Weather: Overcast this morning with light rain on and off for most of the day, highs of 11°C.
Tongariro River Flow: 26.6 cumecs (m³/s)
With rain forecast for this week, the river should see a fresh flush of flow and colour, enticing some of the remaining fish still to spawn, up into the river system and spark up the resident fish who seem to be accustomed to the angling pressure on the rivers.
Reports from anglers over the past few weeks have been mixed, with very low, clear flow and high visibility sunny conditions have made it easy for fish to spot anglers, indicators and fly lines. Those who have been euro nymphing have been doing well, using natural patterns and targeting fish in broken or fast water. Here's Josh with a cracker from our euro nymphing mission on Tuesday.
For those interested in Euro Nymphing in the area, a 3wt or 4wt rod is the ideal set up to handle the bigger, good conditioned winter trout. It's hard to go past the Guideline LPX Nymph Euro rod which is a fantastic rod for all the local rivers, with enough grunt to handle the big fish, with a medium fast flex while being sensitive at the tip to feel the takes while being protective when fishing lighter tippets. Another feature which is highly valued is the larger spiral pattern on the blank which reduces “line-stick” and friction between the line and rod. We have euro lines, indicator tippet, flies and knowledge to share instore to help you get set up.
Fish that have finished spawning are appearing in growing numbers, feeding hard and recovering in the slower water and tails of pools. It won't be far away that the evening rises will be upon us as mayfly start hatching in good numbers. We have seen sporadic rising fish already on the warm afternoons and reports of the odd mayfly emerging, exciting times!
But for now this cold snap and overcast/rain that's on the way for the week should see some more chromers entering the rivers, with woolly buggers, orange eggs, pheasant tails and caddis on the menu as usual.
Our Niamh hit the water yesterday with success, with the hot favourite RIO Premier Gold XP floating line, which casts heavy nymphs at distance with ease, while also having good mending ability at distance and handles a roll cast with ease. Here she is holding a solid rainbow at the end of the rainbow!
Gary has been spey fishing throughout the winter and having success on his #4 Guideline ULS Switch rod, paired with his 300grain OPST Commando Skagit Head, paired with the RIO T8 Mow Tip (80 grain tip) and fishing small size 8-10 intruders and woolly buggers in slightly elevated flows.
We're looking forward to the higher flows in the locals this coming week and we'll see you on the water!
Rosie