Weather: 5.3° Showers, with snow flurries to 300 metres, becoming isolated in the evening. Elsewhere, partly cloudy becoming fine in the evening. Frost developing at night. Southerlies.
River Flow: 22.2 Cumecs (m³/s)
We are now a few days into August, and it looks like we're in for a spell of very cold weather before more rainfall arrives. Hopefully, the extra rain will give the rivers a welcome lift. It's been very quiet around the shop this morning, which is hopefully a good sign that everyone is out making the most of the overcast conditions and the light drizzle we're currently enjoying. Snow has been falling across many parts of the country, a clear reminder that winter has well and truly arrived. We've also had a few sleety showers today, with temperatures dropping steadily as the day has progressed.
Over the weekend, plenty of anglers put in the hard yards and were rewarded with a good number of fish in excellent condition. Success came to those who stayed patient, fished smaller indicators, and switched to more natural fly patterns when the sun was out.
I've also managed to get out on a few trips with Hamish in the hope of learning a bit of Euro nymphing. It was definitely a learning curve, but I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of it.
On Monday afternoon, I headed out for a fish with Rosie. Despite a strong breeze, we both managed to land two fish each in a relatively short space of time, with all four fish in excellent condition for the dinner table. The fish showed a clear preference for the more natural patterns over the egg flies. As the sun began to dip, the wind steadily picked up and eventually drove us off the river. Even so, with both of us getting on the board and taking home some quality fish, we headed home happy.
Looking ahead, overnight temperatures are set to plummet well into the negatives, with a little rain forecast for the weekend. There are currently road snowfall warnings in place for both the Napier–Taupō Road and the Desert Road. As I mentioned earlier, snow has been falling across many parts of the country, and hopefully we'll get to see a few snowflakes here as well. We're also looking forward to some more rain next week, which should give the rivers another welcome lift.
We've recently topped up our range of thermals and warm neck gaiters, which will make a big difference for anyone looking to stay comfortable and warm while out on the water.
Overall, this week is shaping up nicely, with a mix of sunshine and, hopefully, the occasional rain. Ideal conditions for getting out on the river all be it a tad on the cold side.
Tight lines, everyone!
~ Niamh (Bluey)