issue 123 december 2010/january 2011 $9 - fishnhunt similar to frank sawyer's killer bug and...

NEW ZEALAND +20% FrEE holiday FEaTUrE — FlyFishing 4 Kids

no grUMBlEs MaTahina MadnEssripping rangiTiKEi FlyFishing down ThE drainThE long and ThE shorT oF iTa disCoUrsE oF Fish and FishingTaUpo Browns — whaT, whErE & how

TROUTissUE 123 dECEMBEr 2010/JanUary 2011 $9.90

FISH

ER

Welcome to Godzone's only dedicated trout fishing magazine, Kiwi owned and produced, bimonthly:-

ISSN 1173-1761No part of this magazine, in any form, may be reproduced in any way without prior permission of the publisher.

EDITOR & PUBLISHERPeter Storey 1 Ronald Road RD5 Rotorua 3076 NZ. Email: [email protected]; ph/fax: 07 (+647) 3628 914

PHOTOGRAPHERSAndy Trowbridge, Barry Beck, Cory Scott, Dan Thomas, David Lambroughton, Elwyn Green, Nick Reygaert.

ISSUE 123TAUPO BROWNS, WHAT, WHERE & HOW Andrew Christmas . . . 2

HEAT IN THE KITCHEN Peter Garaway . . . 8

NORTH ISLAND ROVING Belinda Thomas . . . 10

MUSTN'T GRUMBLE Peter Storey . . . 12

MATAHINA MADNESS Dave Barrett . . . 16

COMBO TIME Tony Hildesheim . . . 20

HOOK IT & COOK IT Stephan & Brigitte Baumberger . . . 22

FLY FISHING 4 KIDS Lucy Brake . . . 24

SMALL PLEASURES Daryl French . . . 30

RIPPING RANGITIKEI David Williams . . . 32

A DISCOURSE OF FISH AND FISHING Johnathan Scott . . . 38

SOUTH ISLAND ROVING Mel Hollis . . . 40

FLYFISHING DOWN THE DRAIN Quentin Donnelly . . . 42

THE LONG & THE SHORT OF IT Nick Taransky . . . 46

COvERFront: Kaili Clay with a cracking Southland rainbow (David Lambroughton)

www.nztroutfisher.co.nz 1

THIS PAGENEWLY-HATCHED SWIMMING MAYFLY

Swimming mayfly nymphs are frequently the most obvious Summer backcountry drift item. Typically found on rocks and debris in mixed-specie

groups, they dart for cover when threatened, using their triple-forked tails dolphin-style at rod-tip twitch speed. Colours as shown, with undertones of

olive in the nymph. Body length typically 20-30mm.The nymphs are most commonly imitated by the Hare & Copper, a Kiwi

standard similar to Frank Sawyer's Killer Bug and Gold-Ribbed Hare's Ear. Kakahi Queen is a fair representation of the dun of both major species.

(Photo: Dan Thomas)

2 NZ Trout Fisher 123

TAUPO BROWNSWHAT, WHERE & HOW

Have you ever been fishing and hooked into a fish which has made you run all over the pool,

cross rivers or simply start wondering about how much backing you have on your outfit? If you have been fishing in the Taupo region for the past few years and have hooked into something which is much larger and stronger than anything you have had before, it was most likely one of the huge brown trout that Taupo is fast becoming more famous for. The Taupo fishery is a well known and world regarded fishery for the spawning rainbows which fill our rivers every year from Lake Taupo, but more and more anglers are starting to target the beautiful brown trout that the lake and surrounding rivers offer.

In the past Taupo has produced some very large brown trout, with the

first specimens getting caught as the water warms up, when they are found closer to the surface and at river mouths chasing smelt before they enter the rivers for spawning. In their native habitat brown trout are late Autumn early Winter spawners, where rainbows are late Winter early Spring, and here in NZ they are traditionally found in large numbers in the warmer months from November through until April. With weather patterns changing and spawning seasons of all trout generally getting later and later, however, brown trout are showing up as part of angler catches all year round. The majority of brown trout and more mature fish are still running the rivers in the summer months but after a good flood or continuous bad weather you will find them turning up all year round.

Brown trout were released into the lake in 1887 from Tasmania and were from British sea trout stocks. They are the true trophy fish of Lake Taupo and make up about 10-15% of the lake's trout population. However, most anglers rarely get to tangle with these beauties as they only feature in 2% or less in the annual catch statistics most years. Brown trout mature at four years old and will be about 2.9kg (6.5 lb); this why those caught in Taupo rivers are generally of good size and bigger than the more common rainbow trout. Brown trout also have a better rate of survival after spawning, at 50-60%, and they continue to grow after reaching maturity where most rainbows do not, giving them a greater chance to reach double figures. Providing they survive spawning and continue through life with good

Talking Taupo with Andrew Christmas


health they should live between 8-11 years, about twice the life expectation of rainbows. Given all these advantages, it is not uncommon to hear of double figure brown trout coming out of the fishery most weeks during the summer; indeed, being also highly territorial, I can guarantee to show you fish over ten pounds most days when they are in the rivers. Last season I was consistently showing clients fish which must have been over 15 lbs maybe even 20 lb; but catching them is another story.

Brown trout are extremely shy animals during the day and prefer to leave

most feeding and moving around to the cover of darkness or dirty water conditions. They are prolific feeders and at night can be easily fooled while foraging around the shallow slow-moving waters of a stream or river mouth with a

smelt or bully pattern such as a Woolly Bugger or Grey Ghost. In saying that I like to see the trout I'm catching and witness the amazing fight these fish can give, so I target them with a classic summer set up and use a dry fly with an unweighted dropper such as a Green Caddis or Pheasant Tail. They are mysterious creatures with very odd behavioural patterns, some days proving very hard to catch but others almost seeming suicidal in their rush to grab anything which floats in their direction. I have had some days on the Tongariro where I have cast to over 30 good sized browns and spooked every single one of them, sometimes without even landing the fly on the water. Yet I have one day which stands out in my memory of dry fly fishing to these fish on the Tongariro, where I hooked into and landed 7 or 8

fish over 6lbs with the best being just under 10lb. The very same day I had two fish racing at the same fly fighting over it; such action really turns you into a nervous mess, frequently leaving the "God save the Queen" rule well in the back of your mind and the fly high in the tree behind you.

I love fishing for large brown trout and can honestly say one of the reasons is that they are not easy fish to land. The reputation they have developed as fish that come in and fight like a wet sack must have been influenced by trout somewhere else in the country, as they are no relation to these Taupo beasts. I have seen these fish leap metres from the water when hooked, tear off down rapids and spool good anglers who are left wondering where it all went so wrong! Brown trout hooked in the lake

I have seen these fish leap metres from the water when hooked, tear

off down rapids and spool good anglers, who are left wondering

where it all went so wrong!


while fishing a river mouth or trolling from the boat may be easy to control but if you hook one of these monsters in rivers such as the Waitahanui or the Tongariro, be prepared to loose it as they are the kings of finding new ways to escape. With such broad shoulders and shovels as tails they generate an amazing amount of strength and speed when hooked. They deserve respect as a trophy sport fish.

There are locations and methods which will significantly connect you with more big brown trout. Targeting these areas and using these methods should see you connected to more fish this summer while fishing in Taupo.

The Waitahanui River, which is located just out of Taupo and heading south

towards Turangi, is a lovely little spring-fed river and is famous for huge browns

which spawn in the summer months. They will be spread throughout the entire length of this crystal clear stream and can be easily polarized while sneaking up the edges, checking under or behind the weed beds. Quite often these trout seem to be laying doggo and you really struggle to scare them, let alone catch them. I usually put this down to high activity night feeding meaning they take the opportunity to sleep in a slow moving pool during the day; but don't treat all trout you see the same; the next one you come across is just as like to grab your fly and run with it. Fly selection can be tough for these trout but I usually use some sort of natural pattern, such as a Pheasant Tail Nymph, Hare & Copper or a large Green Caddis suspended from a substantial dry fly such as a Cicada or Humpy. Something

else to keep in the back of your mind is the common Glo Bug. Despite what you have heard from other guides or anglers, brown trout take these as well as any other fish which has spawning in mind. Just try and remember why the fish you are targeting is in the river or place you are fishing and adjust your fly pattern to suit.

Another "must go to" river for brown trout this summer will have to be the waters of the mighty Tongariro. We all know how productive this water is for rainbows but if you look in the right areas you will start hooking into more and more brown trout, which may just convert you to an all year Tongariro angler. The summer fishing on the Tongariro is the best kept local secret. When most of us drive straight past Turangi in pursuit for our favourite little



backcountry water the locals are just slipping down the Tongariro and fishing to huge browns in total solitude. You may ask yourself, "if it so great why are we just hearing about it now?" The truth is why would all of Taupo and Turangi tell every angler about it when motels, cafes, restaurants are full of tourists in the summer months and don't need the money from poor fisherman. Anglers who have tested the water over the summer months are continually returning to Turangi and enjoying summer fishing conditions, including dry fly fishing to good numbers of rainbows and huge brown trout.

Most of the Tongariro's brown trout will be seen and caught in the lower river, where they take cover under the overgrown banks and overhanging willow trees. In the past the lower river

has been very hard to access and many anglers have simply put it in the too hard basket and the big browns of the river have gone undetected. The recent clearing of several kilometres of willow trees along both river banks has opened the opportunity to see and catch these trout. Before these trees were cleared I also did not believe that huge brown trout entered the river in the numbers that they do and dismissed all the old tales of double figure fish coming out every night as fisherman's lies. If you take the time to walk the lower river and stalk the edges you will spot these huge fish on every bend, lying motionless in the edge awaiting the next easy feed.

Another great way to get into good numbers of these very large trout is to access the river with a motor boat from the delta. This will allow you to get to

water in which I have never walked to and you could easily have it to yourself. A shallow bottomed boat will be needed to get through the mouth but once you are in you should have a clear route to where you decide to fish. At Downs Pool there is a marker pole which you are not permitted to take your motor boat past but this is a long way up the river and you will enjoy enough good fishing before even getting close to this part of the river.

With a lot of the brown trout habitat and hiding holes lost with the clearing of the banks we are seeing more and more browns pushing up into the town pools; which of course means that anglers are starting to see and indeed catch more browns than they ever used to. It is not that the fish never used to be there; they are just pushing higher to where more

There are locations and methods which

will significantly connect you with

more big brown trout . . . this summer


TaUpo TroUT FishingFull and half day adventureswww.taupotroutguide.comE: [email protected] Mob: 021 116 2752

anglers access the river, allowing them to be caught easier.

When fishing at these trout stealth mode is almost always needed

and with so much food floating past them at this time of year, ranging from nymph life to large terrestrials on the surface, you must take extreme care when offering trout your fly. All methods will catch these trout but the most practised method to fish at sighted trout would have to be a single dry fly or dry fly dropper combination. Nymph fishing or wet lining blind will pick up fish in the deeper holes and at night, but if you have spotted your target in plain daylight you will need to be a little careful with your approach and execution.

A huge part of the Taupo fishing culture involves fly fishing at night at many of the stream mouths that enter Lake Taupo. It is while enjoying this style of fishing that many anglers have had their first encounter with a Taupo brown trout. Most of the stream or river mouths will produce brown trout at different times but there are certain ones which seem to attract more browns than others, which in return receive heavier angling pressure. I have been most successful at river mouths such as the Waitahanui, Tongariro Delta, Omori Stream, Slip Creek, Waihaha and the Waihora mouths which are in the Western Bays of Taupo. Brown trout let their guard down with the cover of darkness while feeding on koura, bullies and smelt in the shallows and slack water of river mouths, putting on incredible weight. Fishing with floating lines in the shallower bays with a black fur fly or bully pattern will receive attention from these fish when slowly retrieved. If fishing a mouth which has a quick drop off you may want to fish a sink tip line or shooting head, to get down on the edge of the drop off where the fish will be patrolling every few minutes. When fishing fast sink lines I find the best flies to use will be some sort of Booby-style fly, as you can still retrieve very slowly and keep your fly off the bottom, avoiding snag ups.

With the summer fishing only just around the corner all waters should start to see these trout turning up in good numbers and with the information which is available, hopefully you can use it to change your thinking on the summer fishing of Taupo and join the small group of anglers who have kept Taupo brown trout fishing secret for so long.

Tight lines



Why a Dry Fly/Nymph Combo?• Pleasure: Most of the time you are fishing in the summer with lower

flow conditions and it's nice taking off the usual bomb and casting the dry around with a dropper underneath.

• Incentive: I also think that having a nymph under the dry encourages trout to come up to the dry, as it all looks like there is a hatch on.

• Control: A lot of the time these browns are sitting in dead water which and the dry keeps the nymph off the bottom, and at a level which you can gauge, as you know how long you tied your dropper.

• Choice: Just because you can see a fish does not mean it is interested in a dry, but if the nymph is drifted down to it as well sometimes it will scruff it and the dry acts as a strike indicator in this case.

HEAT IN THE KITCHEN


The usual crowd was already in the main bar on Saturday afternoon when Alan “The Professor”

Beauchamp came in, looking absolutely knackered and totally fed up. He just nodded vaguely in response to the various greetings he received as he made straight for the bar. It wasn’t until he had ordered, been served, and downed, a large Scotch—neat—that he perked up a bit and started to take notice of the curious looks directed at him, not to mention the outright questions.

You may recall my relating a while back how The Professor had devised a system of trolling a variety of lures simultaneously behind a boat, with the aim of solving the mystery of which was the most effective trout trolling lure. You may also wonder why anyone would actually want to know this … well, the Professor was born naturally curious. The local ranger, plonker that he was, had initially vetoed the idea by telling Alan he needed a licensed angler for every rod on the boat, but Fish & Game had surrendered to the inevitable protests and given him permission for the trials.

Since he started his project several weekends ago, trolling up and down the lake, back and forth and round and round, he’d caught precisely one trout. Alan was, needless to say, becoming distinctly despondent and frustrated. And sick to death of the inane comments coming from those who couldn’t be bothered trying to understand what he was doing.

‘Still not working, huh?’‘No, it blinking well isn’t working!’

was Alan’s (for him) vehement response. ‘But I think I’m beginning to understand just what the problem is.’

‘Oh, good,’ came the sotto voce comment from Rufus. ‘We’re dying to know.’

Alan ignored Rufus as he went into lecture mode.

‘The problem lies in the fact that we are trolling all of the lures at the same speed. In effect, we are presenting any trout we come across with a group of baitfish swimming in a steady formation and that, as you will appreciate, is quite unnatural. Fish in a school are always

varying their position within the group, so this is what we will have to emulate. Besides, different lures work best at different speeds.’

There was the usual reaction: blank looks as if he was speaking a foreign language, with a few showing interest.

‘That’ll test your ingenuity,’ Ted remarked. ‘How on earth are you going to manage that?’

‘Oh, quite easily, actually,’ Alan replied. ‘What I’ll do is let out or pull in each line in a rapid and totally random manner. That will simulate the movement of fish within the “school”—if I may use that expression for the group of lures. It will work like this: when the line runs out, the lure will effectively be going slower than the others and so it’ll sink, while pulling the line in will make the lure go faster and it will rise in relation to the others. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before, actually.’

‘Jeez, Professor; you’ll need about a dozen arms just to work the lines. How’re you going to cope?’

‘Oh, that won’t be a problem,’ Alan replied cheerfully. ‘I’ll have to modify the reeling equipment for the lines, of course, but I can write a computer program to control it all. It’ll be easy enough to connect a laptop to the mechanism on the boat. Now, the big thing will be working out …’ His eyes lost their focus and his voice tailed off as he became totally pre-occupied with his new plans. We could identify only the occasional word as he mumbled quietly to himself: spatial separation — differential sequencing –– algorithms …

It all came to an abrupt end when Rufus snorted loudly. ‘Look at you

lot, hanging on his words like he was dispensing from the font of knowledge! If the vicar got that sort of attention on a Sunday he’d wet himself.’

‘Listen, Rufus,’ Doug reacted hotly, ‘just because you’re a fly fisherman, stop being so bloody superior. There’s plenty of spin-fishing anglers here who would love to know the results of The Professor’s work.’

‘I’m sure there are – because they’re too damn lazy to do their own research! Come on, you dozy lot; do your own homework! Find your own answers! Get out there and flaming well go

fishing! Don’t just sit on your backsides in the pub and talk about it.’

Fighting talk, that was, and many rose to the bait: claim, counter-claim and outright insults began flying all over the place.

Eventually, the sight of grown men arguing like this became too much for me. Rufus I could understand; he was a born stirrer who liked nothing more than winding people up, but as for the rest …

I left the main bar and headed for the smaller one, and I was followed by

© Peter Garaway 2010


a few others including, to my surprise, Porter Mason. I’d seen the local fishing journalist watching the argument: he’d been like a spectator at Wimbledon, his head snapping left and right as he followed each verbal broadside. Perhaps there’s only so much even a reporter can take.

Pete was behind the bar as we lined up for drinks. ‘Getting a bit heated

in there, was it?’ he asked. ‘I could hear the argy-bargy from here. What was the argument about this time?’

It was Porter who gave him a run-down of what had taken place, and he concluded by saying, ‘Let’s put it this way: it makes some local body meetings I’ve been to seem pretty tame by comparison.’

‘I couldn’t agree more,’ Pete sighed. ‘You anglers … you should be thankful that trout fishing isn’t a team sport.’

‘A team sport?’ Ted asked in a startled voice. ‘What do you mean by that?’

‘Well, if trout fishing was organised in

teams—like football, f’rinstance—’ Pete paused and pointed towards the main bar, ‘I reckon there’d be blood all over the floor by now!’

photo: John gommans

Diversity is neither the spice of life, as good as a holiday, nor the mother of invention; but it

is something to celebrate. The sport of fly-fishing attracts about as diverse a population as you can get and with that a vast scope of opinion, style and reasons for being. To me there is an element of competition every time that I fish. Some days I feel it more than others. I’m pitting my will against a wily fish and Mother Nature to boot. My win is sometimes measured in size or quantity of trout, or in catching one at all. Sometimes in the success of a new fly or in the achievement of a new technique, and often in congratulation of simply enjoying the sport I love in a stunning landscape.

Competition fishing is taking this to a whole new level and something I am glad to have tried, although today my aching bones tell a different story — it can be fierce! I fully appreciate that it

is not for everyone, but for those of us who enjoy a tournament it’s an absolute blast. I’ve heard it said that it is against the spirit of the sport, but that’s like saying that motor racing is against the spirit of cars and I think it’s terrific that our sport offers so much diversity to such a diverse crowd. I love that some chose to only ever fish dry fly, that some are absolute gurus in stillwater fishing to super spooky sighted trout in gin clear shallow lakes, and that others will never ever lob 4 beads of .8 gram splitshot at migrating trout in the Tongariro, while for others that is the stuff of dreams.

Competition fly fishing takes on many forms within clubs, bars, baches and cribs around New Zealand. Sport Fly Fishing NZ (sffnz.co.nz) is the local home of the International organisation Fips Mouche and how we participate in international competitions. New Zealand sends a team or teams to the World Championships and Oceanias

every two years and the Commonwealth Championships whenever they are held, usually to coincide with a World or Oceania event. We are very well represented and often highly placed, and what is learnt overseas is brought back and developed to suit New Zealand.

Anglers earn points for the number of fish caught in a timed session, and on the length of those fish, but not the weight. A measurable fish in this Mecca for trout is one over 18cms, scoring a 100 points with an additional 20 points for every centimetre thereafter. Smaller fish score well and are often quick to the net. A long fight from a bigger fish clinging by a thread to a barbless hook is thoroughly exhilarating and rough on the nerves. Both are a wonderful achievement in their own right. In river competitions an allocated beat is used, whereas in stillwater competitions fishing is done from a boat. Rankings are scored over separate regional events,


Driven & DedicatedNorth Island Roving with Belinda Thomas

the top two of which are used to create an overall placing with the top 20 anglers going through to the Nationals. Qualifying for this event, and potentially representing your country is an absolute reward, but for many it’s the friendships, learning and thrill of competing that keeps them entering.

One particularly lovely aspect of the sport is having a controller to measure and record fish, and to ensure compliance with rules such as the use of barbless hooks, a landing net, and that fish are released alive. These are the good sorts, often family or anglers who enjoy watching others and exposing themselves to different talents. For anyone thinking of trying competition fly fishing, becoming a controller is an excellent way to see what it is all about. Controller Roy Richardson from the North Shore anglers club, for instance, said it's the best fishing he’s ever had!

After a postponement of the Hamilton/Tauranga Championships due

to soggy conditions overhead and underfoot and rivers too high to be safely campaigned, the much anticipated Auckland/North Shore championships were held in mid October on the Ohinemuri River in the Karangahake Gorge. It’s a motley crew competing, ranging vastly in age, occupation and experience but fully united in this particular angling adventure. Amongst the team assembled for the Auckland regional on the Saturday were those considered experts in Czech nymphing, dry fly-nymph, a talented wee-wetter and several legends who just seem to be able to think fish out of the water and into their nets.

Three two hour sessions a day are very taxing, physically and mentally. At times you feel as though you are participating in some sort of angling endurance marathon. Being pushed to your limits and taking yourself out of your comfort zone is incredibly rewarding too, and does wonders for your mettle giving you confidence to try new things on your social fishing days. Deciding how to fish your beat is one thing, executing that plan another, and staying 100 percent focused throughout can be the difference between success and the dreaded blank. A lapse in concentration saw me very close to a good dip in the beat at the gorge carpark and left clinging to a rock — very entertaining for a few tourists and a good lesson for me!

Over the day 138 fish were caught averaging 28.5cms in length by the 16 anglers participating. John Bell took a win from Peter Chan, followed by Tim McClew and Rob Vaz. John Bell has represented New Zealand several times. He is a good ambassador for the sport and generous with what he knows. On this occasion he challenged my pre-conceptions about Czech or short line nymphing during a chat between sessions. He chose to use two quite light flies (which he showed me) and to pitch them very delicately from a light rod. While Czech nymphing is often described as throwing heavy nymphs in teams of three, he knew that was not what was called for in the conditions. The lighter flies stayed well above the slime in the bottom of the river and he reduced the possibility of spooking fish. By maintaining absolute contact he felt all his takes and converted this to a winning result.

Day 2 was the North Shore event and a forecast of hosing rain, which delivered in good measure. The river and its residents clearly rest a little overnight, but on D2 of competition things are often challenging. As expected fish numbers were down on Saturday with 80 caught averaging

31cms in length; and there were blanks from some very clever anglers, who took it in good sport. On a tough day it was experience that shone through. First place was taken by Peter Scott (previous National Champion and holder of last year's North Shore title) followed by Rob Vaz, Brendan Lyon and Aaron West (who took competitive fly fishing by a storm about 15 years ago). These guys have worked hard to get to where they are and seeing them take well earned places is no surprise.

What was equally pleasing was seeing two anglers fish exceptionally well and consistently in their first ever competition. Sam Bourne and Chris Young placed 8th and 7th on Saturday and held 8th and 9th position on Sunday, with Chris catching the biggest fish (47 cms) on Saturday. While I know little of Chris’s campaign, Sam has been dedicated to improving his fishing over the last year. He controlled for me last season and got a good handle on how competitions go. His admirable attitude is one of sponge, of getting as much information as he can from many sources; practising and making it work for him. He’ll be one to watch.

Over the weekend there were spills, a few dips, and broken rods as well. There were also a lot of laughs, and a wealth of information shared and learned. It’s a sign of true talent when those at the top are prepared to share so much with less experienced anglers, learn from everyone present and are genuinely interested in seeing everybody enjoy their weekend.

So who makes a good competition angler? These guys convert water

to fish under pressure and often in places I’d pass by on a social fishing trip. So are they an expert in one particular method and able to adapt that to suit any water, or are they able to switch methods and catch fish that way? I can have as many theories as I’d like but I believe the attributes that define the successful anglers are as evident here as anywhere. They are driven and dedicated. They practise and evolve, building on their skills and on experience. They are open to the ideas of others. Most of all they enjoy what they do and have terrific attitude. Our angling journey is a long one and our angling champions are not at all confined to the podium. They are everywhere and we can learn a lot from them. And the best we can do is to get more satisfaction out of the sport that we follow.

[email protected]



It was almost 1600 before I put a line in the water, Opening Day. Why? Well, freedom from parenting and rain aside, when you've been fishing through

Winter, somehow, there's little necessity to rush out at 0500/01/10 willy-nilly. Besides, my real opening was already planned for the following Monday, with a three day trip up the Ngamuwahine. While I enjoy jigging and trolling on the lake, visual flyfishing's what drives me and there's little of that here until the smelt spawn; and little of them too, in recent years . . .

Although fish numbers appear low in general local terms, without question Ngamuwahine ranks among the most beautiful rivers in the country. It's also one of the few 'brown trout-only' in the North Island and combining that fact with exceptionally high water clarity, tannin-stained to boot, its fishing is always challenging — there's a fish not less than 1.5kg near the centre of this photo of a typical feeding lie, for instance — I took it and am not certain either! Yes, this place is special; and it's one I'm happy to share because, broadly speaking, its residents can take care of themselves.

Now, a warning: Ngamuwahine means 'the grumbling woman', or similar . . . My guess why is that, besides being breathtakingly beautiful, running crystal-clear, cool, deep and fast, its almost totally rock and boulder bed ranks among the most unrelenting I've encountered; it's in your face, nonstop. Yes, this one's certainly made me grumble as well; and break two rods. That was wearing felt soles, however; although you still need plenty of care, I haven't actually slipped anywhere, since switching to my current Scierra Dyna Traks. Combined with a pair of CC6 waders, they make fishing the rougher parts of this stream an infinitely more pleasurable, not to mention safe and productive experience — and productive, perhaps, simply because you're not considering ducking-stools and bridles at the same time as spotting or casting? There is also no cell phone coverage. So in the gorge and bush sections I suggest fishing in company. Indeed, taking a bank each in this sort of country, where glare is everywhere and fish hard enough to spot already, should improve your chances.

Okay, Ngamuwahine is located in the Wairoa catchment, about 30 minutes' drive

along SH29 from downtown Tauranga, heading towards Hamilton. You reach the stream as you drop down the hill from Kaimai School, about 2km after the Lake McLaren junction, and the bridge over it is named. From there you turn into Ngamuwahine Road, which you can Google-map (Ngamuwahine Rd, Kaimai 3171), and the seal ends immediately. This road follows the stream to the edge of the Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Park, where there is also a DOC camping reserve. Yes, Ngamuwahine is the sort of place you can equally visit on a working day or turn into an extended stay; there's scope for a family day trip or holiday as well.

In terms of fishing, you can basically break the stream into four parts, with the first three each comprising a full day's fishing and pictured right, top-bottom, with the fish overleaf an upper-range example of what each holds:-

• the fully-bushed gorge, from SH29 to the farmland; • the farmland, which is open but mostly entrenched; • the bush up to the Mangaputa confluence, where the

flow pretty well splits equally and an easy walking track takes you back in about 20 minutes;

• and beyond, which I've yet to explore much and won't try alone. (Check www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzfBU8GeVWg for why!)

Needless to say the farmland gets the most attention; yet quite surprisingly, even it produces comparable fishing and upper range fish. Another definite plus for this stream is that, seeing plenty of anglers — people generally — these browns come back on the feed quite soon after being disturbed; and surprisingly for the bush section, which is full-on backcountry, even when disturbed by upstream scent. Otherwise they act as normal: line a fish once and it's history; three passes of the same fly and it's already on guard, if not lying doggo or gone; drag a fly and it'll be somewhere in between. As I've told myself, more times than I care to admit: come on, Storey, this was precisely why you came here in the first place . . .

NO GRUMBLESBy Peter Storey

TROUTCLASSIFIEDS

Text-only at $1.00 a word, + gsT

ACCOmmODATION . . . TuliP Rose FaRmHouse

Self catering accommodation, sleeps 8, situated close to good fishing rivers and a lake, located in Galatea, BOP.

Phone 073664000, email [email protected], http:\\tuliprosefarmhouse.kiwiweb.net.nz

RuakiTuRi RiveR, WaiRoa, “THe HuT”Anglers accommodation on the river bank. Hard fighting Rain-

bow and Brown Trout. Sleeps 4 comfortably. All mod cons. Easy car access. Guide available.

Contact: Ph/Fax 06 877 1696; Email: [email protected] Davis Canning, 4 Kentia Place HAVELOCK NORTH.

RaNGiTikei TaRaTa FisHaWaYaCCommoDaTioN & GuiDeD oR

uNGuiDeD FisHiNGSituated in the remote Mokai Valley where the picturesque Rangitikei River meets the rugged Ruahines. Unique trout

fishing right at our doorstep. River Retreat, Spa Bath, Rafting, Spotlight Safaris, Clay Bird Shooting.Your hosts: Trudi & Stephen Mattock.

Ph: (06) 388 0354; Fax: (06) 3880954. Email: [email protected]; Web Site: www.tarata.co.nz

WaiRau RiveR eNCHaNTmeNT BleNHeimRiver boundary farm homestay for flyfishers.

Located Hillerston in the Wairau Valley. Contact: Duannette Stigter, Enchantment, 3782 SH63,

BLENHEIM. Ph/Fax 03 572 2885.

maTauRa RiveR GuiDeD FisHiNG & aCCommoDaTioN

New Zealand's best Match the Hatch fishing on the fabulous Mataura River. Accommodation at Wentworth Heights B and

B, only 2 minutes drive from the river. Guided fishing available with an NZPFGA member, who has lived beside the Mataura

for over 28 years. Package deals available.

Contact: Diane and Barry Perkins. Ph 03 208 6476

Websites: http://www.flyfishmataura.co.nz; www.wentworthheights.co.nz

E-mail: [email protected]

FOR SALE . . .FisHiNG RoDs FoR sale

Kilwell Backpacker fly rod, fibreglass, wt 6, rod bag, folds down to 62cms

Kilwell Safari 2.21m, fibre glass, Wt 6/7, 4 piece, folds to under 60cms, original blue bag, hardly used.

Hardy "Ben Hope" fibreglass fly rod, wt 6/7. Mid-1960s modelTrent fibre glass "Salmon" 2.6 metres.

Scott PowR-plyrod handcrafted in San Francisco, 1969, fibre-glass 7.5 foot, Wt 5, olive rod bag, metal rod case.

Sensible, realistic offers?Please E mail [email protected]


FISH

ER


TROUTSUBSCRIPTIONS1 and (2) year subscriptions of 6 issues per year are available and the PDF version is free with print subscriptions. Please mark the relevant option; prices are in NZ$:

NZ: $45 ($85)

Australia: $55 ($105) Elsewhere: $60 ($115)

Online Digital: $18 ($34)

Name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Address: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Please begin my subscription with issueMy email address for HOTNews updates and online magazines is:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

TO HELP FOCUS THE mAGAZINE . . .How long have you fished for trout? Yrs

Which fishing methods do you use most?Dry Fly Nymph Wet Fly Salmon Lake Shoreline Fly Boat Fly Float Tube Harling Trolling Spinning Jigging

Given the choice, would you stalk average trout or fish blind for a trophy?

Where do you fish?Locally Island-wide Nationwide Taupo Rotorua Southern Lakes

What are your main information needs?Reports Predictions Methods Fly Tying Tackle New Locations New Ideas Background

How did you come across this copy?

PLEASE SEND COmPLETED FORm & CHEqUES TO:-New Zealand Trout Fisher, 1 Ronald Road, Lake Tarawera, RD5, ROTORUA, NZ 3076.Direct Payments: The New Zealand Troutfisher, ANZ Bank, Ponsonby, Auckland, NZ, Account #010295 0081097 00 (Swiftcode is ANZBNZ22)VISA MASTERCARD AMEX DINERS

# . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cardholder: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Expiry: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

FISH

ER

If nothing's on the wing a drift sample will put you right on fly selection. As far as I can see Deleatidium mayfly

predominate, with the bulk of the larval population being dark brown, almost black, and in the #14-18 range. There are plenty of caddis around, however, cased and free-swimming, and although I've not yet found any there would have to be Coloburiscus, stonefly and creeper throughout, plus dragonfly and damselfly larvae. I've seen both bullies and koura, but no eels as yet — perhaps McLaren Falls stops them?

Flies. So far, my most successful tie is a #14 Black Nymph (see right). This one's components are:-

• short shank, medium wire, wide gape hook;• a couple of turns of lead wire;• black thread, 6/0;• black turkey cock fibre tail and wing case;• black juvenile possum tail fur;• two ribs of fine mylar in the abdomen.This chunky tie is an early season version aimed to

cover both Deleatidium and Coloburiscus larvae, with the mylar providing a bit of extra presence for typical springtime flows. As the season progresses drop the mylar and possum, switch to a long shank 16-18 and tie the whole thing slimmer in turkey fibre, to produce a pretty strong representation of general NZ Deleatidium larvae. Other nymph ties that have caught fish include hand-tied Horn Caddis, Hare & Copper and Pheasant Tail. A word on weighting. Feeding fish are generally located well up in larger sun-lit runs, pool heads and tails, so you need only enough weight to get under the surface flow rather than reach the bottom. Too much and you'll snag it, most likely spooking the fish in the process. It's water highly suited to hand-tying, Sawyer-style, of course.

I've only caught one fish on a dry fly so far and that took my hand-tied Black Palmer, sunken. Having fished Ngamuwahine many times now, throughout the season, I've only seen emerger rises in broad daylight. I sense it could produce a considerable evening rise, however, especially once the sedge get going in December.

Tackle. Outside the farmland, this is definitely a place for a rod which loads easily; and throughout, being a crystal-clear upland forest stream, tumbling and twisting between large pools, to fish dry or emerger there's a constant need to change leader length. After much experimenting my best-performing rig comprises a single fly, 2-3m of 5lb Maxima, floating and intermediate polytips, and a 20+ year old #7 Daiwa Black Phantom (no expensive rods here unless you REALLY like grumbling). The fly line is largely irrelevant; you are aiming for a transparent, long taper rig which presents accurately from 'go' to as much as you can handle. Hence the polytips; but judging by what Quentin says, maybe I should look at clear floaters again. (The last was a chemical joke, turning itself into candy floss within minutes.)

Oh yes — the fish. He's the smaller of two jacks that were still feeding in precisely the same area of

the same pool, as I left the river on the third day. He took the Black Nymph described above off 3m of fresh tippet, carefully rubbed with dirt after tying the knots and then tested again. After he nailed it I immediately side-strained him into an offshoot of the pool, but the other was already lying like a stone on the bottom. What surprised me, however, was that where I was expecting 1-1.5kg he actually pulled 2kg on my McLean; and to my eye, his dominant room-mate still looked half as big again when I returned ten days later.

Yes, with such high water clarity Ngamuwahine browns — Wairoa catchment generally — frequently turn out bigger than they appear. They only stay that way if we put them back, of course, but being mature browns they will continue to grow where a rainbow will not; and given continuing high water quality, I can't help wondering just how big that might be. What's certain about this little piece of Godzone, however, is that treated with respect there will be . . .


NO GRUMBLES


MATAHINA madnessBy Dave Barrett

I met Peter Clark and his mate, Roger, in the parking lot near the first boat ramp just after first light. The wind

was ripping from the south with white caps forming and Roger would have a tough time in his little kayak, splash guard or not. I thought “Oh, Crap!” to myself but assured the boys the southerly we were heading into would die out by mid day. Peter was having the first shift with me in my Canadian canoe. I had a look at his rod. Tippet tied directly to the fly line spelt Tongariro Nympher and a difficult day trying to cast. He reckoned it would be alright, however, so I tied on one of my favourite olive Crystal Buggers.

I paddled to the point and explained that he should try to cast to the edge of the weed bed, fish his fly for about a metre and do it again. He cast out and let his fly sink, so I picked up my rod and said, “watch this, you really need to get the fly just to the edge of the weed bed because that is . . .” but Peter was not paying attention; he was looking at his rod tip, which was bending further into the water. The run went about 10 metres straight down then the line went slack. First cast, first hook up, first break off, and a stunned sort of smile as he saw his entire tippet was gone. I offered a tapered leader but he wanted a line back in the water right away. So I tied on some new 6lb tippet, then paddled Peter along the lake edge, adjusting the canoe so his cast would land at the weed edge according to his distance and the windage.

The next rainbow shot out of the water right next to me, leaving me soaked after it landed; Peter thought that was funny. The next parted his line and this time my knot had pulled, so I let him tie the next Bugger on. By the time we got up to the little beach for a stretch, Peter had hooked up eight times. They were all well-conditioned rainbows that put up very hard and acrobatic battles. Roger had only hooked and lost one fish and was indeed having a tough time in the wind. Yet I was amazed with his cast, considering the conditions and how low to the water he was.

After a short smoko, Roger jumped into the canoe with me and Peter went into the kayak. The wind just stopped and the lake was like a mill pond, and Peter remarked that I was pretty clever. Actually, this had been happening for a couple of weeks but I did not tell him that I was more observant than clever. Roger was using his own creations up to

this point but I assured him my Crystal Buggers were working a treat. He tied one on and was quickly into his first fish.

Roger's 'schooling' continued over the next couple of hours. The most notable 'lesson' was a rocketing rainbow that shot straight towards him, jumped over his fly rod, then sounded. He could not unwrap the line before it broke off. The others just hit so hard and ran so fast we just could not keep them out of the weeds and one literally swam around a log to break the line. Like kingfish these trout were!

Peter continued to catch fish in the little kayak and it was much easier without the wind. Seeing fish rocketing towards the fly was pretty exciting; seeing them rocket out of the water attached to his fly was even better.

By the time we got to the end of the lake, Peter had 14 hookups and Roger 10, and the southerly came up again to help propel us back. By the time we got back to the boat ramp it was 22 to 20 in Roger’s favour. There were a few quality browns in the mix but it was mostly rainbows this day.

Two days later I went back on the lake, this time with Larry Carne from

Palmerston North. “Another nympher” I thought to myself when I saw his tippet attached directly to the fly line. “Doesn’t anyone use a tapered leader?” Still, I put on a section of 6lb tippet, away we went and sure as sugar he was rolling out his casts perfectly to the edge. The sun was right for watching the rainbows attack. They would come in fast and hard, swipe, then rocket away again, with or without your fly. Larry landed 20 fish that day and told me it was his most productive day's fishing ever.


A few weeks later, Larry came back. He wanted to be on the lake first

but it was a strange start to the day. He was doing the same thing as last time and there were plenty of fish striking, but he kept missing them. One of us would spot the swirl and nothing would be felt. He would quickly put the fly back if he could, but nobody would be home. Sometimes the line was too slack because the fish had struck towards us; others, I would see the fly line going sideways and yell again. We speculated for a long time about what was happening, but it all made perfect sense when we opened up one of their bellies later.

The day became perfectly still and the fishing predictably slowed, so we got to speculating again. I reckoned the trout were like barracuda, slashing at flies trying to stun or wound their prey, then returning quickly to mop up. By the time it takes to regain composure, untangle the fly line wrapped around your head, and shoot the fly back to the scene of the attack, Mr Trout has shrugged his shoulders and continued along the weed bed. Then I thought, well maybe the trout attacks from behind, puts slack in the line, feels

the hook, spits the fly, and then swirls away in disgust: we see the swirl and get nothing but air on the strike. Larry reckoned that maybe the fish were being territorial and trying to scare away this thing that looks like a fish. “That would be like scaring me with beer and pizza. I am not buying it.” Of course when you get distracted the inevitable happens. “STRIKE!” The line tightens and a silver rocket launches out of the water, dives straight through a weed bed, wraps around a fallen tree and is gone. “Holy Crap,” says Larry as I tie on heavier fluorocarbon and a new Crystal Bugger.

All is quiet for a little while as we anticipate the next strike. It came without the big swirl but the run was strong and deep. It was ten minutes before this massive brown first showed himself and he soon went into the chilly bin, with both of us saying “Holy Crap” again and again.

After that we witnessed a flotilla of boats making their way down the lake towards us. I had never seen more than one other person fishing on the lake before. It was the Whakatane Trout Fishing Club having an outing on my lake. I waved at a passing boat and it turned out to be Peter McKechnie, the

president of the club, who had bought flies from me before. He asked how many we had caught. I said “two”, held up the big brown, and Peter landed on the beach. He asked what the secret was and how big is that trout. I told him how we were doing it and gave him a Bugger. He pulled out a scale that read 9lbs when the brown was hung by it.

Larry caught 14 trout this time, including the fish of a lifetime. We probably hooked another just at the edge of the dam too, which Larry could not stop. It dove into the deep water and found something solid to wrap around. You just don’t see strong and steady runs like that in freshwater. I suspect it was an even larger brown.

When I first moved into the area about ten years ago, I literally

fished everywhere like a madman. Matahina, being so close to home, was a frequent stop. I would fish up and down the lake and the river over and over, and usually only caught the odd slabby trout in the lake. I had heard and read stories about some good fish in the river leading into the lake but nothing about the lake being any good ten years ago. My 'go to' spot was Lake Aniwhenua and I did very well there but

MATAHINA madness


was consistently let down in Matahina. It was about four years ago it all clicked, when my Dad and I were going to fish the river. After recent rain the river was a bit high and dirty for my liking, so we went to Matahina. I told my Dad that it was time we tried the lake edge again. Well, it was all on and every year since the fish have been getting bigger.

I suppose I must let the secret out, about why these fish are so well conditioned and getting bigger every year — GOLDFISH! There are a lot of them in the lake and there are a lot of them in the bellies of these very well-conditioned trout. Depending on the

time of year the trout are eating different size classes of these goldfish. I’ll let you figure the rest out. I reckon 2011 and beyond will produce fish around the magical 10 pound mark so long as the goldfish population continues to flourish. Long may it last!

Dave Barrett, right, lives in Whakatane and is a keen outdoorsman, who spends his free time fishing and hunting. He is a trout fishing guide who exclusively uses a Canadian canoe when guiding.

www.trousertrout.co.nz


Summer in The Bay . . .

COMBO TIME!Hawkes Bay with Tony Hildesheim

Or have this second rod set up with a dry fly for any hatches you come across, or big browns laid up close into the edges. Especially on the Ruakituri over the summer months.

Experience is everything...Whether fly fishing freshwater or saltwater, one of the most important aspects of deciding where the fly needs to be placed or how to vary the retrieve, is experience. Seeing fish react to different presentations over and over will help you decide whether the fly is in the magic zone. So basically go

03:35 alarm goes off. No worries about waking the better half; I’ve been sent packing to the spare

room anyway. It's the same routine every year on the first of October; and I love it. The anticipation of fishing rested waters. Where unsuspecting trout feed hard out, regaining condition after their passionate spawning. Taking every drag-free nymph you present to them.

Why does fly fishing become such an obsession? Do we need help or are we just doing the best thing in the world. Casting an imitation fly to a wild fish; being out in New Zealand’s great outdoors. I’m sure we are some of the luckiest kiwis. For me it’s all about the take; the thud-thud on the rod. The feeling of yes, I’ve hooked it. The white flash of his opening mouth as he takes your nymph; the exhilarating take as the trout swims up to scoff your dry fly.

It’s not just trout that give me this sensation. Imagine the freight train take of a kingfish; a trevally stooping down to take a Clouser minnow right below your feet, while standing on a Northland jetty; albacore tuna darting up under the boat, their soft take, then blistering runs; and of course, our friend the Kahawai, taking flies right at the boat in full view, or chasing and casting to them off the beach. Well if this sounds like you, then you’ve joined an exclusive club. You’re Hooked.

The first week of the new 2010 season for me was most enjoyable, having a week off after being hard out through

September, selling fishing licences and fly tackle. I spent a couple of days on local tributary streams and three more at the Ruakituri River, hooking and releasing 30-odd fish. The Ruakituri in particular had lots of opening weekend pressure. It was certainly a little challenging finding spots with no boot marks, but with some effort and a few hairy river crossings, it was easy enough to find pocket waters full of untouched fish, even on the Monday/Tuesday.

Prospects for the next couple of months were looking very good until we had a stormy second week of the season, making all rivers bank to bank. The main rivers which have been high are now dropping and tributary streams are perfect.

Try sight fishing some of these smaller rivers. Use polaroid glasses and a cap/hat to spot fish. Be prepared to do plenty of walking, casting to sighted fish and only blind fishing the deep pools that are a bit hard to spot the fish in. You will cover heaps more water using this method and consequently see more fish. So a lot less casting, but hooking more fish.

Try casting downstream and using the current to get the right amount of line out of your rod. Then only make one or two casts towards your target before laying the nymphs down, upstream of the trout. The less casts; the less chance of spooking the fish.

Use a larger dry fly like a stimulator or Foam Beetle/Cicada for your indicator, tied on a tag half a rod length from your floating line, with a bead-head nymph and a dropper fly a rod length further down. You will be amazed how many trout will take the dry fly over these coming summer months.

I also often have a second rod in the car, set up with a sinking line for some lure fishing on the bigger rivers. Some big deep pools can be fished very successfully with a lure.

Photo: Mark Roberts


fishing more often. It’ll become easier to learn how to spot and place the fly, to entice even the most finicky of fish.

For some fly fishing inspiration check out Nick Reygaert's new DVD “The Source” New Zealand. The film features amazing South Island footage, trophy trout, dry flying and lake edge fishing. It’s a must-see movie for all us fly fish nuts. Nick is obviously at the top of his game producing yet another fantastic fly film. It can be purchased from Guns and Tackle, your Napier Hunting and Fishing store.

As always, don’t kill too many trout and hope to see you Out There Doing It...

River Fishing New ZealandWith Guide Tony Hildesheim

• HawkesBayTroutFishingGuide• RuakituriRiverFishingTrips

• SaltwaterFlyFishing..Boat&LandBased• FlyCastingLessons

www.riverfishing.co.nzwww.outoftheblueboatcharters.co.nz

Ph 06 8750188 Mob 0274 420354


HOOK IT & COOK ITWith Stephan & Brigitte Baumberger

We would like to share something a little different with you. We have featured trout cakes a while ago. But now this is the summer and barbecue season and we would like you to explore making trout sausages. Sounds difficult? Not really, there is a variety of ways of achieving this. As you can see from the attached recipe you don’t need any fancy

equipment. Can you make sausages with the help of kitchen plastic wrap? Yes you can, I was shown this so handsome trick years ago by Graham Brown who is the Executive Chef and ambassador for Cervena Venison.

It looks like a bit of work but it is rather easy to accomplish. And as an angler you can really show off with your barbeque spread.

Happy cooking!

DILL AND LEMON TROUT SAUSAGES

WITH ROASTED FENNEL POTATOES & CUCUMBER RELISH

400 gm trout fillet, skinned & boned 1 cup white bread, crust removed & diced

1 egg ¼ cup cream Rind of 1 lemon, finely chopped

2 tbsp dill or fennel, finely chopped Salt & pepper

Cut the trout flesh into about 20 x 20 mm pieces. Combine with the bread, egg and cream, refrigerate for at least one hour. Put through a food mincer using a medium disc or blend in a food processor, using the pulse function, until the consistency is still a little coarse; don’t over blend. Transfer into a bowl and mix in the lemon, dill and season. If you have a sausage maker attachment and suitable sausage casings make the mixture into about 100 mm long thin sausages. Alternatively pipe the mixture onto plastic food wrap and roll up tight pushing out any air. Place the rolls (as long as the width of the plastic wrap) into a shallow pan or tray with simmering water. Poach (don’t let it boil) for 5 minutes allowing the mixture to set. Remove the rolls and cool. Unwrap and cut into the desired length of sausages. BBQ, panfry or grill the sausages.


1164 Main Highway, Manakau, RD31, Levin. 5573 Phone: 063626733; [email protected]; www.stephans.co.nz

ROASTED FENNEL POTATOES

1 tbsp fennel seeds Gourmet potatoes Butter

Place the fennel seeds in a small fry pan and roast over a very low heat for five minutes, remove the seeds from the pan and reserve. Increase the heat of the pan, add a little butter and sauté the potatoes until golden brown, turn off the

heat. Sprinkle the fennel seeds over and toss.

CUCUMBER RELISH

½ cup natural yoghurt, unsweetened ½ cup sour cream ½ cup cumber, diced Juice of ½ lemon Pinch of cayenne pepper Salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

WWW.TROUT-BOOKS.COMNew Zealand trout fishing books and DvD's

Gore, Southland, New Zealand. Ph/Fax 03 208 4352


Fly Fishing 4 KIDS

Talk about fly fishing and you tend to evoke images of a sole angler, fighting through wild bush

to streams and rivers where they will hunt down that elusive trout. But now more and more families and kids are keen to get involved. Fly fishing is a healthy outdoor hobby and it is great to find a fun, stimulating activity that can motivate children and grandchildren to leave the TV or computer and explore our beautiful country.

Taking the family trout fishing with you doesn’t have to totally change how you plan your fishing trip, there are plenty of ways you can encourage and support their interest and have just as much fun yourself. You never know, they might grow into the best fishing buddy you’ll ever have.

Trout fishing can offer opportunities for our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and friend’s children to enjoy the outdoors, learn about how different environments work and actually spend some quality time with the family. Fly fishing really can be a sport for the whole family to enjoy and kids particularly love to catch their own food, then cook and share it with their family.

Kids are never too young to start enjoying the whole fishing experience. Most children can start off properly casting and catching on their own at the age of about 7 or 8, but there is no need to wait until then. My daughter has been involved in our fly fishing experiences since she was a little baby and her father took her off camping and fishing for trout in a backpack.

There are plenty of ways children can be involved before they are able to cast a rod, such as helping you spot trout, assisting you with landing a fish or helping to tie flies. Another easy way is to have them hold the rod if you go harling. When a child is able to manage a light rod and has some basic coordination then they should pretty much be ready to fly fishing by themselves. Before that time though, it is definitely worth including them in the whole experience.

"No day spent teaching a child to fish is wasted", says Louis Bignami, a fine fishing author, so here's some inspiration for getting the whole family out trout fishing this summer . . .

Story by Lucy Brake and photographs by Daniel Sharp


Locations Fly fishing is an enjoyable and peaceful hobby that can be hugely rewarding and taking kids with you doesn’t mean you have to compromise on this. There are loads of local places that are perfect for children where they can fish with wide open spaces, there is an abundance of fish and there are safe areas on the river or lake edge. Here are a few tasters from around the country, which have been recommended as highly suitable for children by those in the know.

If you are in Dunedin, the Sullivan’s and Southern water supply reservoirs are one of the best options for finding somewhere to take kids. These reservoirs are regularly stocked with rainbows raised in the local hatchery and they are of a big enough size to please most children. The banks of the reservoirs have heaps of room and are pretty safe, so are a popular place to take children for a fish.

The Groynes Fishing Lakes in North Canterbury is an excellent location to take children or grandchildren for a fun day out and the Isaac Wildlife Trust donated a stack of fish that were recently released into the lakes. This means there should be plenty for your family to catch. The Groynes is a junior fishery so you do have to be under 17 years old to fish there. Adults are allowed to help but they are not allowed to fish. The local Fish & Game team routinely re-stock these lakes with rainbow trout up until the end of summer, so don’t worry that there won’t be enough for your family! The Waimakariri River is a great local place to catch sea-run brown trout and possibly salmon. Head below the SH1 bridge and fish down to the Stewarts Gully yacht club for the best chances. And a place often overlooked is Lake Georgina, which is definitely worth checking out. This is a lovely small lake where fishers can stroll right around the lake edges so is very suitable if you have children with you.

The Manawatu River at Ashhusrt is a favourite fishing spot for families in the summer. There are plenty of fish to be found there and the banks are good for young children to catch a fish from. Elsewhere in the Wellington region there are lots of picnic and camping spots right next to the Rangitikei River that offer great areas to take kids, such as Vinegar Hill or the Mangaweka Camping Ground. Some of the banks along the Hutt River are easily accessed for fly fishing plus they have good swimming

holes, so when the young ones get a bit restless they can head off with a parent for a swim while the other can continue fishing if they wish.

If you are in the Bay of Plenty, somewhere I particularly like taking the kids for a fish is McLaren Falls Park. It is a lovely family-friendly park, the banks are easy to fish from and more often than not cruising browns can be seen from the shore, which keeps the kids interested. Lake Okaro, also in the Bay of Plenty, just past Rainbow Mountain, has a good walking track around the edges and is easily fishable from the shoreline. Lower Flaxy, close to Taupo and Rotorua, is another great place with highly visible big fish to have a crack at.

The upper Waihou River is a wonderful area to fish with kids. You can wander along Te Waihou walkway and spot for trout. The fish in the Waihou do tend to be quite small but the water is fabulously clear. There are different areas along the Waikato River that can provide some excellent fishy spots for children. And in the Auckland area, Lake Pupuke offers a safe and easily accessed place for children.

If you live in or are visiting the Dargaville area, then a good fishy place to go is the Kai Iwi Lakes. The trout are pretty abundant here and there are plenty of safe bank areas to fish from.

Most of the Fish & Game Regions have heaps of information on the junior fisheries in their areas and know the best places to take children fishing, so it is worth checking their websites or just giving them a quick call. The most important thing about finding somewhere local to take your children or grandchildren is to make sure the fishing spot is accessible and safe. You might not get that trophy fish you’ve been after, but the most important thing is that the kids have enjoyed themselves and want to go out with you again.

EnticementsThere are a number of ways you can encourage a young fly fisher to get started. Take them along to one of your local children’s fishing days so they can learn in a controlled environment from real experts. These are held all over the country to encourage kids to try trout fishing. Many anglers clubs also offer children’s fishing clinics or practice casting days on a river, as well as buddy systems. Partner them up with a competent instructor who is experienced with teaching children and familiar with

their needs. This can be a great way to introduce a child to trout fishing if you don’t feel confident enough to teach them yourself. Some clubs, such as the Hutt Valley Anglers, hold special fishing clinics for Scout groups so that they can earn their badge.

As to gear, it's likely that fly fishing tackle will initially prove more popular with kids than spin-fishing, especially on a river. This is because drifting a fly on a leader and floating line through ripples, runs and pool eyes will get them hooked up without the need to cast and retrieve. Many fishing stores have pretty cheap fly fishing start-up sets too, cheaper than some Playstation games. For spin-fishing kids really need to be using an ultra-light rod, otherwise they can find it hard to get the right casting action. Spin or fly, hooks bigger than size 12 are both too large for children and easier for trout to spot in clear water. Same idea with tippet/line; less

Fly Fishing 4 KIDS


than 3kg will both do the trick and raise the chances of success.

Teach the kids how to spot fish. Talk to them about how to keep an eye out for fish swimming, what the swirls and splashes mean and where the trout might be hiding. Another important point is helping them work out when to recast and when is best to move on to another fishy-looking spot.

Fishing is free for kids aged 4-12 and it is pretty cheap for teenagers too. Fish & Game NZ has recognised the importance of inspiring the whole family to fly fish and has a Family License category available. In my opinion this license is actually great value, especially when compared with what other activities can end up costing for a whole family. The going rate for a family of four to the movies is pretty expensive and a family fishing license lasts the entire season. I also recently found out that you are allowed to put your

Fly Fishing 4 KIDS

FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT TROUT

Kids love strange and unusual facts about wildlife, so arouse their curiosity.

• Trout have been known to eat mice and frogs.

• A Canadian once caught a 15kg rainbow trout. That’s pretty big; think how much you weigh!

• Most trout in a hatchery are clipped before they are released so we can tell how old they are.

• Trout typically build a redd, which is a nest in the gravel of a river bed, to lay their eggs in.

• Trout are known to swim back up the rivers they originally came from to have their babies.

• Trout have special teeth in the roof of their mouths and on their tongues, to help them swallow their food.


grandchildren on your family license. That’s pretty cool and a great excuse to spend more time with the grandkids.

When you take children trout fishing it is important to teach them about the bag limits and why we have them. Point out to them why there are different rules for fishing methods in some places. Sustainability is critical for our kids to be able to enjoy what we do right now.

Flies for little fingersAn important part of motivating children to want to fly fish with you is helping them to understand how different fish feed on different types of food and the importance of the fly in this whole process. Talk to them about how river and lake fish like to feed on little bugs and worms, small fish, leeches and little frogs and help them to appreciate what the fish is actually looking for in the water, even turn a few rocks over and identify macro invertebrates your flies are trying to mimic. Tell them about the things that you think about when you decide what fly to use, such as how warm the water is, what the fish will be eating at that time of year and what stages the bugs are in.

Making flies can be a lot of fun for children; they just need a desire to learn and to want to give it a go. You will really enjoy spending the time helping them. Children love colourful and interesting hobbies and fly tying should be no different. A young child can start learning about flies and tying flies even before they start casting a rod. Over time you can teach them the patience and practice required to tie works of art, but in the beginning simple patterns that might just hook them a fish can be a lot of fun for them to learn.

Woolly Bugger, Hare’s ear, marabou streamer and Woolly Worm are great patterns for a young child who is just starting to learn tying techniques and you can have lots of fun laughing about their names. These patterns are quite straightforward and with some oversight from you, can be successfully tied after just a couple of hours. What's more they all catch trout anywhere, here in NZ and round the world. Remember those first days when you managed to successfully lure a fish to your fly; well children will be absolutely thrilled to be able to do the same with their own homemade fly. You can also take them into a fly shop, see all the different flies available and really inspire them to try out different types or even make up their own pattern.

That first catchDo you still remember the anticipation and exhilaration of catching your very first fish? Wouldn’t you love to give your children or grandchildren the opportunity to feel the same excitement? Now summer is upon us this is a great time to get out fishing with the family.

One of the best ways to help kids catch the fishing bug is to take them along to one of the many children’s fishing events or competitions that are held throughout the country. These special days can be really useful to help teach children how to cast and catch a fish and give them a new appreciation for the outdoors.

One of the most popular events is the open days held at the Capital Trout Centre in Happy Valley, Wellington. Heavily stocked with rainbow trout, this is well known as a fabulous place to teach children about fishing and conservation. These days are run by the local Wellington Flyfishers Club, so there are plenty of experienced anglers on hand to give advice to the kids. On children's fishing days, kids are taught the basics and then spend time catching their own fish. All the children are encouraged to leave with a fish they have caught, which is always good to inspire future fishing trips.

The Taranaki region holds a number of Kids Fish Out days around their area. The Fish Out Day at the Centennial (or Hokowhitu) Lagoon in central Palmerston North was reintroduced this year and is planned to be continued. Kids from the ages of 4-12 are encouraged to go along and have a fish. They net off a special area and release about 700 fish so you can be pretty much guaranteed to catch one. Members of the Manuwatu Freshwater Anglers Club are also on hand to give advice to budding anglers. After the kids are all fished out, the net is opened up and the remaining trout are set free to live another day. The Stratford Club Fishing Section runs an annual Stratford Kids Fishing Day which is really well attended. It is a free event and they provide the fishing gear, which is a great way to kick start a fishing career without committing to buying gear.

On regular weekends throughout the year, volunteers from the Tongariro National Trout Centre Society teach kids how to cast a rod and catch trout at the Children’s Fishing Pond in Turangi. Kids get any fish they catch weighed and then given a certificate. My husband still

has his one, from too many years ago to say here, proudly displayed on the wall in our third bedroom (okay, the pool room)! For another place to take young children to teach them all about the ins and outs of trout, try the hatcheries. The Trout Hatchery at Ngongataha is a wonderful place to go and whilst you can’t fish there, unless it is one the special children’s weekends, you can teach them all about rearing trout and how they are released.

Often these special children’s fishing events offer the opportunity to visit areas that are sometimes inaccessible to anglers. For example, the children’s fishing day held on the Moawhanga Dam, just off the desert road on Army land, offers a unique opportunity to visit an area where anglers are not usually allowed to go. There are also competitions held by various schools around the country which have trout fishing as part of the activities. The

Fly Fishing 4 KIDS


Ohingaiti Kids Hunt and Fish Day helps to raise funds for two local schools. Part of the day’s activities involves trout fishing. The anglers in Palmerston North run a children’s event near the Macraes Hatchery and the Teviot Anglers run a special fishing day for kids at Lake Onslow over the summer.

Heaps of experienced anglers volunteer their weekend to help teach the children, so it’s a great opportunity to take advantage of tapping into all that knowledge. You never know, you might just learn something new as well!

Lucy Brake is an experienced environmental writer and writes for a range of magazines and green-thinking websites. "I love writing about the environment and sharing how people can enjoy it more". To contact Lucy go towww.iscribe.co.nz

Fly Fishing 4 KIDS

TOP SPOTS FOR KIDS TO HUNT TROUT

With children in tow, it is important to know where good places are to find the trout. So get the kids to try these out:

• Find weed beds that are close to the lake edges.

• Look for areas where shallow water drops off into the deeper water.

• Check banks with trees overhanging the water where trout like to hide.

• Look where streams and rivers are coming into or out of a lake.

• Hunt around points, sharp bends, rocks, sunken trees, jetties — anything unusual along the shoreline attracts fish.

• Watch out for feeding waterbirds, as feeding trout will not be far away.


Small PleasuresTalking Otamangakau with Daryl French

Now I know the Editor has me writing about fishing in the Bay of Plenty, but I do like my fishing

when I am down Turangi way, and at the expense of cutting in on fellow writer Andrew Christmas’ turf, I thought I would share this little experience with you.

Sometimes in life you're just spoilt for choice and this article is all about a few benefits of being a humble writer for this magazine. I know by the time this goes to print Fathers Day will be long gone but for me, I had a pretty good one. With no kids at home any more the challenge was what to do. Well as you would expect, I had a good ready answer when the question was posed by my wife. “Why don’t we book in for a night at a nice fishing lodge," says I, and once I had agreement it was just a matter of where. Well as you probably know, I spend quite a lot of time down in Turangi, especially with my mate Greenie, and the place of lodgings is Tongariro and Lake Taupo Angers Club (Taltac) of which I am a member. From a fishing point of view when fishing is tough I normally hook up with my local guiding mate, Jamie Davies, and that’s it ... all sorted.

However this time I decided to forego all that and chose the Tongariro Lodge, situated right on the river's edge a little downstream of the main highway bridge. Well things got off to a great start as we were made to feel very welcome by General Manager Steve Smith and wife Juliana. After booking in I strolled the few metres to the water and bagged a nice fresh run rainbow; not bad, I thought. Dinner that night was in their main lounge and it felt just like a lodge should: open fire, trout and game on display everywhere, very flavourful meals and the furniture all decked out in tasteful trout-type patterns. I know it’s not me in the picture of the lounge, but it actually is just like that. Also, don’t go thinking that you will have to mortgage your house to get to stay here. I did a quick search on Wotif and found specials for one night's accommodation,

for not much more than a classy motel … certainly got my attention.

Next morning was not my typical early start — wonder why — but fishing still yielded another fresh rainbow, and I was in a pretty good frame of mind for breakfast and a chat with head guide, Tim McCarthy. I had a good fireside chat with Tim and learnt heaps more about the local area. The Lodge offers a complete range of fishing starting with the Tongariro, literally right on their back doorstep, right through to backcountry fishing after trophy Browns. Tim has a lovely selection of clients, including Cathy and Barry Beck; Barry is a very well known photographer in the States and Cathy has earned respect in the arena of women’s casting championships. We chatted quite a bit about Tim’s clients (and he is probably one of the two busiest guides in the North Island) and while he has a few regular Kiwis on his books, most of his clients are from overseas. One quote from Tim I will pass on to my overseas friends, is “most overseas fishermen coming to New Zealand leave it 10 years too late.“ Let's put it this way: that by the time they actually get here they are quite as nimble or robust as they once were; and while we have world class trout fishing here in NZ, it's not easy fishing, and you do need to be a little more than just sprightly to fish some of our better streams.

While I definitely subscribe to the philosophy of hiring a guide in areas that you don’t know, there is plenty of public water not far from Turangi that Tim pointed me at, to try as a solo effort. Rivers like the Wanganui, Mohaka and Rangitikei are all within an hour's drive, and provide particularly good summer fishing. A tip from Tim regarding summer fishing is that us recreational anglers should start later in the day and fish through the afternoon and into the evening rise, as in this area dusk can often resemble some of the activity normally only associated with the likes of the Mataura in Southland.

Finally, I just had to ask Tim about his special killer flies, especially for one of my favourite winter rivers, the Tongariro. What a surprise, as first cab off the rank was my old favourite a Pheasant Tail, fished below a weighted nymph. Tim does tie his a little different (see the photo), but basically it’s an oldie and a goodie. I ended my chat with Tim and my stay at the Lodge feeling like it had both added to my knowledge and to my list of good experiences, and so feeling pretty chipper I headed off to try my luck on Lake Otamangakau.

If you are going to fish The Big O, then you need to get yourself prepared as

this is one lake where the old rule of 20% of the fisherman catch 80 % of the fish really applies. To start with get yourself a map from NIWA. Give them a call and ask for the Lake Series and the 1989 map of Lake Otamangakau. Study it carefully as you will need to know both where the deep channels are, as well as the large shallow flat areas, and unfortunately a depth sounder or GPS don’t really help much. Get yourself a clear slow sinking line, I use a Scientific Angler Mastery Stillwater, and get some really good fluorocarbon, Double X 6lb is what I use. For flies you will need Woolly Buggers for stripping and Bloodworms for nymphing. Another tip when nymping is throw away those big budgie indicators that you would use on the Tongariro and make your own up out of some Glo Bug yarn. Soak it in Selleys Water Sheild, and tie it in such a way that you can slide it up and down the line, so you can adjust the depth depending on where you are fishing.

Now for this fishing itself. You really need a boat to fish this lake, but for those of you that don’t have one, or access to a mate’s like me, all is not lost. As you come in from the main road on the way to the lake you cross the Otamangakau Channel and this is well worth a fish. It’s mainly nymphing and it’s a very slow drift as often there is very little flow. Use your Bloodworm pattern here, and maybe a small Pheasant Tail


or Prince Nymph dropper. Adjust your indicator so you are just drifting above the weed, cast out to the centre of the channel, and watch very carefully as often the indicator goes under ever so slowly. Once you do strike be ready to hold on tight as fish here fight like demons with the first run often taking 50-60 metres of line, and when you think it’s done and you are catching your breath, back they come at a million miles an hour right at you.

For those of you that do have a boat there are two productive methods of fishing this lake. The first one is better earlier on in the season and this is where you target the shallows and cast your slow sinking clear line, loaded with

a Woolly Bugger, into water at a depth where your boat is just able to clear the bottom. Once the fly has landed then strip the line as fast as possible, dropping it straight into the boat …. and I do mean fast as believe me you can never do it too quickly. On a calm day you will see the Browns coming from a long way off as their tell-tale bow wave will signal an upcoming strike. When you see them coming hold your nerve and don’t slow up, and even when they hit keep stripping to set the hook.

A far more sedate and gentile way of fishing this lake is nymphing with a Bloodworm. One fly will do and anchor your boat so that it drifts off the drop-offs and down into the deep holes. Set your

indicator so you can get as close to the bottom as you can, and sit back and relax. Don’t get too comfortable though as once these fighters are hooked it's straight into the weed they head, and you need to be on your toes to stop them. Breaking-off is a very common form of losing fish here. Fishing this way really hots up as we move into summer, so bring it on is all I say.

French on [email protected]

photos: author with a typical 'Big o' rainbow, oct 2010 (Mark reed) inset: what's behind him (dF) and the lounge, Tongariro lodge (Tl)

The Royal Wulff disappeared with a gulp and the fish was on……a good run and then a jump — boy the Rangitikei Rainbows were certainly

feeding well today. I was in the midst of a prolonged mayfly hatch on the middle reaches of the Rangitikei River with fish rising steadily at the end of the run against the far bank. Then another splashy take (missed that one) and a quick re-cast and let the dry-fly swing around amidst some crippled duns…..wait for a few seconds….. and tug, tug another fish was on, hooked by itself! These were not large fish, up to 1.5lb, but what fun on this Spring day with the sun out and birdsong in the air. I was fishing near Mangaweka, north of Bulls on SH1. In my experience good daytime dry-fly action can be infrequent on North Island rivers because the mayfly hatches are typically short or have insufficient numbers to get the trout surface feeding.

But today the Rangitikei had delivered and confirmed it is one of North Island’s greatest rivers.

And one of the most overlooked? The middle reaches of the Rangitikei

stretch for approximately 60kms – that is a huge amount of water! The river flows broadly south and to the east of SHI from the Napier-Taihape road to Hunterville. So if you drive north from Wellington, after a few hours you will catch glimpses of the Rangitikei as it flows past high white cliffs of sandstone and blue clay. More importantly you will be passing hundreds of Rangitikei rainbows just waiting to be caught! As the number of anglers on the mid-Rangitikei is typically very low, I wonder if this fine fishery is often overlooked compared to its potential.

The upper Rangitikei is internationally famous because trophy fish are a real possibility. However access is a major hurdle because

either a very long tramp or expensive helicopter ride is required to reach this water. In the mid-Rangitikei access is so much easier and the quality of fishing is excellent. The water is a lovely mixture of long smooth glides, deep pools and riffles which supports mostly rainbows. Typical fish size is 2 to 3 lbs but there are some real beauties!

Back to the fishing . . .As well as early season and Summer opportunities, late season fishing can also be good. On one morning this last April we set off with a heavy frost underfoot and the cold biting at our fingertips….brrrrr....if only I had remembered to pack my gloves. Arriving at the water’s edge at dawn is special. The fish will not be feeding yet but just watching the mist lift off the river already pays for the fishing trip in my opinion. A good walk upstream warmed the blood

Ripping Rangitikei

By David Williams


and by 10 a few fish were interested.We came across a beautiful crystal-

clear pool with sizeable shadows at the bottom. Unfortunately it was too deep for our nymph rigs and the fish stayed safely in position — the extreme water clarity of the mid-Rangitikei is deceptive.

Further on the river divided and we looked at the turbulent chute ahead. The water looked too fast to hold fish,

but it was certainly worth a quick try. Casting right into the head of the run, the floating line twisted and swirled at the mercy of the small rapids and then stopped suddenly. The 2lb rainbow that had grabbed the nymph leapt spectacularly and then dived back into the main current. Rangitikei rainbows are super strong and with the force of the water in this run it was a major battle to beach the spirited hen.


The water is a lovely mixture of long smooth glides, deep pools and riffles which supports mostly rainbows. Typical fish size is 2 to 3 lbs but there are some real beauties!

Hunch pays offThen an inviting shallower run presented an opportunity — it had a good sized boulder protruding midstream, breaking the river naturally into two idyllic runs, but the water appeared barren…. so where were the fish? There had to be something in the “blind spot” on the far side of the boulder. Trusting the hunch I put in my longest upstream cast and mended the line immediately to get a good natural drift. A second later there was a vigorous take that pulled my indicator around the boulder! Fortunately the line “pinged” clear of the boulder and the rainbow set off downstream with tremendous force. As with this one, good sized Rangitikei fish will quickly rip your fly line down to the backing — so I call them “Ripping Rainbows”! Chasing after the fish I was able to find some open water and it was great fighting the trout in a clear water pool where its shining flanks flashed in the sunlight. A few minutes later the 3lb jack was safely released.

The fish were more cautious in the afternoon, so I reasoned that clear water demands small flies and put on a size 18 Flashback Pheasant Tail, hoping it would hold if I hooked up. Searching the water I found a decent riffle that had not been fished that morning. When blind nymphing in clear water conditions try and make that first cast the best,

because fish are easily spooked and you may not have a second chance. The head of the seam appeared to be the best lie, so I carefully cast into this potential hot spot. The take was quite soft, almost like hooking the bottom, but once the fish realised its misfortune it jumped spectacularly and as it landed the big tail splashed sparkling beads of water across the sunlit pool. Then the beast was off…..down the run at speed ripping line from my reel, wow! This Ripping Rainbow just kept going….. through the rocks and into the next pool 75 metres downstream. Amazed by the power of this fish I prayed my small hook would hold……luckily it did and eventually a fine 5lb jack slid into the net.

By four the light was softening and the fish were definitely more interested again. Walking back downstream we re-fished some of the spots that had seemed fish-less in the cold morning air. A small rapid tumbled into a round shaped pool, so I presented my flies right into this flow line and….bang.…this time my Quasimodo PT Copper size 12 had been quickly taken by a lovely brown trout. After landing this energetic fish it was time for home…..what a day!

Tackle & FliesA 6 weight rod is ideal on the mid-Rangitikei and long leaders, up to 15 feet, are recommended especially

in very clear water conditions. Fluorocarbon is always my choice to increase the chances of outwitting the fish. A little suppleness may be sacrificed but I think those thin diameters, compared to standard copolymer tippet, make all the difference. If the fish are very spooky try a lighter weight fly line and leader, but I would not go below 5lb tippet.

Tungsten bead head nymphs help to achieve rapid depth in the deeper pools, faster runs and other lies which can be short and tight on the mid-Rangitikei. Gold beads add a nice flash, but small black beads represent naturals well and are equally effective. For point flies I love to use Flashback PTs or mighty may Callibaetis. I want my “bombs” to have some attractive sparkle and good weight, so on the mid-Rangitikei I use Crazy Redneck, Blackberry Nymph or Quasimodo PT Copper in a size 12 or 14. For a good bushy dry-fly try Parachute madam X. (Spotted my favourite brand, Feather Merchants?)

TechniquesAs always, be on the lookout for mayfly hatches during the day when Pheasant Tail Nymphs are my “go to” fly. Wet lining is certainly successful, if that is your preferred method, and nymphers should switch to a wet line occasionally because a different presentation style in the same lie will often take another fish.

Ripping Rangitikei


Look for good holding water of sufficient depth to provide security to the trout — anything over 4 feet is worth a few of my casts. Riffles are another water feature providing trout with security. They also allow feeding at the shallow head of the pool, the best position to intercept food first. However it certainly pays, before making any casts, to spend some time quietly studying the riffle, pool or run for signs of fish and the most likely lies.

In clear water conditions a delicate presentation of the line on the water and a stealthy approach will avoid putting the fish down. Small strike indicators minimise air resistance and achieve

a smoother cast and you can even dispense with an indicator. However, generally I like something visible to immediately pick out my line position because takes can often be “on the drop” as the nymphs settle. Sight fishing is certainly possible on the mid-Rangitikei but remember if you can see the fish they can often see you, so go into “hunting mode” and have some fun.

Spinning is permitted and this method will take many fish. It is a really useful alternative in the very deep or wider pools where the fish are difficult to reach with nymphs or a wet line. I crimp the barbs of the spinner with pliers so that any damage to the fish is minimised.

In the warmer months a dry-fly and dropper rig works well. I use a bushy Royal Wulff or Parachute madam X in faster runs and a low riding Parachute adams on slower water. About 40cms underneath the dry I will hang a small Flashback PT, mighty may or the good old Hare & Copper.

Access & AccommodationThe upper reaches of the mid-Rangitikei are quite remote hilly farmland that includes a few inaccessible gorges. The gorges can make progress difficult and although active anglers can reach

As with this one, good sized Rangitikei fish will quickly rip your fly line down to the backing . . .


some of the water it is much easier to access these stretches by raft (see accommodation details below). Raft fishing is a tremendous experience, best suited to Spring and Summer, and because the water is hardly used the fishing quality in these areas is excellent.

Outside of the gorgy areas there is no problem finding fishable water using the many access points including, in an upstream direction…. At Vinegar Hill there is access off the Vinegar Hill Road over the bridge through a picnic area. At Ohingaiti there is good water upstream and downstream of the Otara Bridge; the river is 2kms after turning off SHI into Otara Road. There are four access points at Mangaweka — two off each of the Mangawharariki and Mangarere Roads.

Above Mangaweka the river becomes quite narrow and is soon confined within a fairly long gorge. At

Omatane there is access near the Gorge Road Bridge, but here the river is in a gorge, so it is primarily a take-out point for raft fishing. Further upstream there is the Matawhero Bridge which is beyond the gorges. As this bridge is the Winter fishing limit, most of the mid-Rangitikei is open all year round — excellent news! Further upstream still the Springvale Bridge is situated approximately 40kms east of Taihape on the Napier-Taihape Road; the drive is a wiggly one but worth it, as there is a lovely sequence of pools both upstream and downstream.

Wading across the river is possible in some places when flows are low but it is generally difficult and unnecessary to find fishable water. Be especially careful because the water clarity makes the pools look shallower than they are.

The full course of the mid-Rangitikei can be seen on the following NZTopo50 maps: BL34 Hunterville, BL35

Kimbolton, BK35 Taihape and BK36 Taora Junction. These maps are useful to locate access points and road names. To check the river level before your trip use the Horizons local council website (www.horizons.govt.nz). Although the fish are always there, falling water levels after some rain can be the ideal time to hit the river.

Two of the best accommodation options in the upper more gorge sections, just next to the river, are:-

• The River Valley Lodge on the Rangitikei Valley Road, 30kms east of Taihape and a long established place to stay. The Lodge is an adventure company specialising in raft fishing using an experienced rafting guide on several different sections of river. An additional fishing guide can be arranged if you need one. Fishing from the raft or the bank in these gorge sections of the Rangitikei is very exciting indeed

Ripping Rangitikei


photos, in sequence, taken in august & october 2010 by the author:-

The majestic mid-rangitikei (full of ripping rainbows!)

Just beautiful fish-holding water

a lovely pocket in the gorge section

spectacular gorge, best suited to rafting

lovely sparkling riffle, an excellent feeding lie

a chunky early season mid-rangitikei Brown

The author with an above-average rainbow

and many stretches are only accessible by raft. They provide a range of accommodation options and also horse back adventures and hiking. Refer to their website (www.rivervalley.co.nz) for more useful information.

• Tarata Lodge in the remote Mokai Valley has great views of the river and good trout fishing nearby. They have a resident fishing guide who offers raft fishing, heli fly-outs, overnight wilderness trips and other guided fishing. Refer to www. tarata.co.nz.

For fishing further downstream Taihape is an excellent location because several access points can be reached from here in under an hour. There are several motels and also a comfortable backpackers called The Stockman’s Lodge which I can recommend. There is also some accommodation at Mangaweka and Hunterville.


River of choice Given the high fish numbers and easy access it is difficult to drive past the mid-Rangitikei, which is now one of my rivers of choice. If you are like me, once you have hooked a few Rangitikei fish you will long to get to know the river better and want to catch more.

The exciting sport never disappoints with rainbows that fight like demons and beautiful scenery to go with it. Fishing pressure is usually very low and some days you will not see another angler. Above all, it is very likely that a Ripping Rangitikei Rainbow will provide you with the fight of your life…

A discourse of Fish and Fishing . . .By Jonathan Scott

he enjoyed in Australia. On arrival I set up with a simple nymph-under-indicator and together we headed off upstream, while his grandson took pictures for posterity. At times I was required to steady the ship as my guest found his footing on the stony bed or wed grass.

Over the next kilometre or so we began a discourse not dissimilar to Walton and Cotton, as I was regaled in his broad Glaswegian lilt with stories about “The Major”, “The Colonel” or

“The Bishop” on some of Scotland’s most famous rivers. Jim and I shared a common love of fly fishing but, being a former preacher, we also discussed things of a higher nature. I recalled how the main characters in Walton’s book Piscator, venator, auceps had a dialogue regarding fish, fishing and as they put it “all of Creation's glory”. It was wonderful to consider things less earthly. We were transported away from sights of irrigation pivots and twin trailer

The title page of The Compleat angler, by Izaak Walton & Charles Cotton introduces the reader to

this infamous old book by stating that “fishing is the contemplative man’s recreation”; and it is in the Winter months that we contemplate events of the season past. Perhaps we pause to consider the places we’ve fished, fish caught or lost and most probably, the companionship enjoyed.

I spent an early 2010 season day trip with an elderly angler to a wee mid-Canterbury stream. The gentleman in question used to be a ghillie (guide) in his native Scotland, way back around about the time Sir Ed climbed that mountain. Jim was used to attending to gentlemen who “angled” for salmon using at first greenheart and then later bamboo rods coupled with silk lines and traditional flies. For many years now my companion has lived in Australia and hooked plenty of saltwater species since he emigrated there some time ago. When we met he impressed me as an elderly angler, but when I introduced myself as a trout fly fisherman I saw a flame light up in his eyes, for trout were always his first love of the piscatorial nature. Soon we talked about the famous New Zealand trout and he surprisingly told me he’d never fished in New Zealand. This was something I would have to put right and help him fulfil an ambition.

It was quite natural then that we very quickly discussed going out for a day trip, somewhere local and easy to access. Jim, having suffered ill health lately, was unable to attempt anything too strenuous but the very mention of a walk up a river made him behave like he was 40 years younger. I was faced with the problem of where to go and if possible, put him on to a fish so early into the season. Living in Canterbury I’m quite prepared to walk 5-6 hours in a day in search of trout, but there aren’t many streams close to home that offer suitable access for a 75 year old former minister of the cloth with a heart bypass, on more medication than a Tour de France cyclist.

The appointed day was not ideal; strong winds and showers were

forecast later. The previous week had only seen light showers but the stream I had chosen was usually only affected by the most horrendous weather. It took us about an hour to get there and my guest spent the time telling me of the fishing


A discourse of Fish and Fishing . . .By Jonathan Scott

tankers as my guest reminded me that St Peter himself was a fisherman, and that many times the Good Book referred to fish hooks and fishing.

While we strolled along the banks I introduced Jim to some of the common flies used in New Zealand, describing their fishing methods and what naturals we intended to imitate. He remarked at the materials used in modern flies and was amazed how we fished them, but he was most surprised at how we

stalked the trout in the stream. He had never considered fishing to be similar to hunting a specific beast because in his younger days fishing was done blindly, in a spot known to hold many fish. I pointed out to him that even though game sports in New Zealand were set up to allow access to all we were, in fact, more like the gentlemen of his day, crawling among the Scottish heather to seek out a specific trophy stag, but our quarry resided in rivers and streams.

Alas our trip proved unfruitful. My previous doubts were to prove

correct, since the fish we sought had not yet dropped down from their high country nurseries. Yet it was not a day lost, for I had made a friend. Together we had enjoyed the discussing, in a similar manner to Cotton and Walton, this pastime that holds us transfixed and leaves us yearning for the end of each cold Winter and the beginning of each new season.

Photos by Jonathan Harrod


Young people have regrettably become a rare sight on the local pond or stream these days, or so

it seems to those like me who regularly visit so many waters around the country. We are just not finding them tucked in somewhere along the bank like we used to, armed with that old jam jar and net, or the hand-me-down fishing tackle. I cannot help but feel they are missing out on an opportunity to enjoy themselves at minimal expense, to become closer to our environment, and overall, to cope better with the pressures of society and modern living. Especially since they are growing up in a world where change and advances appear to be driven, as I progress in years, at an almost reckless speed.

So after reading a small advert in our daily paper one cold and frosty morning late in September, I found myself thinking that I had to be a part of this special event, an opportunity to “Take a Kid Fishing” at our local Southern Reservoir, Kaikorai Valley, Dunedin. Held on the last Sunday of September, ostensibly from 9 am till 12 noon but I know of some who stayed on until well into the afternoon, it was

a great success; and with this issue being designed for the “Holidays and Silly Season”, I am therefore inclined to suggest to all parents, grand-parents, aunts and uncles alike, to get behind this very worthwhile theme during the holidays and take a little person fishing if you can!

As I pulled into Reservoir Road, the first thing to strike me was that I had

never seen so many vehicles. Parked as far as I could see up and down the road on each side, I had to drive on and walk back to my normal stopping place at the gate. Certainly I was not expecting the sight that greeted me as I arrived at the top of the bank. There were hordes of young people with their parents, grand parents, etc, wearing every imaginable colour of jacket, jersey, swandri and hats, spaced out at intervals more than three quarters of the way round the waters edge. I stood for a moment and absorbed some of the many sights and actions: little ones running about and laughing; Mums, Dads and Grandparents, all with smiles on their faces; and fish were being hooked and landed here and there too!

Nearly 150 youngsters had registered

prior to starting time and 132 actually turned up on the day and enjoyed themselves immensely, keeping almost as many parents, grandparents and helpers busy and happy for most of the morning. Although some helpers were just a little guilty of holding onto their child’s rod for a while longer than they should have, none needed more than a friendly reminder that it was the children that were supposed to be fishing! I walked around for a bit, stopping off and chatting to young ones and had a laugh with some of the proud parents of those who landed fish. Especially so was the little lad and his father who successfully landed the biggest of the day. Five year old Max West, with a lot of rod holding and encouragement from Dad, landed a whopper of a rainbow that weighed in at 4kg, was almost as long as he was tall, and needed to. Well done, Max and Dad!

At the end of the morning over 100 trout had been landed, with a good number returned to fight another day. My thanks go out to everyone concerned in helping make this morning so enjoyable for our young people. Especially to Fish & Game Otago


A Bouquet to F&GNZ OTAGO!Roving the South Island with mel Hollis


A Bouquet to F&GNZ OTAGO!Roving the South Island with mel Hollis

and those sponsors who generously provided a number of very colourful fishing rods, other tackle and boxes of fishing lures, all of which were eagerly received by those whose number was drawn from the hat at the end. It was a truly memorable experience for all and I have no doubt that a small number of those young ones will continue to enjoy the wonderful recreation that trout fishing is for the rest of their lives. I wish them well for it!

With both the Southern Reservoir and Sullivan’s Dam being so close to town, I often wonder why they are not utilised as much as they could be. If I ask most anglers about them, their answer would be that they haven’t visited these local spots in years. So possibly one should keep these two resources in mind and give them a visit over the holidays, especially if your available time for a bit of fishing is limited. If you do, keep in mind that a large foam dry fly and a green Woolly Bugger more often than not hook a fish in these spots!

Unfortunately a brick-bat sometimes follows a bouquet and it is over to me to report some less good news from

photos: the “Take a Kid Fishing” day at southern reservoir, dunedin; typical december flow on the waikouaiti river. (Mh)

time to time too. Currently a number of southern anglers have concern for an area known as Cairn Road Swamp. This swamp acts as a filtration system for the headwaters of the Waipahi River, a wonderful small stream that has provided me with many hours of fishing pleasure throughout the years. Our esteemed regional council is currently considering, and appears to be in favour of an application to drain, fill and cultivate it. Their reasoning being, “Well it has been allowed to deteriorate over the years.” Deteriorate, one asks; by whom? Well, ironically by the regional council and those business interests that now wish to drain and cultivate it!

Take away the main filtration system to a waterway and that very waterway might as well be drained, filled and cultivated too; within a few years the quality of the water will be so degraded that no life would exist in it! I will be keeping a close ear on this issue over the next few months and can already feel another visit to the offices of our regional council being needed, as they seem to have lost the plot on this one.

A similar situation exists on the Waikouaiti River, just north of Dunedin, which is suffering the ravages of over-extraction of water and neglect from inadequate regional council management.

Inevitably, we are faced with having to safeguard our surrounding environment and we must take this challenge seriously. If we don’t, then our grandchildren will be asking us in the future, “How could you let this happen?”

A few words on Christmas gift ideas and with little people in mind, why

not buy them a brightly coloured fishing rod, a few lures, and possibly a bubble or two as well. And promise those children you buy them for, that you will take them fishing!

For the slightly older person in your life, or possibly yourself, why not look at one of the new double handed “Spey Casting” rods for a different experience and perspective on fishing? That is if you are up for a challenge and can cope with the possible embarrassment of having to extract your body from a huge amount of line, which can bird nest you in a second's lost concentration. You can pick up a starter package of #8 weight rod/reel and line for under $500 or you can ask a friend who has already got one, if they will give you a few pointers and maybe loan you theirs for a few days while you give it a try out! I think this system will really do the job for late evening fishing on the Waitaki Lakes with a lure; once I get used to it, that is! It may even provide me with an extension to my day’s fishing, making it less of a strain on my old shoulders, which sometimes now insist that I call it a day and knock off.

Wherever you are over this holiday season, take care while out on the water, keep a close eye on the little ones and be happy out there, enjoying the best that our environment has to offer. Tight lines until next year when I introduce you all to my new boat!

Mel Hollis is a keen, 61-year old amateur fisherman always happy to make new fishing contacts. Email: [email protected]

Flyfishing DOWN THE DRAINBy quentin Donnelly



Otapiri Falls Custom Fly Rodsmaking excellence affordable

www.otapirifalls.co.nz

When people travel to Southland to fish, they are drawn towards the larger

waterways like the Mataura or the Oreti. Much has been written about these famed rivers and the extremely good fishing they

can offer, but to me there is often more fun to be had fishing in ditches . . .


Being a native Southerner I have been spoilt by choice when choosing were to go for a quick

fish; the Oreti is less than 2km from the front door, the Mataura less than 30 minutes away, and I can be in Fiordland in an hour! Given this, it is odd that I have always focussed the majority of my fishing on smaller lowland waters that often don’t even warrant a name.

These creeks, drains and ditches are never going to offer up a 12lb brown; and if by some miracle it did happen you would be extremely lucky to land it. They are often riddled with snags, weed so thick you can walk on it and fish that know every inch of their home so intimately they can have you wrapped up in seconds. They will, however, test your close range skills like no other waterway and your stalking must be sharp too!

Attack from aboveDue to the nature of these waterways they are often high banked, which offers the angler both advantages and disadvantages. As everyone knows height over the water makes spotting easier, but due to the narrow confines between banks the water may remain in the shade most of the day, making sight fishing very hard. To combat this I aim to be on the river when I will get the most time with the sun almost directly overhead and choose waters that have good stretches that flow with the path of the sun.

Also going against the angler is the fact you will be completely silhouetted against the skyline. There is little you can do to resolve this other than stay as low as possible — if you haven’t got dirty knees, you're doing it wrong.

Many of my favourite paddock waters don’t have any cover at all, so you need to slow right down and look everywhere. The water be very hard to read as they may have little to no flow; many get regular clean outs by a digger too, so they can be reasonably featureless in their beds and, to top it all off, the water can be heavily tannin-stained.

One of the beauties of ditch fishing

is that the trout are habitual. One technique I have used is to dry walk a ditch, note where I spook fish, and then return the next day to fish the same stretch, knowing they will most likely be back in the same lies — its not 100% guaranteed but often produces fish on very difficult water.

Like all close quarter fishing you need to be ready to cast at all times. Often the fish will show itself to you mere feet away and a very quick delivery is required. Casts will be short 90% of the time and accuracy is a necessity. Along with this comes mastering a few slack line presentation casts, to get around obstacles or produce a decent drag-free drift when most of your line is sitting on weed mid-stream and the fish is tucked into the undercut on the far bank.

Do all puddles in Southland hold fish?Sadly no, and there are a few key things to look for when trying to find a ditch to chase fish in. Obviously the first thing to look for is a creek that runs into a larger waterway, that can sustain trout year round in all water levels.

Many of the small drainage-type waterways have been extensively channelled and straightened by the landowners. I avoid these and look for those that have been allowed to follow a more natural course. The reason for this is twofold; firstly, bends and curves produce holding areas for fish and secondly, is pure aesthetics. I don’t want to fish a canal where you can see the next 400 metres of water; half the fun is wondering if there is a neat little pool after the next bend.

Proximity to dairy farming. This is by no means an anti-dairying statement; it is just that I have found the extra nitrates produced by intensive dairying can really boost the weed growth in a small waterway which although not necessarily detrimental to the fish can make fishing nigh on impossible.

Above all, talk to the farmer. When you ask permission, ask him about the

fish numbers; most will have an idea if there are fish there or not, and they may even help you to get access to other farms in the area.

Drain clearing toolsAs a rod builder I would love to say you need specialist equipment for cleaning out the ditches of these rogue trout, but I cannot. Personally I gravitate towards my 7’ #3wt fibreglass rod, but I have taken many mates out who have happily used their standard river rig. The fish can vary in size between waterways but it is not uncommon to land fish in the 6lb range. You can leave the tungsten at home. Small dries account for 80% of

Flyfishing DOWN THE DRAIN

my fish, Pogo-style nymphs and floating snails can be very effective, and I have had success with large leech patterns on short line twitches to hook the big boys under the bank — exciting fishing if you can get it right!

I don’t wear waders. There is no need as I can jump across should I want to change banks and hate repairing holes in the crotch from all the barbed-wire fence crossings this style of fishing entails.

I try to keep my leader to a total length of 9 foot or less, and hope to reduce this even more with the advancements made in the clear floating lines hitting the market this season.

Seasonal ChangeAs the season draws on these waterways become choked with weed and the rising water temp makes them uninhabitable for the trout, so unless the weather permits more I generally only fish them until around mid-December. Some fish will remain in the deeper pools if there is shade after that, but they are fairly lethargic and even if you do hook them, the spirit that makes these ditch fish so much fun is all but gone!

When the fish move out to bigger waters, so do I!

Flyfishing DOWN THE DRAIN



What is a rodmaker who does most of his fishing with a six and a half foot bamboo doing

with an eleven foot graphite Tenkara rod? This was a question I was asking myself as I made my first cast with the no-reel, fixed line, telescopic rod on a small, Snowy Mountains stream.

What is Tenkara? Tenkara is a fly fishing method, practised in Japan for thousands of years. Literally translated, it means “from Heaven”. Like most old rod-based methods of fishing, it involves no reel. A fixed line is simply attached to the tip of the rod. Originally the rod was a single piece of bamboo, and the line horsehair. On the end, the fly was cast or dapped onto the water.

Modern Tenkara has evolved to long (eleven to fourteen foot) telescopic graphite rods. Folded down, these rods are incredibly compact, at around 50-55cm. Though the tips are incredibly fine, and fragile if mis-handled, under normal fishing they are cushioned by the rest of the rod. The butt cap unscrews,

allowing easy removal and replacement of broken sections if this does happen.

A short length of braid (called the “lilian”), sealed at the very end, is permanently integrated into the rod tip. A knot is formed in the lilian, allowing the casting line to be looped onto it for fishing, and quick removal when taking the rod down.

The casting line is of a fixed length, from one to one and a half times the rod length. There are two choices here. Traditional Tenkara lines are of a tapered, twisted design (like twisted leaders). More recently, people have started using high visibility level 10-15lb fluorocarbon as a casting line. The traditional lines are very light and soft landing, while the relative weight and fine diameter of the fluorocarbon give more line speed and less wind resistance. To the end, a length of fine tippet (recommended 5lb maximum) and the fly are attached.

Quite a bit of detailed information on Tenkara is available on the internet.

It has generated some recent interest in the USA so there are rods and other accessories available there too. Without reelseat hardware, guides (or wraps), they are quite cheap. A couple of hundred dollars will see you set up with all you need. Check out www.tenkara-usa as a starting point.

Though I heard about Tenkara fifteen years ago, I didn’t give it much

thought until recently. While researching bamboo rodmaking in Japan, I came across numerous pictures of Japanese anglers fly fishing small streams using Tenkara. The simplicity and apparent limitations of this technique had me curious, especially given the recent resurgence of short line nymphing around the place. Much of my own small stream dry fly fishing is also done at close range, albeit with a very short rod, so I thought Tenkara might make an interesting comparison. Japan Flyfisher magazine staff writer, Tomoniri Higashi, organised a Tenkara rod and line for me to try out. I opted for a “short” 11 footer,

The Long & The Short of itBy Nick Taransky


in the hope that this would be best suited to our small, often bushy streams.

When the package arrived, I attached the line, tippet and a casting fly and went outside for a flick. Without the weight of a reel, the whole outfit was a combined 3oz, which is a strange feel to start with. What clicked straight away, was the casting stroke required to turnover the almost weightless line. It was very similar to the action for throwing a long leader with no line out the tip off a short bamboo rod. This shouldn’t have been a surprise I suppose, as you need a short, firm, casting arc to load the rod without using the weight of a line to do so. Most references recommend a finger on top style for Tenkara, but I found it easier to squeeze a tight positive loop into the cast with a V or thumb on top grip.

After this brief introduction, I organised a day with a fishing mate, Troy, up to a small high country creek. We also took a short, 6’3” cane rod as a comparison. Just to relax and get into the feel of the day, we started with the

bamboo, catching and releasing a few small rainbows. It was time, we decided, to get the Tenkara rod out of the back of Troy’s vest and put it to the test.

Which brings me back to the start of the article. The short, tight casting stroke described earlier proved quite effective, and I was popping the fly into corners, up bubble lines and against undercut banks. With an eleven foot rod, and eleven foot line, plus your arm and the leader, casts over 25 feet could be made without too much trouble. It should be noted that some more experienced Tenkara anglers use as much as one and a half times the rod length of line, so with a fourteen foot rod, quite long casts can be made. When the wind picked up, it did take a little more work to punch the fly in than my little bamboo. Similarly, while more accurate than I expected, it was hard to obtain quite the same pinpoint delivery as with a shorter rod. In part this may be down to experience and technique.

A few other adjustments had to be

made over a normal rod, but for the most part these were quite intuitive. Without a line hand to manage line, slack had to be managed by lifting the rod up. The long rod and light casting line did make it easier to minimise drag without having to mend. All but the last few feet or even inches of tippet could be held off the water. Even when more line was on the water, there was less drag on the fine 15lb fluorocarbon “flyline” than a plastic or even silk. It was also fun to flick the fly up and around a bend in the stream before you reached the corner. Knowing when the fish takes your fly would be another thing though I guess!

Well, before too long, the inevitable happened and a little rainbow

of about eight inches took down the Deer Hair Caddis. Lifting the long rod gently the hook was set. Now the fun really started. Normally a fish like this would be brought to hand without much fuss. Think again. With the seemingly unwieldy length of the rod and fine tip, and no line to strip in, some short-term


mayhem ensued. The rod actually took a much deeper bend than I expected. The feel was also very direct. The line, being attached directly to the tip rather than running through guides, telegraphed every movement down the rod into my hand. The fish went for an undercut bank close to me and I had to step back to get the rod down low enough to put side strain on it. Back out, it headed downstream in a modest flow and I had to take a few paces after it. Before too long however, with the rod raised up, I had the tippet in hand, and soon after, the fish. Whew, and an eight inch rainbow at that. I will say, however,that there are claims of quite large fish being taken on this tackle.

The fish was released and I handed the rod to Troy. It wasn’t long before he landed one too, and we went fish-for-fish for a while. I’d left the cane rod back a hundred metres while we fished and took the pictures. So I called out to Troy I’d pop back and get the other rod so we wouldn’t lose it. He said (jokingly, I think) “nah, leave that crap back there”. I don’t think either of us were planning to ever be full time Tenkara converts, but it was a lot of fun. We were laughing like kids through the whole experience. There was something Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn about the simplicity of it.

We continued on for a bit, before we both started to notice that our rod arm was

getting tired and a bit sore, like when you’re holding something up on a wall waiting for someone to get organised with a hammer to nail it up. This mainly came about from trying to squeeze the maximum length out of casts, particularly in longer glides, as well as holding the line off the water to obtain a drag free drift.

One feature of the telescopic nature of the rod is that you can temporarily shorten it by collapsing one or more of the bottom sections to create a shorter rod. This can be used in more tightly overgrown sections or under tree canopies. With so many Australian streams being very bushy and overgrown I do think the ability to fish with a short line as well as a short rod is an advantage. I think Tenkara is

probably better suited to more medium sized freestone streams with pocket water and tumbling, turbulent flows, than it is in a really overgrown water. I’m sure more experience would obviously help in managing the almost weightless line in sticky situations, however.

Seeing some immediate strengths of a new technique are interesting, but what gets me thinking just as much, maybe more, are the limitations they present. It makes you open your mind a little, and this can feed back to your regular methods of fishing. As an example, when fishing up a smooth glide, you usually make successively longer casts to fish the water without creating wading wake. This isn’t an option with Tenkara, so you’ll have to look for options from the bank. Too overgrown? Then you’ll have to learn to wade like a heron, lifting the foot gently out of the water each step, maybe crouching low while doing so. Result – you become a better wader, which will help whatever tackle you’re using.

After a while we decided to go back to the bamboo. The first cast I made, I nearly threw the rod right out of my hand. The ease of casting the full loading little rod was overwhelmingly comfortable and natural. Again, this was maybe partly being because it's what I fish most of the time. Troy noted the same thing. We caught a couple more little stream fish and then headed for home.

In a curious coincidence, fellow bamboo rodmaker, Callum Ross, mentioned to me

recently that he and some friends from the NSW Southern Highlands had been trying out Tenkara gear on small streams there and in the Snowy Mountains. I also see that the Spring 2010 edition of Fly Rod and Reel has an article discussing Tenkara.

So, should conventional fly rod and reel manufacturers be quaking in their boots, with Tenkara taking the place of all other tackle? Probably not. I doubt I will fish it more than a few times a season, but even from the brief trial, it was a worthwhile experience. It’s obviously an elegant, simple, effective method, and quite a bit of fun!


WWW.TROUT-BOOKS.COMNew Zealand trout fishing books and DvD's

Gore, Southland, New Zealand. Ph/Fax 03 208 4352

57 Memorial Drive, Whangarei 0112 [email protected] • www.elitedive.co.nz

Flipfins™ are a series of high-performance scuba fins that allow divers to switch from walking with the fin blade up to swimming withthe blade extended without using their hands. This makes walking, climbing boat ladders and other movements as easy as wearingordinary shoes.

AmphibianCLASSIC SCUBA Flipfins™

Colours: Yellow/Black Black/BlackBlue/Black Red/Black

The major breakthrough within the industry, the patented Amphibian® fin system is designed to be strapped on prior to entering the water and removed after exiting. The anti-corrosive torsion springs push the blade webbing against the shin to allow divers to easily manoeuvre in and out of water. The blade is flipped down into swimming position by kicking naturally in the water, and flipped back up by pushing back on the release lever before getting out. The bottom of the foot pocket features a soft tread design for slip resistance when walking on slick surfaces.

• No more trips and falls on the boat or beach• No more struggling with putting fins on• No more dropped gear when handling fins• No more drifting when removing fins• No more wasted time and energy

Available Sizes: Medium, Large and X-LargeBuoyancy: NeutralWeight: 4.4lbs (2 kg)

NeW To NZ

AvAILABLe oNLY FroM eLITe DIve eqUIpMeNT

issue 123 december 2010/january 2011 $9 - fishnhunt similar to frank sawyer's killer bug and...

Documents