Fishing Report 29/01/2024

The Tongariro River flow (in Turangi) is sitting around 60cumecs and dropping. After yesterdays rainfall, all the rivers rose rapidly. The Tongariro is recovering well, and should be great fishing tomorrow. The other rivers will need a few more days to recover, but luckily for us- there is a week of good weather in the foreseeable forecast.

The trend in the last week or so, has been small patches of rain, keeping a bit of colour in the waterways, which has made for some great fishing. Our clients have been catching superb fish on large silhouette patterns, such as the Red Worm, Cat3 101 (stonefly), Cat3 Carpet Caddis (pink bead), and some of our Creel Tackle flies, like Jason's Rainbow Bomb or Jason's Red Rubber Legs.

My rig of choice has been a dry/dropper rig, with a Cat3 Churnobyl (as the dry-fly/indicator), with a Red Worm, Cat3 101 or Cat3 Carpet Caddis Pink Bead underneath, about 3-5 feet below. If you're feeling confident, you can always add a second dropper with an unweighted pheasant tail or the like, to increase your chances. But don't neglect wet lining, with big dark patterns, like the Manic Tackle Sex Dungeons, or black wooly buggers. If nymphing, use heavy flies, to get deep fast, and choose a nice big yarn indicator (we recommend the NZ Strike indicators, Link: https://creeltackle.com/collections/nz-strike-indicator/products/nz-strike-indicator-tool-kit-standard?_pos=5&_sid=eec8eccb5&_ss=r).

Our recommendation for the perfect dry fly rig, is the Scott G-series 8"8 #5 weight rod and an Abel Vaya 5/6. The slower action of the G-series, is great for a delicate presentation, whilst still retaining plenty of power reserves. The Airflo Universal ridge 2.0 is great line for almost any situation. You can't beat it! come in for a cast.

This last bout of rain is sure to bring some more fish up the rivers, and draw them further upstream, so plan accordingly. Be sure to search the shallow riffles or any shallow water for some brown trout action, as this is where I have been finding most of them.

Remember to pack some warm gear, take a wading stick, and stay safe. As the higher flows can be dangerous, So be extra careful when solo fishing.

If you have any further questions, or want more advice. Feel free to pop in for a yarn, or give us a call at 07 386 7929.

Tight Lines!

Hamish & Creel Tack House Team.