I’m fairly sure that the year was 2000. It was the 25th anniversary of us gaining access to fish the Hautu and Rangipo prison farms near Turangi. Almost exactly two years after Mt Ruapehu erupted and belched ash and nutrients into Lake Taupo via the Tongariro River. Following the eruption two once in 100 year floods purged the river of silt and flushed the nutrients … Continue reading CARNAGE INSIDE THE HAUTU PRISON FARM
I’ve just finished reading a fascinating biography by Tony Hayter entitled “GEM Skues – The Man of the Nymph” (ISBN 978-0-7198-1058-9). Most of you that fish with a nymph would probably have heard of George Edward MacKenzie Skues and how he almost single handedly developed the technique of below-surface fly fishing for sighted trout with nymphs. Such is his legacy. This excellent book is crammed … Continue reading GEM SKUES – THE MAN OF THE NYMPH
Text: Alan Bulmer Lead Image: George Turnbull Catching flats trevally on soft plastics can occasionally be a relatively straight forward exercise, especially during autumn and winter. There are some basic rules to follow and these are covered off in detail in the following articles:- https://activeanglingnz.com/2015/08/08/outsmarting-trevally-with-flies-and-lures/ and https://activeanglingnz.com/2015/07/25/wetlining-soft-plastics/ This article from the archives describes a two hour session on the flats and shows how easy it can be to connect … Continue reading FLATS TREVALLY
Up until the late 1990’s it was possible to go fishing inside the Hautu prison farm near Turangi. It generally was necessary to apply for permission to do so in advance. Once it was granted you had to front up at the Guard house for inspection on your allocated day, before a permit was issued. The prison authorities divided the river into a series of … Continue reading DOING TIME ON THE WAIOTAKA – HAUTU PRISON FARM MEMORIES
This “tongue-in-cheek” article looks at one of the hidden dangers of fishing near rivers in New Zealand. It was late on a hot summer’s day in mid-February. The ground was still shimmering from the oppressive day time heat and everything was limply hanging out for the respite that would come with dusk. We were dressed in tee shirts and shorts but it made little difference. … Continue reading RIVER SIDE DANGERS – ELECTRIC FENCES
The ideal spin fishing tackle for flats fishing is always going to come down to personal preference. You need to find a rod and reel combination that feels comfortable and suits your casting style as you will make a lot of casts in a two hour flats session. However, having said that, a safe starting outfit would be a 2.1 metre (7′) soft bait rod, … Continue reading SPINNING TACKLE FOR THE FLATS
Here’s a hard case tale from Alan Bulmers fishing diary… Cedric the Black backed gull – a fishing session with a difference! Yesterday’s fishing session on my favourite estuary was interesting. Low tide was at 2.00 pm so I timed my assault to be in the main channel fishing by 12.00 pm. It was an uncharacteristically warm, humid, overcast day. The moisture laden, concrete grey … Continue reading BEWARE OF BLACK BACKED GULLS
(Words – Alan Bulmer/ Images – Kiyoshi Nakagawa) The day dawned cool and clear in Auckland. I had slept fitfully as I always do before a serious fishing trip, scared to drop off unless I missed the alarm and excited about what the day would hold. I was already up when the alarmed sounded at 4.15 am, ready and breakfasted by the time that my … Continue reading NGONGOTAHA – TROPHY TROUT MECCA
Shortly after we received the article from Mike Ladle on his Mullet catching exploits in England (https://activeanglingnz.com/2014/04/21/dr-mike-ladle-mullet-fishing-for-new-zealand/) I received an email from Alan Bulmer, describing the flies that he tied for Mike Ladle to entice Mullet species in the UK….. The e-mail went:- “Hi Paul, First things first, the species of mullet that Mike Ladle catches in the UK is not identical to the NZ Grey … Continue reading MULLET – KIWI FLY CATCHES THEM IN UK
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