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Lead image: Kiyoshi Nakagawa When I was young my father, who always seemed to catch something when we went fishing, used to harp on about how I needed to learn how to “think like a trout” in order to consistently outsmart them. Teenage boys rarely listen to their fathers so this advice, which I struggled to understand without some concrete examples, entered one ear and … Continue reading OUTSMARTING TROUT
AANZ is often asked to recommend a selection of “go to” nymph patterns for the streams and rivers in the North Island of New Zealand. Patterns such as the Gold ribbed Hare’s Ear and Pheasant Tail are ubiquitous and proven all around the globe. Tied on # 12 – # 16 hooks, with or without bead heads, they are without peer. Leaving them out of any selection … Continue reading “GO TO” NYMPH SELECTION
Text: Alan Bulmer & Tony Bishop Featured Image: Paul Smith Indicator nymphing, especially as it is practiced on the Tongariro River in NZ, can be a tricky art to master. Due to the large volume of water typically flowing down the Tongariro, the typical nymph rig for the turbulent, deep runs is a couple of tungsten bead head nymphs suspended below a yarn indicator. Often the … Continue reading DEMYSTIFYING INDICATOR NYMPHING
Recently I’ve been reading some articles written by Tony Hayter about the high priest of dry fly purism, Frederic Halford. The following passage in particular piqued my interest. “Once upon a time there was a Jewish businessman called Fred Hyam. He made his pile, as did many others, from the “rag trade”. He worked hard, and in his spare time fished the Thames for bream, barbel … Continue reading FREDERIC HALFORD – THE HIGH PRIEST OF DRY FLY PURISM
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Words: Alan Bulmer Images: Tim Angeli When I was young and learning to fly fish I was given a tattered book on trout fishing by a curmudgeonly old friend of my fathers. He took me aside, gruffly told me that I should read the book as it contained a wealth of useful information, attempted a wry smile and shuffled off. The book was “Trout fishing … Continue reading ANALYSING TROUT RISE FORMS – A LOST SKILL?
It had taken months to finally arrive but Thursday May 14th was the day Hamish and I had been waiting for since we opened our 2014 Christmas presents. There, in amongst the parcels with the names of others, was a small envelope which contained a voucher telling us that we would be sharing a guided fishing trip with Kiyoshi Nakagawa (Yoshi) in the rivers around … Continue reading WAITETI STREAM – ROTORUA’S TROUT FISHING GEM
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Back in the day most anglers timed their trips to the Tongariro river to coincide with the main rainbow trout spawning runs which occurred over the winter months. Between 1960 and 2000 these runs were mostly concentrated between May – August. However there has been a major change in the timing of the rainbow trout spawning runs since 2002 and the fabled winter runs have … Continue reading WHICH MONTHS ARE BEST TO FISH THE TONGARIRO?
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
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
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