Weather: 10.1° Periods of rain, possibly heavy. Northeasterlies, dying out late afternoon.
River Flow: 22 Cumecs (m³/s)
It’s a beautiful drizzly morning here in Tūrangi, and we’re certainly not complaining about a bit of wet weather! Hopefully this drizzle keeps coming throughout the day, as the river has already come up ever so slightly. It’s still sitting fairly low at the moment, but a little more rain could be just what we need to add some colour and get the fish moving a bit more. It’s always nice to see a bit of water coming into the system, and we’ll be keeping a close eye on it as the day unfolds.
The reports coming through the shop over the last few days have been very positive, with good numbers of fish being landed and, importantly, plenty of fish in really good condition. It’s great to see things picking up, and there has been a noticeable increase in angler traffic both through the town pools and further upriver, with a pretty constant presence of anglers out and about.
Slushies and egg patterns have been doing plenty of damage, with natural patterns also proving their worth. A touch more flow and a bit of colour from this drizzle would be a welcome bonus and should only help keep the fishing ticking along nicely and the fish on the move.
Josh and Rosie also headed out to the Delta on Monday, and it certainly paid off, with both of them landing five great-condition fish each. From what they were telling me, the fish were showing a real interest in bright orange egg patterns, with both the main rip and the side rip holding fish.
It sounds like there were plenty of fish spread throughout the area, and with the river hopefully getting a touch more water and colour, it’ll be interesting to see if that gets a few more fish moving around and looking for a feed.
We’d also like to give a big welcome to the newest member of the Sporting Life team, Luke! Originally from Ireland, Luke has been in New Zealand for around six months now, spending most of his time down South, and has finally made his way up to the Central Plateau.
Luke has been fishing since he was around seven years old and has always had New Zealand firmly on his list of places he wanted to fish. He’ll be with us until at least December, giving him plenty of time to explore the region, get to know the local rivers and, of course, put plenty of time in on the water.
He’s really looking forward to getting stuck into the Central Plateau and learning the ins and outs of how we fish the area. With a wealth of fly-fishing knowledge and just as much enthusiasm for the sport as the rest of us, we’re stoked to have him on the team and are sure he’ll fit right in!
The photo above is a beautiful brown he landed on the Waitahanui on Monday. What a cracker of a fish.
Looking ahead, the next few days are shaping up nicely, with cloud cover and scattered showers forecast right through to Sunday night. We’re certainly happy to see a bit of wet weather hanging around, and if it delivers some extra water to the river, it could be just what we need to keep the fish moving into the system.
Temperatures are also set to drop away overnight as we head into the weekend, so things will definitely continue much the same as we’ve been experiencing lately, with those consistently cold winter conditions we’re already well used to out there. If this weather pattern sticks around, we should hopefully see more fish making their way through the system.
Looking into next week, the weather is expected to turn colder but drier, much like we’ve seen over the past month. That will most likely see the frosts return, so make the most of the softer, wetter conditions while they’re here. For now, we’re pretty happy to see a bit of rain on the forecast!
Tight lines everyone and stay warm!
~Niamh (Bluey)