Fun on the Lake - Loch Style!
Tongariro River Flow: 26.7m3/sec
Weather: Mostly Sunny
Tarn and I had a day off which saw us fishing from the Boat Named Jeff on Lake Rotoaira, it was a stunning warm day, and the wind level was just right. We began by stripping a trio of small streamers 1m apart, Tarn using a di3 and an intermediate line for myself. We drifted with the wind direction and used a drogue to help slow down the boat, fishing this way covers more water and makes it easier to pin down locations of higher fish numbers.
Tarn had a go using nymphs under an indicator and picked up a few, but stripping streamers was the most effective for us.
Lake Rotoaira is a stunning location to fish, surrounded by Pihanga, Mt Tongariro and Ngauruhoe and as for the fish they fight hard on the 9'6" 7wt Sage R8 as most are packed with condition. Getting them on the strip is my cup of tea as there's a lot more action involved, you feel the fish hitting the fly and some may not connect, but when it does you will know about it! And because there's no current to help tire the fish, they can fight hard which adds to the joy.
One of my go-to lake lines for boat and lake edge fishing is the RIO Elite Sub-Surface Camolux, it casts smooth and at distance with only a few false casts required.
Tarn doing the roly-poly retrieve
This jumping fish managed just miss the boat 😅 it's all part of the fun.
Tarn is still picking a few up on the spey gear, and he's thoroughly enjoying it! It's great to see.