Tongariro River Flow: 28.9(m3/sec)
Weather: Fine, apart from morning cloud. Southeasterlies, easing this afternoon.
Good friends Dave and Lesley Smith have been having some two- hander fun on the Tongariro recently. As you can see, they had some stunning fish on the bank, probably caught on one of Daves beautifully tied intruder flies.
After a recent patch of bad weather, and an 89 cumec spike, the river is back to a settled 28. We have at least 7 days of great weather in-front of us, so a good time to make it over to catch some of these running fish. We have Kings Birthday and Matariki coming up- a perfect excuse to make the trip. The TT has been giving fishers' a lot of fun, specially through the lower-mid section.
Reports have been okay on the rivers. Lower Tongariro has been great for some, with relatively high numbers of fresh run fish, in the 2-3IB region. Eggs, slushies, and nymphs with an orange hot spot have all been pulling fish. The C3 Fl. Orange Hare and Copper and Pole Position have been working a treat in all fisheries I have visited recently. Those swinging flies, have doing well on Pat Swifts Mini Olive Bugger most of the season, and it is still proving its worth
It's the time of year where I focus a lot on the back country rivers, when all the big- well conditioned fish start to move up. Those wanting to target back country browns, now is the time, you have 20 days left!
We are very well stocked in Gell Eggs. The fire orange has been the most popular so far. Tie it with some Wapsi Ultra Thread (I like the FL. Red in 210 or 140), Wapsi Egg Veil and some Kamasan B110 #12 or #10, and you'll have a bunch of trout candy tied in no time.
We hope to see you all over the coming weeks, with the long weekends.
Come say hi and share us your stories, or just to get some local intell.
Tight Lines,
Sportinglife Turangi