Weather: 16.5° Partly cloudy, with areas of morning fog, then rain developing at night. Light winds, then northerlies at night.
Tongariro River Flow: 21.5 Cumecs (m³/s)
Another calm but grey spell here in Turangi, with conditions settling after the recent storm. Surprisingly, the river didn’t fluctuate much during the heavy rain on Thursday and Friday, rising only by a few cumecs.
The darker conditions and slightly elevated flows brought a small fresh run of fish into the system, as the spawning season begins, slowly but surely.
Rosie braved the rain to shake off the double-handed rust and was rewarded with a number of hits on the swing, landing a nice fresh rainbow hen heading upstream to spawn. Reports from other anglers also mentioned some quality fish being landed, including a few larger specimens.
With the river now running low and clear again, it’s back to small, natural nymph patterns. Euro nymphing has been particularly effective in these conditions, with fish taking confidently. Likely due to the lack of an indicator or fly line on the water to give away the angler’s presence.
Another calm but grey spell here in Turangi, with conditions settling after the recent storm. Surprisingly, the river didn’t fluctuate much during the heavy rain on Thursday and Friday, rising only by a few cumecs.
The darker conditions and slightly elevated flows brought a small fresh run of fish into the system, as the spawning season begins, slowly but surely.
As the rainy Autumn approaches, a good waterproof is essential. If you're looking to rejuvenate existing waterproof gear, check out our range of Nikwax products, which re-waterproof gear effectively via spray ons, wash-in treatments (in the washing machine) and fabric and leather waterproofing conditioners.
Those who have been spin fishing from the lake edges and around Tokaanu have reported success on the 7g Tobys Brownie and Green and Golds, 10g Bullies and 12g Coppers. Heavier weights work well to cast through wind and get further distance and smaller weights always entice the trout into an easy looking meal. A range in weights and patterns for the tackle box is always a good idea to be ready to fish in every situation.
Rosie and I hit the river last night after shop hours to swing a few runs and cover the lower water column in search of fresh fish.
I hooked into a nice smaller maiden early on, which put on a great show with a few aerial leaps before coming off just as I brought it to the net.
There was a solid midge hatch, although not many fish were rising as the light faded. Just when I thought that would be it for the evening, I hooked into a fresh jack that tore off downstream towards Rosie. He took me well into the backing twice before I finally got him to the net. Always an awesome feeling.
Right on dark, after landing my fish, I moved downriver to watch Rosie work her two-hander. She soon connected with a stunning brown. For a moment we thought she might have hooked the whio duck drifting past, but thankfully it turned out to be a proper fish and a cracker at that.
With lots of laughter, some memorable fish, and plenty of photos, we packed up happy with our after-work mission and headed home.
It was a great sign that the winter season is kicking off well, and hopefully it will continue to improve.
Looking ahead, another dump of rain is expected in the early hours tomorrow. Hopefully this will give the river a little bump and encourage more runners to head upstream.
It’s starting to get to that time of year when we’ll all be dusting off the heavier gear and stocking up on egg patterns and streamers.
Tight lines everyone!
Bluey (Niamh) & Rosie