Weather: Warm, sunny and a light breeze, highs of 25°C
Tongariro River Flow: 20.6 cumecs (m³/s)
The fishing has been red hot the past week, with a light flow increase earlier in the week after the thunderstorms. We are seeing great numbers of big brown trout all through the system with some great stories from anglers coming in, of big brutes landed among the heartbreak of the ones that got away.... but they keep us going back! Our Gary has been into it, bringing in the golden goods as always!
For some of the fish that are hesitant to take the big cicadas following angling pressure, try a Parachute Adams as there are plenty of mayflies hatching throughout the day. This has been my fly of choice this week, tied by my good friend & local legend Wally, who has been using the grey Wapsi Natural Beaver & Mink dubbing as the body, topped with a post and grizzle hackle. We have a variety of Para Adams in store to keep you going if you're too busy fishing to tie your own.
The river mouths should start to fire again when we get a bit more flow and some light evening winds to break the surface of the water, to encourage the fish in to feed. The moon has been pretty bright so as the phase changes, we should see more fish within casting range.
Gary has been out enjoying the wonders of the Central Plateau and enjoying the big fish on the cicadas! He's gearing up for the Passion Vine Hoppers, which some of the smaller fish are keyed onto now, and as the weeks go by, the bigger fish will be looking up and seeking them out from other available meals. We've started to see them coming down the river, which is a promising sign of what's around the corner! Nearly time to change up those thicker cicada tippets to a much longer, thinner more delicately presented suppleflex tippet, of which we have plenty in store.
The jigging reports have been great with a good thermocline now present in the big lake. The thermocline is present around the 40m mark, with trout pinning the smelt against this, as the smelt cannot pass through it. Aim for this mark to find those hard-hitting feeders! All our Pat Swift smelt patterns and pre-tied jig rigs have been doing exceptionally well.
See you out there guys and girls!
Rosie & Gary