Weather: A much cooler start today with sunshine forecast and highs of 23°C, low winds
Tongariro River Flow: 21.3 cumecs (m³/s)
Lacemoths are well on the menu! As the cicada fishing quietens down on the Tongariro following the cooler nights, the fish are now well in tune with the passion vine hoppers coming down in large numbers. Long, light tippets are essential, with a drag free drift, and placement into the foam lines to head towards the feeding fish and hope they choose your fly over the many real insects littering the surface! The light gear is great fun bringing in the feisty rainbows who have recovered so well with the constant flow of insects over this summer.
The backcountry has continued to be productive, both on the smaller dry flies and the nymph, with some great conditioned fish being landed with big smiles!
Lake Rotoaira continues to provide great fishing and when the sun is shining and the winds not too high, the dry fly action is still in full swing, but nymphing in the cooler deeper water can turn up larger fish.
The low summer flows continue to provide the brown trout in good numbers, keep your eyes on the edges and as always it is much easier to sight fish when the sun shines! My fly of choice for these is still the trusty Category 3 101 pattern, right in front of them when they're not keen on coming up to take a dry fly.
My Black Magic landing net is still my trusty companion for landing those larger Tongariro fish! A nice wide lip for easy netting and fish handling, a rubber net to prevent the fish from damage, a hook to slot into the back of my vest and an elastic bungee to keep it close to you at all times.
Enjoy your week on the water!
Rosie