Weather: 18°C with heavy rain forecast for this afternoon into tomorrow, light NE winds of 9km/h with gusts of 20km/h arriving with the weather front coming in.
Tongariro River Flow: 22.5 cumecs (m³/s)
The rain may be here for a few days which might put a dampener on the fishing for some, but rest assured we have some positives! The hard dry ground will be softened to allow our cicada friends to continue their heavy hatch this season. The overcast conditions today should see fish feeding more freely outside of the broken water types. The smaller rivers may see an increase in flow which may move some fish around the system and push some brown trout up stream who already have spawning on the brain.
Dry flies have been top of the menu this week! The cicada fishing continues to improve as fish become more confident in taking larger flies and as the hatch continues so will the eats, leading to our much-awaited good cicada season.
River and stream mouths should now start to produce as the lake temperatures increase in the shallow waters, so the trout will seek refuge in the cooler waters. If you haven't tried smelting before, a lightly sinking tip on a floating line for the river mouths or a straight floating line on the smaller stream mouths have you sorted for this end of the lake. The RIO 10ft intermediate sink tip of 1.5 inches per second, which can easily attach via loop to loop to your floating line is a great option for the job. The change of light still being the most productive time of day to target smelting fish.
Gary has been having fun in the back country, catching big beautiful rainbows on cicada patterns! The Creek Trout Scientific Anglers floating line is a beautiful casting line for this style of delicate presentation & close-range fishing.
Lake Otamangakau closes at the start of Feb, as temperatures have increased dramatically in the lake. The trout will welcome the closure in February as they really struggle to recover from the fight in that top layer of warm low oxygenated water. They will also welcome a break from the anglers, ready for a fresh start at the beginning of March.
See you on the water!
Rosie & Gary