed 25 - Stag Pool