It has been raining cats and dogs all day here in Turangi and it looks as though we are due for more of the same intermittently throughout the week. Today is the last scheduled day of maintenance on the Poutu canal and the Tongariro is currently sitting at 54.5m3/sec. We are looking forward to the river dropping to a level we are more familiar with; however, the current rain may extend these high flows a little longer. Both nymphing and wet lining have been very productive on the Tongariro this past week with a mixture of river fish and beautiful silver fresh fish being encountered by anglers. AB and Uncle Pat hit one of the smaller Taupō Tributaries for a spot of euro nymphing and found good numbers of both coloured and silver fish that were all in prime condition. Euro nymphing is an extremely effective way to target fish in these smaller rivers when dropping your nymphs tight to the bank or sticks and getting deep fast is key. An often-overlooked part of a great euro nymphing combo is having the correct reel. When using an ultra-thin euro line like the Rio FIPS euro fly line which is necessary for getting longer drag free drifts when euro nymphing an issue that often occurs with traditional fly reels is that these lines can get jammed between the reel cage and spool. Guideline have a full range of full cage reels that prevent this from happening as well as full cage options from Redington and Sage that have built in counterweight systems that offer the perfect balance to reduce fatigue after holding that rod up and hauling in fish all day long. Uncle Pat has been using the Guideline Favo Reel for this very application which is the perfect affordable option for euro nymphing.
The weather is cooling off quick which on one hand has us excited for some chaotic winter fishing action but also has us dreading those bone chilling mornings. Luckily, we have received a bunch of stock from the good folk at Patagonia! We have beanies and a rad assortment of jumpers and jackets to keep you warm and stylish on the river this winter because you never know when your future soul mate is fishing on the next run upstream. Check the full range out instore or online HERE.
Indie dog was ever so kindly gifted a stuffed squeaky bunny toy this morning but after about 5 minutes of silence we had a surprise murder mystery on our hands! No prizes for guessing who the culprit was (although she's doing a great job of playing it cool).
The winter runs are starting to trickle through, and we have seen some stonkers come out of the river in the last week. We will be sure to keep you all updated as the action picks up.
Tarn.